Thank you so much guys for your reviews! I'm so happy that you love this story! ^_^

So here's the next chapter!

Aro sat in the turret with Marcus, Caius and Chelsea standing head bowed.

Marcus touched Aro's hand slightly. 'See for yourself,' he said and went back to his seat.

Aro turned grave after seeing Marcus's thoughts. 'Chelsea?'

'Master, my hold over Alec is weakening,' she said. 'And I'm afraid I'll lose my control over him completely once Ariana is turned.'

'Aro we do not want another Eleazar happening,' Caius said. 'Not with Alec.'

'What about Jane?' Aro asked Chelsea.

'I still have full influence,' Chelsea said.

Aro smiled more out of relief than out of happiness.

'As long as Jane stays among us, Alec will never leave,' Aro said. 'And we shouldn't give Ariana any reason to want to leave either. She'll be a valuable asset.'

'What did Aro exactly mean when he said I have a gift of the mind?' Ariana asked. She sat curled up in Alec's lap as he kept his arms wrapped around her and his chin on top of her head. They were back in Alec's room again and Jane had supplied Ariana with a dry change of clothes to change out of her wet ones. 'I sometimes get thoughts that don't actually belong to me. So does that mean I'll be able to read minds or something when I'm changed?'

Alec thought of about it for a moment. He wasn't really sure what sort of a gift she had because it was not only her getting thoughts of people in her mind around her but he also seemed to sometimes get images from her mind. Jane had told him the same thing.

'I'm not sure,' Alec replied, truthfully. 'But I can guess. I'm guessing you will be able to get inside people's minds and similarly let them in yours.'

'Let them in mine?'

'Yeah, I get images from your mind sometimes and I'm no mind reader,' Alec replied. 'So it has to be you doing something. Jane told me the same thing.'

'Can that be kept under control?' Ariana asked.

'What can?'

'The getting into people's mind and letting them into mine,' Ariana explained. 'I really don't want to go around breeching people's privacy and letting them breech mine.'

Alec smiled. 'Usually it can be controlled. All powers that we get can be controlled. So I don't see why it won't be for you.'

'Good,' Ariana said, relieved.

'But I can't really say anything for sure until you've been changed,' Alec said. 'These were just my assumptions.'

'Alec, not helping,' Ariana said.

Alec chuckled. 'Okay, if it's any consolation, I was pretty sure about my assumptions.'

Ariana smiled but she was pretty nervous about what exactly she might or might not be able to do when she would become a vampire.

'Hey, you'll be just fine,' Alec said soothingly, sensing her nervousness.

'I hope you're right,' Ariana said, placing her head at the crook of his neck.

'Now, I have a question,' Alec said.

'Okay,' Ariana said, tentatively. What could he have to ask her?

'Why didn't you show any sort of interest in me when I first saw you class?' Alec asked. 'We vampires have the ability to draw people in. You? Not even a second glance.'

Ariana laughed softly. 'You'd be surprised. I'm just glad you're no mind reader.'

Alec smiled. 'But you didn't even look at me for a second time. You really puzzled me you know.'

'Sorry,' Ariana said. 'People at school hardly even knew I existed. So I thought why would it be any different with you and forced myself not to give you another thought.'

'Ironically, you were the only one in my thoughts back then,' Alec replied. 'You just confused me.'

'And then when you approached me later, I had half a mind to make a run for it because I thought you came to me by accident when half the cheerleading squad was waiting for you to go to them,' Ariana admitted.

'I didn't even notice any cheerleading squad,' Alec confessed.

'You're loss,' Ariana teased, grinning.

'Loss I can happily live with for the rest of my life,' Alec replied.

Alec could feel her breath on his neck and how slowly they were becoming longer and heavier.

'Are you feeling sleepy?' he asked.

There was no reply from Ariana. She was already asleep.

'You must've been pretty tired,' Alec said, to one in particular.

He sat with Ariana for a while longer, savoring the feel of her in his arms, her warmth and her gentle breathing before laying her down gently on the bed. He remembered Jane had wanted to talk to him. Covering the sleeping Ariana in a thick blanket and placing a kiss on her forehead, he exited his room, shutting the door softly behind him and went to find Jane.

He found Jane in a corridor standing beside a window and looking thoughtfully at the downpour outside. Alec knew her mind was completely somewhere else.

'You wanted to say something?' Alec asked.

'How long are you planning to wait until you change her?' Jane went straight to the point.

'A day or two,' Alec asked. 'I'll need all the control I can master.'

'Don't wait,' Jane said. 'News travels fast Alec. By now half the vampire world knows that you have a mate who's human and you plan on changing her soon.'

Alec looked at her questioningly wondering where she was going with this.

'Don't be thick, Alec,' Jane said. 'You've made quite a number of enemies over the years. Can't you understand what might happen if this information reaches them? Ariana is in danger and she does not have a fighting chance against anyone if she's still human.'

'I know, Jane,' Alec replied. 'But who could possibly get inside the castle? She's safe as long as she's in the castle.'

Jane nodded. She knew he was right.

'Just saying so you know,' Jane replied.

'I know,' Alec said.

Felix walked by them right then and stopped abruptly when he saw Alec there, surprise on his face.

'What are you doing here?' he asked Alec.

'What am I not supposed to do here?' Alec asked, surprised at the question.

'I just walked by your room and I heard noises, and I thought it was you in there,' Felix explained. 'Must have been Ariana then,' he added to himself.

'No, it couldn't have been,' Alec said, his voice bordering on alarm. 'I just left her sleeping.' Without any further delay, he dashed for his room followed by Jane and Felix.

He opened his door to find the bed empty. He cussed. He quickly checked the washroom, the study and the other room only to find them empty.

'Ariana?' he called out, just incase he missed something. There was no reply.

He cussed louder.

'Felix, get Demetri,' Jane said. 'And fast.'

Felix was gone in a flash.

'I'm sure she's fine,' Jane said to Alec, though she wasn't so sure. 'No one could've taken her. It's impossible for anyone to get inside the castle without us knowing about it.'

Alec didn't reply. He was too stunned to have the capability to reply. If it was possible, his pale face got even paler.

Felix was back with Demetri in a minute.

Demetri entered the room, and instantly knew who had been in there.

No one even needed to ask him the question.

'It's Vladimir,' he said, gravely. 'He was in here.'

'How the hell did he get inside?' Jane demanded. She knew this was bad news. Vladimir had always wanted to get revenge on Alec for the death of some of his friends.

Alec couldn't care less how Vladimir had managed the feat. All he could care about now was to get Ariana back before it was too late and burn Vladimir to the ground. His hands balled to fists like he already knew what Demetri had just said but was just waiting for someone to confirm it. Primal rage built up in him and he said shortly to Demetri, 'Track him.'

Demetri was already at it. 'Yeah, I know where he could've gone.'

Alec turned to Jane. 'Tell Aro what happened. I'm going to find Ariana.' With that he was out in a flash followed by Demetri and Felix.

Vladimir wouldn't wait long to kill Ariana. He would get back at him for killing those friends of his. Alec just wished he was on time to save her. He couldn't imagine his life without her anymore.

Hope you liked this chapter! Sorry if it was too short.

Just a reminder that Vladimir was from the Romanian coven who'd wanted to fight Alec in Breaking Dawn saying that Alec owed him lives. So I guessed he held a pretty deep grudge against Alec.

Thank you for the reviews for the earlier chapters. I hope you liked this one too.

So Please Keep The Reviews Coming! =D