"Lucy, wake up."

I opened my eyes to find Jonathan looking down at me, and I realized I must have fallen asleep again.

"Give me a second," I replied as I tried to stifle a yawn.

"Here, drink this." He handed me one of the two mugs I only now noticed he was holding. I sat up and took it.

"It's coffee; Bella made it. She thought you might need it."

He sat down beside me as I took a sip and nearly burned my mouth. Jonathan laughed at me.

"Careful; it's hot."

I shot him an annoyed glance while blowing on the liquid before my next sip. It tasted good, and I could feel myself waking up a bit.

"I wouldn't mind something stronger than coffee right now," Jonathan said, nudging me.

"Yeah, I would give anything for a shot of vodka," I laughed.

"So, they really seem like good people, right?" He looked at me questioningly.

"I suppose. I haven't really gotten a chance to get to know them."

"Do you think we stand a chance if your father decides to come and find you?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "My family is pretty powerful, and the Guard is big. I know some of the Cullens have impressive powers, like Bella's shield, and the wolves are amazingly strong as well."

As I talked about the wolves, my mind drifted to Embry and what had happened this morning. I couldn't get that pained look in his eyes out of my mind. Even as a wolf, his emotions had been pretty clear; I'd hurt him, even if I didn't mean to. I went back to that moment where our eyes met and remembered with perfect clarity how beautiful he looked in his wolf form. His grey fur was thick and covered with sporadic black spots. He was big and tall with lean muscles that rippled when he moved. It somehow reflected how he was as a human; beautiful and strong. I startled when Jonathan snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Where did you go? You completely zoned out."

"I'm sorry; I got a bit lost in my thoughts." I grinned sheepishly and took another sip of my coffee.

"No kidding. Care to share?"

He narrowed his eyes at me as I remained quiet.

"Lucy, I know something is going on. Do you honestly think I wouldn't notice?"

I sighed in defeat, knowing that nothing got past Jonathan, and I told him everything that had occurred earlier that day. He nodded solemnly when I was done.

"That explains a lot actually."

I raised my eyebrows, and he laughed.

"No, really, the way he reacted when he first saw you was very intense. He's the one that caught you when you fainted, and he carried you inside."

It came back to me then; the brown eyes I had seen before I lost consciousness. They'd seemed so familiar at the time. His embrace had made me feel safe; like it was finally okay to just collapse, knowing that he'd take care of me.

"You need to talk to him, Lucy."

"I know." He was right. I had no idea how long we would be staying here, and it would be smart to at least try and clear the air between us.

"It'll be okay; you'll work it out." He wrapped his free arm around me and pulled me in. I snuggled contently against his shoulder.

"You've been such a good friend to me. I don't know how I could ever thank you."

"Don't even think about; it's my pleasure. Anything to get me away from my boring life."

We laughed together as I sat back up and finished my coffee. Jonathan took my mug from me and stood up.

"We need to get out there; they want to talk to us."

I nodded nervously and stood up. Jonathan grabbed my hand and squeezed it in a comforting way, letting me know I had his support. He let go before we entered the living room however, and I knew it was because of Embry. Carlisle rose and came to greet us. He put his hands on each of our shoulders and guided us to the only two seats still available. The room felt very crowded with everyone there, and all of them were looking at me. We sat down, and I looked around nervously. It was Carlisle that spoke first.

"Lucy, I understand this might be hard for you to talk about, but we need to know everything that happened before we can act. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," I answered. I reached out for Jonathan's hand; I needed the comfort right now. He grabbed it tightly in both of his, and I couldn't help but risk a glance in Embry's direction. He sat on the other side of the room, next to Jacob. His head was down, and his shoulders were slumped. My heart squeezed uncomfortably knowing that I was the cause of his pain. Jonathan was right; I needed to talk to him.

"Can you tell us everything that happened on the night you left?

I took a deep breath and told them everything that I knew. They were quiet and let me speak without interruption the entire time, though sometimes there would be the occasional wide-eyed stare or sharp intake of breath. When I was finally finished, I dared another glance at Embry. He was staring right at me now, a mixture of pity and anger in his eyes. They softened when they met mine, and he gave me a sad smile. I smiled back before turning my attention back on Carlisle.

