A/N: Heh...heh heh... Sorry. :'( But I've been really busy with homework and everything. Trust me, I'd much rather write this story and listen to the Beatles than do schoolwork... :/ But anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and I'm sorry I'm posting so late... But I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 38: Alternatives

Renesmee Cullen's POV

The monster's blood stained lips curved into a smile as it saw me. I was too frozen to say or do anything, so all I could do was think in my comatose state.

Damn. I should've known better than to come walking in the woods alone. But instead it's like I just walked down the long and winding road to death. I should've listened to Jacob. Now I highly doubted if I would ever even see him again.

But...he said that if I wasn't back in about an hour, he would come looking for me. How long had it been since I started walking? Thirty minutes? Forty-five? Well, all I can do now is hope I live that long.

But what if I don't? What if the horrifying hellion standing only a few yards away from me killed me before Jacob got here? What if I would never see his face again?

I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't.

But there was only one problem with my determination.

I had no idea how to accomplish it.

"My, my, my. If it isn't little Renesmee Cullen," he said in his false interested voice. "Of course, you aren't so little anymore."

Just hearing his voice made me shudder. I couldn't respond. I was afraid to.

"Now, Renesmee, there's no reason for you to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to catch up. It has been too long."

With no reply from me, he stepped forward at a normal human pace until he was right in front of me. He looked down at my hand.

"Do you mind?" he asked, holding his hand out. There was no use in answering no, since he would probably do as he pleased, anyway.

Slowly, my hand shaking, I laid my hand on top of his. I winced slightly at his cold touch, though I was used to it.

Oh my God. I still can't believe it's—

He chuckled shortly. "Aro," he interrupted my thought.

I held back a shudder.

After a few more moments, he let go of my hand and took a small step back.

"So, you've fallen for the shape-shifter," he said matter-of-factly.

Finally finding my voice, I answered, "Yes. But I would have ended up with him, anyway, even if I hadn't fallen for him yet."

"Really? And this is because of imprinting? So, that's what you tell yourself? That you would have no other choice but to love the mutt?" he asked, but I couldn't tell if he was truly interested or not.

"Jacob isn't a mutt," I said in a monotone.

"Oh, yes, my apologies. It sort of slipped." He smiled falsely.

"Sure, sure."

"So, you still haven't answered my question," he said curtly.

I sighed, still a bit uptight about talking to Aro at all. "It's irrelevant. I would love him anyway. I know that your kind, including my family, find it utterly repulsive that I like a 'dog', but I love him, and he loves me. That should be all that matters."

"Perhaps, but it doesn't have to be him," he hinted, clasping his hands together in what seemed to be vampire joy.

I took a step back. "What are you talking about?" I eyed him skeptically.

"Well, after our little encounter, I decided to do my research. I went to visit Nahuel and his half-sisters and his father and learned more about your unique kind. I went to visit Nahuel's father a few months back, and it seems that he knows other vampires like himself. Although I do not entirely approve of what he's doing, I'm not going to deny that I think there is some purpose in it. So, what Nahuel's father basically told me is that there are other males of your kind out there in the world. Males that would be better suited for you than the shape-shifter of whom you're currently infatuated. I mean, who knows what kind of offspring you would create with the shape-shifter if you stayed with him? It's unpredictable, and unpredictable is dangerous. Now, if you were to switch over to your own kind, then I think it's safe to bet that your child would be just like you. And I can tell that from your thoughts that your dear father Edward isn't
pleased with the knowledge that you and…Jacob are going to end up together in the future. Don't you want to make your father happy?"

I was frozen. How could he think that I would give up Jacob, my best friend, to be with some stranger?

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

I was surprised to hear what just was said. I was even more surprised to know that the voice that said it was mine. Whoops.

Life lesson number one: Don't be a smart-ass to a vampire who can kill you in a second.

All happiness and joy, every little trace of it fled from Aro's face as soon as the words left my mouth.

Though he was furious, he tried to keep calm. "What are you talking about, Renesmee?"

Taking a deep breath, I answered him defiantly, though I was reluctant to. "What I'm talking about is who are you to tell me who I should or shouldn't end up with? You're not my father."

Before I knew it, he reached out and slapped me in the face, making my cheeks turn—I'm sure—bright red. My whole entire face stung like hell, and I had to try my hardest not to cry out in pain.

But of course, since Aro is Aro, he pretended that nothing had happened and put on a calm, happy face.
"You insolent little child, I'm just trying to help you. I'm trying to help you choose what's best for you. Imagine how happy your family would be if you chose a half-vampire, half-human like yourself. You do want to make your family happy, don't you, Renesmee?" he tried to persuade.

