A few months prior

"... Okay, well, call me back when you get this."

I placed the phone down, my brows knitting with confusion, worry and anger. It had been over a week and still Jared hadn't called or called me back. Even though I'd left messages on his voicemail for the past six days. And every two days the entire week before. Usually, Jared answered on the second ring; but suddenly, all I got was radio silence. The weird part was that neither of his parents were picking up either. It was getting to the point where I was starting to worry more than anything as I pictured all the terrible things that might have happened to my boyfriend of five months.

"Mia?"

I glanced up as Bella peered around the kitchen door curiously.

"He's still not responding?" My twin asked, also concerned. Jared was nothing if sweet, and neither of us could understand what could have happened.

"Yeah..."

I finally stepped back from the phone although it was with great reluctance. And I kept glancing back at the damned thing as though that would make it ring. It didn't.

"Do you think he's okay?" Bella asked tentatively. I shook my head although it was mostly in exasperation and worry.

"I don't know, Bells. I just don't understand why he wouldn't respond at all." I bit my lip. "Do you think I should tell dad? As a police officer, I mean?"

"And Niki hasn't heard anything either?"

I shook my head and Bella fell into thought.

"Why not ask Billy?" Bella suggested after some time. "Maybe he can ask around locally and find out if anything's happened to Jared."

"I tried Billy too." I sighed, my shoulders drooping automatically at the mention of dad's best friend. "Days ago. He just said he wasn't sure and would let me know if he hears anything."

Bella frowned. "That's not like him..."

"I know but what can I say to him? 'You usually know what's going on so tell me where Jared is'?" I grimaced. "I doubt he'd like that very much. It makes him sound like an old gossip."

"He is." Bella smiled slightly, clearly trying to lift my spirits up. It didn't work, and Bella gave up quickly.

"Look, Mia, maybe you can try driving down to Jared's place this weekend? Edward can take me anywhere if I need to leave the house."

"Thanks, Bells." I nodded, glancing back at the phone worriedly again as I imagined all kinds of horrific things that might have happened to Jared and his family that I hadn't thought possible until I found out what the Cullens really were. "If I don't hear back from him by Saturday, I'll go down in the truck. I'm so worried something's happened."

Bella had nothing she could say to that. Instead, she put her arms around me and hugged me comfortingly.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Mia. Jared's a good guy and he's grown massive lately. I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"I hope so." I hugged my twin, my other half, back tightly.

But it turned out that I didn't need to go looking for my boyfriend. Because that Friday night, just as I was seriously considering just driving to La Push at night as I fretted over Jared's apparent disappearance, the phone finally rang.

"Mia! It's Jared!"

The relief was palpable in my dad's voice as he shouted out to me from the kitchen. He'd been worried too, not that he'd ever admit it. Charlie liked Jared better than Edward, despite all of Edward's attempts to charm my dad (or maybe because of) but he would die before he admitted he liked either of our boyfriends. It was just a dad thing, I gathered.

At his shout, I almost flew to the phone I moved so quickly, and Charlie left to go into the living room where he cranked up the TV to give me some semblance of privacy. I silently threw him thanks as I answered the phone a bit breathlessly.

"Jared!"

"Hi, Mia."

Jared's voice was quiet, almost dead. The wave of relief that had flooded me quickly receded at his tone and I clutched the phone tightly as anxiety gripped me again.

"What's going on? Are you okay? What happened to you? I was so worried-"

"Listen, Mia…" Jared interrupted, his voice sounding distant. "I'm sorry."

I frowned. "For what?"

"I…" He took a deep breath, as though steeling himself before he continued in that low voice again. "I can't see you anymore."

I took my ear off the receiver, looked at it, and then put it back against my ear. Because clearly, there had to be something wrong. Or I had heard wrong. This wasn't like Jared at all. Jared was one of the cheeriest people I had ever met - he would never say something so nonsensical.

