As always, comments are both appreciated and requested.

…

Adrastus POV

I waited a day before traveling to the Cullen's residence. I knew Alice Cullen would know this and as such, they could prepare for my arrival. I certainly did not want to violate Aro's orders. I would not be going to wage war, however waging peace was far from Aro's thought process either, I knew that much.

I decided to get lost in the one place that has held any meaning for me. The sea. The sun was brilliant and I explored some underwater ruins off the western coast of my homeland. It still amazed me that with the power of the ocean, it could preserve history so well.

These particular ruins were part of the port of Kycia. We Spartans were not the seafaring people the Athenians were, but our boats would land here occasionally to take on trade or pillage. This part of the port had long slid into the ocean, forgotten by even archeologists of this age. It was a slice of the home I left and I relished in it.

The sea life sought refuge from me, but occasionally a sea urchin would drift by or I would find myself wrapped in kelp. It was a beautiful thing. Nature was beautiful. The sun shown down through the waves and whenever a beam would hit me, it would refract in the most brilliant of colors.

Hours passed and the sun withdrew behind the horizon. As such, it was getting close to midday in North America. This time would be ideal to join the Cullens. I swam to the surface and upon breaching the surface, the intoxicating scent of my prey wafted by.

It took me only a few moments to discern that two young boys were swimming out rather deep. The shore was a good mile away. Probably a dare. Their mistake. I ought to be careful though. I did not want water to get involved in my meal. I had long lost my pallet for salt. I tore through the water and grabbed either leg of the boys and dragged them underwater all the way back to the shore. It took only a minute to come up at the deserted beach where I had left my clothes.

I dropped the two humans and they purged the water from their lungs. Why bother? They would not be using them in about five minutes. One of the boys got up and peered over my naked body.

"Who, who are you?" he asked in modern Greek. Their fear colored every syllable.

"Adrastus," I said. He couldn't place my accent, and how could he? He could be my great great great great great grandnephew for all he and I knew.

"It will be okay, young one," I said. "It will be all over soon."

It took me little time to dispose of the bodies. The sea life of the Ionian Sea would make quick work of their bodies.

I dressed quickly and let the tension in my brain fill my body until my ears popped and I landed on the moist earth of a pine forest. Before me were eight vampires and two shapeshifters, one of them extremely angry.

I have faced worse.

…

Hours earlier…

Seth POV

I was stressing to the max. Here I was in a Toys-R-Us with little Rene while the Volturi were coming to destroy my family. I know I promised Ness to get Rene away, but even she, being only a year old, knew something was up. She was a quarter-vampire after all!

"What about this one!?" she squealed as she pointed at a stuffed lion three times her size. It was one of those animatronic ones that can interact with your child. The technology gives me the heebie jeebies. The Terminator-like future is written all over this toy. She wouldn't understand that of course. She was born in the wrong generation.

I would acquiesce regardless. It didn't take much. Like her other uncles, I was essentially putty in her hands. The twinkle in her eye when she smiled would have me agreeing with whatever her conniving brain conceived.

"Sethy… I want you to take down that buck for me…"

"Okay, Rene."

"Sethy… I want to drive your Ducati down the gravel road at 75…"

"Okay, Rene."

And even here, "Sethy… I want this lion!"

"Okay, Rene," I said coolly. Honestly, anything we could do to speed up this shopping trip so I could get back to Forks.

Ness was explicit in her request though: "DO NOT RETURN until I contact you."

Shit.

I brought the lion to the checkout counter and handed my card to the computer cash register. "IT" thanked me and I stuck my tongue out at it.

Rene did too. Oh great, I'm teaching her wonderful life lessons.

"Are you hungry, runt?" My stomach was gurgling so I hoped hers was too.

Rene put her finger to her lip. She was deep in thought. "YES!" she exclaimed as if she forgot that I had asked her a question. Too cute.

"What do you feel like—human or vampire?" I asked. Rene may only be a quarter vampire, but her reflexes and agility were very vampire-like. So was her appetite. She had never bit a human, nor had she had the urge to, but she was sure fond of the cougar. So much like her maternal grandparents, she didn't even know.

