Chapter 11: Pre-Dawn and Post Dusk

As Renesmee's breaths settled in the other room, Edward pondered all the questions he had suppressed to the back of his mind. His daughter, young and naïve, was attracted to possibly one of the most dangerous half-vampires that Cullen family had ever come across. His looks were deceiving, and his motives were truly unknown. Yet, Renesmee was willing to plead with the boy constantly.

How had he let his daughter begin to trust the boy? How likely would it be that she would try to add him to their coven? It was well known that his daughter was growing up, forming her own opinions about people and the world without subliminal advice from Bella or the rest of the family. He missed the time when his little girl relied on him to satiate her inquisitive nature. Now she was older, trying to act her age and find her answers on her own. But how she sought them made him feel heavy with worry. He looked at Bella as he entered the room, her lips quirking in the corner.

"Edward," she began.

"Where did we go wrong, Bella? What has he done that made her like him so much?"

"Exactly what she told you. These past few days have been a whirlwind for all of us, but she was not lying when she said that Nico has been trying to look out for her, despite our behavior," Bella smiled. "If she reminds you so much of me, then he might be a little like you." Edward raised an eyebrow at his wife and Bella continued.

"When I first met you, you were just as beautiful and puzzling as you found me. And she gets that from me. We like a challenge, even if the challenge wants nothing to do with us. That is even more endearing.

I can't speak to Renesmee's full feelings for Nico, but I'd imagine that she likes him because he's polite, he looks out for her and doesn't expect anything in return. We only know of a few hybrids, our daughter, Nahuel, and his sisters. Learning that there is a community like you is exciting, Edward, and Nico and his sister showed her that there's more like her in the world. She's desperate to learn from them and excited to know that there are more people she can talk to outside of her family that won't spread her secrets to us. She's a teenager," Bella squeezed his hand.

"I can read her mind," he understood what she was saying, but that did nothing to calm the thoughts in his mind. "But she's still our daughter. She's our first and our only. We're going to overreact and be more cautious with her and her decision to fall in love with a random vampire that none of us have ever met."

"We could have always asked him about his original coven. When he comes back of course," she frowned. "Although, that might be awhile."

"That is another concern of mine. If she plans to keep communicating with him then the least, we can do is learn more about him and the hidden community he's from. I don't know any coven other than the Volturi that sends vampires to do their dirty work."

"You think he's part of the Volturi?" Bella asked surprised. "But they have rules…"

"He's young and not a full vampire. The Volturi always want to add powerful vampires to their side and they won't mind taking a hybrid that is as powerful as Nico. With his control of the shadows, teleportation, and ability to walk in broad daylight, would he not be a wonderful addition to their ranks?" The logic was sound. Nico could easily handle them, the werewolves, and possibly anything that was sent the half vampire's way.

"Have you told Carlisle about this?"

"I was planning to," he nodded and listened for the shuffling in the main house. "Come, Leah's fully awake now."

The run to the house was short but passing the rotten and dead patches of Esme's landscaping work made Edward freeze. This was only a side effect of Nico's trick and what the young man could be hiding up his sleeve made him more impossibly dangerous in Edward's mind. He would dwell on it more when they had time to reconvene and talk about his suspicions.

Leah was seated on the white couch in the living room, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a mug of Earl Grey in her hands. Set sat next to her, fretting about his formerly comatose sister's needs. Jacob was perched protectively behind her. The various Cullens were spread around the room as Bella and Edward entered and a discomforting silence settled on the group.

"You think he's part of the Volturi?" Jacob growled.

"It would fit everything we know about him," Jasper stepped forward and threw some papers down onto the table. "especially since I managed to get a copy of his records. He's been holding onto these or he had a contact provide them," Jasper continued. "Someone on his end is capable of altering perceptions. I think we would be giving him too much credit if he was able to do it himself."

Jasper set out a few documents on the coffee table. The pages represented typical information including a full name, his transcript, immunization records, and immigrant status. Edward frowned when he saw that the boy was originally from Italy, putting his Volturi theory even further into the light.

