Welcome back, everyone! Hey! You sound different, Dol. And? Whatever, man. It's nice to be back in this universe again. I really am already missing Bella and Dol as our main characters. This chapter I will introduce someone that we won't know much about until later but she will be relevant.

I've come to the conclusion that the most important thing I do when writing this is make sure that Collin's "trips to the past" correspond to facts given in the first two stories. I also feel the need to mention. The "trips to the past" are part of the story but not directly going to contribute to the outcome.

Collin jerked to his feet, blinking once to focus on his surroundings. When he'd sunk into his memories he'd been in a small rock formation in the Rockies. He was still there.

The one that had touched him, it was a young girl. A completely naked girl. There wasn't any way she was older than ten. She had golden hair that ran down to her hips ad was covered in scars that looked like animal bites and claws.

The girl backed away from Collin who had crouched defensively with his teeth exposed out of instinct. He looked the girl over and instantly knew what she was. A human.

What he wanted to do was snap her neck. He should've done it. But he was interested. What was a girl her age doing out here?

Why was she naked?

More importantly.

Why was she growling at him?

It took a second for it to click with him. The girl was staring at him. Those eyes. The eternal eyes. The ever changing eyes. The eyes that belonged to his cousin, his aunt. The eyes that haunted his mother's memories.

She was an old soul.

There were only two old souls in existence. One was dead. The other was in California.

Why was he staring at those eyes then?

Why did this girl have eternal eyes?

He blinked and jumped back as the girl all but flung herself at him making an animalistic sound. She grabbed for him, her fingers bent in at the ends like an animals. He dodged her with ease, she was human but…something was off.

She was still growling. She was glaring at the vampire in front of her without a single sign of fear.

It made no sense. Humans didn't act like animals. Even Mary who was technically from a time of primitive humanity didn't act like this. The girl in front of him was acting like an animal.

She was an old soul.

This time when the girl lunged for him he caught her, carefully, around this wrist, pulling her into him and against his chest. She screamed, an agonizing sound. A raw terrible sound. The girl fought against him, trying to tear at his skin with her nails, trying to escape.

It was a fruitless effort. Her nails dug uselessly at his marble skin.

Over the terrible screams coming from the girl he heard something else, the faint sound of leaves and branches crunching beneath feet. He focused slightly, drowning out the screaming. He couldn't place the number of them there but he could smell them. He could tell what they were. Shapeshifters.

He dropped the girl and she tore off away from him, running across the ground on her hands and feet. While she ran she made a sound that was, without a doubt, a howl.

Maybe he should've left but he was curious. He climbed out from behind the rock formation he had settled down into and watched as around eight wolves emerged from the trees that the Old Soul had taken off into.

Each of the wolves stepped forward in unison, teeth bared at him, growling lowly.

The front one stopped, staring at Collin. He made a quiet sound somewhere between a growl and bark and the other wolves glanced at him before turning and bolting into the trees.

He stepped towards Collin slowly, his head low.

Collin wasn't sure what to do. He was confused by the girl, the shapeshifters, the entire situation.

After a second he shifted. The man in front of Collin was old. By human terms he had to have been at least eighty. He was a shapeshifter though. He could've been so much older. There was something else though. Something familiar. He felt he should know this man…what was it about him?

Collin tilted his head slightly, watching as the man opened his mouth then shut it then opened it again. He was staring at Collin like he'd seen a ghost.

"You look like your mother." He finally spoke. His voice cracked like someone who had just woken up from a deep sleep.

His mother.

This shifter had known his mother?

That wasn't possible.

Almost everyone his mother had known was dead. Brady, Alec, Lila, and Mary were all that were left. Alec hadn't shown his face in years though.

This shifter couldn't know his mother.

Collin returned to his defensive stance, growling at the shapeshifter. "Who are you?"

The shifter held his hands up in defense, taking a wary step backwards. "Your mother didn't know me. Not really." As he spoke the way his voice was cracking slowly dissipated until he sounded normal.

Collin ran through his memories -his mother's memories- trying to place the face of the elderly man who was standing in front of him. It clicked. A single memory.

She was in the living room window staring outside. Her parents' backs were to her but she could see the man standing there. This man. He was much younger. Somewhere around twenty. He had a sad smile on his face, he was talking to her parents. She didn't know who he was. Her parents had avoided it.

"Who are you?" Collin breathed out, staring at the man.

"My name is Billy. I am your…grandfather. I was your aunt's father."

He'd heard Billy's name mentioned while going through Quil's memories. Billy. A low growl rumbled in Collin's chest. He hadn't seen a single memory where Dol's father had been spoken of positively.