"So there are four children?"

"Yes, as far as I know. I doubt the others would lend themselves to the project. I don't think Uncle Marcus cares too much, and Alec is too young. If I know my uncle well enough then the other Guards would probably not be interesting enough for him to use."

"Yes, that would make sense. I don't know if you know this, Lucy, but I spent a few decades with your uncles and father when I was younger." I nodded to show him I knew, and he continued. "I've known your Uncle Aro to be a man who will do just about anything to get more power. He can be gentle and nice, but only if it will benefit him in the end. Still, I would never have thought he'd actually go this far."

"We have to do something about this. Those poor children can't grow up like that."

I looked up and saw that Rosalie had risen from her seat. Her eyes were frantic as she looked at Carlisle.

"Please, we have to get them out of there." She pleaded with him, and I wondered why she cared so much. Emmet stood up and wrapped his arm around her.

"Come sit, baby; we'll find a way to get them out." He looked at Carlisle. "Right?"

"I don't think we have a choice. It won't be easy though; they're powerful. I think we should all stay here for a while until we figure out the right way to do this. They have no idea that we know, so we can take as long as we need to get our plan together."

There were cheers and appreciative words from most of the men; they seemed to be ready for a fight. I really didn't know how I felt about it. It was my family they were so happy to go up against. They were evil; I got that, and I realized their plan needed to be stopped. The fact that these people were so casual about them hurt me though. I thought of Jane; she would be more than capable of handling herself, but still, the thought of her tiny form against all these big men had me worried for her and in return for them as well. I thought of my father and stepmother; they were not fighters, and especially, my stepmother would not survive this. I had no idea how I felt about that.

Unavoidably, my mind drifted to the two men in my life. They would be more than able to handle themselves, but which side would I choose if I was caught in the middle? Could I watch these people take down the only two people that ever gave me happiness? The confusion became overwhelming, and I bowed my head in my hands. Immediately, there were two cold hands on my hair. I closed my eyes for a moment, imagining Felix' hands, but the spell was broken when Edward spoke.

"We would never ask you to choose sides, Lucy. We understand how conflicting this must be for you. You have to understand, though, that taking on the Volturi is not something that's easily done, and the chances are there will be casualties, possibly on both sides."

I looked up and met his eyes. There was worry and anxiety there. Bella and Renesmee were right behind him, and I understood they're sacrifice. There really was a possibility that they would lose loved ones as well.

Right then, the familiar shrill sound of a cell phone broke the silence. Jonathan threw me an apologetic glance as he reached for his phone inside his pocket.

"He's been calling ever since we left." He looked at the display on his phone.

"Jason?" I asked, and he nodded.

"I think it's best if you get rid of that phone. If The Volturi ever get wind of the fact that you're with her, that would be the easiest way to track you since they've lost Demetri's ability." Carlisle extended his palm towards Jonathan, who took one last, sad look at the device and handed it over. Carlisle flipped it open and switched it off before putting it in his pocket. Jonathan looked so lost, and I felt so bad for him. His only connection to his loved one was now lost.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't stop this." I looked at all of them in turn, my eyes lingering slightly on Embry.

"This isn't your fault; you did the right thing in coming to us. Together we'll stop them. Jasper?" Edward stood up and motioned to Jasper who nodded. Immediately I felt a lot more relaxed, and I smiled when I remembered that he had the ability to influence emotions. This was exactly what I needed to get through my next task. I took a deep breath to steady myself and stood up. Embry's head was down again as I made my way over to him. The others were talking amongst themselves, but I knew some of them were staring while I walked across the room.

"Embry?" His head shot up at the sound of my voice, and he looked at me with wary eyes. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," he whispered. He sounded almost afraid. I led the way to my small room, and he followed me in, closing the door behind us. As I sat down on my bed, he stood awkwardly by the door, looking at his feet. I sighed nervously, not knowing how or where to begin.

"Will you sit with me, please?" My voice was hardly more than a whisper, but he responded immediately and sat down beside me.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear what I said this morning. I honestly didn't mean to hurt you."

