Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or Twilight. Life is unfair like that.

Spoilers for all Twilight books!

Notes: Thank you so much for the reviews! You guys rock! And those who favorited thank you!

Thanks to lily moonlight for help and reading. Also thanks to Blue Shadowdancer for help and reading.

Dawn's Early Light

Chapter 4

Wind swept through the open window. They didn't notice though. They stood in anticipation of what they knew would come. There wasn't a movement among them. Not a breath. Alice couldn't help but think of what Carlisle told her. Take Edward and Jasper with you. If Edward comes, then Bella will come. Let her come. Heaven forbid that you need her in this. She waited on baited breath (not that she even needed to breathe) for them to come. They all waited on baited breath. Bella bit her bottom lip with the thrill of the anticipation. Edward stayed perfectly still. He listened to the thoughts of the others around him, but everyone was on the same page. The door was opened silently.

"Cullens," a human would have scarcely heard it, but to them, the Cullens, they could hear it clear as day. What, no, who they had been dreading had finally caught up with them. The Volturi were considered the 'vampire royalty.' They were the oldest known vampires, aging to be at least three thousand years old each. It was Marcus who came to meet them. And a new face with him. Young and no scars. His eyes were dark crimson. He must have been turned recently. The new vampire must have had a great amount of self control. But maybe that's just the way his eyes were. Monochrome red. Just like the blood he drank. The human blood he drank. He had coal black hair and a fair complexion. "Twice now." The Cullens looked at each other. No time for hello.

"We had to," Alice rebutted instantaneously. The others were glad that she stepped up to be a spokesperson.

"You had to?"

"He's being hunted," she explained. "By Sapphira Tang."

"I am quite aware of that," Marcus argued. The Cullens knew there would be repercussions. Serious repercussions.

"Look, if they are killed, there will be a witch hunt for the killer. Think about it. New York detectives killed in an abnormal way. Marcus, they had to be told. We need to protect them," she was adamant. Marcus didn't fail to see her logic.

"That's not the point. This is the second time you've told a human," his eyes lingered on Bella who didn't break the shield she had formed against him.

"They won't tell. They don't even believe us," Alice was thinking on her feet.

"You broke the rules twice. You can't just going around telling anyone. You know what will have to happen to you and to them," Marcus glanced at his companion, and fire erupted in the room. The Cullens stayed protected by an invisible barrier. The young companion ignited more flames that hovered above the floor boards. Still nothing broke Bella's shield. "That's a neat trick." Another signal and the fire evaporated, leaving without a trace. "You will have repercussions. And the detectives will be turned."

"Won't that also add suspicion?" Bella asked.

"Shush," Marcus ordered. She fell silent, concentrating on the shield. "They'll be moved, of course. Excuses will be made. This is on you." He and his companion left the Cullens. Silence engulfed the four vampires.

"What do we do?" Bella was unsure. She was the newest vampire in the Cullen cove.

"Protect them," Jasper answered for his wife.

…………………………………………………………….

Mac went through his morning routine as if he was unfazed by what the Cullens told him. He saw some truth in it, but honestly it sounded like many stories he'd heard coming from people in this city. He sighed and looked around at his surroundings as he jogged past. This city. In a way, it was his city. He kept it safe. Well, he tried. He spent every waking minute of his life protecting it. Day in and day out, he was in the lab doing his duty. Serving the public. Defending the badge against those who abused its power.

……………………………………………………………..

A figure watched him from above. The same figure he had seen the morning before. The same figure who had killed that woman. That poor woman. The vampire scoffed at the detective's compassion and guilt. She moved from building to building watching her prey, not knowing that she, herself, was being watched.

………………………………………………………………

Stella got up as she normally did. Her routine blended with her dreams. She had been through it so many times; she might as well have been asleep. Her dreams had involved vampires. Fair skinned vampires hunting animals. Then it had changed. They were hunting people. Then a final change happened, and she found herself and Mac being hunted as they went through everyday life. She shook it off. It was just a dream. And it was just because of the Cullens. Vampires didn't exist. But she knew that Mac was still deciding on that. She knew that he would stick to the science in the end. Whatever the case, Mac stuck to the science because science answered everything. She grabbed her car keys as she headed to breakfast and then to the lab.

…………………………………………………………….

He started on his way back. He would clean himself up and get to the lab early for shift again. He was only a couple of blocks from his apartment. His eyes wandered from the pavement to the alleyways. Memories of the day before flooded his eye sight. He blinked them away. Now wasn't the time to think about that. He focused back on the concrete and its impurities. The cracks and indentions. Leaf prints added for effect. He once again ignored the hard, grey ground as he thought he heard someone behind him. Stopping abruptly, Mac turned to his left and looked into the alley that encompassed the area. No one. He ventured in, if only a little. Ignoring the part of him telling him to keep going, he looked around; he was certain he heard something. Darkness kept to the shadows that dawn's early light hadn't revealed. Boxes of scraps littered the ground. A movement in the corner of his eye. He turned. No one again. Then a sound like a cat landing on the ground reached his ears. He turned around and came face to face with the vampire who had killed the victim.

……………………………………………………….

Jasper took off after Sapphira Tang. He saw her disappear from the top of the building so he jumped after her. Landing as softly as a cat, he saw that she had cornered Mac. The detective was backing up slowly. Mac was cornered.

………………………………………………………

Stella sat thinking. Thinking about everything Mac had told her he had seen. Thinking about what the Cullens said. Thinking about the connections. Her cup of coffee now reduced to a few drops. She wanted to talk to Mac about this because there was a connection that she couldn't shake. Something was off. Dialing the numbers from memory, Stella called him.

……………………………………………………..

His phone rang, and his hand immediately went down to silence it. One meter before he was at the wall. There wasn't anywhere to go. He felt a similar pain breach him. Resisting it, he took a final step back before collapsing again. A scrap of metal scraped against his shirt, tearing it and tearing his skin. A single drop of blood was all that was needed to tip the scales in Sapphira's favor. He couldn't stop that single drop. He couldn't do anything until he regained consciousness.

……………………………………………………

After getting to his voicemail, Stella hung up. She would see him at shift. Looking at her watch, she knew that she would run late if she lingered. Traffic was a killer from the diner to the lab. She paid quickly, not hearing the same 'have a good day' as the waitress told every customer.

………………………………………………………..

Two thirsty vampires. One drop of blood and now two thirsty vampires. All Mac knew of was the cold blackness he was experiencing. The branch between consciousness and death. He was hovering in the middle. No control over anything. He couldn't see that Jasper and Sapphira were getting closer. Jasper, once smelling human blood, fell into the pattern he knew all too well. Forgetting his vegetarian ways, he and Sapphira were on one page now.

A/N: Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think... good or bad!