"Nothing is more permanent than passion when you have a heart of stone. No one needs more dusting than a sensitive soul who has a heart of ash."

Bauvard, Evergreens Are Prudish

*Twilight is the sole property of SM and publishing company*

Chapter 1-First Sight

Alec

Alone. As a perpetual teenaged boy, I should not have yearned for such a self-imposed purgatory. Yet, daily, as my sibling and I were released of our service, we welcomed it on bated breath. While we enjoyed inflicting mind-numbing emptiness and scorching pain upon the enemies of the crown, Jane and I craved the silent solidarity and harmony that only family could offer. After a thousand years of mayhem, massacres, and hostile takeovers, my sister and I chose our exclusive camaraderie, protecting ourselves from the overwhelming starkness of immortality. Despite our immense powers, we were no safer from unknown adversaries than the average vampire—even among the elite. If anything, we touted our death warrants around our necks like proverbial nooses, calling retribution on the wind like shadow wraiths.

Our reputations preceded us everywhere we roamed. The horror stories that ghosted through the throngs of covens and nomads painted a comprehensive look into the nature of our being, our curse. Whether the stories were factual or not, was of little consequence. It instilled an air of trepidation and respect in the minds of the Volturi's subjects, making them ponder their actions studiously before being willfully defiant.

Jane and I had lived in Volterra for over a thousand years. Yet, even after all these centuries, neither she nor I had the patience to acclimate ourselves the ambiance of the castle. Instead, we chose to lock ourselves away from all others—those friends who would have chosen our company only to garner our favor. Our upbringing had not been pleasant, and the manner in which we met our demise was equally distasteful. Even as humans, we were distrustful of those around us and immortality had not changed our demeanor, only enhanced. We rarely permitted anyone in to our exclusive circle. Even our sire, Aro, had not been given formal entrance into our secret society. Of course, he knew of these truths through one touch, yet he remained willfully ignorant and eyed us with an air of scrutiny from time to time. I often pondered whether he expected us to lash out and destroy him. He needn't worry on such things. We were loyal and faithful servants who carried out his bidding to a fault, regardless of Chelsea's influence. Jane and I had never forgotten who had yanked us from the fire.

After all, fire begat agony. Anger reaped fury.

This day afforded us the opportunity to stretch our legs and reacquaint ourselves with our skills. Newborns had ravaged the city of Seattle, murdering indiscriminately and without guidance. We rarely intervened in territorial wars, unless they brought about excessive loss of life and media attention. We loathed for the vampire world to question the Volturi's effectiveness. However, this particular creator was unskilled and careless with her creations, allowing them to go on bloodthirsty rampages and causing widespread panic among the humans. This immortal was extremely foolish—definitely no Maria. Even without the Major, the woman was masterful with venom.

Disposing of the newborns was mundane. The thirty-two newborns posed very little challenge to the four of us and fell within a matter of minutes. These creatures were certainly not created to challenge any of the surrounding rival clans, otherwise they would have had more military training under their belts. Their creator, Victoria, was anything but dull. She was an interesting and tumultuous creature whose desperate need for revenge had become her greatest weakness.

During her painful questioning, we were thoroughly entertained by her motive and goaded her to wrath when we spoke ill of her dearly departed mate. In the process of taunting the red-haired slattern, we were informed of a rather unexpected crime. One of Volterra's favored and former residents, Carlisle Cullen, had willfully broken another law—one of the most important decrees in our world. The flaxen-haired Patriarch of the Olympic Coven had succumbed to his greatest weakness: humans. It seemed he allowed his protegé to keep a human pet and allowed her to roam all of Washington with knowledge of our kind. And if that was not a big enough offense, he killed a superior creature in her stead. Mate or no, it was forbidden to allow her to live with such information. Definitely an unwise decision on his part. His penchant for humans would ultimately cost him his life.

The supernatural world was no place for mortals. Their only purpose in life was to serve the superior race. Advanced or not, those disgusting blood bags outnumbered us by the millions and should our secret ever surface, they would easily overpower us, plunging the vampire race into unchartered waters. Even when the Romanians were in power, our kind always teetered precariously on the edge of destruction. Since the Volturi's rule, and with vigilant restraint and meticulous policing, the humans had forgotten our kind existed outside of legends and nightmares. Reacquainting them with such knowledge was foolish. Ignorance was power, in this case, and by repressing our kind, we ensured our safety and anonymity.

