Hello everybody! I apologize for the crazy delay. I feel so bad especially because so many of my readers loved my quick updates. I just started med school last September and things have been really hectic. I will do my best to keep updating often :D

DECEPTION AND DESOLATION:

"Alrecht 'en, laddies! Operation Destroy Redhead is a go!" Emmett barked, in a rather poor impersonation of a Scottish drill sergeant.

Eve looked up from the map she was peering at. "Ugh, awful accent," she muttered. But her comment was drowned out by Rosalie's annoyed retort.

"Emmett, for the last time! We don't need a goddamn mission name."

"Language!" Esme's voice instantly rang out. Rosalie just rolled her eyes. Edward had to agree with her. Esme took her 'Mom' role way too seriously sometimes, considering her 'children' were over a century old.

Jasper furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully. "Isn't 'Mission Destroy Redhead' a bit too obvious? It kind of defeats the purpose of having a codename."

Emmett frowned. "Spoilsport," he said sullenly. "Let's see you come up with a better name."

Jasper opened his mouth to make another quip but Carlisle cut him off. "Let's go over the plan, shall we?"

Edward shifted uncomfortably. Exactly ten days after Eve and Adrian's arrival, the topic of hunting down Victoria had come up. Edward had been reluctant to get the twins involved but Adrian was quick to remind him that killing Victoria was the reason they had sought them out in the first place. It had taken them another three days to come up with their battle plan.

Carlisle continued to speak. "As you know, Edward briefly saw Riley's thoughts before he died. As of then, Victoria was in Scotland."

Alice took over. "I've been trying to find her in my visions but for some reason, the images I'm getting are.." she struggled for the right word, "..murky. Even so, I managed to catch a glimpse of a signboard. She's not far from Aberdeen."

Carlisle nodded. "Right. We have to be very careful with our approach. We know how good Victoria is at escaping. If she catches so much as a whiff of our presence, we'll lose her."

"We'll have to sneak up on her," Jasper said.

Carlisle nodded. "Eve, Adrian and Edward will take the lead. The rest of us will stay at a safe enough distance that she won't detect us and make a perimeter in case she manages to escape."

"Which she won't," Adrian spoke for the first time all morning. His stormy expression and clenched fists showed just how furious he was.

He looks just like Edward when he's angry, Esme's bemused thought caught him off guard.

In complete contrast to him, Eve's face held no expression and she twirled a pen between her fingers. She looked almost bored. But the coldness in her eyes (and a little peek into Jasper's mind) told him that she was just as angry as her brother. They're so alike yet completely different, he thought to himself. Like fire and ice.

Their eyes met and Eve's expression softened the tiniest bit. The hostility was still there but both of them were warming up to him. For the first time in a long time, he felt hope. Perhaps one day they would accept him into their lives. He also desperately longed to see Bella. Maybe one day they could be a family. The thought put a smile in his face.

His was snapped out of his thoughts as Rosalie spoke. "What if she's not alone? You said she likes to surround herself with newborns."

"She's on precarious terms with the Volturi. She wouldn't risk attracting their attention with newborn," there was no doubt in Eve's voice.

"Alright then," Carlisle's said, grimly. "We leave tonight."


Edward bit back a frustrated growl. He was around 17 miles from Aberdeen and there was still no sign of Victoria although her faintly lingering scent continued to taunt him. As much as he wanted to do something, he knew he had to stick to the plan. The plan being, stumble around ignorantly and let Victoria think she found him instead of the other way around. As far as she knew, he was still heartbroken and suicidal. No doubt she would gloat for a while before she decided to kill him. Plenty of time for backup to arrive. Although he would have preferred to keep Eve and Adrian out of this, he knew he had no right make decisions for them. He had learnt his lesson after what happened to Bella.

Edward stilled abruptly as a strong wave of her scent hit him. He turned and there she was, in the shadows. And she had company.

"Victoria." He didn't entirely fake his surprise. The plan had actually worked.

"Well, well," the redhead sneered. "Looked what the cat dragged in. Carlos, Logan, grab him," she ordered. Her lackeys immediately stalked forward and seized him.

"I see you've found someone to do your dirty work for you," he said in a mocking tone. The jibe wiped the smirk off her face.

"Cocky as ever. You think you're so powerful because you can read minds?" she snarled. Her chaotic thoughts swirled around and muddled his own. But underneath all the rage, she was hiding something. He struggled, trying to get a grip on her turbulent thought process. He would have failed to note the newcomer's arrival if it weren't for Carlos and Logan's wary thoughts.

"That's him, then? The one who killed your mate?" the newcomer drawled. Victoria's eyes tightened at the mention of James but she managed a sweet smile.

