AN: It has been so long since I have written a story for the Choice Series! Life, school, work, and everything in between truly got in the way last year, so I wanted to start 2019 off right. I hope you read, enjoy, and review!

~Emmettroselover

Chapter 1

The holiday season was always a festive, busy time for the Cullens as they attended parties in Italy, welcomed guests to the island for Alice's annual holiday extravaganza, and made it a tradition to hunt in Alaska as a family. December was always full of events and gatherings to attend and, with Alice's party officially a success, the Cullens were spending the week after Christmas with their mates and friends to relax. Renesmee, Nahuel, Kaya, and Seth were in Victoria enjoying the sights and spending time with Roman, Iris, Sofi, and Caleb. It also gave them time to get to know Iris's mate, Leonardo, better. He proposed to Iris in Italy and the couple was planning a small wedding on the countryside of Volterra in the spring. Alice was unenthused by their insistence that they did not want much fanfare about the engagement, but she respected their wishes.

The rest of the family was happy to enjoy the days of relaxation, knowing there would be more celebration in the coming days. This year, the Denali Coven decided to throw a New Year's Eve party at their home in Alaska and everyone was excited to celebrate the end of a year full of changes and new beginnings. That year, Allie joined the family by becoming a vampire, solidifying her bond as Zach's mate. Josh met Natalie and imprinted. There were two weddings, first between Caleb and Sofi and followed by Zach and Allie's nuptials. Even the pack went through changes with Evan imprinting on Callista and Drew revealing his supernatural world to his imprint. Much had happened in the course of a year and there was much to celebrate.

December was still Zach's favorite time of the year and his exuberance was infectious as he demanded they keep up their traditions, despite all the drama that transpired over the past months. After his and Allie's wedding, much had occurred, including Connell's sister attacking Volterra, endangering their family, and kidnapping Allie. Their misunderstanding with Marcus and the Volturi seemed like a blip on the radar compared to that life-threatening situation, but Zach was not deterred. In addition to Alice's Christmas party, he still made sure the family planned an excursion in Alaska together. He threw the first snowball in the epic snowball fight that lasted well into the morning. The tension and drama of the past year did not stop him from sitting down by the fire and listening to stories told by his family about the past, the history of the vampire world, and its folklore. He still spent time in the garage with his mother, tuning up the cars and teasing Seth about his love affair with cookies. He still enjoyed buying Christmas ornaments with his grandparents, who were more than happy to add new ones for Allie and Natalie to the tree. December was still a wonderful time of the year for the Cullens and Zach was determined to keep it that way. Tension between Natalie, Josh, and Leah was still in the air after the issues arising in Volterra, so Zach took it upon himself to distract his best friend. He invited the pack over to the island for a video game tournament to take his best friend's mind off of unsettled issues between Josh and his imprint and Allie was more than happy to spend time with Drew's imprint in the process. She and Lexi had been friends for years, so she was happy to have a familiar face from La Push around. She handed Lexi a mug of hot chocolate with a smile as they chatted in her and Zach's cottage.

"And that's why Garrett was more than happy to take Charlie and Sue home. He is still playing with his new toy."

"I can't believe a stealth jet is considered a new toy."

"It is technically a matter of transportation and security since it has a defense system to defend against attacks, but yes, for Garrett it is definitely a toy." Lexi shook her head in disbelief.

"Forgive me for being very human about all this, but I can't believe this is your life now. I always knew you wanted something more than La Push could give you, but I thought that meant becoming Dr. Allison Uley, Stanford graduate. I figured you would stay in California, maybe open up a practice or work in some big hospital making a name for yourself. I never expected this," admitted Lexi.

"Trust me nothing could have prepared me for any of this. When I came home, I knew I was searching for something I couldn't find in California, but I didn't know it would lead me into the supernatural world."

"I always had a feeling that the supernatural existed, but never imagined it being like this. If you would have told me a year ago I would be in love with a shapeshifter that leads a pack to defend our land and one of my friends is a vampire, I am not so sure I would be able to wrap my head around it."

"It is a lot and that is why I wasn't sure who to tell at first, but I am really glad I can talk to you about it. I am glad you are here, Lexi."