"I don't need your help, Aro. I can decide for myself."

He forced a swallow and put his happy face back on. "Alright. If you're sure. But may I ask you a question?"

My jaw tensed slightly. "Sure."

"What are you and your family's' diets these days?" he inquired.

I looked back at the poor, lifeless, pale corpse still lying on the ground and exhaled heavily. "Well, I can tell you one thing. It's definitely not the same as yours," I answered a bit sourly.

"Now, now, you cannot blame me for that entirely. She was the one who was wondering out in the woods by herself, much like yourself. It's dangerous, you know. You should have listened to that pet of yours. He can give good advice…at times," he told me almost vacantly.

"Wait…did you just threaten me?" I asked, a bit fearful.

He smiled brightly—and creepily—towards me. "Why no, of course not, dear."

I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be reassuring or not, since he had already hurt me.

"Okay…" Then reality came to me again. "Um, Aro, do you know what time it is?"

"Why, no, I don't. But I'm sure I could find out." With that, he walked back out to the poor teenage girl lying in the middle of the clearing and slipped what seemed to be a cell phone from out of her hands. Aro pushed a button and snorted a bit in amusement. "Silly, silly humans. They always try to call the authorities, but they're never able to. And even if they were, what would they be able to do against either one of us?"

"No, please, leave me out of it," I halfway begged, still disgusted by Aro's lack of conscience.

"Oh, dear Renesmee, you can't help but be part of disasters. It's in your nature."

"No, it's not. I'm not evil, I'm not a monster," I tried to convince myself. "Can you just tell me what time it is?"

"Here," he said, tossing me the phone. Though he probably only used half of his effort, it flew at me at probably at least two hundred miles per hour. It was a good thing I had quick reflexes. I looked quickly at the clock and almost sighed when I realized it had been just past an hour since I had gone trekking off.

Jacob, please, hurry up...

"Here," I said quietly, flipping the phone back to Aro.

"Why did you have to know the time?" he asked skeptically.

"Because I wanted to know what time I had to be back home to cook dinner for me and Jacob," I improvised.

He still didn't look like he bought it, but he nodded anyway. Then he turned cheerful, more than usual. "In your thoughts I saw that little Alice was here with you, too. Is that correct?"

Reluctantly I replied, "Yes..."

"Well, do you think she would mind if I paid her a small visit?" he questioned, almost eager.

"Um, I'm not sure. You'll have to check with her."

"Well, if I'm able to do that, then what's the purpose of asking her if I can see her?" he asked logically.

I shrugged.

Then, he smiled again. "You know, Renesmee, you would be very helpful in my guard, though you are not a full vampire…" he told me. "The possibilities of your power are quite picturesque..."

I swallowed hard. This is what I was afraid of. Damn. Jacob was going to be pissed if he ever found out about this. So pissed he'd probably want to kill Aro, then that would make the whole Volturi guard want to come after us...

That, however, is not very picturesque.

"So, Renesmee, are you interested in joining the guard? I'm sure we could find sleeping arrangements for you, and even dining, if you're not satisfied with our diet," he planned.

"Um, no thanks. I'm happy where I am."

"Well that's not a problem. We could find spots for your family as well. And maybe even your little mongrel. A guard dog, perhaps..."

"What? No! Jacob would never do that," I erupted. "And neither would I."

"Hmmm... Going to be difficult, are we? Well, we could always get Jane to...persuade you and your family," he hinted.

"Would you really sink that low? That's not a good way to get robots for your guard." Dang it. I talked before I thought...again...

His jaw tensed. Before I knew it, he reached out and hit me again, only this time had more affect. He knocked me to the ground and stepped on my ribs so I couldn't get back up. There was pure hatred in his eyes. I winced under his weight. "I do not have to persuade all of my guard. They aren't as stubborn as you and your family. And how do you think I got Jane and Alec to join the guard? It's not very likely that I used Jane against Jane, is it?" he snarled.

"No, it's not. But I think I know exactly how you got them to join your little cult," I spoke daringly. I knew I was crossing a line here, one that was very dangerous to cross, but I felt like I had no other choice.

"Oh, really? And how do you suspect that is?" he inquired like he was talking to a child. I sighed internally. I'm sick of all this childish crap.

"You told them that there was no other way. That there was no better choice. You could either be predator or prey. Well, you know what? They were stupid enough to fall for it. But me? I'm not. You may think that I'm a child, that I'm ignorant, but I'm more than that. Much more. And I know that there's another way to live than to just kill people for pleasure and intimidate people. I'm not going to sink that low," I ranted.