"Nah, I want human food," she decided aloud. I was frankly shocked. Ness didn't like human food at all now and she had tried to get Rene to eat a little of both, but Rene too had taken to the carnal side of her nature.

I put my finger to my lip. "Let me think, McDonald's happy meal?"

Rene began to jump up and down screaming in joy.

Oh geez, advertisement in the 22nd century was ridiculous. She didn't even watch the tv, or well, the holographic projector device thingy and she knew all about Ronnie McDonald. (I still preferred the good ole tv to the holo thingy. Call me an old fart, and I'll show you my biceps.)

We buzzed through the McDonalds drive thru and sat in the parking lot to gouge on our food. She had her little cheeseburger while I had my half-dozen double cheeseburgers. Abso-fucking-amazing. Maybe McDonald's ads weren't so bad. It got Rene to eat human food, albeit McDonalds "food."

The sun had hits its high in the sky and began its fall towards the horizon. It was getting late. Another five minutes passed, and both Rene and I had finished eating. We sat, Rene, me, and a big ass lion in my back seat, with nothing to do.

"Can we go home? I miss Dadda," Rene asked.

"What about your Momma?" I asked as I pulled out of the parking lot in the direction of the harbor. There was a nice park that Rene could play at. The sun was out and it offered a good opportunity for her to get some vitamin D. Rene did not sparkle like her family, but rather exuded a healthy glow.

"Dadda promised to take me for a run tonight. He said he would even let me run on my own! He always makes me ride on his back, which is fine… but a girl gotta stretch her legs, you know?"

"Who are you and what have you done with my one year old?" I asked with a laugh.

Rene pouted. "I may be one year old, but I am way older inside!"

"Duly noted," I said while trying to muffle another guffaw.

We turned into the harbor park and I pulled into a parking spot.

Rene looked worried. "This isn't home, silly." Wait, was that sarcasm in her voice? She better not be a teenager inside already! No no no…

Rene's face made me hesitate. I knew she knew something, but I didn't want her to know that I knew that she knew by asking what she knew.

Rene unbuckled her seat and crawled over to my lap. She knocked her little hands on my forehead. "Hello? Anything in there?"

"Excuse you!" I said. I poked her sides and tickled her.

"No, Sethy!" she screamed over her laughs. She tried to hop back to her seat, but it only gave me access to her feet—her most ticklelish extremity.

I let go of her foot and asked, "So do you want to go play with those kids or I have a ball in the back we can toss around." To an ordinary human, my one-year old niece would look like my four-year-old daughter. Her skin was the perfect combination of vampire pale and russet. She was going to be a real head turner when she got older. Yeah and whoever that person that turns their head towards her is going to have to deal with me and a family that could literally tear him or her to shreds if Rene ever got hurt. We put a new spin on coming home to meet the family.

"Ball?" Rene said incredulously. "What do I look like? A boy?"

Wow, way to instill 20th century gender roles in your niece, ROSE AND ALICE!

"Why can't we go home?" Rene asked suddenly.

"Momma and Dadda have a meeting with a person today, and they didn't want you to be there. I hope you won't be mad at them." I was half-honest. I also didn't want her to be mad at me for her parent's decision to send her away.

"Liar, Uncle Seth." Rene squinted her eyes into beady little things. She put on her angry face. "What's going on, really?"

"Like I said…" I gripped the wheel tightly. I wanted to know what was going on too. Hell, I didn't even know if our Volturi visitor had made his appearance yet. Ugh, this sucked. Whoever this douche bag was, he was probably a high and mighty asshole who absolutely loved to spew his banter about friendship and the rule of vampire law. Make me puke. Maybe it was good I was here and they had to deal with the high and mighty.

On the other hand, what if they needed my help? Alice still can't see me or Jake, or Ness, or Rene for that matter. What if the Volturi have a weapon like that? What if they were under attack, and I wasn't there!?