In the end, the bitch's mandated execution was far overdue. Aro had sentenced her to death centuries ago, but she had stealthily escaped Demetri's clutches and remained just outside of his grasp, thus spurning his fury—a first for our expert tracker.

After he had been divested the red-haired demon of her limbs, Demetri tortured the squalid fiend for eluding him, enjoying himself far too much. He quickly tired of his game and removed her head, the last remnant of her immortality, gleefully bathing himself in her venom.

~~Burning Oblivion~~

Jane could hardly quell her giddiness as she pranced around the battlefield and gathered the remains of skirmish, adding their flesh to the dozens of cloying purple pyres. Watching our enemies burn was her greatest delight in this life, whether by her gift or in actual combat, and I encouraged it whenever possible. Fire was psychotherapy to my twin. I understood her appetite for inflicting pain. I rather enjoyed it, as well, on occasion, though it was not the same. The vermilion inferno fed her inner demon and calmed her feral side, burning layers off of her memories. When her garnet eyes sparkled with joy, I envisaged the small, innocent child of our youth who had not been burdened by a millennia of pain.

"I shall never understand the appeal of mainstreaming with humans," I mused, thinking of Carlisle's folly as I dropped my lighter on a pile of severed bodies. "When he was Aro's guest, I was optimistic for Carlisle's conversion. His intellect was unprecedented, but I believe his penchant for human life skewed his mind. Quite sad really. Now, he obviously believes himself the savior of our people, spotless and above reproach, prancing around Washington like a sparkly fairy and spewing our secrets to anyone who will listen."

Loud raucous laughter boomed through the trees, echoing in every direction. I looked up from my task to watch Felix and Demetri falling all over themselves at my musing. Their mental capacity, on occasion, rivaled that of small toddlers that clung to their mother's skirts. At times, it truly boggled my mind that either of them were inducted into the elite guard. Idiots.

After she had finished with her task, Jane propped herself against the trunk of a large oak and crossed her long, shapely legs beneath her crimson dress, looking somberly off into the distance. Slightly annoyed by their mirth, she glanced over to the two morons and shook her head. Then her garnet eyes swept to mine, opening wide. My twin watched me for a split-second before returning her gaze to the fire. For some reason, her silent contemplation perturbed me. "Some people's children," she sneered.

"Oh, Alec! Doctor Feel Good wasn't so squeaky clean during his time in Volterra. Other than consuming inferior blood, he engaged in a rather sordid affair with… Aro." My eyes grew wide. Surprisingly, I learned something new every day. "Their Saturday rendezvous' to the gardens were legendary. I am surprised you never noticed, or rather heard. Perhaps if you and Janie were out more, we would not have to educate you on the happenings of the castle," Demetri boomed, garnering a rather unladylike gesture from my sister and loud guffaws from his fellow guard member.

Felix grabbed Demetri by the shoulder and shook him excitedly. "I can surely understand his conversion. Have you seen the good Doctor's mate? Da-mn! She is one fine piece of ass, that woman."

Demetri raised his eyebrows in agreement and gave a thumbs-up, using his hands to map out Mrs. Cullen's curvy form.

I rolled my eyes at my fellow companions. Their licentiousness knew no end. They reminded me of old women with their gossip.

The tracker's features turned grim and pain laced his words, "No, I do not believe the secret fell from Carlisle's lips directly, although his weakness for his first-born facilitated this fiasco. Carlisle is smitten with him. Always has been. He would do anything for that twat, even allow dear ole' Eddie to destroy him. Such an idiotic decision from such a brilliant vampire."

I opened my mouth to respond, but before the words slipped off my tongue, my sister's phone vibrated. Obviously, Aro's ears were burning. I often wondered if my sire had a secondary gift, one that alerted him to the completion of our missions. His timing was uncanny. Before cellular devices, the four of us were afforded leniency and delightful respite from the dreadful formality of castle protocol. Our mini sabbaticals were once so blissful.

Infuriating devices!

My sister grasped the tiny device and held the receiver to her ear before the second ring. "Master," Jane said reverently.

"Ah, Jane," he crooned, clapping his hands together in the background like a small child on Christmas. "It warms my dead heart to hear your voice again, my precious child. Is it done then? Were you able to keep a low profile?"