"That's hardly relevant, Nestor."

This earned a laugh. "No? And yet here you are, going through all this trouble to avenge him." The newcomer sauntered forward and Edward got a good look at him. He was rather scrawny with light brown hair and a vampire's standard pale skin. But Edward did a double-take at the sight of his eyes. They were a pale blue.

Nestor rolled his eyes at Edward's baffled expression. "Before you ask, I'm a hybrid. Half-human, half-vampire. Now please stop staring. It's starting to get creepy."

This snapped Edward out of his daze and he managed a scowl. But his mind was still reeling. A month ago, he had never even suspected that such a species could even exist. Now he knew three of them. It was bizarre. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he noted that this hybrid's scent was a bit different than the twins' scent. Less human, somehow.

It was with a start that he realized that he couldn't read the hybrid's mind. His apprehension must have shown because Nestor smirked.

"You're not the only one with abilities."

Before Edward could process the words, Carlos and Logan had released him and Nestor's hand was on his shoulder. Barely a second later, his knees gave away and he fell to the ground. His head spun and his skin felt hot. His breath came out in gasps.

"What is happening to me?" he groaned.

Victoria cackled. "Oh, he's just draining all your energy. Reducing you to a human's level. That means no vampire strength or speed or annoying mind-reading power."

He tried to break free from Nestor's grasp but as Victoria promised, he was far too weak. Victoria snapped her fingers at her lackeys. "Let's go."

He wasn't sure how long they dragged him along. He couldn't muster the strength to gather his incoherent thoughts. They finally reached a musty old building. Lifting his head with great effort, he managed to read the board. Glen O'Dee Hospital. An rather well-known abandoned sanatorium, he vaguely recalled. Once inside, they unceremoniously dumped him on the floor. He stifled a grunt of pain.

"Isn't this lovely?" Victoria clapped her hands delightedly. She knelt directly in front of him and tilted his chin up roughly. "I am going to enjoy killing you, you bastard."

"Just like I killed James?" he couldn't resist taunting. Hatred flickered in her eyes. He was sure she would tear his head off then and there, but Logan interrupted her.

"There's someone else with him. One, maybe two more. I caught a scent at the edge of the woods." He was blonde and American with the twitching restlessness of a newborn vampire. But all Edward registered were the words, which sent his mind into a frenzy.

"Must be that wretched family of his. No matter. They'll follow his scent here." She stood up, brushing the dust from her knees. "And Nestor will take care of them too."

Nestor laughed derisively. "I don't take orders from vampires."

Victoria's eye twitched and hope bubbled in his chest. But it promptly fizzled out at the next words he heard. "But a deal is a deal. I will comply with your.. request. The last words were said with a sardonic glance at Edward. He pointlessly struggled against Carlos' grip. Some part of his hazy mind catalogued Nestor's mention of a deal to mull over at a later time.

Owing to the loss of his vampire senses, he didn't detect the twins' presence until they literally arrived at the doorstep. A sense of dread took over. Their powerful abilities would do them no good once Nestor did his meddling. It's over, he thought.

How wrong he was.

They entered calmly, Eve studying the surroundings with an air of distaste. She did not look once in his direction. Even Adrian barely spared him a glance before looking away. Their posture was stiff and body language cautious.

Nestor's face lost some of its arrogance. "Adrian Swan, what a happy surprise! And you brought your gorgeous sister along too. Hello, Eve."

Adrian didn't sound too happy with the greeting. But before either could say anything, Victoria spoke in her shrill, girly voice. "So, the kids have come to rescue their daddy. How touching. It's a shame I missed the family reunion." Her cat-like eyes narrowed.

Eve held up her hand. "May I remind you that Nestor's gift-" she paused to glare at him, "-doesn't work on us. So, before you start making all sorts of death threats, let me tell you why we're here. You see, you left in such a rush last time that we didn't get a chance to ask you a few questions. We know you're not working alone, Victoria."

A flash of fear passed across Victoria's face. She called out for her lackeys. But they remained where they were, not moving an inch.

Nestor shook his head. "You compelled them," he muttered. He looked at Adrian with an almost impressed look. "Of course you compelled them. But what makes you think I'm going to tell you anything?"

Eve smiled sweetly as she sauntered towards him. "Because we can offer you something in return."

Nestor returned her smile. "And what is that?"

"I understand you've been looking for a human. A Lisa Simon?"

The change in Nestor was instantaneous. A whirlwind of emotions passed over his face.

"Let me guess. You found her," he said, flatly. His took a step forward. "If you hurt her in any way, I will-"

"Oh, we have no intention of hurting anyone. Just tell us who your boss is so that I can give your girlfriend's address and then we can all be on our merry way."