My heart rate sped up, which didn't go unnoticed by Rene. She put her tiny hand on my wrist and gave a gentle squeeze. "It will be okay, Sethy," she said. "I'm sure the Volturi man is being real nice. Uncle Emmie pummel him into the ground if he wasn't."

My eyes went wide and I shot a glance at Rene. She would say that. "Are you kidding me?" I asked rhetorically. She knew the Volturi thing, but the Emmett comment was over the top. Oh, wow. I hope she was right though, about both things: a nice Volturi visit (if that was possible) or Emmett kicking some major ass.

Still, I should be there. And Rene would be better protected surrounded by all of us. In many ways, she was more vulnerable here. I was but one wolf and picking me off would be the only requisite step from getting at Rene. Rene. Yeah, this decision was for Rene.

I whipped the car into reverse and sped out of the parking lot. As I hopped onto the 101 towards Forks, I knew that my decision was the right one. As I got closer, I knew something was different, or at least, something was changing. I could smell it in the wind. Something was happening. My gut turned inwards on itself and I felt a bad cramp coming on. Was my conscience telling me something? Or my heart? Or was it bad McDonalds?

What the hell, I didn't need this right now.

Something was happening and it only made me fear the future more.

I tried to push my discomfort from my mind (and failed miserably) and focused on getting back to Forks. Whoever this Volturi asshole was, he wasn't going to threaten my family. We had been through too much to have to deal with this type of shit anymore.

The ride back was quick and Rene was silent for the whole trip. I knew she could sense my unease, but even so, she chose not to address it with me. She was empathetic just like her Uncle Jasper. She was everyone in this family bundled into a cute little girl with a bow in her hair to boot.

As I turned up the windy driveway to the Cullen abode, I could smell anger in the air. Actually, it was Jake. He jumped over the hood of my truck and blocked the road with his wolfie self. He growled and his eyes pierced my own. He was royally pissed. Thank God, I wasn't in wolf mode or I would probably be commanded to ram my head into a rock over and over. Yeah, I still wasn't too thrilled about the control thing.

I was going to wait until Jake got out of the way, but Rene flung the door open and ran over to her father. I had an errant thought to stop her, control might not be on Jake's mind right now and I didn't want him to accidentally hurt her. A picture of Emily Uley's face flashed in front of my eyes. The way her scares pierced through her skin. They were even present at her funeral some thirty years ago. Sam never did forgive himself.

A chill ran through my spin. I popped the gears into park and shuffled to Jake and Rene. Rene was trying to calm him down, but I pushed her out of the way and separated the two with my own body. I refused to phase because the more and more I thought about it, the whole Alpha to Beta thing just boiled inside me.

"Back off, Jake," I yelled. "You'll hurt her if you don't calm down."

Jake's eyes were frantic. I knew he was screaming at me.

The commotion wasn't lost on anyone in the family, and Edward and Ness appeared.

Edward put his hand on Jake's shoulder. "Calm down, old friend. Seth is right. This is not good for Rene to see." Edward turned to me. "You should not have brought her back here. It is not safe."

I sighed. "I know, but I got worried. Rene was worried too and she totally knows something is going on. Besides, she is better protected with when she is near everyone, not just me."

Jake let out an exasperated breath and rolled his eyes. Calmly, he walked over to Rene and she hopped on his back. They walked the rest of the way up to the house. He looked like a horse really, but I didn't dare share that thought with him though.

"Yes, not a good idea," Edward cautioned.

"What's going on?" My question was directed to Edward, but Ness's eye caught me. It did not linger and she was off to see her daughter and her husband. Whatever. Edward followed me to my truck and got into the seat where Rene had been.

I drove the rest of the driveway and parked near the house while Edward updated me. There wasn't very much to update unfortunately.

"The Volturi emissary has not arrived. Alice continues to search the future, but it is clouded."

"What do you mean, clouded?" I asked. The early thought of an anti-Alice weapon fell front and center in my mind again.

"Do not worry, Seth. I do not think the Volturi have such a weapon, or we would have been destroyed already. Or at least, attacked." Edward's tone gave me some comfort.