"What?" I checked and I heard Jared swallow audibly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered and my blood went cold.

"No… I don't understand."

I breathed out, trying to work out what was going on. Jared, while he had his faults, was kind. He wouldn't do this to me, not like this. Not over the phone.

"Tell me what happened. Why didn't you answer my calls for two weeks?"

Jared's breathing stuttered and he seemed to make a somewhat choked sound. I frowned in confusion and concern again… and dread.

"Jared?"

"I… can't, Mia. I'm sorry."

My heart clenched at Jared's words. This wasn't like him; why couldn't he tell me what was going on?

"Jared, are you okay? If you're in trouble-"

"I'm fine, Mia. I just… I..." He breathed deeply. "I want us to break up. That's all."

I stared at the wall across from me in silence for a beat. My heart had dropped like a stone at his answer and I was suddenly fighting tears.

"I have to go." He spoke abruptly, suddenly sounding desperate.

I reared back in shock before I finally lost my temper.

"The hell you do! What the hell, Jared!" I snapped sharply, anger overtaking everything else which was good because the throbbing pain in my heart was starting to really hurt.

"If you didn't care about me anymore, you could have just told me that! Did you really just sit around for two weeks, ignoring me and making me worry something had happened to you, just to break up over the damned phone?!"

"I do still care!" Jared shouted back suddenly, his tone more aggressive than I had ever heard it. Not that I cared at the moment.

"Well obviously not, if you couldn't even bring yourself to tell me to my face that you're breaking up with me!"

My voice cracked despite myself and I heard the frying pan clatter to the ground behind me as a result of my tumultuous emotions. I forced myself to calm down at least enough not to accidentally do something I would regret (like cause a cabinet to break; there was no way even Charlie wouldn't notice something like that… although maybe Edward would be fast enough to fix it even if I did?) while Jared went deathly quiet for a moment. The only sound in that brief pause was an odd shuffle over the phone and the sound of something snapping (oddly, I thought it sounded like a thick plank of wood, like a table, being broken) before Jared spoke again in an extremely tight but agonized voice.

"Mia, I… I have to go. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

The phone clicked off before I could answer. I stared at it numbly, unable to believe Jared had just broken up with me and then hung up the phone with barely any warning. I'd thought he was many things: a coward was never one of them. But apparently, I was a terrible judge of character because I'd never believed Jared to be the kind of guy to break a girl's heart without even having the decency to tell her to her face. And that was exactly what he had done.

"Is everything okay?" Bella asked cautiously. I realized numbly she must have come over when she heard the shouting.

"No." I was suddenly blinking back tears and I heard my voice tremble. "He broke up with me."

"Yeah… we heard you." Bella admitted, edging over toward me until she could gently pull me into her arms. "I'm so sorry, Mia."

That finally set off the waterworks and I buried my face into my twin's shoulder as I started to cry. Bella just held me tightly, patting my back and murmuring soothing words as she comforted me like she was my mom instead of my sister. Like she had since we were kids. Ever since she'd become the responsible one given our own mother hadn't been the best at that.

Little had we known then just how things would change. It would be months later, after I'd called Jared all kinds of nasty things when we found out he had started dating a local rez girl not three weeks after breaking up with me and long after the Cullens abruptly left Forks, that I would finally find out the truth about the Quileutes living down on First Beach… and perhaps, it was then that the wheels of fate started to turn for me as it had done for my ex-boyfriend.

Present

Lulu Volturi turns out, against all my expectations, to be a regular teenage girl.

At fourteen (almost fifteen, she protested when Demetri mentioned her age), the girl was a ball of constant energy and apparently liked to chatter non-stop. British by birth, I learnt she's been living with the Volturi since she was only nine when a vampire murdered her parents and Demetri saved her from the same fate. She's short, maybe an inch or so above five feet, but apparently she's been growing rapidly in puberty as she confided that she had grown four inches in the past year. This pleased her; the beginning signs of pimples did not. She spent a good five minutes grilling me on my skincare routine before bemoaning that good genes were everything when I stammered, "Face wash?"