He was tempted to lunge forward towards the man, to kill him.

He could do it.

It wouldn't be hard.

Something stopped him though.

"I'll take it you've heard of me." The old man grimaced. "I am aware of the many, many mistakes I made…"

"You should've been there." Collin growled out. He knew. He knew that the only reason his grandparents had been in Volterra was because of this man. He could've gone to Forks and helped her wake up Dol but instead he sent them to Volterra. He hadn't warned them.

"I should've." He breathed out, looking up at the sky. "I shouldn't have left my Imprintee. I shouldn't have left her. I should've stuck by her side. Most of all. I shouldn't have slept with her. I never should've let it go that far. I did though. I ruined that woman's life." He paused. "I will never regret it though. Not for a single day. Do you know why?"

Collin didn't speak, he just stared at the shapeshifter in front of him.

"Your family saved the world. They might not have seen it that way but they saved the world. If my daughter had won that final battle everything human would've been destroyed. I will never call myself part of your family. I ruined that chance a very long time ago. I won't ask you not to kill me."

After a moment Collin left his defensive position, watching the shapeshifter warily. He didn't trust him. Not at all. He hated him. He'd basically caused all of his mother's suffering.

"Who is the girl?" He looked past the shifter, eying the tree line with interest. Somewhere out there he could hear the human girl's heartbeat. Ever so faintly but still there. She was close.

"We don't know." He paused. "This pack, we shut out our humanity. We don't think. We let ourselves be wolves. We experience it in every way possible. About eight years ago this girl showed up out of nowhere. Most of us didn't realize what she was. Humans don't come out here. We attacked her. Out of fear. Out of instinct."

"The scars." Collin stated absently.

"Mala saved her. She took her in as her own."

"You raised her as a wolf." Collin said, thinking of how she'd acted. Animalistic. No humanity.

"She became part of the pack. A feral child. If it wasn't for the lingering humanity in the pack she'd have probably died."

She almost died just now. That's what he almost said. He'd almost killed the girl. Still wanted to. She was a human body. A close one. She had exactly what he needed to survive.

He wasn't hungry though.

He didn't need to feed on her.

He just wanted to.

He felt compelled to. He shouldn't have. Anger. That anger that had been boiling since his mother's death was beginning to resurface. He still had a message to send. Bodies to drop.

But this girl.

"Her eyes." He said after a moment.

"She's got the eyes of a Spectral shifter. She's human though."

Of course he didn't know. They hadn't publicized the Old Souls. Not dying was one thing but rebirth was entirely different. Eternity to never truly die. The kind of power someone could gain by rebirth. It was safer for Brady if no one knew about it.

This pack was in the middle of nowhere. They were basically animals. Sharing the information didn't seem dangerous.

"She is an Anima Renatus, Old Soul, the reborn souls of old. One cursed to eternity on Earth." He quoted the memory of what Mary had told his mother when explaining Old Souls.

"She's…an Old Soul?" His grandfather stared at him.

"Yes." Collin looked up at a tree.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, she was once someone else. Someone with enough power interlaced in them to resurrect them." He ran through his memories, everyone he'd ever seen die's memories. Who was she? Was she someone they knew or had known?

When Dol had been reborn she had been reborn to look like something that meant a lot to her predecessor. Mary had explained this to him. It was why Dol hadn't looked like her mother. But Brady had only one predecessor. He didn't have a huge impact on his own appearance. Which meant that if this Old Soul only had a few predecessors she probably would've taken on her parent's appearance.

Who was she then?

He was tempted to find his way to the nearest town and call Mary.

She was the oldest creature in existence. She would know something.

He was still pissed at her though.

After what felt like eternity of going through his memories he settled his gaze on the shifter in front of him. "Where did you find her?"

He looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure. I wasn't exactly aware when it happened. "

"At least tell me you looked for her parents." His mind was still reeling through his memories, trying to figure it out. Maybe she was someone he knew.

"Mala did. We couldn't find them." He paused. "She was someone else."

"She was. She doesn't know it. She might never know." Collin paused. "You need to try and draw out her humanity. You can't make up what you did to my family. You should've been there to save El. You should've been there to help raise Dol. You can't make it up. You can help this girl though. You need to help her."

The shifter stared at him for several seconds before speaking, "You think she's someone you knew."

Collin didn't look at the shifter. "I think she deserves a normal life."

"After what your friend did? What is normal truly?"

Collin growled and tackled the shifter to the ground out of instinct. He buried his forearm into the neck of the man. The shifter didn't change forms, he struggled but he didn't change. "Do not speak poorly of her, Billy. Say what you want about anyone else. Do not speak poorly of her though." The shifter chuckled weakly, staring up at him from where he was pinned to the ground.