"We're not who you think we are. We're not evil beings. We do what we do for good, not for evil," Aro tried to convince me. He finally took his foot off of my chest, but he was still close. I didn't want to try to get up. I honestly thought some of my ribs were broken now.

Okay, now I felt like I was in a freaking superhero movie from his speech.

I shook my head in disbelief and pointed over to the dead body in the middle of the clearing, barely recoiling at the effort it took. "How the hell is that good?" I exploded.

"It's called survival, Renesmee," he told me in a hard voice.

"It's called cruelty, abuse, ruthlessness… Whatever you want to call it, it's horrible. I mean, she's an actual human being. Do you know what was going on in her life? I mean, besides your 'gift'? Did you have any regard for how she was feeling before you literally sucked the life out of her? No. None of you ever do. That's the problem. You have no conscience at all. And don't even try to give me that 'no soul, no conscience' thing. I won't feel any sympathy for you at all, none whatsoever," I argued.

I heard a deep, uncontained growl building in his chest.

Yup, I definitely crossed the line.

I especially knew that I crossed the line when he picked me up and threw me into a nearby tree, sending me at least twenty feet at about two hundred miles per hour. Yup, that's going to hurt like hell for probably at least the next week.

"You don't know what it's like to be one of us, not really, Renesmee," he snarled, though trying to keep control, even though he just lost it.

"I know that. That's not what I was arguing," I croaked in a weak voice.

He shook his head quickly, apparently clearing it. But to me, that would just make my head even dizzier. Then, he walked back over to me, picking me up and throwing me to the ground near the dead girl in the center of the clearing. I let out a small whimper, still trying to keep hold of what little pride I had left.

"You are going to pay, Renesmee Cullen," he threatened.

"No, I don't think she is."

I daringly twisted my head around to see my whole life suddenly standing at the entrance to the clearing. I had to turn my head back around then. I already had a killer headache.

"Jake," I breathed weakly.

He ran over to me, kneeling down to my level but never taking his narrowed eyes off of Aro. "It's going to be okay, Ness," he whispered quietly into my ear.

"Are you sure that...he'sthe one you're happy with?" Aro asked, tilting his head.

I nodded slightly into Jacob's chest.

"Really? Because that confirmation didn't seem so sure to me."

"Bloodsucker, if you're smart, then you won't ever speak to her again," Jacob growled menacingly. Aro didn't answer. But I thought an answer to Aro anyway.

Aro, I'm one hundred percent certain that I'll want Jacob forever, and only Jacob. I don't want someone exactly like me, and if I did, I would be talking about Nahuel all the time, not Jacob, I thought to him.

Are you sure you won't ever want a change? I mean, in a century or two, you could change your views, he projected back to me.

"Never," I spoke out loud, making a weak attempt at intimidation.

"Mmm. Alright. If you're sure that's the way you want it," he finally agreed. But just keep in mind our earlier conversation about the off springs. Which one will be safe and not attract attention, and which one will… Thank God he thought that to me instead of talking out loud. I didn't need to be even more embarrassed today.

"Sure, sure," I hastily responded to his thought.

"I'll try to catch up will you soon, Renesmee. Maybe we can talk some more," he suggested in a false joyful voice. Jacob glared the whole time.

I didn't respond. I wanted to say 'Um, no way in hell am I ever going to talk to you again, you bastard', but I doubted that that would make anything better.

"Nice seeing you, Renesmee," he said as he headed for the other end of the clearing. "Tell your grandfather that I send my salutations, will you?"

"Of course," I called in an innocently sweet voice. Pain shot randomly through my spine, and I tried to keep from whimpering, for Jacob's sake.

Then, he was gone. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief and cried in Jacob's arms.

"Ness, what happened? Are you hurt? What did he do?" Jacob questioned frantically.

"I'll tell you when we get back home. I just want to get out of here," I sobbed.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Come on, I'll carry you home," he offered.

I nodded a little, and he picked me up as gently as possible, cradling me to his chest. Then he started walking as quickly as he could without moving me too much, though, with every step he took, unbearable pain shot through
my body. Yup, I definitely broke something.

Well, at least I didn't get killed.

A/N: Well...I hope you liked it! PLease review. If you leave a signed review, I'll send you a preview! :D I'll try my hardest to post on Wednesday...for specific reasons... :D So, yeah. I hope you liked it! PLEASEEEEEEE REVIEW!