"Jasper, these look legit. There's nothing wrong here," Rosalie pursed her lips. "Wait," she paused and grasped the lamp next to her and moved it over the table. Slowly, the pages morphed to present newspaper headlines and random flyers. As she pulled the light back, the pages shifted back into the records.

"So, what does this mean for us?" Seth asked. "He said his job was to find other vampires, but that doesn't explain why he's going to school."

"He is undercover. It would be strange if a lone teenager was walking around such a small town without anyone noticing, especially during school hours," Esme asserted.

"Why are we even discussing this? He's a threat to us, regardless of whether he's working with the Volturi or not," Jacob seethed.

"Jake," Bella cautioned. "He came to us with true information and—"

"And nothing," a hoarse voice croaked from the coach. All the attention turned to Leah as she sipped her tea to soothe her aching throat. "He's too dangerous to stay. Either you get rid of him or we will. The things I saw—" she paused and drank again.

"I awoke in a field. Everything was duller there, in color and textures. It felt like my strength was ebbing away from me every moment I was there, but I couldn't stop the urge to keep walking. That if I kept walking I would be able to find my way to where I needed to go. And every person I came across had no memory of where they were or who they were, and the ones who were lucid kept asking if I could guide them to their families. That this was the land of the dead" Leah shuddered. "That's why I don't want him here. Think of the danger he could pose to the packs and the town if he stays. You can't trust him."

"Unfortunately, he may be the only one that can cure Sam Uley. I tested his dagger and his blood. He lacks more chromosomes than Renesmee, which I believe comes from the lack of genetic material from his father. His dagger eats away at the organic material. If Sam is experiencing the same thing, then Nico is required to wake him as he did you," Carlisle summarized.

"But I have a very different theory for Renesmee's new friend. As you saw from her memories, Nico can move in and out of pockets of space using the shadows. These documents are glamoured, for lack of a better word, to hide his identity. His sister even told Renesmee that their covens prefer to be separated from the outside world for their protection. Have you considered that they are hiding from the Volturi?"

"Carlisle, why would they have to hide if they have hybrids like him among their ranks?" Emmett snorted.

"That depends on their construction. I think that they or their parents realized that hybrids, while very alike to vampires, are not on par with their strength, so they gave them weapons. Weapons amplifying their power to affect even a well-fed vampire. It would explain why you have a group of hybrids so young hiding together,"

Edward tracked his adoptive father's thoughts. The competing theory did not make any sense. "If that was the case, then why is Nico here for the other vampires in town?"

"Classic revenge," Alice muttered. "He mentioned tracking them, which means that the other group had passed through their area and they didn't appreciate it much. Whoever came first was not truly prepared for wolves, so they sent someone who was—if the Volturi have not heard of this group because they are hidden, then we have to help him."

Flashes of black coats and boots marching across snow flickered into Edward's mind and he turned to look at his sister.

"Alice, when are the Volturi coming?" As she opened her mouth to speak, there was a piercing scream, the pitch of a girl echoing across the town of Forks, and then nothing.

"Renesmee!"

For a moment, only the tiniest sliver of eternity, time had slowed down. And in its current molasses-paced state, all Nico could feel was complete and utter agony. He had not felt it at first; the bite was a mere nuisance accompanied by minimal throbbing. But, after the vampire fell back, the wound began to blaze until his arm was engulfed in a raging inferno and the excruciating pain made it impossible to think. It felt as though he was being stripped down to the wire, his veins exposed and receptive to the pain now coursing through his body. Henry's memories did little justice compared to the actual experience. Perspiration gathered on his face, even as he felt Renesmee's cool hands touch his. His sight was blurry, his blood was boiling, and all his operating systems wanted to shut down and …he reacted.

