Chapter 3

"Finally," Lila exclaimed as Zoey re-entered their shared workplace fifteen minutes later. "I thought I'd never see you again! I'm starving."

She hastily grabbed her coat and bag, opening the door. "See you in thirty. Table five wants extra peas."

Before Zoey had a chance to reply, the door closed behind her friend of sorts with a loud thud as Lila made her way into the city center and left Wonderland behind her.

"Bye," she said.

Turning around, Zoey saw that the restaurant was buzzing with life. Every last chair was occupied, and the sound of loud chatter filled the room, drowning out the quiet country music in the background she had grown to love over the last year. The quiet girl sighed, taking off her coat and getting to work.

Being a waitress may not have been the best job available, and of course, it had its downsides, but if anything else, it gave her space. It never required meticulous thinking, just doing. Taking orders, faking a smile, bringing people their food, repeat. Who cared what went on in her head as long as she did what she was paid to do. Most days, this bugged Zoey endlessly. But today, she couldn't possibly be more grateful for it.

Because today, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the strange encounter with Noah out of her head. His words, all of them, repeated in her mind endlessly, mercilessly.

She had lived with him like this for a year now, always aware of his true nature, but never before had she been afraid of him like she was now, she realized. Not when she had seen their faces on the WANTED posters; not when he had come back from his first hunt, covered in blood; not when one day, on her way to meet Noah in the national park, she had tripped over two bloodless bodies, eyes open in terror.

It didn't necessarily even make sense — Noah hadn't even said anything specific that would cause Zoey to be frightened. It had been more of... the way he'd said it, an unwanted promise hidden behind the malicious glint in his eyes, the anger in his words, the determination evident in the way he held himself that sent shivers down her back.

Or maybe it was because the day she couldn't keep him locked up in his metaphorical cage anymore, ensuring the safety of herself and many others, had finally come.

Either way, she couldn't remember ever having been this anxious.

"Welcome to Wonderland," she greeted an elderly couple at table three absentmindedly. "I'll be your waitress for today. You may call me Zoey. What can I get you?"

She hastily scribbled down their order and made her way into the kitchen. The cook took the small paper with a serious nod, and Zoey was just about to turn back around —table nine wanted the check— when she risked a glance at the vintage wall clock in the private part of the restaurant.

3:32 PM.

See you in thirty.

Lila was supposed to be back one and a half hours ago.

"Lila!" Zoey yelled over the sound of chatter, kitchen noises and distant country music. "Lila! Are you here somewhere?"

No response.

Worried, Zoey sprinted towards the Break Room, a windowless two-by-two meter room next to the kitchen. Its walls were painted a dull orange color, it smelled of a mix of lasagne, alcohol and the nearby bathroom, and the only item worth mentioning in it was the socket — but nevertheless, chances were that if one did not find Lila in the public part of Wonderland, she was in there, staring apathetically at the screen of her smartphone.

But when Zoey opened the door, she found it empty.

"Shit," she cursed.

She briefly contemplated calling her colleague, pulling her phone out of her dress pocket, but just as she was about to dial Lila's number she noticed Lila's phone, a white Samsung almost entirely covered in stickers or permanent marker, in her peripheral vision, lying on the floor, charging.

Zoey shut off her own phone, an old Nokia, watching the screen slowly turn back to its original black, then closed her eyes, attempting to tune out all her problems for a short, flawless moment.

Needless to say, she did not succeed.

"Allen!" the cook cried from the kitchen. "The tiramisu for six! I don't have all day!"

Sighing, she opened her eyes, making her way towards the kitchen.

There was no point in lying to herself. She'd always hated Wonderland.

With nothing else to do, Zoey continued working. The artificial smile on her lips was flawless; it were her eyes that left much happiness to be desired. None of the customers seemed to mind terribly.

Behind her mask, Zoey's uneasiness was beginning to make her physically ill. Several times she felt like she was going to faint, and her headache was growing worse by the minute. She was a strong person usually, but today, for some reason, was getting the better of her.

She found excuses to go to the private part every few minutes or so, watching time tick away on the vintage clock. At first, it passed slowly. Five minutes went by, then ten, then twenty. Then, inevitably, the minutes turned to hours. First one hour, then a second, then a third. Tempus currit. Afternoon turned to evening, light to darkness infront of the dirty gray windows of Wonderland.

Still, no signs of Lila.

Horrible, sickening imagines entered Zoey's mind. Lila lying on the pavement of an abandoned back alley, her arms and legs twisted into some terrible pose, her long brunette hair pointing in all directions and soaked in her own blood. It, in a horrifying kind of way, reminded her of the little girl they had found on the street a little over a year ago. Noah knelt next to her, eyes a startlingly bright shade of crimson, his blood soaked lips forming a sadistic, satisfied smile.

Zoey shuddered at the realization that this could have indeed well happened.

"Zoey?" the voice of Mike, the owner of Wonderland, pulled her out of her disturbing thoughts. "Your shift's over, hon. Alix and Leona'll be here any minute. Go home."

