Seth's Point of View

I dropped down into a sewer of Volterra. I'd followed Jasmine's scent all the way here. It wasn't long before I heard her voice. She sounded…angry?

"Put me down!" she argued with someone. It was only then that the repulsive aroma I'd learned to ignore wrapped itself around my nose. She was with a vampire? It wasn't one of the Cullens, I knew. This one smelled a lot worse.

"Don't be like that, beautiful," another, unfamiliar voice said. The bile rose in my throat. His voice was full of fake kindness. I was too tired to run, as much as I wanted to. I ran half way across the world, I couldn't possibly keep going.

"Excuse me, Mr. Henderson," Jasmine said. So, this was the bloodsucker's name. Henderson. Ew. "But I do have a boyfriend." I smiled with self contentment. It was the first time she'd ever called me that.

"Is that so?" the Henderson guy mused. "Is he as handsome as I am?"

"Even more so," Jasmine replied.

"Is that so?" he asked again. "Is he a vampire?"

"No, actually," Jasmine replied with the politeness she was raised to have. I was impressed. I knew most girls might've socked the guy in the jaw by now. Or maybe she just knew it would break her hand. "He's a werewolf."

"A werewolf!" he exclaimed. "Do they always make you smell so putrid?"

"He smells just fine to me," Jasmine argued.

"You're cute when you're angry," he said simply. I fought back the urge to run and rip the fool to pieces.

"Thomas Henderson, I demand you put me down this instant!" Jasmine screamed. That's my girl.

Thomas friggin Henderson. Ugh. I'd have to kill this guy one day.

I heard a pair of footsteps on the ground. I knew by the sound that they belonged to a human. At least he'd put her down.

"So cute," Thomas said. My hands clenched to fists. Yes, I would definitely have to kill him one day.

I heard silence for a while. It calmed me. Thomas hadn't started talking to Jasmine again and I didn't hear the Volturi's voices. I just heard Jane's usual laughter. Who was she torturing now? If Jasmine was being hurt, I swore I'd—

A scream interrupted my thoughts. I couldn't believe it. The pain in that shriek plunged a dagger into my heart.

"Jasmine!" I screamed. I ignored the pain in my legs. I pushed them as fast as they could possibly go while I was in human form. It took me longer than I'd hoped.

I walked into a stone room and saw a vampire—Thomas Henderson, no doubt—kissing Jasmine. In his hand was a dagger. I was about to stop him but the dagger was already in Jasmine's back and she was on her knees in pain. Blood was pouring out of the wound in buckets. I scooped her up into my arms and Carlisle motioned for me to run.

"We'll hold them back!" he yelled after me. No doubt he was talking about the Volturi.

"Don't leave me," I whispered to the angel in my arms, knowing she probably couldn't even hear me. Then, I started running. I looked to my side and saw Alice. I saw no trace of thirst on her face. There was only sadness.

"She's losing blood!" Alice exclaimed.

"We need to get her to a hospital," I said.

"Nonsense." Carlisle was next to me. "I can do it myself. Seth, give her to me."

I kissed her forehead gently and watched as Carlisle ran at full speed to make her safe.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked Alice. I hadn't stopped running, not for a second.

"She'll be fine," Alice assured me after a moment. "But…Seth? Will you be okay?"

"If she'll be okay, then so will I," I replied.

"I mean… that must have been painful for you. I can't possibly say how it felt to watch that dagger go into her back. But… I know it's nothing compared to what you must have felt. Seth," she put her hand on my arm, "you love her a lot more than Jasper and I do. I can see that."

"I felt as if that dagger had plunged straight into my heart, Alice," I sighed.

"I have to wonder, though," she said. "What'll happen to her when you imprint?"

"Alice," I said, "I already did. On Jasmine."

She gasped. "How did I not see this!?"

I shrugged. "Perhaps you can't see werewolves as well as you thought."

"But when?!" she asked, ignoring my statement.

I sighed. "We were back in La Push. I'd just told her that I loved her. She looked up at me and I felt it. She was the one, even more so than before."

I looked to my side to see her reaction. We'd both slowed to a walk, and my words had given Alice a spring in her step. She started clapping and smiling.