"You love her."

Collin jerked himself off the shifter and backed away as the shifter stood slowly. "She's my creator." He said carefully. The truth was he did love Mary. He'd loved her since he was four. He'd idolized her. Mary was more of a sister to him than Daula had ever been. When it came down to it. That's not what the shifter was implying. "And she's my sister."

The shifter backed up slightly once he was fully settled on his feet. "Just like your mother." He nodded once. "I was curious." He held out his hand. "Collin Lahote. My name is Billy Black."

Collin narrowed his eyes at the shifter.

"That was a test?"

"Just because I wasn't involved in the life of my daughters does not mean I didn't know anything about them. They would've killed their own kids to protect each other. I wanted to know if you were like your mother."

"What is the point in testing me?"

He paused before finally choosing to speak. "We heard the calls. The calls of shifters from across the world. I was testing you because I wanted to see. I needed to know if you'd do it." Slowly Billy's voice took on a pained tone.

Something was wrong.

Something twisted in Collin's gut. It was something he couldn't place. Not at first. He knew the feeling. He'd felt it before.

It was the feeling he'd felt when the police had shown up to tell them Rose was dead.

The feeling that had jolted through him when they'd rushed his mother to the emergency room.

Dread.

Fear.

Pain.

"What's wrong?" The words didn't feel like his own. They felt foreign.

He should've recognized the dread sooner. He should've. He didn't though. The anger outweighed the fear.

"One of the alphas in Asia announced something to the world. She told us, 'We have the first. We have Mer. She is ours.'"

A low growl escaped Collin. He jerked his head in the direction he knew held the nearest town.

The first.

Mer.

Mary.

They had Mary.

His creator.

His sister.

They had no right.

"Where. Where in Asia."

"Collin, wait."

He jerked away as Billy tried to grab him. "If you touch me I will kill you."

It took four seconds for him to respond. "Russia. They're in Russia."

Just like that Collin took off into the forest. He'd deal with the Old Soul later. Right now there was something more important to deal with. Someone had Mary.

Despite everything he knew he had to make one stop.

He needed to see his brother.

While he ran towards California he focused his ability. This time with purpose.

He focused on Mary.

If she was dead, he wouldn't kill the one that did it.

That would be too easy.

If she was dead.

He'd torture them.

He'd make whoever did it regret their decision.

There was a painful moment as he focused his ability before he was sucked into a memory.

Not good.

The memory was complicated. Mary didn't think in words. She thought in images. Everything was pictures.

I settled outside the treeline of the small village. The burning in my throat was mostly gone. Ak sat next to me, watching the people. She finally rose to her feet and pointed at one of the men before disappearing from sight.

That one.

That one was wrong.

That one had to die.

So I waited.

I waited until the light was gone from the sky.

Until the young man had drifted off into his shack.

Then like the monsters that crept through the forest I followed him.

It was easy.

Effortless.

I slipped through the animal skin and knelt in front of the man.

I bit into his neck.

He shouted.

The others came.

I killed them all.

Somewhere around ten people.

I killed them all.

Blind striking.

Blood covering me.

Blood covering the ground.

Collin jerked out of memory, he wasn't sure where he was.

He'd been in Mary's memories.

He'd seen her life.

He'd seen a memory from a very long time ago.

She wasn't dead.

She couldn't be dead.

He tried to dive into her memories again, he couldn't.

She wasn't dead.

She was dying.

He increased his run speed.

.-~**~-.

"Collin?" Brady sounded stunned as his cousin stormed through the door, he didn't want to think of how he must've looked. He'd spent the run crying without any tears to shed and plotting vengeance.

"Someone has her." Those were the only words he managed. They came out in a feral growl.

"Collin."

He spun on his heels and glared up at his cousin. "I am not in the mood."

Brady grabbed his arm as he spun, storming into the house. Collin was tempted to jerk away from his cousin's grip but he resisted.

"Do you have any idea how long it's been? I haven't seen you since a year before Aunt Bell died."

"We can catch up later. Brady, they have Mer. They have Mary." He turned when he spoke.

It was clear. In those ever-changing eyes. There was something older. Behind Brady's own shock was an angry child. That was who Collin needed. He needed the angry child. He needed Mer's brother. Ak's son. Not Brady. He loved his cousin but he wasn't who he needed.

"That isn't possible. I'd know. It's in my DNA to know. You must be wrong." There was a clear lie in his voice.

Collin looked away from his cousin. "I saw her memories. She's dying, Brady."

"What if you're wrong? What if your ability is adapting? Maybe she's not dying." Collin strolled through the house and walked down the small flight of stairs into the den.

