When she looked up from her computer at the sound of a knock and smell of magical blood, Kheti reminded herself that there were other people far deserving to die by being fed upon. Magical blood lured her in like a shark to a seal, and when she opened the door, finding the rain drizzling down onto Allison Bishop huddled under her neon pink rain coat. Kheti repressed a snort as she moved to welcome the witch into her home. " I wanted to tell you that Nikolai showed up again last night. He came alone, but he kept talking about Enzo as if Enzo had a plan. If anything happens to me, all the paperwork is with the family lawyer, my mother, and a safe in the bank. I'm making you executor of my will," She crossed her arms and shrunk even further into the rain coat looking more and more like a drowned rat.

Today the witch looked like a frightened rat knowing it was cornered.

Kheti understood that fear. " You would always be family if you were turned, Allison," She always wanted a sister to look after, and fifty or so years to raise a vampiric witch from the haze hardly seemed a sacrifice. She glanced down at her wrist watch. " I have to drive Isabella Swan to school. Would you like to ride with me?"

" No-I need to get back to writing my rough draft. My agent keeps telling me that I'm not working fast enough even though its quality that matters, not quantity," The woman shrugged and then offered a small hand wave before retreating back to her home. Kheti wanted to rip her husband a new hole for terrorizing her neighbor and turning a love sick stalker into a vampire. Taking a deep breath, she snagged the keys from the hook by the door and walked down to her 2005 Ford Explorer. The brand new Blue monster offered a lot of options to her that other vehicles didn't offer, and best of all, she didn't need to make payments on it.

Driving from her driveway to the Swans took less than five minutes. Parking and knocking on the door, only to find Bella standing at the door adjusting her jacket like it was lined with poison ivy, Kheti almost regretted her choice to drive the teenage girl to school. As Bella locked up the house, Kheti waited in the running SUV. " Thank you for driving me to school," Bella said, as every bit uncomfortable as the older woman.

" It's my pleasure,"

" You really don't have to do this,"

" Well, it's either I drive you or you ride with your father to your school every morning and get picked up every afternoon," Kheti didn't need to live with Bella to know the humiliation that came with having a father that was a cop. She witnessed it enough with the people she befriended through the current centuries. The stigma attached to it ruined any hope of full acceptance for both the authority figure and the child of the authority figure.

They rode in silence until they pulled off the highway into what could have been mistaken for a small cluster of brick homes. The sign identifying it as Forks High School amused Kheti. In her time, when girls received their monthly menstruations, they were considered women. Bella already menstruated and she wasn't even called a woman yet, even if she did act like one. Everyone who probably attended menstruated and none of them would be taken seriously. To be fair though, women weren't always taken seriously, even if they were of advanced age.

" We're here," Kheti announced in the tomblike silence.

Bella just stared up at the buildings through all the greenery. Forks was the exact opposite of Egypt and Kheti loved it. It took her back to the wet and dry seasons of Egypt and how starkly different they were. " Are you interested in my father?" She asked bluntly.

" I'm married, Bella," Kheti flashed her ring again. " I don't need another man to keep me company when I have someone already to make my life difficult as is. That's the front office up there, I'm sure that Mrs. Cope will be able to help you out," Mrs. Wathers and Mrs. Cope apparently talked – a lot. In turn Mrs. Wathers talked a lot about how the high school students stacked against their parents and grandparents, often forgetting that she herself was a grandmother of a four year old grandson.

Relief crossed the girl's face as she exited the vehicle.

" I'll be here on time to pick you up," Kheti promised her faithfully. " Your father loves you, and he wants the best for you. You should remember that before you lay the guilt on him for not being around more,"

Bella closed the door with excessive force, the spurt of irritation fading away as she hunched over to weather out the rain and welcomed the dryness of the inside of the building. Bella loved both her parents too much to place the blame of their divided relationship on either party, yet the insinuation layered on a surge of anger at both Charlie and Renee for not making a better go of their marriage. Forks made her miserable, she couldn't even sleep last night because of the rain. Now she would attend a school that was roughly a tenth of the size of the school in Phoenix. It wasn't fair to her that she had to volunteer to live with Charlie just so her mother and Phil could live perfect lives.

The teenaged girl huffed as she entered the administrative building. Everyone would be watching her today too. The pair of eyes followed her to the doors and once the doors shut, Kheti returned back to her home to find herself immersed in report reading and report writing for the Volturi. She saw the tension keep the girl upright, and yet felt no pity for Bella Swan. A spoiled girl like that didn't know how good she had it.

Kheti genuinely believed that modern people lacked the respect for their easy lives. Even modern vampires lacked the proper appreciation. She stopped stroking her chin as she stared at the computer screen. She smelled him before she heard him.

A palm rested on the back of her neck, large and comfortable. " Hello, My Darling Heart," Enzo whispered, almost purring.

" I was wondering when you would find me," She responded in an equally soft voice, finding herself welcoming his touch, even if he did come to harm or threaten her.

Except Enzo removed his hand. " I spoke with Carlisle Cullen. Allison Bishop is under their protection and the shifters protect these lands…." He walked around the front of the desk to face her. She breathed deeply, finding herself lost in his presence. It'd been so long since they stood less than 6 feet away from each other that she almost forgot how much he affected her ability to focus and breathe. Good for her that breathing wasn't necessary for vampires.

