Epilogue

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"Denali. It's just above Anchorage. Mountains everywhere. And his name was Ezekiel or Ebenezer or something like that."

Peter squints, trying to remember, then shakes his head and scrawls an address down on the piece of paper he holds in his hands. "I have a contact in the Seattle area who seemed to be familiar with the covens in the surrounding states. I'd look him up first. Beautiful place, you know. A little wet, but very green. We didn't stick around very long because the human population was so slight, but it was a nice area. Just a little difficult to hunt in."

"Unless you're hunting bears," I say with a sideways smile, and Peter snorts.

"I can't believe you're on a diet."

"You make it sound sordid, Peter. He looks healthy enough to me. Happy too," Charlotte adds.

The four of us are sitting on the winter beach of Atlantic City, hidden from the humans by a landscape of dunes and unfriendly weather. The cold wind on my face feels good, refreshing, and I don't even mind the occasional patter of raindrops on my cheeks. The choppy grey waves and mass of storm clouds rolling in over the water might have depressed me at one point in my life, but now I simply take in a deep breath of sea air and smile. It is December 25th, sunset at Christmas, and the world has never seemed more beautiful or alive.

Next to me, Alice has her eyes closed, and judging by the lack of aura surrounding her, she is already checking the future. Seattle, Denali, our trip, our coven, our life. I brush the stray grains of sand from the skirt of her dress, and wait patiently for her to return. Charlotte watches me do this with a knowing smile; she keeps staring at Alice and I, taking in all the little details of our interactions: our touching shoulders, the way our bodies are turned slightly toward each other, the lingering smiles and softened voices. Love, in its first few breaths of life, is visible to everyone and everything — like a solid entity brightening the air.

Peter and Charlotte were both appropriately shocked that I had finally found someone, and even more in awe that it was my "mystery woman" from so long ago. I can see through my gift and through their expressions that they are both absolutely thrilled for me, but I can also see that I will have to withstand teasing for many years to come. "He does look happy," Peter says suspiciously. "Give us a scowl or something, Jasper. You're freaking me out."

I roll my eyes.

Alice comes back with an excited burst of happiness. "I hope you have a raincoat, Jazz. You're going to need it! Not only is it wet, but it's cold and it's dark, and we'll be able to go outside in the daytime almost every single day." She squeezes my hands with a typical Alice smile, practically climbing into my lap in her enthusiasm. "His name is Eleazar, not Ebenezer— and he isn't the one we're looking for, but he definitely knows them. I can see us there, talking to him. Do you think we'll be able to find the Cullens, wherever they are? Do you think they'll still be there?"

Because she looks so damn cute with her eyes all lit up like this, I kiss the tip of her nose. "You were able to stay in Middlebury for over ten years. I think there's a good chance."

Peter mimes retching into the sand beside him. "Disgusting, aren't they?" he asks Charlotte. "You'd think it was their anniversary, not ours."

Charlotte laughs and turns her head toward the boardwalk, where the evening crowd is beginning to gather, dressed in the finest furs and fabrics as they make their way from casino to casino. Her eyes rest on a woman wearing sapphire silk, with the same expression of deliberation on her face that Alice has when looking through the latest issue of Vogue. She stands to her feet and motions for Peter to follow her. "Speaking of, if we're going to be gambling at the Traymore tonight, I'll need a new dress."

Alice instantly whips her head around. "Oh, shopping?"

I warily help her up off the sand. "Trust me, darlin,' you don't want to go along. Charlotte's idea of shopping is... a little different."

She takes in Charlotte's predatory expression and comprehends my statement with a little "oh." She smiles as though it's nothing tragic, but in a barely discernible motion, she moves a bit closer to me, disturbed by the notion of killing a human and robbing them of their clothes. I wrap my arm around her, and realize with acute certainty that my former way of life will never fit in with Alice's. This is all or nothing, and no matter how I might abhor the taste of deer and elk, I will have to wholeheartedly throw myself into her world of vegetarian vampires and permanent residences. Somehow though, it doesn't matter to me anymore. Alice is worth it. When we turn away from the beach I let my past life go as easily as picking up a fistful of sand and tossing it to the wind.

"Well, perhaps we should leave you to it, then?" I say, glancing back to the horizon where the sun has set and left behind a grey sheath of mist. "Give you a little privacy on your anniversary?"

Peter laughs. "As if that's ever bothered you before."

Charlotte links her arm through his, and shakes back her pale blonde hair. "Just don't be a stranger, Jasper. When you decide on a date, please let us know. We wouldn't miss it for the world. And Alice dear, it was so wonderful to meet you."

"Likewise," Alice says with a smile, and despite her hesitancy about their way of life, I know she means it. Like Middlebury for Alice, Peter and Charlotte are a part of me; the before chapters, the back-story exposition that made me who I am today. We say our goodbyes at the boardwalk with many hugs and handshakes, and watch the two of them meander through the crowd arm-in-arm. When they finally disappear from sight, Alice looks down with a quiet laugh. "Margaret would have liked Charlotte, you know. She would have liked both of them, actually."

I look at her with compassion, knowing how she misses her house and her friends and the stability of a home. "We can go back again someday. Maybe not right off, but someday. Maybe with our new coven."

"Family, Jazz," she corrects, resting her head against my shoulder.

"Family."

The cold and rain have chased away most of the crowd by now, and the two of us wander the boardwalk alone, just at the edges of the dunes. A haze of fog is rising in the amber twilight, rolling in over the ocean and softening the colors of the city streets. I've walked this street a hundred times — I've breathed in this same misty air, and heard the same distant strains of music of laughter from the brightly lit buildings behind us. But it all seems different somehow with Alice; a new life, a new world, the blessing of a second chance. She is at my side, and she always will be. And try as I might, no matter what I do, I can't seem to remember what it ever felt like to be alone.

"You want to get out of here?" I ask, such a simple question for everything I feel.

"Where to?"

"Anywhere," I say, taking her hand. "Everywhere. As long as it's with you."

***

"I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her."

—Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

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A/N: Thank you so much everyone to who has read, reviewed, and taken the journey with me. This was amazingly fun to write.

As promised, there is another story/sequel called Fear of Fire, the first chapter of which has already been posted. Go! Read! Enjoy! :)