I also learnt that while Lulu really did resemble Jane and Alec in an eerie way, as far as anyone could tell there was no actual relation. This didn't deter her from being fond of them from what I could tell - she spoke of few others like she did of the creepy twins and Felix. It was actually jarring to listen to her talk animatedly about the three. Alec, I admittedly knew very little about aside from the fact that he looked like a beautiful angel. But I remembered too vividly the terrible power Jane wielded without so much as a change in her expression. And Felix I recalled as being the giant mountain of muscle who had tackled Edward and threatened to crush his neck. Trying to marry those images (especially while trying desperately not to think of them eating Daisy) with the warm, fun people Lulu described was impossible so I simply let her talk as she darted from topic to topic.

Demetri doesn't interrupt either as he instead lounges on the soft blanket he'd darted to retrieve once it became apparent Lulu was disinclined to leave. Truthfully, I was a bit self-conscious as he appeared to spend the majority of the time watching my face. It was like being watched by a statue as he barely even moved at all the entire time. I ended up focusing almost solely on Lulu or on the surrounding garden so that I didn't end up embarrassing myself by looking at him. Not that it was that difficult. Lulu asked as many questions as she nattered on about other subjects (including her love of the Beatles), that she kept me almost fully engaged.

She wanted to know all about Forks after learning where I was from, how I had come to Volterra, and how I'd met Demetri. I kept my answers on Demetri short but Lulu didn't seem to mind as she instead told me more about him. Which was kind of embarrassing since he was right there although if the smirk on his face was any indication, Demetri didn't mind. And admittedly, I was very curious as to what he was like when his mask was off. Although, apparently, he wasn't that different with Lulu as when I had first met him two weeks ago.

"He's the only one who'll take me out to the weekend market." Lulu was telling me as we sat side by side amongst the roses. "Have you been, Mia?"

"Um, no..." I answer and Lulu shakes her head.

"Oh, you have to! It's really fun, there are stalls with handmade jewelry and trinkets and things, and music, and people dancing, and these caricature artists who do the prettiest drawings, and they sell flowers, and so much food! The pies especially are really good, although the fruit tart stand is yummy too." Lulu's eyes turn dreamy as she fantasizes about food for a second before she looks back at me.

"We can't always go, of course, but we'll always go when the weather isn't good. And when the weather is good, sometimes we'll go to museums instead. That's fun too, although Jane and Alec think it's boring. But I really like the history museum, especially the ancient civilizations. I think it's so fascinating how people lived back then, it's so different but so similar to how we live it's mind boggling. I think that's actually the worst part about when the Guard is called away, I can't go out as much and it gets a bit lonely since I'm left all by myself, but it doesn't happen too often so-"

"The Guard?" I ask, confused. Lulu nods.

"Yes. The Guard." She answers like it should explain everything. It doesn't. At my blank look, she looks confused. "Don't you know what the Guard is?"

"Mia's only just started to learn the laws of our kind." Demetri interjects smoothly. Lulu still looks puzzled.

"But how can she not know about the Guard? I thought everyone knew about you." She protests.

"Our kind knows about us, yes. But Mia's a regular human, it's only natural she doesn't know." Demetri answers, reaching up to brush some of my hair behind my ear when the wind blows it into my face. I try not to cringe even as I go red and try to hide my blush, but it's in vain; Lulu notices instantly. She grins and eyes me closely.

"So you didn't even know who Demetri was, but you're still dating him?" Lulu asks, looking faintly impressed. My brain, however, short-circuits.

"What?" I ask, sure I heard wrong. I can feel Demetri smothering a smirk next to me while Lulu looks at me.

"Oh, don't worry. I think it's sweet." Lulu reassures me, although I don't know why. "It's nice that you love him for more than just his position or his looks or-"

"We're not dating." I interrupt, shooting Demetri a disapproving look for not cutting in sooner. Now I was going to be the bad guy for breaking Lulu's delusion.