She was free. She didn't know wether she should be relieved or terrified.

"Oh. Yeah, sure. I'll just grab my coat..."

"Zoey," Mike's voice stopped her dead in her tracks. There was an unusual seriousness to it. It alarmed her. "Where's Lila? I hardly saw her today."

She shrugged nervously. "She just didn't come back from her lunch break," she whispered. "I don't know."

"I don't believe you," he said. "I'm not stupid, you know. Tell her that if she's not at work tomorrow, she can find herself another job. I have a serious bone to pick with that one."

"Yes Michael," Zoey nodded overzealously. Michael gave her one last suspicious look, then retreated back into the private section. She quickly retrieved her coat from the Break Room and exited Wonderland, not looking back.

It was pitch black night outside. She would need to depart now if she wanted to meet Noah in time, Zoey realized. If he was even expecting her after today, that was.

She stared at her car, then at her apartment building, then back at the car. And she turned back around and went inside.

For the first time in a year, she was in no mood for meeting Noah.

The apartment was empty.

Finding Lila cocooned into a blanket in her room, watching her typical obnoxious sitcoms, had been Zoey's last remaining hope, but the instant she set foot inside the apartment, all-omitting darkness and silence greeting her, she felt the last stray happiness inside of her fading away. She harbored no special feelings for Lila — on the contrary, she hardly even knew more than her name, age and profession — but the mere thought of her gone missing in a town were her unpredictable vampire brother was on the loose made her want to cry.

And so she did exactly that.

Zoey never turned the lights on. She found the way to her room in the darkness, then crawled beneath her covers still in her work uniform. Her body shook and trembled uncontrollably as tears made their way down her cheeks, before long succumbing to the sweet siren call of slumber.

When Zoey woke up several hours later, awoken by the first rays of light upon her face, she took a quick shower —washing off the dried tears— changed into a casual jeans and t-shirt, and had a coffee. There were still no signs of Lila, which was bad on more than one level. The way she knew Mike, he'd meant business yesterday, and Lila's Saturday shift had begun half an hour ago. Wherever her roommate was, she was now officially jobless.

But no, Zoey was done worrying. She'd done enough of it yesterday to almost successfully drive herself insane. And life was depressing enough as it was.

Leaving a note for Lila on the kitchen table in case she'd come back when she was gone, Zoey exited the apartment and few seconds later entered her car, headed towards the national park.

She may have been frightened of Noah, but he was still the closest person she'd got, and she had had no right to stand him up yesterday. Against popular belief, vampires obtained feelings, too. Which was why she was on her way to see him now.

She just hoped he wouldn't be hunting when she arrived.

He wasn't.

"And here I was, thinking you'd abandoned me once and for all," she heard Noah's honey-like voice as she entered the thick line of trees that marked the beginning of the forest. The smirk was audible in his voice.

"Well, to be fair, for a moment, so was I." Zoey smiled.

"I'm just glad you're back," he said, jumping out of a tree. "I missed you."

"Be a little less... intimidating next time, and it won't happen again," she replied. "And of course I came back. I promised, remember?"

"Of course."

There was comfortable silence for a moment.

"My roommate disappeared yesterday." Zoey gulped. "You haven't by any chance...fed within the city after we met yesterday?"

"Your lack of trust in me is astounding."

"I'm sorry if I offended you. I just-"

"No, I did not murder anyone yesterday. I fed just this morning, in case you want to know, but just the usual stupid teens that sneak into the park."

"Thank you." She sighed. "We could go to my apartment if you want. You want to go out more, don't you? At least this way it's a little safer for everyone but me. And I doubt Lila will be back too soon."

For a second or two there was a slightly knowing smile on Noah's lips.

"After you, then."

They arrived in Whitehorse, parking directly infront of the Wonderland building, half an hour later. Noah was out of the car within a split second.

"No offense," he said, "But you should've just let me carry you. It would have been about a hundred times quicker, and a lot more comfortable, too."

"I couldn't just leave the car," Zoey replied. "Sorry."

Noah turned around, now facing Zoey's workplace and home. "This place needs a make-over," he commented, staring into the Wonderland windows. "Good god, how does this place survive?"

"It pays the bills," she said. "And it doesn't ask questions. Quite frankly, without it, I'd live on the street. Stop bullying it immediately or I'm not letting you in."

"Well, thank whatever higher power there is for Wonderland then."

Zoey smiled, opening the door. "Come on in."

"You do know this entire having to invite a vampire in thing is bullshit, though, right?" A smirk appeared on Noah's lips. "Technically, no human could ever stop me from going anywhere."

"Duly noted."

They made their way up the staircase, Noah intruigedly taking in all possible details, until they finally reached the third floor.

"Watson & Allen, eh?" The vampire read the sign on the light gray plastic door. "Doesn't that sound flawless."

"It sounds better than it really is," Zoey explained tiredly, placing her key in the lock and turning it around. "So please, don't expect too much."