He knew where he was going.

He had caught her scent the second he'd stepped through the door.

"Daula."

The old woman jerked awake, making a startled sound of protest before falling off the couch. "Collin!" The old woman complained, struggling to push herself off the floor.

He heard the sound of Brady's feet behind him.

"Where's Andy at, Dal?"

"Mexico. How's the murder going?" She responded, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Wonderful. Why aren't you with him?"

"We aren't speaking."

Collin shook his head and leaned against the wall. "Dal, you are truly pathetic." He remarked as their cousin followed him in.

"Says the bratty kid throwing a temper tantrum."

"It isn't a temper tantrum."
Daula rolled her eyes at her brother. "Uh huh. I'll believe that when Brady admits half his choices aren't his own."

"I am not getting involved in this." Brady held up his hands as he walked over to the couch, helping Daula situate herself on the couch.

"You're more involved than any of us."

"Collin, no."

"I need Bur, Brady. I'm sorry." He moved his full focus to his cousin who had completely pulled his gaze away.

"I can't." I won't.

Collin could read his cousin.

There was a reason he didn't like people talking to Bur.

He was terrified of him.

He'd seen what it did to his mother.

It had led to the death of his mother.

"Bur isn't Ak, Brady. I need him. Your imprint won't be enough to find her. We need Bur."

"I will do anything. Collin, I would die for her. You're asking me to give up myself to a million-year-old child."

"I'm asking you to help save our sister."

"I can feel the love." Daula mumbled quietly, it sounded playful but there was light hurt etched into her words

"You know what I mean, Dal."

She physically waved it off and rose to her feet carefully. "Our family is so screwed. I'm going to cook. Brady. You should do it. You should let him out."

Brady stared at the floor for a solid minute after Daula left before finally answering, "If I do this, Collin." He sounded reluctant. "Don't let him get us killed. I have more family than just the two of you. I have to come back to them."

"I will do everything in my abilities to keep you alive, Brady. You know that. We're family."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Tonight. I won't give up control to him without talking to Lila."

Collin nodded reluctantly, pushing himself off the wall and strolling over to the bed. He lounged out on it and watched as his cousin left the room. His shoulders were slumped, his head dropped.

Collin shut his eyes and sighed. Bur had never been woken up. Not directly. None of them knew what he was like. They'd seen him beneath the surface many times before but never once had they seen him. Who he was. What he was like. Would he communicate or would he behave in that ancient way Mary had occasionally let slip?

He didn't know.

Rather than dwell on the unknown he chose to sink into memories. He didn't focus on who. He just allowed them to overwhelm him.

I sat down in front of her. "I don't care what happens, Dol. Never let us lose each other."

"Never stop believing in me." She whispered and laid back. I lay down beside her and took her hand.

"Never, Dol." I mumbled, suddenly feeling the exhaust from the night hit me at the same time that Dol fell asleep. A couple minutes passed and I noticed something, she had said she would return to her ghostly form when she fell asleep. Why was she still touching me then?

I kept waiting but she didn't change, she stayed solid. Oh no. What had happened? She told me she would go back to how she was but she hadn't. That was when I heard it. The clicking of heels. Oh no. Someone was coming.

"Dol, wake up." I whispered in her ear. Dol, wake up. Come on.

I jumped when the door opened. "What do we have here?" Jane's voice filled my ears and Dol started screaming.

Everything following that. It happened in slow motion.

Jane had picked up Dol off the floor by her hair. I was frozen –at first- then I was moving. I tried to get between them but I couldn't.

"So this is the thing you've been seeing all these years." She smirked at me before turning and dragging a still screaming Dol down the hall behind her. I tried to keep up. I couldn't though.

I was jerked back when an icy hand wrapped around my wrist, stopping my dead in my tracks.

"Dol!" I shouted, struggling against the hand that held me. Dol! I added in my telepathic voice. Her screams continued sounding down the hallway as she was pulled further and further away. I spun around to shout at whatever vampire had hold of me because, at this point, I didn't care.

I stopped.

I stared.

"Caius." I choked out. This was bad. This wasn't good.

"Isabella." The way he said the words told me everything.

I was going to die.

He was going to kill me.

I'd made a terrible mistake.

Dol! I screamed the word in my head. I needed her. I needed her here. She could help me through this. She had to.

She didn't respond.

"You have made a grave mistake, Isabella."

I forced myself to calm down. It took me a couple seconds but I straightened my back and stared the vampire in the eyes.

"I will take whatever punishment my actions have earned."

