Denali National Park, Alaska

October, 1987


"No! Please!"

The Denali sisters looked at each other with forlorn expresions as Raven began to cry in her sleep as she did every night.

"I'll go," Irina said quietly, patting her mates on the leg. They silently thanked her.

When Victoria left, Raven was hysterical. The joyous, talkative child that walked into their cabin was nowhere to be found. In her stead, was a shadow of a person. The young child barely said a word unless spoken to.

Although she was quiet, Raven took to Carmen, Eleazor, and Irina immediately. That surprised them as Irina was by far the most standoffish. When they really thought about it, it made sense. Irina probably reminded her of Victoria.

Tanya and Kate were more than a little jealous.

Irina had been thoroughly annoyed when she came back home to find her safe space was now filled with an infuriatingly delectable scent. However, as soon as she was informed of Raven's situation and met the child, she was completely enamored.

All three desired children, but they had given up on that long ago. Now, Raven was allowing them to have what they never imagined possible. Irina had been elated when Raven quickly warmed up to her. She sought her out more than anyone else.

"Shhh, love. Everything is going to be okay," Irina said softly, holding her in her arms.

Raven squirmed at first, before relaxing into the embrace. Irina smoothed her hand across the girls thick mane of curls and continued to console her until she calmed down.

"Vic," Raven sighed in her sleep.

Irina sighed quietly, feeling terrible for the child. She could not fathom what it was like for her to have a mate and then have them leave at such a young age. Though she was human, the pain of the bond was affecting her as it would a vampire.

Although Irina loved to travel, she could not fathom being away from her mates for more than a month. There was no telling how long it would take for Victoria to return.

The Denali Coven as a whole had no idea what to do about this situation. They were all completely at a loss. What she needed was Victoria, but that was out of the equation. She was simply a motherless child in a world she could not comprehend just yet.

All they could do was give the child a family and the love she needed.

All they could do was hope she would be happy eventually.

The next day, Carmen watched as Raven sat at the piano, pressing the keys randomly. She had been teaching her to play it recently, and it was time to practice. However, the child looked lost in thought, as if she wasn't completely there.

The vampire felt a pang in her heart and sat down beside her. Raven didn't say a word.

"I know you're sad sweetheart. I think that talking about it could help you feel better," Carmen suggested. Raven sighed quietly.

She was quiet for a long time. She simply couldn't find the words for what exactly she was feeling. It felt like her chest was aching all the time.

"My heart hurts really bad," she whispered finally, looking down at her hands.

Carmen wrapped her arms around the girl and felt her eyes water with venom. This was the closest anyone had gotten to getting her to talk about her feelings.

"I understand, pequeña. Maybe expressing yourself will help. Do you like to draw or write?"

Raven thought for a moment. She wasn't good at drawing. She drew a picture of Victoria and Laurent once but she hadn't been able to tell who was who when she was done.

"V-She gave me a journal. It's really pretty, but I haven't written in it yet," Raven said, stumbling over her name. It hurt to say it out loud.

"You can write about how you feel in your journal. You could write to her and show her when you see her again."

Raven nodded slowly, thinking it over. She could talk to Victoria, even if she wasn't there. She liked the idea of that. There were things she wanted to say to Victoria, but didn't get the chance. They swam around her head all the time, making it hard to think about anything else.

That was what hurt the most, she realized.

The things she hadn't said.


As the sun fell down below the horizon, Victoria followed James' scent deep into the Canadian wilderness. The scent was fresh. Telling her that she was on the right path. Her gift begged her to go the other way which pushed her forward.

Victoria had been hunting James down since the moment she left the Denali's home. She did not allow herself to think about what had transpired. It would only cause her more pain to think about it. She had only one thing in mind.

Killing James.

Suddenly, Victoria was hit by the overwhelming smell of vampire. James had led her right into the territory of a massive coven. The likes of which she had never encountered. There had to be at least six of them, if not more.

She skidded to a stop, ears trained on her surroundings. Her gift screamed and urged her feet to move, but she was desperate. She wanted James dead more than she wanted to live.

The stampede of the coven reached her ears, but she did not move. Instead, she decided it would be best to talk to them. Maybe James had a conversation with them.

Victoria stood her ground as the coven surrounded her. She rose a brow at the blonde woman who growled at her menacingly, her golden eyes filled with anger. Pesky animal drinkers, she mused.

"Hello, Victoria. I am Carlisle Cullen, may I ask why you're intruding on our territory," Carlisle said kindly.

She cocked her head at him, wondering how in the hell he knew who she was. She shook her head. There was no time for that.

"I'm not even going to ask. I'm looking for a vampire named James. I was following his scent and it crossed into your territory recently. Have you seen him?"

Carlisle looked to Edward with a silent question. He shook his head, having found nothing in her mind that would threaten their family. Victoria looked between them with interest.

"Yes, we have. My children chased him out of our territory just last night," Carlisle said looking to Edward and Alice.

Victoria narrowed her eyes at the short. spiky haired girl. She recognized her. Vampiric memory never fails. Memories of one of James' hunts from the early 1900s came to mind, but she didn't say a word. That didn't matter now.

"James is very angry with you, it seems. He was considering going to the Volturi about your...situation. He believes that your history with them will help him get rid of you quickly," Edward said, looking at her oddly.

Victoria blanched. If there had been blood in her body it would have drained to her feet. She was beginning to regret staying to talk to them.

If James went to the Volturi there was no guaranteeing she would live for very long, meaning he would be free to hunt Raven.

She regretted ever telling him what had happened with her old coven.

"From what I can see, he is still deciding. You need to find him before he has a chance. If he does you won't make it back to your...to Raven as quickly as you would hope. If at all," Alice explained, giving her a sympathetic look.

Victoria paced back and forth, hands gripping her hair at the scalp. She closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head. Everything was turning to shit quicker than she could comprehend it. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.

"Thank you for the information, but I have to go," Victoria nearly growled, turning to continue her hunt for James.

"I am really sorry about all of this. I'll keep in touch with with the Denali Coven and let them know what's going on. Just know that Raven is going to be okay," Alice said, smiling softly.

Victoria looked back at her with a grateful expression, before taking off again.

Her heart gave a dull ache. That was all she wanted. For Raven to be okay.

Volturi be damned.


October 24, 1987

10 years old

Dear Vic,

I found the picture you left in my journal and I almost cried but my eyes were really dry. It made my heart stop hurting so much.

Tanya bought me a wallet to put it in and I look at it all the time. We looked really happy.

I'm really really mad at you for leaving because that means you lied to me when you said you wouldn't. I thought we were best friends.

You said you love me and I don't really know what love means exactly but I think leaving somebody is the opposite of love. Because I wouldn't leave you.

Anyways I like these new people. They're really nice and they teach me stuff and cook a lot like you used to.

Carmen is teaching me the piano and Ele is teaching me guitar and Kate is gonna teach me gymnastics when I'm done with those.

I like Irina the most because she's like you. She helps me when I can't sleep and she talks to me all the time like you used to.

Even though I'm really mad, I miss you all the time. And I didn't get to tell you but I love you a lot. I wish you knew that.

I don't know why you left me but I'm sorry if I did something wrong.

Please come back soon. Everything feels different without you.

Love, Ray