Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you for the wonderful reception you've given this sequel. It was pretty overwhelming really. I'll try and reply to every review that's given and answer any questions you have but if I don't do it immediately, don't hate too much :)

OK this chapter will show a small slice of how Sarelle has changed and lived throughout the years. She's not the little girl we once knew her as.

On a final note, teasers are available if requested.

x

I knelt down beside the man's sleeping form, placing a light kiss on his warm forehead. The feel of his skin on my lips was like a delicious fire seeping through the surface. His vital blood created a slight fluttering under his skin while its scent filled my mind. He evanesced the smell rosewood, but I could easily smell the spicy scent of ginger, the tell tale sign of our night together. It was intoxicating, that fragrance that came with a man's arousal, and it had been the downfall of so many over the years. I could still remember the first human man I ever slept with as a vampire. Then it wasn't about the warmth, or the connection, it was about the way the act intensified the taste of their blood on my tongue. It was a sensual way of hunting that had seemed to occur to me almost spontaneously. I didn't make it a regular occurrence but on those nights when the air seemed heavy and the bars smelt especially delectable, Aslo and I would indulge ourselves for a night.

Now, however, it was all so different. Over the years, as my conscience grew and the vegetarian diet became a stronger and stronger presence in my mind, I sought out the company of human men for something other than their blood. I started to learn, to teach myself to control my thirst, to control the more instinctive urges, and by doing that they lived.

I took a final glance at the man all sprawled out on the sheets. He was young, probably around his twenties, and the way he face was relaxed in sleep made him look almost serene. I briefly checked the skin which was on show for any injuries and smiled when I found none. He would have no reminders for what happened last night, just a few blurry memories.

I sighed and left him to return home. He'd given me what I looked for, the warmth, the comfort, the feeling of being adored. Even if they wouldn't last forever they'd last long enough.

I moved quickly as I ghosted through the empty streets of Colter Bay. It was dawn so the air still had the cool freshness.

My run home didn't take very long. Our house rested on the edge of Jackson Lake, away from the village and its busyness.

I met Tanya at the front door, grinning at the faint bite mark on the inside of her wrist.

"I see little Jamie Welter kept you entertained last night," I said as we walked inside.

Tanya grinned before her eyes indicated for me to show her my own wrists. "I've shown you mine now you show me yours."

I turned my pale skin up for her eyes to see the two faint bite marks, identical on each wrist.

"Twice in one night, I didn't think Ben had it in him." I giggled at Tanya's comment, reminiscing on the short amount of time I'd been able to lie beside Ben without my body temperature waking him. It was nice to feel his warmth against my skin, to hear his heartbeat in his chest and feel its mild tremors reverberate through my own body.

"I may have to change methods; I don't want to end up with permanent scarring," I pondered as my finger ran a light trace around one of the bite marks. They would disappear in a day.

"True, but isn't it better to bite yourself rather than them," Tanya commented, and I nodded as I lounged back against the sofa and she picked up the remote for the music system.

"I guess you could try a pillow, but the idea of all those feathers." Her pretty face scrunched up as she scrolled through the thousands of songs in the collection.

As she selected a classical tune I felt myself relax and drift back to the first time I ever met Tanya Denali.

16th May2042, Jackson.

This immortal life was all about speed. How fast you could make the time pass. How quickly you could act on your senses. How swiftly you could execute your prey. It was one of the highlights of being locked in this body, the speed it could exert in its existence.

My legs had raced towards the mountain lion as the desperation in me increased. It was a desperation fuelled by the need for this blood to quench the thirst, to eliminate the urges in me that wanted something richer—more human. I needed this blood to prove to myself that forcing myself to conform to the vegetarian diet was the right thing. That it was worth losing Aslo over. It had been three years since he left and they had dragged by like time was wading through molasses.

I lifted my face from the matted fur of the lion's neck, licking my lips to catch the last droplets of blood. This feeling was the epitome of bliss, this warmth that radiated and sang in my veins.