He smirked at me. "Oh, Isabella. You will wish we killed you. And your friend." I tried not to cry out in pain when an icy hand wrapped around my neck. It was hard. He made an obvious effort to put enough pressure to cause me terrible pain without actually crushing my bones.

I couldn't give him that satisfaction.

Rather than scream like I wanted to, fighting every raw instinct to scream and fight. I let him hold me by my throat, I ignored the agonizing feeling of my bones trying to crunch under his hand.

I ignored the tears pouring down my face.

All that mattered in that moment was not giving him the satisfaction.

He carried me down hallway after hallway.

Aro.

Where was Aro?

We were going down.

Further into the city.

Deeper underground.

I'd never been this far.

I'd never been here.

Fear.

Just kill me.

He threw me in a dark room.

Pitch black.

Couldn't see.

"Oh, Isabella. Aro won't be able to save you this time. You'll rot down here. I promise you that." The sound of a door slamming filled my ears.

So dark.

Too dark.

Dol! I tried to focus on my surroundings but I couldn't see. It was pitch black. Dol, please!

Nothing.

No response.

So lonely.

Alone.

I didn't know how long I was down there.

It felt like years.

Dol never spoke to me.

She wasn't going to.

They didn't feed me.

They didn't give me water.

Dol was gone.

I didn't see Aro.

I didn't see anyone.

Dol was dead.

She wasn't coming back.

Hungry.

Alone.

Tired.

She was gone.

Alec brought me water.

Alec brought a bit of food.

I began to forget.

Who was she?

Why was I here?

What had happened?

"Aro!" I choked his name out.

I didn't know why I was here.

Why was I being starved?

What had I done?

Collin jerked out of the memory when someone touched his face. It took every ounce of his control not to go for her throat.

"Lila!" He growled the name, glaring at his cousin's mate.

"Come eat dinner with us." Immediately Collin regretted his hostility. She looked like she'd been crying, her voice cracked slightly with her words.

"I don't need to eat." He got up slowly, trying not to dwell on the painful memory he'd just experienced.

"Get your ass up and come eat with us." Then she was walking away from the couch and leaving him alone in the den.

He reluctantly followed her, feeling guilty as hell for putting them through a potentially lethal task. None of their kids were at the house. It was Lila, Daula, Brady, and himself. The three that were able to eat ate in silence while Collin stared at his plate.

"Do you know anything about Bur?" Daula finally asked, breaking the painful silence.

It took Collin several moments to respond. Mary had tried not to talk about Bur. He had pried occasionally but it was overly clear it was a sore subject. Unless she was the one bringing it up. "He was nothing like his mother. He was a good kid. He'd beg his mother not to kill. He'd beg Mary. Brady, you aren't giving in to someone that will mass murder. You're letting forward a young boy with pure intentions."

"Why do I have to let him forward? Why can't I just help you?"

"The ancient part of him that is bound to her. He will be able to find her. Brady, I'm sorry. You know I wouldn't ask you. I need her though."

Brady stared at his place for a long moment before responding, "you're too much like Aunt Bell. She'd have done anything to get my mother back. She loved her too much."

"I'm sorry."

"You aren't." Brady set his fork down and rose his gaze to Collin's. "Let's do this."

He got up from his spot, kissing Lila on the top of her head before walking out of the kitchen. Collin rose without a second thought and followed him.

"We don't have to leave."

Brady didn't respond to Collin's words as he continued on his path, opening the front door and walking outside. It wasn't difficult for Collin to keep up. Finally, Collin turned on the sidewalk and turned to face his cousin. "Don't let him get himself killed."

"I won't." Brady nodded once. "Bur." It felt weird addressing Bur. Only Mary had ever done it. "We need you to wake up. Wake up."

Nothing changed.

He tried to think of how Mary had woken up Ak. He focused on his sister's words from all those years.

She'd yelled.

Like a child.

She'd thrown a fit.

Maybe that would work.

"Bur! Wake up! We need you! Your aunt needs you! Your sister! Wake! Up!" Like a switch had been flipped in Brady he changed. When he blinked his eyes were changed from the ever-changing colors to the deep brown eyes that eerily matched Bella's memories of Ak.

His stance changed to that of someone that was typically scared, he held himself inward, his eyes darting around frantically.

"Bur?"

On the subject of this chapter. That Bella memory is something I've been wanting to write for a very long while. I regretted not doing it in either of the other stories.

As for the new Old Soul. Any ideas on who she was? Did Collin actually know her before she was reborn or is she someone else entirely? Might be a while before you learn the truth.

On another note. While cleaning up Blood I have managed to make the word count go up to 100k. So far the first four chapters have been cleaned up. It's weird going back because I am realizing how many of the facts were changed as the story went forward.