"Clouded, aye?" I asked hoping Edward would give me something more.

He shook his head. "I do not know much more than that. It is hard to process Alice's visions sometimes. They jump around so much, I am surprised she remains sane."

I felt like this was a good time to make a joke, but knew that Alice was definitely in earshot of that. Yep, I kept my lips sealed.

Edward grinned. "Anyways… Just a fair warning Jake and Ness are upset with you."

"Yeah, I figured that. Ness's eyes told me as much. Whatever, they can deal." I don't know why I was being so indignant about the Rene thing. But still, I truly believed she was safer here and there was the other thing too…

"What thing?" Edward asked. Damn mind reader.

"I dunno, I just don't feel well, I guess."

"Seth Clearwater, I have known you for more than half of my existence, and you have never been sick." Dr. Edward put his hand to my forehead. His icy hands made me jump.

"Sorry, old habits," I said in an attempt to diminish the awkwardness. "What's my prognosis, doc?"

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know. Like I said, you have never been sick and it is not like your temperature is going to tell me anything. You are always warmer than the average human."

"Yeah, well… I can't shake this feeling. Like something is about to happen. It can't be good…" I cut myself off as my heart began to pound out of my chest, more than usual that is.

Edward looked concerned, but heard Alice yell to us. It was time. Okay, Seth, pull yourself together! I thought to myself. Finding some semblance of control, I got out of my truck and quickly undressed. I phased easy enough and got a loud yell through my brain.

What the fuck do you think you are doing bringing my daughter here? Jake yelled.

I walked over to where he was sitting on his haunches. He was fuming and I knew that one wrong word and he would be after me.

Please, calm down, Jake, I pleaded. We need to focus on this asshole's visit. Then you can chew me out.

Oh, you can count on it! Jake said.

Alice came out of the house and walked in my direction. The rest of the family filed out behind her with the exception of Esme, Ness, and Rene. Good. Esme was a good fighter and would be a good last defense. Everyone discounted her fighting prowess, but I didn't. Just because she didn't like to fight or violence for that matter, didn't mean she wasn't good at it when the need arose. Ness, the maternal monster that she had become, would let nobody harm her daughter. Nor would anyone in this family, including me. Yeah, Rene was safer, here.

Jake growled, but I knew I was right.

Fuck off, I thought. I about had it with Jake. Before I could tell him off correctly, Alice gasped.

She was having a vision and announced, "He's here."

"Where?" Bella asked. Everyone smelled the air for any scent and took turns looking over one another's shoulders. Nothing.

"Where is he, Alice?" Jasper asked while holding her hand tenderly.

Alice concentrated. "He's here. I can see him."

"I cannot read him," Edward announced.

"Are you sure your visions are not mixed up again?" Jasper asked.

"NO! He's here only I cannot see him. I see us. I see him looking at us. Where is he?" Alice was getting frustrated.

I was too. Come out, come out, wherever you are, you slimy bastard.

"I am right here," someone announced from behind Jake and I.

Like a well-oiled machine the family did a one-eighty and faced our visitor. The men were in front with Bella, our shield, in back supported by Rosalie and Alice on the flanks. Jake and I snaked in between Carlisle and Edward. I am ready to pounce, just give me the word, I thought.

"Easy," Edward instructed.

The vampire before us was tall and dark-skinned, not the russet-skin of my tribe, but it was clear that he saw the sun often in his human life, how ever long ago that was. It was almost olive colored under the cloudy Washington sky. It suited him though. His musculature was dense in the right places, but that was so common in a vampire. His long legs sprung him up to at least my height—in human form that is. His hair was cut close and brown like that of an oak tree in the sunlight. His eyes... They were hideously red and screamed of a recent kill, a feeding, a terminated life.

I growled out of instinct.

"Please," the vampire said. "I come in peace on behalf of my masters, Aro, Caius, and Marcus of the Volturi." The vampire addressed Carlisle exclusively. How dare that vampire ignore me!

