AN: Hey everyone! I hope you are doing well and staying safe during these strange times. Thanks for continuing to read the Choice Series and following along over the years.

If you like my style of writing, you should check out my debut book series! Absolution: Book One by Rachelle Storm is the first book in The Absolution Series. It is available now on Amazon and Goodreads in paperback and Kindle formats. (ISBN: 979-8528023656)

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

Alice did not recognize the man in her vision. Everything about him was a mystery, who he was, where he was located, and even how he was connected to her paths. One thing was clear though, the dread and fear evident in his eyes. He looked to be shaken to his very core and trembling in horror.

"What the hell are you," he questioned. She was confused by the eyes peering back at her and the question in them. Suddenly, bright lights flashed across the human's face. Two helicopters appeared overheard with spotlights scouring the alley she realized the man was in.

"We have you surrounded. Put your hands up," ordered a booming voice. She did her best to focus more on the vision and managed to survey the area. Alice gasped when she was able to see Zach, Allie, Josh, and, Natalie. There was another vampire in the alley with them that she did not recognize either. She locked in on her nephew as he let out a shaky breath and looked around at the predicament he found himself in.

"Okay, this is bad," he admitted out loud and placed his hands in the air as the helicopters continued to hover overhead.

Suddenly, she snapped out of her vision and blinked several times to reorient herself. She was on the island by the cliff she tended to frequent when her visions were nagging at her. Jasper wrapped an arm protectively around her and kissed the top of her head.

"What is it, darlin'? What did you see," he questioned and she gulped.

"Humans, Zach, Allie, Josh, and Natalie, they were exposed to humans. This is bad, Jasper," she said as she hopped to her feet and darted to Rosalie and Emmett's cottage. Jasper let out a groan as he stood up as well.

"Of course it is," he grumbled as he followed her toward.

It did not take long for her to fill in Rosalie and Emmett or for Leah, Jacob, Bella, and Edward to be updated. Rosalie immediately called her son to check on him and grew impatient with each ring of his phone.

"He isn't picking up," she said frantically before trying again. Each ring felt like a lifetime. She let out a sigh of relief when Zach's chuckle filled her ears through the phone.

"Hey, mom, what's up," asked Zach.

"Zachary Carlisle McCarty Cullen, where have you been? Where are you? Why didn't you pick up," she interrogated.

"Sorry, I was hunting and…Garrett, that doesn't count! I am talking to my mom!"

"Momma's boy," called Garrett and Rosalie glared at the phone.

"Tell Garrett to shut it before I have Kate zap him for good measure. Are you alright?"

"Yea, are you? I'm just hunting with Garrett, Nahuel, Seth, and Kaya. Allie, Natalie, and Renesmee are back at the house and Josh is catching up on some sleep. Do we need to head back already? We just got here," said Zach and Rosalie let out the breath she was holding.

"No, baby boy, stay put. I will call back later. Keep your phone on you and stay close to Tanya and Kate. Don't let Garrett get you into any real trouble."

"I won't, mom. Love you," said Zach before hanging up and Rosalie stomped her foot as she hung up as well.

"Alice, you almost gave me a heart attack! He is fine," exclaimed Rosalie and Emmett frowned in confusion.

"So, this is something that is going to happen later in the future? How soon, Alice," asked Emmett and Alice began to pace as she rubbed her temples.

"I'm not sure, but my stupid brain is doing that stupid thing that it knows I hate. I can see the alley, but I have no clue where or when or even how that path takes place," she explained and Edward nodded in agreement.

"I have no clue who the human is either. He seems like a stranger, definitely not someone they would reveal themselves to so cavalierly," agreed Edward.

"Could they have been caught off guard," questioned Bella and Jasper shook his head.

"Unlikely, I've trained Zach in how to be discreet. Plus, Natalie is more adept at such things than even I am. It doesn't make sense for a human to be able to sneak up on them like that," informed Jasper.

"Well, something happened and I can't see anything of substance about their futures. I swear if Asa is blocking me about this, I will…"

"Alice, you know Asa wouldn't block you if it would harm Zach. Plus, you can see the event, just not the path yet. That isn't her style," reminded Edward.

"So then, what do we do," asked Leah and Jacob shrugged.

"The only thing we can do, watch the boys like a hawk. Em, Rose, the four of us should head up to Denali. The rest of you should inform Carlisle and Esme of what is going on," suggested Jacob and Edward frowned at his thoughts.

"I don't think that will be an issue. Even if Alice's vision comes to fruition, they are on our side," assured Edward and Jacob smirked.

"Last I checked, the Volturi had one rule and if somehow the boys broke it and humans found out? I'm not sure how much any of them could smooth it over. I don't want them knowing unless it is completely necessary. I'm serious, Edward, and tell Carlisle the same," warned Jacob. Edward slowly nodded as Jacob, Leah, Rosalie, and Emmett departed the cottage to head for the stealth jet. Bella eyed Jacob cautiously as he left.