"Yes, Master Aro. The threat has been contained and their creator destroyed along with them. However, there were complications. In the process of questioning the creator, we have learned of another infraction. Our secret was disclosed to a human—"

Aro roared in the background, effectively cutting off my sister's explanation, "A human? Why have you not destroyed this threat?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "Master, this human resides with the Cullens."

I heard a tongue clicking in the background. Aro obviously still favored his former lover, and in my opinion, he afforded him far too much leniency for his infractions. "That does pose a problem, does it not? Perhaps, you four should pay them a visit. Should the human be amongst them, make it a point to destroy her in their presence. Then, I should like you to collect the entire coven and bring them to Volterra. Judgment is required in this case. Leave post-haste and alert me with your progress."

Jane took a deep, unnecessary breath and blew it out slowly. "As you wish, Master," she stated formally, shutting the clamshell quickly.

"Dearest sister? Has Aro truly mandated us to visit the Cullens?"

I heard the conversation clearly, though I hoped that I was sorely mistaken. I had not wished to interact with any covens on this journey, especially the Cullens. Carlisle's children raked on my nerves. Perhaps, I would anesthetize them and save myself from meaningless protocol, mindless chatter, and adamant denials. With Aro, one must always expect the unexpected.

Jane rolled her eyes and tucked the tiny device in her cloak. "Truly. Truly," she deadpanned.

The four of us quickly dashed around the clearing and snuffed out the remaining pyres, spreading the ashes about. More nauseating amethyst smoke billowed up from the ground and quickly dissipated in the air. Their creation was such a waste. The blood bags would have been better fodder for pigs.

~~Burning Oblivion~~

We threw our hoods over our heads, just as we had done thousands of times prior, and ghosted across the landscape, our dark cloaks billowing out behind us like dark, ominous clouds. We sprinted through the forest as though we were streaks of lighting, phantoms of the night, easily circumventing the fallen trees and bounding across ravines. Each quick stride took us closer to our destination and gently eased the almost constant ache in my chest.

I took in a ragged breath just inside the outcropping of trees that bordered the Cullen property and slid to an abrupt stop. I bent over and clutched my chest as though I were out of breath; completely caught off guard by the sudden release of pressure. For eighteen years this malady had housed itself directly beneath my sternum, slightly painful and unrelenting. I had attributed as a product of our solace. Yet now that it had mysteriously vanished, I questioned that theory. Something in the immediate vicinity had caused this phenomenon, and it unsettled me greatly. I had not been effected by this difficulty on previous missions, and we had visited this particular residence on several occasions. Yet, I could not deny the sensation. It unnerved me.

My three companions mirrored my sudden stop and gazed at me with curiosity and trepidation. They tensed and slightly crouched, scanning the area for threats.

Jane scowled, a deep line forming between her brows. "Alec? What has happened?"

I straightened and took a cleansing breath, gazing around the area in frustration. "I do not know. There is a power here that is pulsing around my body. Something very light and electric clings to the air. Perhaps witchcraft, or another vampire is involved."

My sister looked at me as though I had grown two heads. Obviously, she had not experienced the enchantment in the air, nor had she believed my theory of witchcraft. "Brother, are you feeling well? For there is nothing nefarious anywhere near our persons. Sometime I wonder if you were touched by a bit of enchantment, yourself. Or maybe mother dropped you on your head as a small babe."

Demetri and Felix adamantly agreed, smirking at my sister's jab.

I shook my head and took another quick cursory glance at my surroundings, still convinced that supernatural forces were at work. I gasped at the sight before me as I stepped out on the lawn. I expected to see a meticulously manicured garden, but the flora was overgrown and untended. This was very unlike Carlisle's mate, who always kept everything so pristine.

So very curious.

As we slowly and silently whisked through the tall grass, I quickly noticed the iron safeguards were all lowered, obscuring the glass windows that swept in every direction. The residence was abandoned . . . for some time, I gathered by the lack of scent in the immediate vicinity. Aro would find himself unsettled by their abrupt disappearance. The nomad was correct. Carlisle's coven was hiding something . . . or someone, perhaps.

I took in the property in one sweeping glance, cataloging everything in my line of sight with a keen eye. On the last pass, I was surprised to see a small figure crouched by a brook that ran through the Cullen property. The young woman was slender and thin— far too thin— perhaps slightly gaunt in today's society. The girl had long, wavy mahogany hair that hung past her hips. Her creamy ivory skin was nearly pristine; its only flaw was stained by an abundance of salty tears that fell from beneath her long, sweeping lashes. As inferior as her species were to us immortals, she was beautiful for a mortal, and it saddened me to watch her suffer. This new emotion unnerved and angered me, for I prided myself with a lack of emotion

As we bound across the water, her dark eyes swept up and met mine, causing my dead heart to quiver slightly. The woman sprung to her feet and took several steps backward, slack jawed and eyes wide with realization. She knew we were not human. Perfect. It had been a long time since I have tortured a human, and I found myself almost giddy with anticipation.