"Oh, you don't have to be shy." Lulu grins at me cheekily. "I like you, so if anything Demetri should be the one to be worried I'll reveal too many secrets about him."

"You wouldn't dare." Demetri threatens with a playful baring of his teeth that makes Lulu snort dismissively.

But I shake my head. "No… we're really not dating."

"What?" Lulu looks from me to Demetri, and she almost looks betrayed. "You're not dating her? But you brought her here!"

"So?" I ask, curious despite myself, at the same time that Demetri replies with a dramatic sigh, "I did, because unfortunately Mia has been quite resistant to my charms."

"Impossible." Lulu looks back at me shrewdly and I squirm nervously. "Don't you like Demetri, Mia?"

I splutter at Lulu's directness and forwardness. "I…"

I don't know how to answer that, especially as I can feel Demetri's eyes on me, suddenly focused like a hawk eyeing its prey. But really, what am I supposed to say? I can't exactly tell this girl who clearly thinks the world turns at Demetri's feet that he's a murderer. But I can't lie either and say I like him because… I don't. Right?

Lulu seems to sense something in my hesitation. But I have a feeling she's completely wrong when she lights up like she's just had an epiphany and says quickly, "Oh, never mind. Sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that."

I'm convinced that she's got the completely wrong impression but I don't bother to correct her. I just want her to move on from the topic as fast as possible.

"So, uh… what is the Guard?" I ask after a lengthy silence in which Lulu and Demetri shared several conspiratory glances I don't like and Demetri's fingers tuck my hair back a few more times before I can even reach up to do it. It takes everything in me not to slap his hand away in annoyance as Lulu zeroes in on the action every time he does it.

"Oh, the Guard are like the… police, I guess?" Lulu seems to be trying to find the right analogy. "They mostly just guard the masters and the wives, but when someone does something bad or commits a crime, then they go enforce the law."

"The law?" I ask with creeping dread. I remember all too well the law Aro had mentioned: did that mean Demetri went around killing people who found out about vampires?

Lulu nods. "You know that vampires can't ever be detected by humans, right?"

I vaguely remember Aro saying something to that effect at one point, so I nod.

"Well, some people don't follow that and create trouble. Or, you know, just create trouble in general, that happens on occasion too. So the Guard goes to make sure that the problem is dealt with."

I frown slightly. The way Lulu said those words... I glance at Demetri. He looks as relaxed as he's been the whole time but there's a sharpness in his gaze as he watches me. It's like he's waiting and I sense he's waiting for my judgement. That confirms my suspicion and I have to admit, it's hard not to feel any judgement - apparently, I wasn't off base when I called him a murderer. It's not just humans he kills (which, in a sick way, I could kind of understand if the Volturi didn't do it in such a sick way). Apparently he kills his own kind too.

'Well, you can't really judge him on that… Remember James? And Laurent?' A small voice in my head points out. 'You don't judge the Cullens or the pack for killing them.'

'Because they only kill to protect us.' The louder voice in my head retorts. 'They aren't trying to play God of all creation.'

I look away from Demetri and back to Lulu, only to realize she's also staring at me. When I look over though, she grins and suddenly gets to her feet.

"Well, I need to get going now. I told Heidi I'd finish my reading before bed and I still have two chapters left. It was really nice to meet you, Mia."

I'm startled by her abrupt movement but I shake the hand she holds out to me.

"You too, Lulu." I mean it too. Lulu is a very sweet girl and, aside from her relationship with devils, I get the feeling she's a good one too.

"Will you come again tomorrow?" Lulu asks and I blink.

"Oh… um, actually, I'm going home today."

Lulu's face falls and I feel a stab of guilt. Which is ridiculous… but it doesn't change the fact that I feel bad as she gives me a full puppy dog pout that would put even Alice to shame.

