Chapter 4

Tesla stepped out onto the balcony of her penthouse suite and gazed out at the starry sky. She was enjoying the peaceful nights in Venice and the ambiance of the city. Suddenly, her senses perked up and she could hear someone drawing near. She hurried to the front door as someone rapped on it incessantly. When she answered, Josh entered without a word, leaving her confused as she looked out into the hallway.

"Josh, what are you doing here? Where is Zach? Is everything alright? Is he hurt?"

"Zach is fine. He has his mate and will get to live happily ever after, unlike me. I am not here to talk about him though. I am here to talk about us," said Josh and she eyed him curiously as she closed the door. He was pacing back and forth like a trapped animal and only wearing a pair of swim trunks.

"Where have you been and where are the rest of your clothes?"

"I destroyed them when I phased, but I didn't care. I had to get out of there. I took these off a back porch on the way here. Petty theft is the least of my worries right now."

"Okay, what is going on," she questioned and he smiled as he gazed into her eyes. He took in a deep breath and slipped his hands into hers.

"What's going on is that I want to talk about us. Tess, it doesn't have to be an imprint. My parents didn't imprint and they love each other. They overcame all of that stupid wolf stuff and so can we," he said as he played with a strand of her hair. She took a step away from him.

"Josh, you aren't making sense right now. What are you talking about?"

"I don't want her. I don't love her. I can't. She is wanted by the entire world, nothing but a criminal, and I should get to choose who I love!"

"Who is wanted by the entire world? If I couldn't smell it on you, I would have thought you were drunk. Josh, calm down and just tell me what is going on," she implored and he plopped down on the couch as he ran a hand through his hair. He was quiet for a moment and frowned as he began to look around.

"This is a really nice place. I figured as much though when you mentioned it being your favorite place to stay when you are in Italy. I was hoping you would still be here. Did you manipulate someone into letting you stay here?"

"How I earn a stay in a penthouse suite is my business, especially since your family looks down upon using my natural talents to my advantage. You are trying to change the subject though. What has happened?" He took in a shaky breath as he thought about the past three hours of his life.

"I met someone tonight and I imprinted on her," he confessed and she beamed with happiness as she hugged him.

"That is wonderful! You found your mate," she laughed, but he shook his head as he looked into her eyes to convey his seriousness.

"She is not my mate. She can't be and I don't want her to be."

"Is she not attractive?"

"No…well yes, but that isn't the point! I want you. I choose you like my dad chose my mom. You will be my mate and she will just be someone I know and protect if I have to from time to time, which, since she is a criminal will probably be more often than I want it to, but it doesn't matter. She will not have my heart. You will." Tesla hopped off the couch and shook her head profusely.

"No, no, no, I can't have your heart. Josh, you and I are not meant to be."

"But what about the wedding and the love token?"

"You are a handsome young man and I enjoy your company, but I am not your mate. You are Zach's best friend and I am happy to know you, but…." She paused as he stood up and eyed her suspiciously.

"What does Zach have to do with this," he questioned and she averted her eyes from his.

"I simply mean…."

"Allie was right about you. Zach had a crush on you and you liked that. You like him and that is why you kissed him. Wait, are you in love with him," accused Josh and she scoffed.

"Love is a very strong word. What I feel for Zach is complicated, but he is not my mate and I am not yours either."

"You aren't even trying to be! You and I could be good for each other. I am attracted to you. You are attracted to me. We have fun together, so what is the problem," he asked as he wrapped her in his arms, but she pulled away from him as she looked down with sadness evident in her eyes.

"The problem is that you are right about Zach, somewhat at least. The only people that know this are Edward because he can read my thoughts and Jasper because he knows my emotions. I am sure Alice has her suspicions but I would never act on them, not only because his mother and grandmother would dismember me, but because I want the best for him and that is not me. It never was, even before Allie. I am not his mate, but yes, he does have a very special place in my heart," she confessed.

"You love him, don't you," he asked as rejection washed over him and she sighed.

"It is far more complicated than that. You wouldn't understand. I barely understand and I have walked this earth far much, much longer than you."

"Then explain it to me," he suggested as she gazed out the window.

"Vampires do not change easily, Josh. We become very set in our ways. It takes a lot for us to change, but somehow Zach changed me. He is far too young for me and yet he makes me want to be a better person. I want to be a good person because of him."

"But if you have feelings for him, why are you so accepting of Allie? You seem happy that he found her." Tesla giggled as she turned to face him again.

"The first time I met her, I was a bit jealous….okay a lot jealous. When I found out about her, I wanted to test her. I wanted her to know that I had kissed him, but when I saw how upset he was that she was upset, I didn't want to manipulate the situation anymore. Zach is a good man and he makes people around him want to be good people. I am fond of him. I want what is best for him."

"You love him," stated Josh and she slowly nodded.

"I….I suppose I do, but I gave up on the notion of loving a long time ago."

"You still gave him the love token. That wasn't to help him find his mate was it? It was to help him find you."

"It was to help find love, no matter where it came from. Love can be complicated. When you become as old as me, you will realize that. Loving someone can mean wanting them to be happy, even if their happiness does not stem from you. He sees me as a friend and I am happy to be that for him because it is what he wants. Whatever I can be to make him happy is what I will be."