Nico fell out of the shadows onto his hands and knees on a rough patch of grass, a shaking Renesmee by his side. He tilted his chin toward her face, eyes watering and lips twisting in a distraught frown. Her pink mouth moved, but he could not hear a single sound over the ringing in his ears. He squinted up at her pretty face, his eyes beginning to drift close if only for a little while—

"N—o, ge—c'mon you—GET UP," she screamed, but the words fell on deaf ears. The young woman scrambled to turn Nico onto his back. "I don't know where we are, so you have to tell me where to go. You can't leave me."

Renesmee watched in stunned disbelief as Nico's head lolled on her lap. His skin was too clammy, sweat overtaking his deathly pallor. She never heard of a bit eliciting this reaction, but, then again, she had never seen a hybrid be bitten. Or their attacker could have possessed highly toxic venom. Anything was plausible, but the reasons did not matter because Nico was on her lap.

The grass they rested on was a vibrant, lush green that was surprisingly unaffected by Nico's presence. The only light was shed by a multitude of fireflies that dotted the landscape and flew around them, twinkling in the night. She noticed their precarious perch on the incline of a hill, at the top of which she could make out a stone cottage. But before she could ponder her options, Nico gasped and coughed wetly, blood dripping down his chin. He bucked in her grasp, back arching as he groaned. Hang on, Nico, she pleaded as she hauled up the limp body and dragged/carried the young man up the hill.

The door fell open easily as she rushed ahead and lowered his body onto a couch. The inside was completely dark, but luckily her vision and the sliver of moonlight from the opened door gave her room to examine his prone body. She wished she had her grandfather here. He was a professional and he could have fixed Nico, but she would have to do in a pinch. Renesmee hurriedly pulled up the sleeve and looked at the wound. The bite was red and inflamed, clear liquid pulsing out with a slow stream of red. His body was already combating the poison, but not quickly enough.

Here, where her heart rate was settling was when she began to smell it. The heady scent of pomegranate, chocolate, and the promise of a cool winter all assaulted her nostrils. Her jaw subtly throbbed and she ached inside, a part of her that had laid dormant now calling for a fresh meal. She could feel the pull—the pull that her father felt when he saved her mother all those years ago.

For once in her life, Renesmee was terrified. Her father had enough self-control that came with decades of learning and adapting to become a vampire. She, on the other hand, and she bit back a laugh, had none of that experience. Yet, her mother exercised control well enough, so hopefully, it was a genetic trait that ran through her bones. After all, she was experiencing a similar predicament—lust for the blood song currently radiating from someone she liked. So why was she hesitating so badly if she could help him? Nico was here, dying before her eyes, with a steady dribble of blood coming out the side of his mouth and his heartbeat racing so fast it could have burst out his chest. She gripped Nico's arm tightly, the rivers of red racing down to his fingertips in its hurry to stain the couch and her dress. She whimpered at the overwhelming sensations and clenched her eyes shut, hoping it would all be a dream.

There was a pool of blood, ripe pomegranate, and sulfur, lying in the lowlight of the streetlamp. A piece of pink wool clung to the edge of it, radiating a familiar comforting scent. There was no doubt who was here before. Nico and Renesmee had disappeared, leaving behind a puddle of blood and a crystallized arm not too far away.

Not that any of that information was pertinent in the long run. Seth cringed as he listened to his alpha's anguished howl release into the air. Leah was still at the house because she could not shift, so Seth was able to watch the pandemonium first hand. Bella was on the phone with her father, informing him that his granddaughter was missing. Edward and his siblings were running about the state of Washington because they could not reach Renesmee's phone. Esme and Carlisle stayed behind with him, waiting to see if Nico turned back up with their missing princess.

Seth did not have much faith that Nico would return with her, but not for the same reasons as Jacob. Sure, the guy had hurt his sister, and boy did Seth have a grudge against him now, but it looked as if Nico had taken a harsh beating. Besides, Nico had reliably looked out for Renesmee's safety. If he was going to protect any of them, it would be Nessie.