"You're leaving?" Her tone is almost accusing, although I can't tell if she's aiming that at me or Demetri. I shrug awkwardly as Lulu glances at Demetri before she looks back at me.

"But you'll come back and visit sometime again? And you'll write?"

I hesitate but I cave at her big, teary eyes. Damn me and my bleeding heart.

"Of course I'll write." I promise.

I don't say anything about coming back because I'm pretty sure the next time I'm back here is when I'm about to die. Demetri seems to sense this as he's now staring at me with a grim expression that thankfully Lulu misses as she lunges to hug me. I'm a bit surprised by how affectionate she is, but I pat her back as I hug her as well. Maybe this was what it felt like having a younger sister.

"Good." She lets go and hugs Demetri as well. I see her whisper something to him but I can't hear what it is. And then Lulu is back on her feet and she waves at me as she dashes off in the same whirlwind as when she arrived.

Leaving me and Demetri in a tense silence.

"We should get going as well if you are to get back in time to pack and get to the airport." Demetri finally says as he's suddenly on his feet and holding his hand out to me all in the space of half a second. "I guess we'll need to put a raincheck on the tour of the city. I had not intended for Lulu to take up so much of our time."

I let him help me up but pull my hand out of his as soon as possible. "Don't act like you don't know there won't be a next time - unless you plan on giving me a tour of the city before you kill me."

He shoots me a deadpan look that tells me exactly what he thinks of my bluntness. "You really are the stubbornest person I've ever met. And I've met a very great many people in my life."

"I'll take that as a compliment." I sniff as I walk past him and toward the door where we entered through. "It means I have resolve."

"Or that you refuse to admit when you are wrong. But no matter, you will see - you will return sooner than you think." Demetri says confidently as he easily catches up to me in a quick blur. I eye him sourly when he does. Damned vampires and their superhuman… everything.

"Can I ask you something?" I say as we walk through the hallway again and back toward the car.

"You may ask as many questions as you like."

"Why is there a human girl living with you?" I ask, speaking the question I've had since I first met Lulu. I hadn't wanted to ask when she was around, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was really weird for a human to be living with vampires.

"Jealous?"

"Shut up. Isn't it dangerous?" I ask, worry unintentionally seeping into my words. "I mean, what if one of you loses control for a second? And does she know about…?"

I gesture vaguely, not wanting to say the words again. Demetri understands anyway.

"There is of course a risk but we are never so hungry that Lulu would be in danger." He answers. "And of course she's aware of our diet. I do not know if she knows exactly how we eat, she has never asked me."

"And you've never told her?" I ask, a little skeptical. Demetri shrugs.

"It never crossed my mind." He says honestly. I scowl but then I realize something else. He hasn't really answered my question on what Lulu is doing in the Volturi's castle. A horrific thought crosses my mind.

"You're not keeping her around because you..." I trail off, not sure how to phrase the disturbing thoughts filling my mind. Demetri glances at me and then his eyebrow rises.

"You humans nurture your cattle before you kill them for food, don't you?" He says blandly.

I blanche. It's only when Demetri laughs at my expression that I realize he was making fun of me.

"That's not funny." I'm a little sharper than I intended to be, my stomach still queasy. Demetri snorts.

"Perhaps. But you are the one who was thinking it."

I glare at him again. Really, he was the most insufferable man I had ever met.

"Because you didn't answer my question. Why is a human girl living here with vampires?" I ask impatiently.

Demetri pauses before speaking slowly as though weighing his words carefully. Instantly, I'm on alert as it never seems to bode well for me when he does that.

"Lulu witnessed a vampire killing her parents and she saw me deal with the worthless filth. She faced the same choices that you did, only she was far too young to either be changed or trusted to keep the secret if she left Volterra. Not that she had anywhere to go anyway."

"She doesn't have any other family?" I ask in surprise.

"Not that she knew of, at least."