My fingers unclenched from the flesh they'd clung onto during the brief struggle, allowing the beast to fall to the ground. Its weight caused a few of the leaves to flutter up into the air, bringing with them a small waft of woodsy scent and something supernatural.

I sprang into a crouch immediately as the scent grew stronger in my mind, powering through the blood-drunk haze.

It was vampire, that much was certain, but it was no vampire I knew.

"You're a very neat eater." A female voice came from the forest, just a disembodied voice until the vampire revealed herself from behind a tree.

She was lovely, that much was a given, but her strawberry blonde hair was a shade that wasn't often seen in the Americas.

"For the best really. It would be such a crime to ruin those jeans." She spoke softly as she eyed my designer garments.

"Are they Ferrera?" she asked as I watched her. I had met a few vampires in my time, and a few were what I considered to be friends but there had been many that hadn't been. In those circumstances either Aslo and I jumped through my own self-preservation, or we left them as a pile of ash. Just a few chances for my fighting skills to be tested and honed. They were, according to Aslo, one of the most important skills to have.

"They're D&G, almost vintage." I returned as I straightened out of my crouch. She wasn't showing any defensive body language, merely curiosity.

"There're not many who hunt as you do." She returned as she got a little closer, her golden eyes seeming to come to my attention only now.

"You mean neatly?" I said with a sarcastic smile. She chuckled at my words while her eyes looked down at the lion hungrily.

"You have a sense of humour, another thing not many of our kind possess."

"Yes, death seems to have robbed many of the ability to laugh."

"But clearly not you." She grinned before tossing back her curls and coming forward to offer her hand. "I'm Tanya, by the way. I live at Jackson Lake."

"Pleasure. My name's Sarelle, and at present I live in these very woods." I tried to sound cheery but I missed having somewhere to call home. When Aslo and I were together we would buy a house, live within a community or out in the forest and that place would be the home we could come back to. Ever since he left I hadn't had a place to truly lay down roots, it never seemed right.

"How inconvenient. Well , may I suggest you stay with us for a short while. For the sake of those jeans if not anything else."

"I can't stay long, I have..."

"Somewhere to be? Don't be noble for my sake, Sarelle. Now come on." Tanya cocked her head in the northern direction, her body poised to start the sprint.

"You don't often give up, do you?"

"Not ever." She grinned, and I couldn't help but follow her lead. I could go with her. I could spend a couple of days at Jackson Lake, with others, in a house—a home. After all it would just be a couple of days.

Except those couple of days soon stretched out to years. I fell in love with it all over again, the feeling of family and sense of home. Tanya and her sisters welcomed me with open arms, their husbands were a little more reserved. In fact only one held any reservation about my staying with them. Garrett had embraced me just as Kate had, but Eleazar held more wariness over my presence. Of course that feeling was mutual.

I recognised him almost instantly. My human memory of his eyes boring into my mind, unlocking my powers secrets and spilling them to his darling master. He was just one of the many who I could blame for my situation, if I chose to. But I didn't. I had come to this life by my own footing but that still didn't stop my body from tensing when I saw him.

"Well aren't you just wicked! I can see you'll fit in just perfectly here." Kate catcalled as Tanya and Carmen giggled at my story—one of the many exploits in which a human man had fallen head over heels for my pretty exterior.

"Who's wicked?" A male voice called as the door shut downstairs. As the wood hit the jam it sent two scents to my attention, signalling the presence of two new vampires. They must have been the husbands, Tanya had mentioned Kate and Carmen were bonded.

A man flitted into the room and bundled Kate into his arms as he growled into her neck and she laughed in his arms.

"Tanya brought home a little wood nymph." Kate gasped, smiling as the man moved his mouth from her neck and tilted his head to see me fully.

"Well, I don't know about a wood nymph, Katie, that there looks very much vampire to me." He joked before stepping around her and offering me his large hand.

"The name's Garrett. What's yours, Tinkerbelle?" His eyes lit up, all golden and enthusiastic matching his wild looking hair.

I smiled as I returned his handshake, but it soon faded as I registered the man still standing in the doorway. His dark hair was just as it once was and his stance still brought images of a Spanish matador, but no longer did he wear the sinister cloak of the Volturi.