"What did he mean by that," asked Bella and Edward ran a hand through his unruly, bronze hair.

"He doesn't trust the Volturi not to turn on them if it means saving face in front of the rest of the vampire world. I don't agree with his assessment, but I understand that he is approaching it as a father at the moment." Alice scoffed.

"Look, things have been a bit tense lately, but Marcus and Didyme are still our friends, practically family," assured Alice, but Jasper crossed his arms.

"That doesn't mean they don't have rules to protect, especially that very important one, and we keep putting them in compromising positions. At some point, they may choose to make an example out of us to the vampire world. Exposure by one human who can be reasoned with is one thing, but based on what you described, that wasn't just one human," warned Jasper and Edward pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"The helicopters, the commands, Jasper is right, it was like some government agency of sorts and that isn't as easy to explain away," admitted Edward. Alice groaned as she sifted through her visions.

"We can add another problem to pile on, you know that human in my vision? I keep checking his paths to see where they intersect with ours. There are flickers, but nothing makes sense and then…blank," she confessed and Bella threw her head back in exasperation.

"We aren't going on vacation, are we," she grumbled and Edward smiled sympathetically at his wife.

"Isle Esme will have to wait, love," conceded Edward and Bella placed her face in her hands. She didn't know what they were about to face, but the prospect of exposure and Alice's blank vision did not bode well for any of them.

By the time Rosalie, Emmett, Leah, and Jacob arrived in Denali, Zach, Garrett, Seth, Kaya, and Nahuel had returned to the house. Josh was awake and Natalie, Allie, and Renesmee were waiting on them. Rosalie quickly filled everyone in on the issue and Alice's visions…or lack thereof.

"Blank, so wouldn't that mean wolves," questioned Tanya.

"Usually, but Alice is adamant that Josh is the only wolf in the vision," answered Rosalie.

"And this human is also a mystery to her," questioned Kate.

"Yep, just great," answered Leah.

"So then, the answer is simple. We hunker down. You head back to the island. No travel. No hunting outside of the usual regions and steer clear of alleys," suggested Tanya.

"The problem is we don't know when the vision will even take place. I'm assuming soon, but paths with Zach tend to be a bit blurry at times for Alice," confessed Rosalie and Garrett frowned in confusion.

"Since when," he questioned.

"It's an Asa thing, none of us fully understand it, but Alice tends to meddle, Asa doesn't want her meddling, therefore, Asa interferes," informed Emmett and Benjamin slowly nodded his understanding.

"So then maybe not wolves," suggested Benjamin and Zach groaned.

"This all seems ridiculous. I wouldn't expose who I am to a human and I certainly wouldn't scare them. Humans love me," assured Zach and Allie winked at him.

"As a former human, I can attest to that," she agreed and Rosalie began to pace.

"Tanya's plan is our best strategy at the moment. We don't know what we are up against or who may be involved. We should head home and stay put until Alice can get a better grip on her visions to tell us more," advised Rosalie. Jacob glanced at Leah and she nodded.

"We are going to take Josh and Natalie back to La Push with us," informed Leah and Josh frowned.

"Why can't we just go back to our place or stay on the island with Z and Allie," questioned Josh and Jacob walked over to his son.

"I would prefer if you stayed close. Plus, we have to go based on what we know from the vision and try to keep as much of it from happening as possible. The four of you were together in the vision, so it is better if you steer clear until we have more information," explained Jacob and Zach began to pout.

"This isn't fair. We didn't even do anything. Why are we being punished," asked Zach.

"Protected, not punished, Zach, it is just a precaution. If too much time passes before anything happens, we will reassess things," assured Jacob. Zach was silent, but nodded as Leah and Jacob headed outside. Allie glanced over at Natalie.

"You okay with this? I know you don't like being told what to do," said Allie and Natalie rolled her eyes at her friend.

"I don't like unreasonable demands, but if this keeps us safe then you know I am all for hunkering down. Plus, let's face it, you three are constantly in trouble," said Natalie and Allie scoffed.

"I know you aren't talking," said Allie and Natalie giggled.

"All I am saying is I have had more encounters with vampires and the Volturi than I could have ever imagined. I prefer this approach. See you online, I'll even play that new video game with you," said Natalie.

"You better," said Allie as she gave her a hug. Josh did his handshake with Zach.

"Nat is right. We can just play games online for the next few days," said Josh and Zach nodded in agreement as he began to smile.

"Cool," he agreed. Allie could sense his sadness as Josh and Natalie followed Jacob and Leah out of the house.

"Don't worry. We will figure this out. We always do," assured Allie.

"I just wish I didn't feel like this was my fault somehow," confessed Zach.