"We'll find her," Bella ended the call to her father and turned to the others. "I'm going to join Edward and see if she's anywhere else. We're going to spread down to Oregon and California if we have to."

"He could have taken her anywhere, Bella," Jacob shifted back. "Her scent trail ends here."

"It doesn't matter where he took her," Esme spoke calmly. "We will get her back." Bella nodded and took off, as Seth approached his alpha and whined. He pushed his head against his thigh. Losing one's imprint was the worst feeling in the world, even worse when the bond between the two had settled.

Seth never had time to bond with his imprint. She had come and gone as quick as the wind, but he remembered how it felt when he first met her. Her golden eyes, curly hair, the fierce stance she had as she appeared completely unfazed by their appearance. He wondered when they would run into each other again, and it seemed that fate decided to answer his question.

There was a shift in the wind and on the other side of the street light, a giant shadow grew and spat out a woman. She was crouched relatively low to the ground, but he recognized the curly cinnamon hair and rich brown skin. She was wearing a purple shirt, a jacket, and muddy jeans and tennis shoes. Regardless of her appearance, he could still smell her natural aroma of earth and flowers, just slightly overlaid with enough sweat and metal to indicate she had finished a workout. Her rapid heartbeat certainly underscored the assumption, but Seth could detect the worry that modified her scent. Is she hurt? As her head rose, and her golden eyes locked with Jacob's, Seth knew that he had been wrong to assume anything about her. She was seething.

"What did you do to Nico?" the words were quiet. Seth slowly trotted forward, hoping to diffuse the situation before she noticed the blood puddle.

"Where did he take Renesmee?" Jake countered. The girl laughed icily, and Seth lowered his ears. He never wanted that to hear that tone of voice come from her. Just a few feet from her, a flash of gold glimmer through the air and he could feel the pressure of a sharp blade against his throat.

"Not another step, wolf. Now, who is going to answer my question? What did you do to my brother?" Crickets could be heard when Hazel leveled her sword at the wolf's throat. She hated to do it, but she needed answers. Nico was somewhere, burning in pain, and she could feel his life wavering on the balance. However, traveling to Forks did not resolve the ache in her heart, but only made it stronger. Nausea rose within as she tried to reach out and feel the tether of his life force, which was further away that she initially thought.

Unlike her brother, Hazel could not shadow travel well and it already made her violently ill to manipulate outside her own domain. Her energy was limited now, and she did not feel like putting up a losing battle against those that tried to hold her hostage. So, she struck first.

"I'm done asking politely. I can feel he was here. So, what did you do to him" her heart thundered in her chest as she took in the two wolves from before and two others that felt wholly unnatural. Vampires, probably. The handsome man of the pair stepped forward, hands raised as in a gesture of good faith.

"I believe we can work together to find out what happened to your brother. We do not know where he went, but we suspect he took Renesmee with him to escape an attack from another vampire," he said. He gestured calmly to a shallow pool of red, innocuously shaded in the shadows from the lamplight. And in her gut, Hazel knew it was her brother's.

She sheathed her weapon as she ran to the last place her brother rested and reach out, hoping their link was still intact. Her energy was fading swiftly, but she hoped still had enough juice for one last push. Sensing life was Nico's thing, not hers and she had only been alerted by the strange lull in her senses and a bad feeling in her gut. In the distance, somewhere unknown to her, her brother's heart was still beating, but he was losing the battle.

"Is it not your job to monitor vampires in your area," she spat at the man. "If you did a better job, then you would still have Renesmee and my brother would not be missing."

"We occasionally have nomads wander around and do not pay much attention to them. But your brother brought it to our attention earlier today," The brunette woman stated, her face sweet and serene. Hazel sighed.

"I can feel him, and he's alive. If he took Renesmee, then they might have a chance at saving his life because he's fading," the others looked faintly surprised, but Hazel continued. "He's dying because you did not do your job and you wouldn't let him do his. Why should I help you find them?"