"Sarelle. I'm Sarelle," I said my voice like a whisper as I tore my eyes from the Volturi soldier.

What was he doing here? Was this a trap?

I felt my body tense as I snapped my eyes back to Garrett with shock. He was so much bigger than me, he could hold me if he had to. Did Tanya bring me here at the soldier's orders? Had they just been keeping me entertained until his return?

"You alright there, Sarelle?" Garrett asked with a strained voice.

The soldier gave an infinitesimal shake of his head, and I felt my confusion temporarily overtake my fear.

"Uh...Sure."

"You sure?'Cause you're about to turn my fingers to pulp." I swiftly released Garrett's hand with an apology and ran my hand through my hair.

"Sorry, I just got spooked. I haven't been around many...people in a while," I stumbled through my explanation, my eyes flickering to the soldier as I did so.

"Ah, of course. How rude of me. This is my husband, Eleazar," Carmen crooned as she held her hand out to the soldier. He took it immediately and the way his eyes warmed and reassured helped to postpone my plans to bolt. Something was different about him, as if by taking off the cloak he had removed the part of him that the Volturi owned.

"Eleazar." I nodded as I greeted him, making sure to keep a wary eye on his position next to Carmen.

"Welcome to our home, Sarelle. I hope you will be happy here, for however long you stay."

His face turned into his wife's hair as I heard him whisper words in Spanish. A language I now wished I'd learnt in my years of living.

"OK, introductions done, who's in favour of a little trip to town?" Tanya's eyes twinkled as she made her proposition while the others looked on with content smiles that showed they had no intention of leaving each others side for at least twenty four hours.

"You'll come, won't you, Sarelle. You could think of it as an initiation."

"Tanya, I really haven't been around humans very often recently. It's been less than twenty years since I...indulged."

"It's like riding a bike, and trust me twenty years is more than enough time. Now let's get you a dress." She took my hand and with that we left the couples to their privacy.

It wasn't until the next day when we returned that I saw any of the others, and even then it was only Eleazar who crossed my path as I stood by the living room window, watching the sun rise.

His scent of oranges and cinnamon hint my nose, causing me to flinch and tense instantly.

"Be calm, Sarelle. I mean you no harm." He kept his distance as he stood at the base of the stairs on the opposite end of the room.

I stood stock-still staring at him until he spoke again. "May we talk?"

"Where are the others?" I asked as I searched the house. No voices, no sounds, had I really missed the whole house emptying by merely standing here daydreaming?

"I asked for a moment of privacy with you, but do not fret, they are merely hunting nearby."

"What have you said to them? Do they know what you are? Was this some plan of yours?" I panicked, crouching slightly by the window as he stood calmly opposite.

"They know nothing of your past, something I learnt you neglected to tell them. However they know all of mine, even my time within the Volturi guard. I have no secrets here, Sarelle." His voice was smooth as he watched me intently.

"Why am I here?"

"You're here on your own accord. You know that. This isn't a trap. As I said I am no longer a member of the Volturi, you have no reason to fear me. Even given our past meetings."

"You don't just leave the Volturi."I spat as a crackle of electricity flashed through my veins.

"No, often you do not and yet here we both are."

"What do you want?"I cocked my head as my voice came out in a hiss. Entrapment was not something I forgave easily.

"I want to ensure this family will not be harmed by your presence."

"By my presence? How could I possibly hurt you? I'm one among many."I almost laughed at his reasoning. I could fight well but that was only in a fair fight, in a situation such as this the only option I would have would be jumping. Even then it wasn't so much a voluntary decision, more a result of being overwhelmed.

"Not you, yourself. Your presence. You ran from the Volturi and an act like that does not go unnoticed. Aro was...enraged when he discovered your room empty and something such as that will not slip his mind."

"As if I had any control over what happened." I slowly straightened out of my tensed position as I kept my eyes trained on him. He may have left the Volturi but I still didn't know him well enough to trust him. There was only one person I truly trusted and he was gone, if only for now.