"We don't even know what happens, Zach. This isn't your fault," said Allie.

"I know you are right. I am just annoyed," conceded Zach.

For the next three days, Zach and Allie remained on the island and Josh and Natalie stayed in La Push with Jacob and Leah. To the boys, three days apart was agony, which Natalie assured them was just dramatics at its finest. They had been apart plenty of times, but Josh made sure to remind her that those times were voluntary. While Josh continued to pout about his predicament, his mother drove around town to run errands and steer clear of her son's brooding. Leah pulled in front of the Quileute Community Center to drop off the clothes Josh finally agreed to part ways with after much discussion. While he tended to only wear something once, he never enjoyed the process of getting rid of his attire. Leah noticed a car with a New York license plate parked in front of the entrance and heard a man pleading with someone as she turned to gather the bags of clothes from the truck.

"Please, it is important, if you could just make an exception."

"We do not allow visitors access to such materials. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing."

"Okay, but if you could just…" The door was closed in his face and Leah glanced over her shoulder at the man as his shoulders slumped in defeat. She pretended not to notice him and focused back on her chore, but could hear the man approaching.

"Tough crowd, are people around here always so aloof," questioned the man behind her and she shrugged.

"People around here don't really like pale fac…" She trailed off as she turned around and caught sight of the man. He was tall and muscular in stature. His rich, mocha skin complimented his hazel eyes, which immediately locked with hers. Leah felt conflicting emotions as she felt an unimaginable pull toward the human and dread at his very presence all at once. When she was younger, she wondered what such a phenomenon would feel like, but she was resolved to never feel such things long ago, well before marrying Jacob.

Jacob.

The thought of her husband made her heart race as she realized what was happening and the strikingly handsome man in front of her instinctively took a step in her direction. The buzzing of her phone startled her and she quickly answered it. Alice was already rambling.

"You're blank! Are you okay? Where is Josh? Zach is still here. What is going…"

"I'm fine. I have to go," said Leah quickly before ending the call and turning off her phone. The man let out a nervous laugh.

"People around here don't really like what," he asked and she averted her eyes from his charming smile.

"Uh…pale faces," she managed to finish and he grinned even more as he ran a hand over his bald head.

"Well, I've been called a lot of things in my life, but pale is not one of them," he teased and she silently admonished herself for how flustered he was making her.

"Outsiders, non-natives," she clarified and he let out a sigh.

"Yea, I picked up on that. Look, I'm not here to cause any trouble. I just wanted to check out this book from your library. Do you think you could help me out? I'm Carter, by the way," he said as he held out his hand and she immediately stepped back as he took another step forward. He noticed her demeanor and pulled back his hand.

"Um, I was just going. Sorry about the library. Standard procedure and all, you should try online," she said as she hurried back into her truck. Before he could protest, she sped away and he let out a sigh.

"Friendly place," he mumbled to himself as he headed back to his car.

It had been years since Leah struggled to control her emotions, but she suddenly felt as if she were spiraling. After the encounter with the stranger, she roamed around town aimlessly in her truck and let her mind wander. The impossible finally happened. She made her peace with it years ago, even found the happiness that she never thought she could in the process, but now? She shook her head in bitter amusement. Of course it happened now. Deep down, she always believed she was cursed. She was the only female in a pack, had been hardened by disappointment, heartbreak, and loss well before that, and finally had let her guard down completely. Her son was healthy, happy, and had a mate. Their family was whole. Of course that is when the universe would decide to remind her of her place in it. She drove around a while longer before turning back on her phone. Alice immediately called again and she begrudgingly answered.

"I can't deal with frantic Alice right now but I do need to…"

"I'm on my way. I'm bringing Rose. I figured you would want her there. Look Leah, I don't know what's going on, but I can sense something is wrong. I need you to know you can trust me. Meet us at the old house."

"Thanks, Alice," she said before tossing the phone in the passenger seat. Her mind was racing a million miles an hour and she wanted to get as far from La Push as possible before someone spotted her, especially her husband or son.

It did not take her long to get to the winding road that led to the old Cullen House and she was surprised to see Alice and Rosalie already waiting for her. She mustered up the last of her strength to get out of the car without breaking down into tears and Rosalie darted over to inspect her.

"What is it? What happened? Are you hurt? I will kill anyone who…"

"Rose," Leah managed to get out. Alice eyed her carefully as she approached as well.

"Leah, what happened," questioned Alice. Rosalie was surprised at the tears threatening to spill from her best friend's eyes.

"I imprinted," she whispered. The moment the words left her lips, she crumbled into Rosalie's arms to sob. Rosalie was stunned by the revelation and Alice stood in awkward silence. There were many things she could predict and many others she could fix, but imprinting was so complicated that she was not sure if she could this time.