" I could have told you-"

" You warned them of my presence," He hissed. This counted as yelling, although to humans the pair of vampires spoke no more than at a human whisper volume. " You told them of my plans, and you would rather pledge your allegiance to the Volturi than to me, your mate,"

" I had no choice, you left me with none,"

" Tell me why I shouldn't kill you where you sit,"

" I am significantly older than you, Enzo. I am also your wife-"

" My wife would support me!" He grabbed a picture frame of them on their wedding day fifty years ago and crushed it in his hands, the wood splintering and glass cracking. " She would not choose the-"

" I am choosing to survive, Enzo. We are apex predators with obvious flaws. If it weren't for the Volturi, how many civilizations would still stand? Child vampires almost exposed us, childish vampires who want to wage war on their enemies instead of looking to the future and what consequences those actions would bring- I am choosing the continued existence! I will not apologize for where I stand. I have lived too long to be brought down by being territorial or power hungry,"

" You are weak," He spit out like it meant something. " How can I trust you if you will not be part of my coven?"

Kheti pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes. " Nikolai is too young, and he has no gifts. You want a witch that you can't even use for the next half century, and you think that my age will mean anything to a vampire with abilities? Aro, Caisus, and Markus are surrounded by some of the best gifts known to vampires. You won't be able to reach them. It is a suicide mission,"

" I thought I knew you-"

" I am not discussing this, Enzo. I have made myself quite clear on this already," Kheti stated coldly. Truthfully she wanted to cry. She hated arguing with her mate. The look of betrayal twisting his face, the hurt nursing the malice within his cold heart – all of it wounded her more than she let on. " Now if you wanted to have dinner, I am certainly free-"

He tossed the desk to the side effortlessly with one hand, the metal and wood structure flipping harmlessly across the floor. His hand gripped her by the throat as he lifted her out of the chair. " I should kill you now," Enzo stood perfectly still, unmoving as he held her in place.

Conflicted emotions ripped through the Egyptian like a tropical storm. It'd been so long since he even touched her. So long since they spoke as husband and wife. So long since they even acknowledged one another. " Then do so already," She winced as his fingers tightened around her throat.

Enzo was a mountain of a man. Naturally bulky from his physical past before he was made, his long brown hair hung around his face in loose curls framing a face sculpted by the angels themselves. A rugged square jaw, piercing eyes, and an almost regal air about the man summed him up. As handsome as he was, he was just as lethal. " Why should I kill you when I can make you watch my plans come to fruition?" His lips rested against her cheek, trailing along her jaw line all the way to her lips. They both breathed differently now, the scent of arousal clear to both.

His hand never left her throat as he lifted her off the ground by throat and waist, securing her to his form as he carried her to the back bedroom used as a storage area until she found a better use for it. Kheti didn't fight him as he tossed her onto the bed, quickly pinning her in place as a knee eased her thighs apart. They gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Words couldn't describe the depth of their love or hatred for each other. The demanding kiss Enzo laid on Kheti smothered any possible response from the woman.

Torn clothes tossed into the air, Enzo taking his time properly disrobing instead of allowing her to touch him so freely. Husband and wife joined as one in the bed, putting aside their differences for the blessed next two hours. Afterwards, Enzo trailed one large hand along his wife's toned body, pausing just beneath her shapely breasts. Kheti enjoyed the touch, watching his face intently. " I've missed you,"

" And I you," He replied softly, resting his hand on her hip. " Is there no way I could convince you to join my cause?"

" Their laws have allowed us to survive as long as we have," Kheti answered him gently. " Children are not meant to be made so young. Trusting mortals with the knowledge of our existence is folly, and if the dangerous and foolish are not kept in check, we will be extinct before the mortals. I want to be at your side, but what you seek, what you want, it is impossible to give. You have no clear plan that would properly protect and guide our future. I am sorry, Enzo, but until you have a proper replacement for government, I can not join with your cause,"

A sad smile crossed his lips as he sighed deeply. " I thought as much,"

" Then why did you confront me on this?" She sat upright in the bed, studying him.

He laughed. " Do you know how long it has been since we've bedded each other?"

" Too long,"

" And how long it has been since we argued?"

" I don't like arguing with you," She relaxed thoroughly as she understood why he confronted her. " You know that,"

He closed the space between them again, pulling her onto his lap. His forehead rested against hers. " I love you, Sehkhet Mariani. My political and personal views will never change that," His fingers eased into her loose hair, massaging her scalp. " Will you promise me one thing?"

" You know I don't make promises I can't keep," Her breath caught as his lips teased hers.

" If the time comes where the Volturi have cornered me and intend to kill me, I would prefer it was you that ended me,"

Her eyes held his without blinking. " You ask a lot,"

Enzo kissed her again. " My heart should be the one that takes my final breath, for that breath would be for her," Kheti wrapped her arms around him, unable to speak and unwilling to make the promise he sought. Knowing this, Enzo held onto her, only letting her go when a knocking at the door a half hour later disturbed them.