Her voice came out small and defeated. Yet, it did not matter if they wanted her help or not. She would find Nico and Renesmee with her friends. Hazel took a deep breath and pushed her luck once more, feeling Nico's sluggish heartbeat and let her anxiety settle. He was alright for now, wherever he was.

Then she noticed it. The small shards of diamondlike dust surrounding the blood, infinitesimal at best, but if she could just gather it then maybe she could find what had struck him. The tiny crystalline particles lifted one by one, glinting in the night. There were so many in the area that it was hard to lift so she felt around for more, gradually increasing her effort to make the crystal more malleable and bent to her control. She let out a noiseless sound of relief as the rest of the particles rose in the air, but behind her, she heard, more than felt, choked sounds and the rough grinding of minerals and she turned around. The two vampires were slightly floating as well, teeth gritted as though something was causing them internal pain. Just out of her line of vision, she glimpsed a severed arm rise as well. Her brow furrowed as she looked between the particles, the arm, and the vampires.

"Wait…are you all…made of these," she meticulously gathered the particles in her hand and released her concentration, watching as they relaxed as they regained control of their bodies.

"Yes, and it seems you are able to control them," the man remarked and Hazel nodded. Her body, however, did not take kindly to the sudden movement and her vision wavered. She was exhausted. From training, messing with her powers, messing with elements not her own and repeatedly overextending herself, she was ready to collapse.

"I may not be able to track Nico and Nessie directly, but I can track who attacked them," She clutched the particles close to her chest. "Not tonight though. I need to get in contact with my brother and my cousins before I can do anything."

"If I am going to help you, you need to get me some things. Proper lighting in a house would be the best, I'll need a constant water source, preferably from the shower, and no questions. Think you can provide those?"

Renesmee leaned down and kissed his forehead. I hope you can forgive me for this. This act was so instinctively intimate, and this would be a betrayal of his trust in her ability to respect his personal space, but at this rate, he would die.

"I don't know if I can control myself, but I want to help," she leaned down to breathe the words against his ear in apology before moving over the wound and pressing her lips to his sweat-slick skin.

The moment she bit down, the taste exploded in her mouth and she groaned. She had not been allowed to drink blood since she was little and could not curb her own urges, but this put all the blood bag memories to shame. This was a delicacy and she would savor it. The exotic taste danced along her tongue, even tainted with the bitter twang of venom, and she gulped greedily, beginning to not the thinning of the venom in his blood. Once it was gone, however, she could not find it in herself to stop. Drinking was blissful.

"Ness, Ness, stop it. I'm fine," the words were slurred softly, but he was not better yet. She could make him better if he just let her drink.

"Nessie, I'm fine,"

"You did it, so let go," there was incessant tapping at her back, but she was undeterred.

"Renesmee," she stilled at the chill in his voice and backed away, finally noticing the well of blood just resting in her mouth. She threw it up, red splatting on the floor and the couch in front of her as she cried out.

"Nico, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Oh my god, oh my god," a finger tilted her head up as he arched over her. "I was just trying to help. You were dying and I'm so so—" her eyes connected with his dark orbs and she saw no more, falling over onto the floor. The last thing she felt was two warm arms cradling her and then nothing.

"Bianca?" the words fell out the mouth of a young child with olive skin, dark hair and brown eyes. He pressed against a girl with a green cap. The two siblings were hiding behind a wall, watching as their mother whispered at the fireplace.

"What?" she whispered back.

"Is Momma mad? I didn't mean to know over the flowers, I swear. I just wanted to grab my—"

"Nico, ssshhh. I'm trying to listen."

"To what?" he asked curiously.

"Momma is talking to someone through the fireplace. I think its Papa,"

"Papa's coming back!" Nico grinned. "It's been forever. He owes me more cards. Did you know that he promised to bring me the—"

"Stop talking about your stupid card game. He is saying stuff that is making Momma sad," he turned back to see his mother, a beautiful woman, turn away from the fireplace, slight tear tracks going down her eyes.