"Me too, Drew loves it here and I think he is relieved that I know so he can visit more often without making up an excuse for why he is leaving La Push. Now, back to all the supernatural gossip, word has it that Evan is going to ask Callista to marry him soon, but he doesn't want to step on Josh's toes by asking before Josh can propose to Natalie. What is going on with those two?" Allie groaned as she thought about the couple.

"Where do I even begin," she grumbled and Lexi giggled.

"The beginning always works," she suggested.

Josh slapped Daniel's hand away as his friend tried to impede his vision so he couldn't see what he was doing on the floor to ceiling screen of the theater room in the main house. Zach chuckled as Josh dodged Owen's hand as well.

"Stop trying to cheat," he wailed dramatically and Tommy huffed as he tapped on the controller.

"Stop being so good then! This game just came out. How do you and Zach already know how to beat it," asked Tommy and Zach shrugged with a smug smile.

"Gavin got us a copy of it a couple of weeks ago. It is good to have friends in high places," said Zach.

"Yea well tell him to send one our way next time," said Drew. Braden and Colt nodded in agreement.

"It is only fair," added Braden.

"When is Seth coming back? I thought he was going to play with us," asked Owen and Zach smirked.

"He will probably be in Victoria all day. Kaya is really excited to spend time with her family and you know Seth is a marshmallow when it comes to her," said Zach and it was Josh's turn to smirk.

"Says the guy that wanted to go check in with his nayeli before starting the game," teased Josh and Zach rolled his eyes, but knew he had a point.

"Speaking of being a marshmallow, Josh, where is Natalie? We haven't seen her since we got here," asked Daniel and Josh sighed as he kept his eyes trained on the large screen.

"Hunting, apparently she prefers to go alone now," he grumbled.

"Everything okay between you two," questioned Tommy.

"I think so, but she is so hard to read. I know that I love her and she says she loves me too. Things have been off since everything went down in Volterra though."

"Yea, maybe you should stop taking her there," suggested Owen and Braden nodded in agreement.

"Wasn't she like held captive there or something," asked Braden.

"But that was a while ago and under a different ruler. She is safe now," assured Josh.

"Yea, but it still happened. You can't just expect everything to be okay for her because the threat is gone. She lived it," reminded Colt and Josh frowned in confusion.

"Since when do you defend Natalie," asked Josh and Colt shrugged.

"I have nothing against Natalie. She is your imprint and seems pretty cool," said Colt.

"She is. He is just being all wolfy because they haven't spoken about the future or what she wants," informed Zach and Daniel chuckled.

"Evan isn't going to be happy to hear that," mumbled Daniel and Josh frowned when Owen nudged Daniel.

"Why would Evan care about me and Nat," asked Josh and Daniel shook his head.

"He doesn't. Never mind, it was just a bad joke," he covered and Josh rolled his eyes, but didn't press the issue, especially since he and Zach reached the checkpoint of the level. They both cheered as the pack groaned and tossed their controllers down.

"Beat you again," taunted Zach and Josh sat back in his chair with a smug smile.

"It's almost not even fun anymore…almost," teased Josh and Drew rolled his eyes.

"We can still catch up. Don't get cocky," grumbled Drew and Zach laughed as they started the next level.

Callista giggled as Evan nuzzled her neck and pulled her closer in his arms. The couple was cuddled up on the couch in her cabin in Sequim watching a movie after spending the past few days with his family.

"See, I told you we don't need a fire. I have it covered," he assured.

"The fire was for you, latria mu. I am just fine, but it was quite a blustery run back from La Push."

"You don't have to worry about me." Callista arched an eyebrow at him.

"Do you not see the irony in such words," she teased and he chuckled.

"That is different. I know you still aren't very comfortable around my parents and I was just making sure you were okay."

"By asking me every five minutes?"

"More like every half hour, give me some credit." She giggled and nodded.

"Okay, every half hour, but it was fine. Your mother and I have an understanding. She doesn't exactly love me, but she respects that you have chosen to be with me. We are civil."

"I know but you are my forever and I just wish she would embrace that a bit more. I don't want things to be awkward."

"Speaking of forever," she said with a smile as she stood up and walked over to her jewelry box. She opened it and beamed with happiness as she placed the diamond ring back on her finger. He chuckled when she tossed his gold band to him as well and he put it on his finger.