The door opened, revealing a small, poorly lit hallway with yellow linoleum flooring. Four doors led away from it, and its walls were covered in posters of movies, alternative musicians and amateur sketches. The floor was littered with shoes and books, and Zoey suddenly felt very self-conscious about her home as she noticed Noah, whose last real home had been the Moore's three-story family mansion, staring it down in dismay.

"The posters were Lila's idea," she noted quietly, hoping it would make the immortal's upcoming comment less condescending.

She failed.

"Well...it's something," Noah sneered, the arrogant, malicious tone back to his voice. Zoey shivered.

"Let's go in, shall we?" She aimlessly kicked a pair of black leather boots into the corner to make room for her visitor. "My room's the one next to the Janis Joplin photograph, but let's go to the kitchen first, if that's okay. I need a drink."

"Hello."

She heard the voice before she saw its owner. It had a young, girlish, bell-like sound to it, breathtaking even taking the slight apathy within it into consideration, and the second she heard it, Zoey knew she was doomed, for their was no way on Earth that such a beautiful sound could come from a human.

She was right.

The girl was about thirteen in appearance, and apart from the dark crimson eyes, she was every way as angelic and beautiful as Zoey had imagined after hearing her voice. Her long blond hair was in a straight bun at the back of her head, showing off her delicate, doll-like head. She was pale, like all vampires, but it fit her features. The girl possessed rosy rosebud lips and doe-like eyes, and she would have looked just like a cute little girl if not for her long black cloak and golden 'V' pendant, which gave her an air of seriousness.

"How did you get into my apartment?" Zoey asked, uncertain wether to feel fascinated or horrified at her presence.

"You left the window open," she said, staring over her shoulder at the window that was now wide open. Zoey only now saw the three males standing behind her, equally as vampiric and dressed similarly to the girl.

"My name is Jane of the Volturi," the girl continued. "Which are yours?"

She deliberated her answer for a second before replying "Zoey Allen." Noah let out a defeated sounding "Noah Moore" from behind her.

"Pleasure," Jane smiled, sarcastic all of a sudden.

"Why are you here?" Noah demanded.

A particularly tall vampire answered from behind Jane, a smirk forming on his lips. "We have come to punish the both of you for breaking one of the Volturi's most valued laws."

"What?" Zoey laughed. "I'm sorry, you have to have us mixed up. I don't even know what you're talking abou-"

"Silence," Jane hissed. "What a poor job you've done," she said, turning towards Noah, "telling the girl of our world yet leaving out all of the important parts. Oh well, what does it matter. Your lives are forfeit either way."

"Why would you even think that she knows?" Noah asked. "I have done no wrong. This is ridiculous."

"Don't you dare take the Volturi for a fool, boy!" Jane snarled. "We've seen it with our own eyes. You were out in plain sight, you two, just yesterday, openly talking about your nutrition! This is an unacceptable situation, and we are here to set it right."

"Ca-... can we just talk about this?" Zoey intervened, her heartbeats having reached a dangerous new high. "We didn't do anything wro-"

"Why do you think your friend over there has red eyes?" Jane interrupted her.

"Be...because he's like you," Zoey answered, almost croaking out the words.

"And what are we like?"

She gulped. "Vampires," she whispered.

"There you go," Jane said, looking at Noah. "She obviously knows! To hell with your lies. Just out of curiosity though, were you even planning on turning her?"

Noah didn't answer.

"I thought so."

"What... what are you going to do with me?" Zoey's voice was trembling with fright.

A boy perhaps the age of Jane spoke up. "There are only two options," he explained. "Be changed or die. Our Masters will decide once you meet them, although," he looked down at her condescendingly, "I wouldn't get my hopes up."

A single tear rolled down Zoey's cheeks.

"Please," she cried, "there must be another option. I'll do anything-"

She was interrupted by Noah. "This is all very touching," he said, "but I'm afraid I'm going to have to take my leave now."

And before Zoey could cry out, before the Volturi could even realize what was going on, Noah was already out of the window. Jane cried out in displeasure, running after Noah with the tall vampire and a messy haired male in tow. A malicious smile appeared on her face.

Within a second and a half, Zoey was left on her kitchen floor, staring into the blood red eyes of the boy that looked suspiciously similar to Jane. He said something to her, something soothing, but she didn't hear. She was numb.

She didn't care that they were going to kill her. She didn't care about the black mist appearing from the boy's palms. She didn't care who these vampires were and why they had rules. She didn't care that Noah had fled.

She cared that he hadn't taken her with him.

The strange mist touched her hands, and Zoey succumbed to darkness.

Author's Note: Hello again! I know, this update is about two and a half months late, but hey, here it is! :) Sadly I kind of lost inspiration for a long period of time, which is why I didn't update, but about three days ago it just came flying back to me, so here it is.

Thank you so much to all the amazing people that reviewed, followed and faved this story eventhough I didn't update — you deserve a cookie. And an award.

Please remember to leave a review! It would be really appreciated.