The sadness I saw in his eyes when he finally looked at me almost took my breath away. I wanted to reach out and comfort him so bad that my hand actually twitched in my lap.

"It's my own fault; I shouldn't have been out there in the first place. Edward tried to warn me, but I had to see if you were okay."

I remained silent, not quite sure how to respond to that. He bowed his head into his hands and tugged at his hair. After a few seconds, he looked up again and sighed loudly.

"This is just as strange to me as at is to you, you know."

He hunched over and stared at the ground. I couldn't help but let my eyes roam over his body. His shirt stretched tight against his toned back; the white fabric somehow made his skin seem even darker. The muscles in his arms were tensed, bulging out from under his sleeve. I had the overwhelming urge to run my fingers over his skin to see if it was really as smooth as it looked. As much as I tried to ignore it, I couldn't deny the pull I felt towards him, and I wondered if the imprint was affecting me as well. I squeezed my eyes firmly shut in an attempt to clear my mind, but the image of him didn't fade. In the end, I gave up and opened my eyes again.

"How does it happen? Why did it choose me?" I just couldn't understand what was so special about me.

His eyes found mine, and he smiled sadly.

"Because you're the one I'm meant to be with."

I sighed, letting those words sink in.

"So it really is as simple as that? Something inside is making you love me because we would make the best genetic match, and there's nothing you can do about it?"

"Lucy, I don't want to do anything about it. Regardless of what's happening, finding you is the best thing that ever happened to me." He reached out and put his hand on mine. His dark skin stood in odd contrast to my pale complexion. I could feel the warmth coming from his skin as his fingers curled around mine. Automatically, my fingers did the same, and before I realized it, we were holding hands. I looked up and smiled shyly.

"I don't know if I can do this now, or ever even; I need you to understand that." He nodded once before I continued. "Can we just be friends for now?"

"I think I can do that." He smiled at me and squeezed my hand.

"Thank you."

We stared at each other for a few seconds before I carefully tugged my hand from his. I stood up, and he followed my lead.

"We should probably see if there's anything to eat in this house." His stomach grumbled loudly to emphasize his words, and I giggled at the noise. He chuckled with me, and we looked into each other's eyes. I wasn't focused on where I was walking, and my toe caught on a loose rug. Before I could fall, he caught me and held me to him tightly. I clung to his arms to try and find my balance, and the movement put us even closer together. My nose was almost pressed against his collarbone; his sweet scent permeated my nostrils, making me dizzy. His hands moved gently up and down my back as he tried to stand me up straight. Eventually I found my balance, and I found myself pushed against him, our bodies connecting, heat coming from both of us. I looked up slowly; his face was only inches away from mine. All I could focus on was his mouth and how close it was to mine. The urge to just reach out and kiss him was overwhelming. He pushed me from him before I could act however, leaving me cold and very confused.

"Friends, remember?" His mouth curved into a crooked smile.

"Right, friends."

As we walked out the door and back into the living room, I tried to shake what happened, but I kept reliving it over and over again in my mind. The images of Embry were alternated for images of Felix, and before long, I was going crazy with confusion. I knew I couldn't go there with him now, that friendship was the wisest thing to do, but I also couldn't help but feel the way I felt whenever I was around him. I sighed deeply as I realized this was going to be so much harder than I thought. I almost longed for the days with Demetri; at least I knew he didn't want me. Felix wasn't an option anymore; I knew that, but a big part of me wasn't ready to let him go. I wondered if his child was born yet and what kind of father he would be. He would be good to his child; I was sure of that, better than my father had been to me.

I looked around the room at all the people here. They were so close, all of them a family, no matter that most of them weren't even related. I felt so far outside of this group, no matter how much they tried to make me feel welcome. I really didn't belong anywhere now, not with my family and not here. All I could ever hope for was to belong somewhere again, someday.

A/N

Once again I know I have been bad at replying at reviews. Like I said in the A/N of the latest Absolution chapter, I had some drama going on. It's all solved now, so I promise I will be better this time.

Thanks to the usual suspects:

My lifeline SusanAshlea

The sweetest Beta in the world Jkane180

Megsly (angeliswish)

To my Twitterfriends who I love and adore.

To all you readers who take the time to review, I love you SFM!

xoxo