"My loves, come here," his mother crooned, and the two children ran to her side, plastering themselves against her black dress. She smiled down to them, despite the sorrow in her eyes.

"Momma, what is wrong? Is Papa not coming back?" Nico asked.

"He better not if he hurt you. He's always leaving," Bianca pouted, and Maria laughed at her two children.

"No, your father wants us to come live him. In America," she took a deep breath. "It has already been arranged. We are moving."

"But why are we leaving? Papa can come to live here, with us and Gia and Tony, and our cousins, and why do we have to leave?" Bianca expressed in a huff.

"Because he wants us to be safe from the war," she whispered.

And suddenly Renesmee was launched from the memory and into sweeter dreams.

Jake did not trust the girl to contact Nico and find Renesmee, but what choice did they have? Renesmee's phone was not working, they couldn't find a trace of her here, and he highly doubted that the hybrid would ignore his own sister. Esme and Carlisle ran farther ahead to take care of things at the house and alert the other Cullens what had transpired. The girl still stared at her brother's blood and at the crystal arm before grabbing it and holding it in her smaller palms.

Ask her about healing Sam! If she's anything like her brother, then she can bring him back like he did Leah. The pack needs their alpha, Seth forced his phrase into Jake's mind and the alpha grunted.

I don't trust her. I don't want to bring her onto our land.

Who else do we have that could potentially heal him? And that was a great question. Sam had already been out of it for a while and it would be pushing it to make the Uley pack wait longer for an answer for their problems. Not to mention, Emily had been killing herself with worry. He sighed and walked up to the girl, ignoring the hopeful look in Seth's eyes to prove that his imprint was a good hybrid like Renesmee and not at all like her brother.

"Hey, uh, before we take you to the Cullen house to call your brother, we need you to prove yourself?" The girl looked at him and tilted her head.

"Was that a question or an order?"

"A request," he ground his teeth. "One of your brother's friends shot a friend of ours and he's in a coma. Your brother healed a member of my pack, so can you heal him?"

The girl huffed and sighed. "Thalia always makes a mess of things, just like in Scotland," she slapped on a plastic smile and nodded. "Take me to him and I'll see what I can do."

Seth howled in delight, calling out to Leah that they had found a way to help Sam. Jake held back a smirk and guided the girl to where his car was parked. He opened the trunk and threw a pair of shorts at Seth, who caught them in his powerful jaws and trotted away to change. The girl fixed him with an awkward stare between him and the car.

"Where did he go?"

"Unless you want him sitting next to you naked in the car after he shifts, he's going to put on shorts." The girl blushed madly and looked at the ground, fanning her face quickly. The awkward silence remained between the two of them until Seth returned wearing his goofy grin as his eyes rested on the girl.

"Hi," he chirped. The girl stopped fanning and gave him a nod.

"Hello," she obviously recognized him from the time they held her hostage. She glanced back at the car and nodded to herself before moving to sit in the passenger seat, with Seth squeezing into the back and Jake driving in the front.

The drive was mostly silent with Seth inserting awkward chatter that fell flat when the girl did not answer. Jacob turned to look out the corner of his eye to notice she had begun to drift to sleep, eyes lids slipping shut but rapidly opening whenever they went over a small bump. After another rough patch, Seth tried again when he noticed the girl's open eyes.

"What's your name, by the way? I'm Seth Clearwater. Sorry for before with Edward and the rest of it, we're just really protective of Renesmee."

"Hazel Levesque," she turned around to give him a smile. "And thank you for the apology. You're the first."

"That's a nice name. Where are you from?"

"I live in California now, but I was born in Louisiana,"

"Isn't your brother a little too?" Seth wavered his hand. She giggled and nodded.

"We're half-siblings. He was born after me in Italy," Jake's hands gripped the steering wheel harder.

"Italy?"

"Uh-huh," the girl raised an eyebrow at his reaction. "He moved to the states at a young age, though. He was pretty much raised here."

Jake turned the car onto the drive of Sam's house. The Uley pack was still gathered on the property, waiting for their alpha to awaken. "We're here."