I feel a slight pang. "She's lucky then. At least she doesn't have to worry about hurting her family just because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Demetri pauses as he hears the note of bitterness in my tone. But he doesn't say anything as we reach the car and I get in. We drive back to the motel in silence and I stare out at the beautiful city rather than look at my companion again. Even the view of the city has been tainted by my recent experiences but it's still infinitely better than looking at Demetri and feeling let down again. But as we draw up to the motel, Demetri suddenly speaks up.

"You should understand: I don't see the world through the rose-coloured glasses you seem to think all vampires do."

I start in surprise; so apparently, he had noticed my disappointment. But I hadn't expected him to be so blunt about it.

"To me and my kind, most humans are little more than sources of sustenance not unlike how you and your kind would look at cattle. I am also quite aware of what I am and what I have done and will likely continue to do, whether to your kind or mine. Most of us here are and we accept that as it is our nature and our duty, but none of us have ever regretted this life. Carlisle Cullen is an anomaly, and in my opinion his coven is deluded to believe they are any better than us for rejecting our nature. Our kind is meant to hunt human blood. There is no right and wrong, it simply is. And if given the choice, why not choose to be the top of the food chain?"

I stare back at him as he finishes. Demetri waits for me to fully digest what he's saying.

"You may be right, no matter how twisted I find your perspective." I say at last quietly. "But it doesn't change the fact that what you do is wrong to me. I get that you look at us and see food, but just as I would think a cow looks at us as murderers, I can't condone that you willingly kill people. So don't ask me to."

Something flashes in his eyes but I just turn and start to exit the car.

"Goodbye, Demetri."

But before I'm even fully upright, Demetri is suddenly right in front of me. I jump, startled as I didn't even see him move. And then, before I have time to say anything, his hand is suddenly under my chin. His touch is gentler than I'd have expected but it's still firm as he tilts my face up and forces me to stare right into his eyes.

"I don't ask you to condone what I do, especially not when you have yet to fully understand. But understand this, now," his red eyes grow darker but it's not because of hunger. "I don't see you as food, Mia. I never have."

I stare at him, unable to move or speak. He's too close and his everything is invading my senses: his maroon eyes, his scent, his melodic voice, and his irritating yet oddly touching words, all of it makes me shiver. I part my lips, although I don't know what to say. It doesn't matter though, the motion catches his attention and Demetri's eyes flicker briefly down before returning to my eyes.

He searches my gaze and I'm not sure what he finds. All I know is that I don't move when he lowers his head down toward mine at a slightly inhuman speed. And my eyes slide shut of their own accord when his lips press against mine.

His lips are cold and hard as marble yet he is also gentle and his touch almost soft as he kisses me chastely. It's quick and by no means could it be called passionate; but every vein in my body suddenly seems to be on fire. When he pulls back, I stare up at Demetri in shock, my wide blue eyes meeting his red ones as he stares back at me with a heated gaze that tells me he's as affected as I am by the kiss.

As if to prove this, his voice is low but oddly throaty as he murmurs just above my own lips, "It is more difficult than I thought, knowing I must let you go."

I swallow hard while Demetri caresses my jaw one more time before he lets me go and steps back, never taking his eyes off of me.

"I sincerely hope that I will see you again soon, mia cara."

With that, he disappears back into his car. I can only stare as the car disappears around the corner and I'm left alone with my thoughts, although they're useless as they're all jumbled while my heart continues to pound like I've just run ten miles. The feel of Demetri's lips on mine remains like a ghostly tingle and his words continue to ring in my head in a way that makes me feel at once hot and cold. Not that that's really a shocker. When it comes to Demetri, it's like my head and heart are both thrown completely about and I'm left in a muddled mess. Even the decision I made about my life, which seemed so right even until this morning, I'm no longer so sure about as Demetri's words whisper traitorously in my head.

Feeling older and yet no wiser, I turn and numbly go back to my motel and the human world that now looks so much darker than it ever did before.