"She's not my girlfriend. She's my older sister. My mother had a human husband." He stopped himself. "Fine. I agree to your terms," he muttered, ignoring Victoria's indignant shriek.

"You won't get away with this, you two-faced mongrel," Victoria's voice had risen further in pitch. Edward found himself cringing at the sound. His mind was still too dazed to actually process what was going on. Victoria grabbed him and pulled him into a chokehold. She laughed. "You're forgetting I have leverage. Call this off and get out of here or I kill him," she threatened.

"My, my, Victoria," Adrian laughed softly. "You're getting desperate."

Victoria's grip tightened and Edward felt like he was suffocating. "You think I'm bluffing?" she demanded. "I will kill him."

"Go ahead," Adrian said breezily. "You'd be doing us a favor."

Shock ran its course through Edward's body. He met Adrian's emerald gaze, hoping to find some trace that he was lying. He saw none.

"Nestor," Eve's countenance was smug. "What are you waiting for?"

Nestor didn't bat an eyelash as he turned towards Victoria and did to her what he had done to Edward. She collapsed, bringing Edward down with her. She lay on the floor, whimpering. Edward slowly got up from where he had tumbled down. He felt all his vitality returning. All this happened in less than a second.

"The man you're looking for is called Konstantin Rostov. He's extremely powerful and extremely dangerous," Nestor's said grimly.

Eve arched an eyebrow. "And what makes this vampire so powerful?"

Nestor shook his head. "Who said anything about a vampire? Konstantin Rostov is a werewolf."

Adrian's eyebrows shot up. "Werewolf. As in full moon, silver bullets? Didn't the Volturi hunt them to extinction?"

"Yes to the full moon, no to the silver. And yes, the Volturi did hunt them but a there were a few survivors. For centuries, they have been growing in number and thriving in the shadows."

"Go on," Eve urged. She too looked nonplussed at the new development.

"I'm afraid that's all I know," he shrugged.

At Adrian's glare, he held up his hands. "I swear it's true. I have only ever been a pawn in Rostov's games. The only reason I joined him in the first place was because he threatened my sister's life. I couldn't risk anything happening to her. So I agreed to do whatever he said. Including helping this bitch," he snarled in Victoria's direction. He hesitated. "And I once overheard him mention some dagger that he's looking for. And also someone called Ellesmere, I think.. " his voice trailed off.

"Dagger?" Eve's voice sounded strange. She looked at her brother and they seemed to come to a silent agreement about something. Eve brought out a piece of paper from her coat pocket.

"Here's our end of the bargain. Lisa's address."

Nestor's snatched the paper from her. "This better not be a trick," he growled.

"It's not," Eve promised.

Nestor nodded curtly. "I assume you'll be taking care of this," he gestured towards a writhing Victoria and her two lackeys, who were still obediently standing in the corner motionlessly.

"Of course," Adrian's eyes glinted. With one last smirk, Nestor left in a whoosh.

Eve grabbed Victoria's throat and effortlessly lifted her off the ground. In her weakened state, she didn't even put up a fight. "This is long overdue," she muttered, as she tore off Victoria's head and tossed it away. Meanwhile, Adrian did away with Carlos and Logan. He fished out a lighter and set all the remains on fire.

Edward stared at the flames, feeling completely numb. "You knew about Nestor. You've encountered him before," he said bleakly.

"Yes," Adrian said simply.

"Then why bring me along? You already knew that you'd be immune to his powers."

"We tried. Victoria always sensed our presence and eluded us. The only way this plan would have worked was if she believed she had the upper hand. We were planning another tactic but then you came along," he said matter-of-factly.

"Why didn't you just ask for my help? Tell me everything?" Edward lifted his head to look at them beseechingly.

Eve rolled her eyes. "Please. There are no secrets in your family. You might have agreed but that family of yours would have never let you go."

Edward's chest constricted. "They are your family too."

"No. They're not." Eve didn't raise her voice but the iciness in her tone made up for it. "Did you really think it would be that easy? That we'd just forget all the horrible things you've done? That we'd all be one big, crappy family?"

"You need me," Edward said faintly. Eve just scoffed.

"You do," he continued, his voice growing stronger. "My telepathy, Alice's visions – they are the only reason you're still sticking around. You need us."

"And you're still willing to help us?" Adrian's tone was mocking.

"For Bella," he said, quietly. "And whether you like it or not, you are my children."

"You may be our father," Eve's voice wavered slightly. "But we will never be your children."

I'll admit it. The twins have issues :P

PLEASE DO REVIEW.