The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

by Stephenie Meyer

The story begins with Bree and Diego hunting for human blood in Seattle, Washington. Bree has been a vampire for three months, and Diego has been one for eleven months. Together they kill and drink a pimp and two prostitutes. Bree and Diego discuss "her" (Victoria, who turned them into vampires). They hide in a cave and discuss their human lives, and how Riley came to offer them a second life as a vampire. Together they decide that Riley is using them as pawns, and that he might be lying to them. They also discover that sunlight does not kill a vampire, but makes their skin sparkle. They become friends and hunt for Riley and the other vampires they live with.

They find that Riley had relocated everyone to a log cabin and Diego gets into a fight. That night Bree and Diego stalk Riley, suspicious that he is meeting with "her." They eavesdrop on Riley's conversation with Victoria.

Eventually the Volturi show up, threatening to punish Victoria for amassing a vampire army, but are willing to give her army a chance to destroy the Cullen clan. The Volturi say that if Victoria does not attack within five days, they will kill her.

Bree returns to the log cabin and resolves to run away, while Diego stays behind to talk to Riley and inform him about the fact that the sunlight doesn't hurt them. Riley returns to the cabin alone and tells his vampire army that there are older vampires in Seattle (the Cullens) who want to kill them. If the newborns want to survive, Riley explains, they will have to work together and learn how to fight. Riley spots Bree and tells her that Diego is doing surveillance work with "her" and will return to join them in the fight. After three nights of training, Bree and the vampires hunt a ferry boat to drink the passengers' blood and regain their strength for the battle against the elder vampires. Riley tells everyone that the vampires they will be fighting have yellow eyes and keep a human (Bella) as a pet. He then gives them Bella's scent to hunt, describing her as the dessert.

The newborns head off to fight the Cullens. Fred decides to run away to Vancouver before the battle and agrees to wait for Bree for a day before leaving. Bree takes part in the battle in order to find Diego. Before the battle, Riley retreats, claiming to have business elsewhere and telling Bree that Diego already started fighting. Bree arrives at the battle to find the newborn vampires being massacred by the Cullens and thinks Diego is already dead because she cannot see or smell him anywhere. She concludes Victoria and Riley killed Diego for disobedience the night he went missing.

Bree turns to run away, but is cornered by Carlisle Cullen. They are joined by his "children" Jasper and Esme Cullen, who debate whether or not to kill her. They decide to restrain her until the Volturi arrive. Jasper forces her to close her eyes and presses his hands over her ears in order to protect the secret of the werewolves ("howler vampires", as Bree calls them), because she can hear their howls.

Bree then spots Bella, and has trouble resisting the urge to drink her blood (a scene originally shown in Eclipse). The Volturi (dark-cloaks) then show up and Bree starts logically concluding facts about the Cullens from what she sees and the conversation she and Diego overheard. She guesses the redhead, Edward Cullen, to be the mindreader and informs him what Jane told Victoria to do. Jane is dissatisfied with their explanations and interrogates Bree, torturing her.

Bree pretends to be dumb, pleading that Riley lied to her and the other newborns, that they were ignorant and did as they were told, under fear of death. The Volturi decide to kill Bree. Carlisle and Edward attempt to save her by saying they will teach her the rules, but Bree sees this is futile. Jane refuses to give second chances, arguing it would adversely affect the Volturi reputation as law enforcers among the vampires. She also warns that Caius would be interested in learning that Bella is still human, as he sees her as a threat to vampire secrecy. Bree does not fully understand this argument and simply yearns for her life and torment to be over since Diego, whom she started to love, is dead. Jane then orders her death. Edward advises Bella to shut her eyes, but Bree believes this warning is meant for her instead. She shuts her eyes and is killed.