Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Roswell characters, plots, or timelines, I merely play with them for my amusement and yours.

Rewriting Destiny

Chapter 2: New York

The sounds of traffic permeated everywhere. You couldn't get away from it. Rath enjoyed the noise, but Zan liked quiet better. That was why he still woke in the middle of the night to enjoy the peace that reigned over NYC in those wee hours. When the noise and bustle faded over a sleeping city. He would look from Rath and Lani to Ava laying beside him.

Ava. She was a sweet kid, but rather small, a fact that appealed to his protective nature. Their protector had encouraged this. He'd stayed around long enough to fill them in on what was expected of them. Part of this, he had informed Zan, was that Ava was his mate and his responsibility. And he wasn't one to shirk his duty, so he took care of her and provided for her as was expected of him. But for a long time now he had had a feeling that there was something more, like part of himself was missing.

He hoped Ava didn't know how he felt. She was such a sensitive little thing and she followed him around like a lost puppy. Obviously, she loved him. He wished he could love her in return and he did care for her, but he kept having this nagging feeling that someone was waiting for him just around the next corner.

Every day, he took care of Ava and looked for her and nothing happened until one day.

It started as a usual day in the city. That god-awful traffic again, the noise, the smells, the people. Then he turned the corner and it was THE corner. He saw a young, dark-haired woman standing with her back pressed against the bricks on the side of a building facing two men who were confronting her.

As soon as Zan came around the corner, she looked his direction. The world stood still the instant her brown eyes met his and he felt an electric charge go through him. She was his soulmate, his missing piece, his world. A mute appeal for help flashed from her to him and he responded to the call.

He called threateningly to the men and that's when he saw the gun in shorter one's hand. In his fright, the man squeezed the trigger and the bullet left the gun and ripped through the girl's body inches from her heart. The men fled and the girl slid down to a crumpled heap on the ground.

Zan raced to her side and felt for her pulse. Ava, who had been right behind him, threw herself on him crying hysterically. "Zan, it's so awful. The blood's everywhere. Take me away, Zan. Take away the blood." He could hear his protector's voice once again, "Ava's your mate. Your duty is to her. You must protect her and keep her from harm." He tried to look again at the girl, but Ava's hysterics were distracting and he rose to steer her away from the girl's body.

Ava's sobs would not be quieted until they had gone several blocks from the scene. He thought longingly of the girl. He didn't even know her name, but she was his. He knew it. And he would never even see her again.