In a nanosecond, my thoughts and feelings changed with a shift in the air current, riffling her dark hair around her body in a billowing curtain. Her cloying, flowery scent assaulted me. I took a deep, unnecessary breath and filled my lungs with her beautiful fragrance. Fresh honey and forget-me-nots gleefully danced upon my tongue, tingling throughout my body like a volt of electricity and caused the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

My mouth should have seethed with venom. Young post-pubescent women were the most palatable, in my opinion. Their burgeoning hormones made for a delicious and satisfying end to the burn. Yet, the slender, brunette beauty was surprisingly unappetizing. I could no more consume her blood than murder my sister. It angered me thoroughly that this tiny human had such an effect on me. I wanted—no needed— to take my frustrations out on this child, make her suffer for the knowledge that was in the forefront of her mind. However, her hold over me was overwhelmingly strong, and with each delicious thud of her heart, she continuously pulled me further under her spell. Powerful as I was in spirit, I was unable to tear myself from her person. And I wanted to flee from this little human before she seduced me further.

I hastily glanced around at my fellow vampires and realized that they were just as captivated by her presence, but strangely unaffected by her strange enchantments. It was ironic that the threat of magic was the cornerstone of my human demise and would likely be the cause of more agony in the future.

"Well, well, well," Demetri purred, tossing the hood of his cloak back with a quick flick of his wrists. The three of us followed suit out of habit. The tracker studied the girl for a moment and then adjusted the obvious discomfort in his pants. She shuddered at his crudeness and looked away. I growled at his action, thoroughly startling my sister and myself. Jane's once garnet eyes were now a startling shade of obsidian. Her darkened gaze held me captive for a moment, serendipitously garnering my reaction. My leer earned me a secret smile, one that only she and I shared on occasion. It was odd to witness her amusement in another's company.

"What do we have here? The fur-munchers have left their pet all alone. What a shame. She is quite appealing for a human. Perhaps Carlisle's brat grew tired of his human lover.-"He looked at her and smiled. "-Shall I take you on that piano in the foyer and let you feel what a talented lover can do, little kitten? You smell delightful!"

"You disgust me!" she hissed, backing herself against a large oak. "The Cullens are gone . . . they aren't here! They didn't want me. Please, just leave me be."

Felix swiftly closed the distance between them and chuckled, running his thumb lightly through her tears and greedily sucking the salty liquid from his finger. She angrily rammed her palms into his chest with all her mortal strength, screaming at him to step back and leave her alone. Fury washed over her features like a summer rainstorm, briefly tinting her satin skin a deep crimson. Her dark eyes bore into his with such an intensity that he flinched, albeit infinitesimally. Felix reverently dipped his head and complied, smirking at her righteous indignation.

My eyes flashed to Jane's and we briefly shared what she referred as a 'what the fuck moment' before returning to the mesmerizing situation before us. Neither she nor I had witnessed human command a vampire and have him comply. Her kitten-like fury was oddly fascinating and highly erotic. Aro would be greatly interested in testing such an anomaly.

"If you do not want her Demetri, I will be happy to take her off your hands. This little one has fire in her belly. I would take great pleasure in breaking down those walls."

The girl collapsed to her knees and fell forward, mumbling almost incoherently,

"Just kill me and get it over with. Let me die with dignity. Please . . . please, God, don't rape me!"

I clenched my fists and growled under my breath as her sorrow, garnering another quick grin from my sister. Jane was enjoying my erratic emotions and obvious difficulty far too much. She was far too insightful for her own good, and I wondered what it was that she believed she knew.

Felix threw his head back and laughed, grabbing a bundle of hair and pulling her to her feet. The brunette struggled and shrieked in pain. The brute gently released her hair and shared a knowing look with Demetri.

Let the chase begin, I thought.

The girl took off toward the house at a full sprint. The boys gave her a slight head start and then slowly stalked behind her, following her retreating form around the house.