The trio exited and walked up to the house. The wolves, who Jake recognized as Collin and Brady, examined the girl coming in with them, but with her earthy scent and non-threatening appearance they did little more than growl in warning. Jake would not be the one to bring a threat to their pack. Inside, Paul and Jared were seated, and Jared rose when he saw them.

"Jake, who is that?"

"She's here to heal Sam,"

"But who is she?" Paul asserted.

"She has a name," Hazel interjected. "It's Hazel. And I was originally here to help my brother but seems like I'm here to fix someone else's mistake. Where's Sam?"

Jared raised an eyebrow. "She's like Renesmee? The Cullens are banned from this land." Jake growled, and Jake raised his arms in deference before turning to the girl.

"Luckily, I'm not a Cullen," she snarled back.

"C'mon, Sam is this way. But be warned, if you hurt him, we will kill you," she nodded and followed them into Sam's bedroom where she gasped.

"How long has he been down?" she asked as she rushed over to his body. Emily's head snapped up as she took in the new occupant in the room.

"Can you help him?" Hazel pulled out a flask from a pouch that Jake had not noticed and nodded.

"I need a small glass to pour this in and a knife please," the words were obviously meant to placate, but had the hidden under thread of a command and Seth rushed to obey, swiftly bringing her the desired items. She smiled and poured a small amount of golden liquid from the flask into the glass and then cut open her palm, letting it trickle into the glass until it was half full. Unlike Nico, she did not swish it in her mouth but used the knife to mix the two liquids together, bringing it to a rich copper color and then poured it into Sam's mouth.

Sam's body twitched, once and then twice until he coughed up the mixture and opened his eyes for the first time. Hazel stood back in relief and poured the remainder from the glass over the palm of her hand and her cut disappeared.

Emily cried in happiness and threw her arms around Sam's neck, hugging him tightly and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Jared stared at Hazel and her flask in fascination before all the wolves descended on Sam Uley. Jake took this moment to step back and alert Leah that Yes, Sam is awake. Nico's sister woke him. As he took in the small smile the girl possessed as she examined at the scene before her, he wondered just slightly if there was some good in her that the rest of her family lacked.

"Thank you for saving my life," Sam addressed Hazel and the girl flushed.

"It was nothing,"

"Why are you here? The Cullens and our packs protect this area. We do not need new vampires here," Paul inquired.

"We…my brother was given the task to tract something here by huntresses. The same huntresses that shot you," she muttered. "I'm here to find my brother because something attacked him, and now I can't reach him through my normal methods. These two made sure that I came to heal Sam before I even start looking for Renesmee and Nico."

"Are you not afraid of wolves?" Jared bared is teeth. Hazel pursed her lips and crossed her arms.

"Unlike my cousin and my brother, I was trained by a wolf," The room stilled as they stared at the girl. "Thalia spent most of her childhood fighting and Nico after her. When Nico decided that he couldn't train me anymore, he took me to a new home where I wouldn't be allowed to live until I was properly trained by Lupa, the Mother wolf.

"My home works closely with wolves and there's an implicit trust between us. So, I'm not afraid of you. Not really and I can fight if I need to," she smiled at the end and turned to Jake. "I'm going to sit in the car and wait for you. I really need to find my brother and Renesmee." They all watched quietly as she walked away and listened as she sat in the car.

"You imprinted on a hybrid raised by wolves?" Jake raised an eyebrow at Seth, who had the stupidest grin on his face.

"She's really something," he grinned. "I'm going to sit with her."

There were still questions and Jake would probably bear the brunt, so he held up a hand and sighed. "I really just met her today and I had no idea."

Embry opened his mouth, but Collin covered it and shouted. "That's Seth's imprint? Is it part of the Black pack rules to only imprint on vampires?"

Jake growled but Jared laughed. "We should leave Sam to rest. Do you think Seth's girl would be willing to share her miracle cure with us?"