The fury within me threatened to escape. Who was this demon? He came in peace? Yeah, right…

Calm yourself, Jake instructed. I was not sure if that was a command or not. I got my answer soon enough though. I felt my heart rate slow and the tension in my body melt away.

I tried to will it back though and not because of the vampire before me, but because of Jake. He did it again. He told me what to do. I am not a robot. I am not to be controlled.

I growled again, only this time it was meant for Jake.

The vampire visitor thought it was directed at him because he addressed himself to me. "I assure you, I mean you no harm, I am here merely as a visitor… If you would…"

Had he started to slur his words? Or did he have a stuttering problem?

I searched his eyes for an answer and I discovered that he was doing the same to me. My gut got heavy again and it turned in on itself. Had Jake punched me in the stomach? He was phased though—he didn't have a fist to really throw at me. I winced a bit at the pain. I felt as if gravity was pulling me down and I lost control of my legs. I slinked down to the ground with a whimper. What was going on?

I felt light headed and unsure of myself. The only rock I could find was in that damn vampire's eyes. How could I trust those eyes? How could they trust me? I wanted to trust those eyes. I wanted his eyes, and that vampire, to trust me. The rock became heavier… sturdier. My body was released from whatever gripped it and I raised myself again, never leaving eye contact with the vampire with the red eyes.

What was going on? I looked around at my family and only Jake had his eyes glued onto me. The others were more concerned about the vampire. My eyes fell back upon his eyes. They were glued to me. They were glossed over in dark obsidian, as if he was crazed for blood. Only, he wasn't looking at me as if I was his target. Wait… I had seen those eyes before… They were not crazed for blood. There was no bloodlust. They were bedroom eyes. An errant thought crossed my mind. I wouldn't mind kissing the lips of the vampire stricken with bedroom eyes. And that is when I knew… something had indeed changed.

…

"Stay back," Carlisle instructed the vampire.

I could not concentrate very well. I was too busy processing what had just happened. I could not put it into words. With a vampire. With a vampire. With a vampire. A male to boot!

I looked to my vampire and it felt strangely nice to think of him as "my" vampire. He must have heeded Carlisle's words because he was still as stone. His eyes continued to pierce my own.

"Dude, what's with the staring contest," I heard Emmett blurt out finally.

Jake let out a breath loudly.

I couldn't speak. One, I was a wolf. Two, I just wasn't ready.

Edward struggled to speak as well. He kept clearing his throat. Clearly, he was trying to process as well.

Then, I heard a tiny little voice from inside the house. I peered up to a second floor window where Rene was waving at me. Ness appeared then and pulled her away from the window. "Come on, Momma," she said exasperated. "Can't you see?"

"See what?!" Ness spat.

"Seth imprinted on the vampire!"

Emmett's ears perked up at Rene's last statement. He glared at me and then a big smile crept on his face. "So… have an eye for Greek boys, don't we?" Emmett started to laugh so loud that I was sure that a window would shatter. And if he weren't my brother, I probably would have bit his face off.

Imprinted. On a vampire. A male. What the hell?

The vampire… my imprint… appeared to be shocked by Emmett's antics and tore his eyes away from my own much to my own dissatisfaction. "Imprint?" he said in a thick and ancient accent. The sound washed over me like the most beautiful symphony I had ever heard. It called to my heart and soul and I felt myself lift off into space. I needed him to speak.

No you don't! a part of me yelled. Two parts of my conscience came unglued from each other and began a fierce battle for supremacy. One side, the anti-vampire side, said that I was a fool to leave him alive. He was a threat. The other side, the imprint, said… no, reminded me that he was my imprint. It was final. It was binding. It was forever.

Forever. Imprinting on an immortal meant that I would live forever. This is something I had not considered previously, and I was shocked to be considering it now. After all, I had just imprinted. Fuck, what should I do?

Get a grip! Jake yelled in my head.

He probably hated my mental tirade against myself.

Whatever, Jake said. Only Seth Clearwater would take the boundaries of the imprint to the next level. Thanks a lot.

I had imprinted. I had found a rock. A place to plant my feet. A home. Finally.