A piercing scream echoed through the twilight. Her fear was jagged and resonant, slicing clean through my person like a sithe. My knees buckled slightly and a sliver of trepidation skittered up my spine. It was a foreign sensation, obviously artificially instilled within me. I had to force my own tense muscles not to take flight, not to follow the girl. It was maddening.

Now, I had little doubt that the child had cast some sort of charm. I was under her spell completely, so I wondered why cared if Felix and Demetri had their fun? Whatever the two goons deemed fun, which was often lascivious in nature. She was a filthy, despicable human—inferior—worth nothing but the blood that flowed through her veins . . . but also beautiful and brave. I growled and grabbed my hair in frustration. My mind was a jumble of contradictions, and I ached to free myself of the tangled web she weaved.

No! No! No! I felt nothing. She was nothing to me. Absolutely nothing.

"YOU. ARE. MINE," Demetri growled in her ear, toting her back around the front of the house slung over one shoulder. I truly expected her submission, though his words only spurned her to fight harder, kicking and screaming under his hold. He laughed as he threw her body to the ground and pinned her with one massive hand, unbuckling his pants with the other. I knew her fate, and sadly, so had she. Yet I had done nothing since we arrived to ease the situation. I had seen that look before in his eyes—bloodlust ruled his otherwise rational mind. Vampires were always more savage after a battle. The girl muttered to herself that she would not die like this. She refused to allow him to defile her body and used every ounce of her human strength to attempt to dissuade him. I admired her resolve even more.

When she looked at me with tears clouding those beautiful coffee depths, I bristled and looked away, pain acutely sprouting in my chest. It was so overwhelming that I could not ignore it, her. I realized then, I would not allow that innocent girl to die in such an undistinguished manner, as had befell my sister moments before they tied her to the stake.

Anger churned from inside my body, and I roared in fury, grabbing the massive man by the nape of the neck and callously tossed him to the ground. I then proceeded to grab a handful of his dark hair and tilted his neck back, removing a large chunk of flesh as I sunk my teeth into his trachea. I spat the chunk of tissue on the ground and growled like a rabid beast. I stepped back and gleefully watched the large wound weep venom down his cloak.

Demetri bound to his feet seconds later and dove into my shoulder, catching me slightly off guard. I splayed my fingers open and allowed the inky, billowing smoke to seep out of palms. Unfortunately, the nature of my gift worked far too slowly, and before I realized my dire predicament, Demetri had me bound to his chest, forearms tucked under my armpits, and in tight headlock, preparing to remove my head.

I raised my arms and grabbed his face between my palms, waiting for the darkness of my gift to overcome him, while the pain of my marble flesh splintering beneath his fingers had addled my mind. The girl looked on in horror and stumbled to her feet, watching me with new tears brimming her lids. Her beautiful face was a remarkable sight in my last moments and oddly, I felt whole in her presence.

Abruptly, I fell to my hands and knees unharmed, save for my splintered flesh that was quickly mended via my venom, gasping for unnecessary breath. The tiny woman-child dropped beside me and brushed my hair from my face. She placed her hands on either side of my face and smiled at me in appreciation. It had been centuries since another had touched me so intimately and it made me slightly uncomfortable, uncertain. She opened her lips to speak, but her attempts were overshadowed by a feral scream that ripped through the darkness like fiery claws, sending up a crescendo of pain and misery to the heavens.

My beautiful sister made mortals and immortals alike feel as though the fires of Hell were licking through their veins.

"Pain," Jane hissed, leering at Demetri with demonic eyes. He was writhing on the ground as if he were burning at the stake himself, screaming into the heavens for mercy, as my sister circled him like a buzzard. "Agony can break a person in a matter of seconds. Strong and capable warriors have all crumbled under the strain of my power. Sadistic as I am, I refuse to allow you to defile that child. Moreover, unless I am wrong, the girl belongs to Alec, and as we are the highest-ranking guards on this mission, we have decreed that this child shall remain alive and unsoiled until we arrive back to Volterra."

Jane eased up on her power and quickly snatched the girl from my side, pulling her gently against her chest. I quickly stood and purposely sauntered over to the massive man. I straddled his still writhing form and crouched low, allowing the dark, cloying smoke to seep from my fingertips. Demetri's eyes grew wide, and he beseeched me to stop my attack, questioning my motives—motives that were still foreign to me, even now. "The girl belongs to me!" I hissed, quieting his senses before he could utter another word.

This surely was not a good sign.