"That's better," she said as she snuggled back up to him on the couch and he nodded as he kissed the top of her head.

"Much better, I hate that we even have to take them off in the first place."

"I am surprised our cover isn't blown by Alice. That woman is a lot to take," said Callista and he kissed her cheek.

"Hey, just be happy she didn't try to stop us from getting married just so she could plan the wedding. She was not happy with us at first."

"I still don't see what the big deal is. By the way, she only agreed not to stop us because we agreed to let her plan a ceremony later," she reminded.

"And in the world of Alice Cullen, that was a win for us," he assured and she giggled.

"Fine, as long as I have you, I don't care. I am not looking forward to telling your parents or the pack though. How do you think your mother would take if she found out Esme and Carlisle were our witnesses?"

"Um, horribly, which is why I never plan on sharing that tidbit of information with her. After the new year, we will announce our engagement, let Alice plan our wedding, and my mom will never have to know."

"Yes, because dishonesty is always the best policy," she teased and he smiled sheepishly.

"I know, but what she doesn't know can't hurt her and everyone gets to win. I got to marry you underneath the stars at our favorite spot and my parents will get the traditional wedding my mother will love. I have everything I want and you make me so happy."

"Well, you need to tell her soon because I can't keep walking around like I am not the happiest woman in the world. I am Mrs. Evan Call and am the luckiest woman in the world." He grinned and tenderly kissed her, more than happy to hide away in their cabin enjoying their newlywed bliss.

Rosalie watched with a smile as the head of the clinic hugged Carlisle in thanks. He whispered words of encouragement to her and bid her farewell before joining Rosalie in the car. The woman waved at Rosalie before heading back inside to get out of the flurries of snow and Carlisle beamed with pride at his daughter.

"I am happy you decided to come with me. It was a nice surprise," he said as she drove out of the parking lot and back onto a narrow street.

"Well, Emmett is racing the jets with Garrett and the boys are enjoying their time with friends and family, so I decided to do the same. It feels nice to do such a good deed. I don't know how that clinic was even operating with such archaic equipment."

"They made it work, but definitely deserved better. So many people in the city rely on the clinic for care, especially the less fortunate. I am sure the new equipment will come in handy."

"I am sure they appreciated your expertise for the day as well. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist helping once you saw the line of patients," she teased and he chuckled.

"You weren't exactly disappointed to tend to a few little ones either. What did Hailey call you, a princess," he teased back and she smiled.

"Yes well the child had a fever. She was delirious. I did have a question though. Shouldn't they have been scared of us? Even as children, their instincts should have kicked in."

"I have always found that children can sense the real essence of beings, no matter the species. They could sense you were a mother and wanted to care for them," he explained.

"Well, thank you for letting me tag along. Today was nice."

"It was and I am glad we were able to spend some time together. Free time has been quite scarce as of late, so I jumped at the opportunity."

"It has been quite the year," she agreed.

"Quite the past few decades," he reminded and her tinkling laughter filled the car as she nodded.

"That is an understatement if I have ever heard one. Remember when most of our days were spent inside trying to act as human as possible? It has been ages since we had a simple routine," she said and groaned when Alice's number appeared on the screen of the car's dashboard. Carlisle sighed.

"A simple routine may not be in the cards for us at the moment," he said before pressing the button to answer the call.

"You two should head back to the island. We will have company soon."

"What kind of company? Is everyone alright," asked Carlisle.

"Yes, but there is an issue, not a big issue. We are not in real danger, but Alexander and Lena will want to speak with you."

"Alexander and Lena, our friends, or Alexander and Lena on official Volturi business," questioned Rosalie.

"It is official business, but do not worry. It will be fine," assured Alice.

"What aren't you telling us," asked Carlisle.

"Just trust me. All will be well, but you are needed back. They will arrive in a couple of hours with their guests."

"Guests, what guests," asked Rosalie and she gritted her teeth when Alice hung up.

"Oh, she is going to pay for that," hissed Rosalie and Carlisle gave her a look.

"You know she has it under control. I could do without the cryptic messages, but Alice always finds a way to make sure things work out. Come on, let's get back to our not so simple routine," he teased and she groaned as she accelerated the car.