"Ooh!" she exclaimed. I couldn't say she was walking anymore. She was skipping contentedly like a five year old.

"What?" I teased.

"It just makes me so happy!" she squealed.

I laughed. "And Jasper?"

"Will be happy to see her happy," she answered simply.

"I hope you're right. I'm not ready to die quite yet."

"And…"

I sighed at her persistence. "And I don't want to die. Not when I have someone to live for."

She squealed again. I reached down and ruffled her spiky hair.

"Hey, no touching the hair," she said. "It costs more than your house.

I laughed. "Let's go."

And we started running again. Alice, of course, made it back to the sewer opening long before I did. She jumped out and I followed behind her.

"Where did Carlisle take her?" I asked.

"We rented a hotel, in case," she said. "He has his medical equipment there. He never travels without it."

"And how will we get there?" I asked.

She dangled a pair of keys in front of my face. "I stole it from that Henderson guy when he wasn't looking." She clicked a button and the lights of a black car flashed.

I laughed. "One Porsche wasn't enough?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Nope," she said. I opened the car door and got inside. Alice was already in the driver's seat, putting the key in the engine. The streets of Volterra were empty that night. We managed to go at 180 miles per hour in the sleek, black car. In minutes, we were in front of a tall building.

I didn't care to look at the name. I just got out of the car and walked through the doors with Alice at my side. We took an elevator to the third floor and Alice lead me to a room. She swiped a card and was about to open the door.

"Alice, wait," I said.

"What?" She seemed confused.

"How serious is it?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"It is so serious that she might have to be…?"

"Oh!" Alice said. "No! Of course not!"

"Then…when?"

Alice sighed. "After her high school graduation."

I sighed. That gave her two years to be human. And it gave me two years to be with her like I usually would be. I reached for the doorknob myself and pushed the door open. I had to see Jasmine now.

The inside was large and open. The windows were drawn shut and the floor was stained with Jasmine's blood. I followed the trail to another door which I proceeded to open. Jasmine seemed to be asleep and Carlisle was working on giving her stitches.

"Is she going to be all right?" I asked.

Carlisle turned to smile at me. "She'll be fine, Seth," he assured me. "Jasmine did have some blood loss, but nothing that would handicap her. No worries."

I sighed in relief. "Thank you, Carlisle."

"Seth?" a new voice asked.

"Jasper?" I asked. I turned around and saw the entire Cullen clan standing in the doorway. They all looked exhausted but relieved.

"What are you doing here?" Jasper asked. It was then that Alice pranced into the room.

"He came to rescue the love of his life," she said, simply.

"The love of his life?" Jasper mused. "Is that so?"

"Yup!" Alice answered for me. "He imprinted on her!" She started clapping and squealing again.

Jasper was suddenly stiff. His eyes became wide and a murderous fire burned in them.

"Jasper," Alice said, "be happy for her. She loved Seth, too."

"Of course," Jasper said through clenched teeth. I almost laughed. Of course this would be what every father—adoptive or biological—was afraid of. Their daughter finding someone. I felt my mouth twitch.

Emmett and Edward, however, were less polite. Both were laughing hysterically at Jasper. I saw Rosalie wanting to laugh and Alice was giggling like a schoolgirl. Renesmee was hiding her amusement by hiding her face in Bella's hair. Bella herself was just rolling her eyes, pretending to find the others immature. I saw her lips pressed together, as if she was holding back laughter herself. I nodded at her telling her to go on ahead and she started laughing as well.

"Now," Esme said, "stop laughing at your brother." She smiled at me. "Let's all go into the living room and leave Carlisle to his work."

The Cullens filed out of the room. Emmett and Edward were still laughing, Jasper was still rigid, and Rosalie had let her laughter come out and was laughing along with Alice, Bella, and Nessie. Jasper didn't seem too happy with being laughed at but he dealt with it. I was about to walk out with the rest of them but I turned around to face Jasmine.

"May I?" I asked Carlisle. He understood what I meant and smiled at me.

"Go ahead," he said and turned back to his work.

I got down on my knees to see her face. I leaned in and kissed her lightly on her lips.

A second later, she slowly opened her eyes revealing my favorite blue green gems in the world.