"You'd have to ask her," Jake shrugged. "I need to take her to find Renesmee. Leah will come by later."

Sam nodded. "Good luck, and I hope you find her. Also, tell Seth that I give him permission to bring his imprint on the land as long as he accompanies her." Jake nodded and ran out the door.

Seth took in the girl sitting in the car, frowning and staring off into the distance.

"Hey," she turned to him, those golden eyes still slightly sad. "It was really cool what you did back there."

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're more forgiving than your brother," Seth quipped, and she shrugged.

"I don't hold grudges as easily, but that doesn't mean I won't forget," she yawned and leaned against the window, eyes slipping shut.

Jake slid into the driver's seat and looked at Seth, who smiled. "We're leaving now."

The car took off toward the Cullen house and Seth could tell that Jake did not care for the speed limit. It was already a push to detract from finding Renesmee and rescuing Sam, but it was something that needed to be done. Hazel's breathing had evened out in a deep slumber.

"Sam gave you permission to bring her to meet your mother," Seth blushed.

"I don't know her that well to do that yet,"

"Nope, but that's the closest you'll get to full approval for her. Did you ask her about the wolves?"

"No, she was pretty tired," Sam frowned. "But if she stays after she finds them, then maybe we can learn more." Jake pulled up to the gravel path and turn off the engine. He turned to the girl and poked her shoulder and her eyes opened. She looked at the house, glass windows and all, and the massive patch of dead greenery. Edward and Bella were gathered in front of the door and stared at the girl as she exited the car and she glared at Edward slightly before walking past time, into the house. The entire time, her head held high and back straight, she fingered the grip of her weapon.

"Are you sure you can find Renesmee?" Edward asked.

Hazel could feel him probing at the edges of her consciousness, but she frowned at him, slamming the connection shut. After the first time, she could identify his presence. Fortunately, she was well versed in Mist and it did not take too much to construct a shield, not too powerful, but one that did the job. If she was going to be around a mind reader, she needed a mental shield that would last her a while.

"Nico's power acts as an interference for most signals, especially shadow travel. It fries all sorts of electronic devices or rearranges the signals, but luckily I don't need a phone to call him," she reached into her pants and felt for the drachma.

"We've wasted enough time, Edward. Let her in so we can find our daughter," the woman, who must have been Renesmee's mother whispered. She gave Hazel an awkward smile and beckoned her into the house. Hazel followed hesitantly. The house was fancy, the lights illuminating the rooms easily with the open floor plan.

She followed the woman to a bathroom where the shower was running, and Hazel pulled out her coin. She flipped it once and ignored the increasing occupants of the bathroom as she tossed the coin into this mist.

Oh Arcus, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Nico di Angelo.

The water shimmered to show a face, one serene with her hair moving with the water.

"I cannot grant your request. He is unreachable,"

"He could be dying. Is he somewhere I can reach?"

The woman's serene face twisted and faded, changing the scene to reflect a house on a hill, completely dark. Hazel squinted at the image.

"I'm sorry, but this doesn't help. Can I see Renesmee Cullen please?"

"You may see, but not hear. This connection is only one way and tenuously linked here," the goddess acknowledged. Hazel nodded. Anything was allowed if she could see her brother. The image shifted once again to reveal the house, but this time they were inside. And Hazel could not help but gasp.

Her brother lay on the couch, his arm outstretched to Renesmee's mouth which was obviously feasting on the bounty before her. She heard the shocked calls for the girl behind her, but she focused more on her brother who was trying to lightly push the girl off until he said something. Renesmee pulled back, and even Hazel could see the amount of her brother's blood dripping down the girl's chin and onto her dress. She turned away from the image to avoid heaving and turned back into time to see her brother gently put the girl to sleep and putting her on the couch instead. Then he turned and looked at the Message and upon seeing his sister's face, gave a small, innocent smile before collapsing to the floor. The message was cut off and Hazel remained staring at the mist of shower spray.

Nico, where are you?