Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, never have and never will. Sorry if that disappoints anyone.

Author's Note: Hello all! I'm actually updating now, so I apologize for last chapter's crap ending and this chapter is how I'll make it up to you.

Chapter 9: And So It Begins

I sat cross-legged on the table, listening to Carlisle while keeping a close eye on Hunter. He'd been taking everything so far very well. Seriously, learning that my family was a pack of vampires with the altogether average age of 900 or so didn't faze my friend in the slightest. Learning I was a 50/50 split wasn't at all interesting to Hunter. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that there was a reason Hunter became one of my best friends.

"Our coven has made a point of living among humans, Hunter," I picked up for my grandfather. The words sounded foreign to my tongue, eloquent and experienced. "In order to keep this up, we've had to create a story; in fact, the one I told you when we first met. Now that you're here, we've had to craft another bit to tack onto the end,"

"And what's my place in this family?" Hunter asked quickly. I smiled easily and held out my hands. Slowly, he placed his palms on mine and I gave the fingers a squeeze.

"You're going to be my brother," I grinned, passing images of false memories through my skin and into his; pictures of us as kids, building a fantastic tree house, playing on swings, yelling at each other in our preteen years, even a flash of a made-up mum and dad for stories sake. "You, Hunter Mathaby-Cullen, are my older brother… only by one year, but older still,"

I released his fingers and leaned back, waiting for an answer. He seemed alright for a minute, adjusting to the idea of looking after me. His teeth ground together, his jaw muscles defining after a few moments. Slowly, I slid away and walked to Carlisle's side, taking measured breaths to keep my pulse down; just as Carlisle had ordered me to. Carlisle didn't make a move towards Hunter, but leaned forward.

"You should probably learn to hunt, seeing as you haven't 'eaten' in nearly four days," Carlisle motioned for Hunter to follow him, placing a hand on his shoulder as they left the room. "We'll take everyone along, so we can introduce you," Hunter looked back at me, leaning against the armchair.

"Are you coming, Ren?" He asked, eyes still that creep and unusual blue. I shook my head in reply.

"Not hungry today; d'you mind if I skip this outing?" I asked. Carlisle agreed and led Hunter out of the room. My brother shot me one last glance, a faint smile playing on his lips. I gave a small wave.

Carlisle had already deduced in the two hours since I'd gotten him that Hunter was a hybrid. Not a "normal" hybrid, like me (if there is such a thing), but even more hybridized. Something of an accident, but more like a genetic mutation. See, the state of Hunter's blood at the moment we decided to transform him was nearly boiling, so separated from what human blood normally was. Instead of the blood cells latching onto the venom, the dead cells reconverted into mutated blood cells while the undamaged rest latched to the venom.

I know it sounds a little strange, but Carlisle thinks it's perfectly probable. I guess it should be then…


When I was sure everyone had left, I ran for the shower and spent a good 20 minutes under steaming hot water. Then I changed into some form of pajamas; a black tank and grey sweatpants with "Princeton" written down the side of one leg (nicked them from mum). Even though it was snowing outside, I let my hair air-dry. Grabbing my current book (Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie) and plugged my iPod into the TV. It was set to shuffle so my insane mix of indies, oldies, classics, and sparing-few modern songs echoed around the house. Hunting trips usually lasted for 3 hours because my family chose to go so far out of the way, but since they had a newbie on their hands I could expect almost 5 hours.

Somewhere between Letter From an Occupant and Miriam, I heard something move outside and the scent got stronger. Nothing close to the wet dog smell I was used to. It was vampire, but none of my family's scents. Whereas Alice or mum smelled flowery and citrus-y, the scent was full of cinnamon and maybe even pepper. I didn't pay attention to it until the doorbell rang. We usually never got visitors, especially at night. Tabbing my page, I padded down to the front door.

"Can I help you?" I asked to a boy my age. The spiced scent wafted off of him, cluing me in to who had been trailing me. No doubt everyone else had noticed, but I was wondering why they never mentioned it. Although, I was more focused on how handsome he was; dark brown hair, deep maroon eyes, and the customary pale skin. Dressed in black trousers and a button up the colour of Merlot, rolled to the elbows, I caught the glint of something golden around his neck. I was mesmerized and he knew, guessing from the smirk turning up the corners of his mouth.

"It's been quite a long time, Renesme," he said, a light, warm accent in his voice. I already knew the attributes of vampires that were meant to capture the attention of prey, but even I fell for them. It was just too easy and I couldn't help myself. I didn't even question why he knew my name.

"Who are you?" I asked softly, opening the door wider and inviting him inside. He stepped over the threshold, closing the door and pressing my back against it. My heart rate jumped to at least a million miles an hour and his touch did nothing to help that. My pulse was almost painful and the sound seemed to make him smile.

"Come now, love," he whispered, pressing his lips to my neck. My legs nearly gave out, but he placed a hand on my waist to support me. "Even if you were only a baby at the time, you must remember me. It would be very hard not to," I wracked my memory for any remote clue. I remembered nearly every moment of my life, which was a little scary. Nearly nothing came up, excepts for the Volturi's nice visit. But J didn't see him as part of the Volturi.

"Really, I don't, sorry," I gasped, gripping his shoulder. The boy moved away, looking me straight in the eye. A small smile toyed at his lips and he ran a hand through my hair, tilting my face closer.