"I understand, but surely you must realise that excuses rarely work with Aro. If they were to find you here, it could be trouble for us all...and after Irina we could not survive again." I pushed his grief to one side in my mind along with the name Irina. It clearly held some significance but as of now it meant nothing to me.

"My debt is settled with the Volturi, there will be no trouble. I assure you."I smirked as I turned back to the window, eyeing his reflection in the pane as his head cocked.

"I don't think I follow you."

"How do you think I became how I am?"I murmured as a beam of sunlight pierced through the thick of the forest.

"They changed you?" he answered with shock.

"Aro, himself."

"I never heard news..."

"No, I don't expect you would have. They most likely think I'm dead. So you see we won't have a problem, as long as I can trust you to keep my existence a secret. I have survived one hundred and fifty years without them noticing me. I see no reason for that to change now."I turned to look him dead in the eyes. My face was determined, that much I was sure of, and my voice held strength but that had always been the case when I discussed such grave secrets—even when I was human. Self preservation was key.

"It's a high risk to take, Sarelle. Surely you must understand that. What if you were found, what of Carmen? I couldn't put her in that kind of danger."

"How will I be found? My mind cannot be entered as I'm sure you know. The Volturi already assume I'm dead. And if the worst came, I would most likely jump. I'm not reckless enough to even come close to discovery."

"I always knew you were more than you appeared to be on the surface." Eleazar smiled conspiratorially, his golden eyes glinting with esteem.

"So we have a deal, secrets stay kept? If the others ask I was changed by a stranger on the street nothing more complex than that."

Eleazar nodded coming forward to offer his hand which I met with warmth.

"You've made a wonderful vampire, Sarelle. But then I always knew you would." He smiled slightly as his other hand covered my own.

"And I always knew you weren't like the others," I said as I returned his smile. We parted but as Eleazar went to exit the house I stopped him with the question that had been bubbling in my mind since the beginning of our conversation.

"Why did you leave the Volturi?"

"For love, what else is worth risking your life for." And with that he left.

My eyes snapped open when I heard Tanya's phone sound out over the soft piano tones. She promptly snapped it open and answered with her usual flirtatious tone before wandering off to somewhere in the house to continue the conversation.

As she left the room the back door opened and I smiled at the entrance of Kate and Garrett.

"I bought you that shirt, you could have been a little more careful with it," Kate grumbled.

"Some of us can't just electrocute our prey, honey."

"Even if I didn't use my power, I still wouldn't make as much of a mess as you."

"You know you like it really." Garrett smirked as he wound his big arms around Kate's waist.

"I'm still not happy about the shirt." She pouted before she gave him a small zap.

I'd always wondered what it felt like to the others when she did that. She'd tried it on me when Eleazar first explained my gift to them, but I felt nothing but a small surge. It was like the tingle I got before jumping but as if it almost powered me up.

"I'll let you buy me a new one, plus you can get me that god awful jacket you love so much," Garrett said with a cheeky look on his face before he gave her a loud kiss on the lips.

"So another night of mischief, Tink?" Garrett grinned down at me as he loomed over the sofa.

"Oh plenty, but at least I managed to come home with all my clothes intact." I smirked as I shifted my feet for Kate to sit at the bottom of the sofa.

"So who is Tanya on the phone to?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, I thought it might have been someone from the History Society but it's still quite early."

"It wasn't the History Society," Tanya announced as she descended the stairs. "We're going to have some friends visiting," Tanya beamed at Kate and I noticed the smile she returned.

"When are they getting here?" Kate asked after Tanya and her exchanged winks.

"About a week, apparently they have a few things to sort out first."

"That's great! Honestly, Sarelle, we can't wait for you to meet them. How long has it been...six, seven years since we all saw each other?" Kate gushed as she looked at me with bright eyes.

I smiled at their excitement but inside I felt nerves start to churn. New vampires always brought uncertainty.

Any guesses who it might be? Were the Denalis written OK? What do you think of Sarelle's lifestyle?

Thanks for reading. x