"That's a pity, love," his voice was smooth and sultry. The kind that made women swoon in dime-store romances. "One usually makes a point to remember my coven," Suddenly, fatigue overcame me, crashing onto me and crumpling my limbs under the weight. The boy lifted me effortlessly and began to walk back up the steps. My iPod had shifted over to my regular playlist; the very end of Seven Devils by Florence + the Machine was humming in my ears and it hit me. Who he was, it was so clear as he cradled my limp form against his chest.

Alec Volturi; and suddenly, he didn't seem so handsome anymore.

[ANOTHER POV SWITCH TO ALEC]

I placed the girl down on the couch. Classical strings music, the opera Carmen actually, had begun echoing from the stereos. I took the seat across from her and slowly released her from the fog's grasp. Renesme had grown up, but her loose shirt and baggy sweat pants didn't display it. Underneath the swaths of fabric was a curvaceous, warm body that I was itching to touch. I was a man who enjoyed company of beautiful women, which Renesme was.

The girl was more confused than I thought; her dazed, delayed shock told me that much. Her hair was tossed about in a way that mounted her sex appeal. Even the glassy, unaware look in her deep brown eyes added to the whole effect.

"Alright, what did you do with me?" She hissed, glaring daggers at me. "Out with it, Volturi!" I stared at her, a smirk forming across my lips. I crossed my legs and watched as discomfort seeped into her blazingly angry features.

"I'm glad to see you've remembered, Cullen. But, between you and me, I prefer Alec and you are a very easy target," She stood and marched over to me, crossing her arms.

"An easy target, am I?" She mused, looking pretty sure of herself, but the unease was beginning to creep through the haughty angles of her body. "I would expect you to know the difference between being caught off guard and being an easy shot," I laughed shortly.

"I can, Cullen. But let's give it another test, shall we?" I said, pulling her on my lap. Burrowing a hand in Renesme's curls, I began to work on her neck like before, almost tasting her blood in her skin. Renesme tensed, her breathing at a dead halt, and then she began to loosen up as I moved away from her. "See, you approached me, I-how you said- 'caught you off guard', and you are reacting..." Inhaling sharply, she pushed away from me and stared, disgusted. I couldn't help smiling even a bit.

Her chest heaved as time froze. She was now sprawled on the cushions next to me. I leaned away and made myself comfortable. I wasn't leaving until I spoke with Carlisle, but this visit was the apex of 2 month's worth of observation. In those months, I'd seen Renesme countless times, but only imagined having it this close. Tempting didn't cover it.

"Why are you here, Alec?" she stammered after 6 long minutes if silence.

"You've no doubt deduced that it isn't for your form, though it does have certain appeal," I chuckled as the disgust in her face increased. She looked like she couldn't figure out why. "No, I've come to speak with your grandfather about you. Trust me, none of the guard really wanted to venture over and check up on you every 3 years or so, but someone had to do it," my deliberately casual tone made her eyes widen.

"You've been watching me... for 17 years..." Renesme was totally shocked. Her mouth opened and closed many times before she finally settled on chewing on her lip.

"I take it no one told you," I grinned. This was almost too perfect. She thought she was independent and could handle the world on her own. Renesme was clueless, which really made my plan that much easier. "No wonder you're so surprised. Your dear parents struck a deal with Aro and the others when you were only weeks old. Basically, the Volturi was allowed to check up on you every once in a while to make sure you weren't a threat to our world. If it turned out you were, we have the right to eliminate you. Understand, princess?"

Like in a trance, Renesme nodded. Her balance seemed off and her breathing changed again; ragged and shallower than before. I let her grapple with the news for a few more minutes. Soon, she found her voice. "So, you saw... everything?"

I had exceptional luck today.

"Well, let me put it like this," I drawled, eyes grazing over her again. "I could smell the smoke a mile away, darling," Renesme let out a terrified sound.

"Please, don't hurt him," Her voice was cracking open. "He's completely safe and we're training him and… I'll do anything,"

"That's a bold move, my dear," I smirked, sliding closer to you. "If I was you, I would put anything on the line," To make my point clearer, I let my eyes trail her over her again. Another half-snarl escaped her lips. I grinned again, silently mocking her. "But, if you insist, I'll strike you a deal Renesme. You let me do what I want with you and I'll keep your newest member safe," I let he mull it over for a second.

"I give you free reign over everything?" she asked hesitantly. I nodded and she chewed her lips some more. "Can we keep this between us?"

"Absolutely," I reached out my hand and earned eye contact from the girl. "Do we have a deal, Renesme?" Exhaling sharply, she sat up and grasped my hand firmly.

"We have an agreement," And with that, she sealed her fate.

[RENESME]

I was going to murder Alec, once I got the chance that is. He'd just left with my grandfather for the study. The rest of my family sulked around the living room and kitchen. Hunter messed around with Jasper's acoustic guitar as I leaned up against the wall (we were sitting on the floor). Alec had immediately trained his eyes on Hunter once my family returned two hours after he arrived. While we were sitting around, Alec had insisted that he wanted to attend school with me and eventually Hunter, so as to inspect us closer. Of course, Esme being a gracious host offered the manipulative little weasel the room across from mine and to the right of Hunter's, which he happily accepted.

There was no getting rid of Alec. That much was set in stone.

Author's Note: Just a quick message here. I felt bad for the last chapter, so here's more info on Hunter and the grand entrance of Alec. I hope you weren't cheated out of any excitement. I hope to hear from you all soon and updates will be coming!

Carie Lea