"You imprinted on him," said Josh with a chuckle and she frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"A lot of times, imprinting is tied to the notion of love, but in reality, it can be anything the person needs it to be. With my imprint, the truth is, even though I am terrified right now, I will be whatever she needs me to be, her protector, her friend, a shoulder to cry on…."

"Or her mate," she added and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Yea, I guess so."

"Then you need to go see what she wants you to be. You should be with her, not me."

"You know, the moment I saw her, I knew. It is crazy because I thought my family and Z were just exaggerating, but it is true. It is like a shift inside of me. Nothing else mattered in that moment but making sure she was safe. I would do anything for her and I hate that. I hate that she has this control over me and I don't even know her name. What if this ends badly, Tess? Every time I think I have found my mate, it ends badly. What if I see her again and find out she wants nothing to do with me?" Tesla smiled knowingly at him as she cupped his cheek and he leaned into her touch.

"So that is why you are running. You are afraid she will not choose you as her mate. You are afraid she will choose you as her protector, friend or…."

"None of the above," he admitted.

"Josh, I knew from the start that I could never be what Zach needed. It wasn't just about the age or my reputation with his family. I knew I was emotionally unavailable and even though he has warmed my heart, he deserves much better than me. He found that in Allie. You deserve much better as well. If this woman is ridiculous enough to reject you, it truly does mean she is the one that is not worthy."

"I can't have my heart broken like that again. Can't I just stay here with you instead," he asked hopefully, but she shook her head.

"I am sorry to have to do this, but it is for the best," she admitted as she gave him a hug.

"What are you going to…."

"Stop," she whispered in his ear and he was silent as he fell into a trance.

"Josh, you are going to go back to the villas, relax, eat, spend time with your family, and then get some sleep. Tomorrow, you will go to her. You will find her and show her who you are, offer your heart to her, and if she refuses it, you will not waste one tear on her. You will offer her your heart and if she does not want it, you will go find the woman that does. Those are your orders. Now go," she whispered and he turned to leave, but she grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Wait, there is one more thing. You will not remember anything I said about Zach and will no longer desire me as a mate. You see me as a good friend that will always be there for you, but nothing more. Now, go," she ordered and he departed without a word. She sighed in relief and walked back onto the balcony to gaze back out at the stars. She smirked when her phone rang and she answered.

"For a psychic, you sure are behind. Josh was already here and I already turned him away," assured Tesla and Alice giggled.

"I know you did and before you ask, yes, you did the right thing by using your power to make him come back. I am pleasantly surprised by you, Tess. You really are trying to curb your use of your power for evil. I see you still enjoy the perks of it though. That penthouse looks lovely."

"Yes, well I am a woman of high tastes in life. I think I deserve it after the good work I just did."

"You did well. Thank you for telling him to come back."

"Alice, I am just curious. How much of my conversation with Joshua did you….."

"Your secret is safe with me and it is obviously safe with Edward and Jasper since they never confirmed your feelings to me. I always suspected that you grew fond of my nephew, but I don't blame you. He is one of a kind. He will never hear it from me."

"Good, Zach is happy and that makes me happy. Goodnight, Alice, be sure to let me know when his wedding is."

"Of course I will, goodnight," said Alice before hanging up and Tesla smiled as she saw Josh running through a field in the distance, heading back toward the island.

Leah peered out at the water as she sat on the beach on Isola Marcime. She took in deep breaths to control the anger boiling inside of her and Rosalie sat down beside her with a sympathetic smile.

"Hey," said Rosalie.

"Did Jake send you out here to talk to me? I kind of snapped at him when he tried to calm me down."

"No, he actually told me to let you cool down, but I figured I have fought in vampire wars and just tried to track down a vampire that could have nuclear codes, so I could handle your blowups," she assured and Leah smirked.

"Yea, a vampire that apparently now my son has imprinted on, I can't believe this is happening."

"Can't you," asked Rosalie and Leah frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean come on, Leah. Callista, Tesla, Senna, Kachiri, Annike, and Inger, Josh has always been attracted to vampire women. Is it really a surprise that his mate…."

"Can we not call her that," growled Leah.

"Fine, his….gorilla…just so happens to be a vampire, is that really out of the realm of possibilities in your mind?"

"I don't know. I guess a part of me always figured as much, but I always held out hope."

"Hope for what?"

"For him to have a normal life, you know, a house with a loving wife, kids…."

"Oh don't tell me we are back on the normal life thing. Leah, give it up already. Look around you. We are sitting on an island in Italy that happens to belong to the rulers of the vampire world, the same rulers that asked for our help to find the most wanted criminal in the world. Our lives are not normal. They have never been normal and Josh is not normal."

"I know, but if he would have imprinted on a human girl, maybe he would have had a chance to be normal. Think about it, Rose. Josh doesn't have to be supernatural. We can stop phasing whenever we want and eventually start aging again. He could have had a human wife and given this up for her."

"Yes, he could have. He could have given up his best friend, the adventures, the avalanches, the people that love him like a son. He could have given that up, but I am selfish, so I am happy that he didn't. I can't imagine losing Josh, losing a son, so yes, I am now officially relieved that a pesky vampire came along and he imprinted. At least now that means he is stuck with us and so are you," confessed Rosalie and Leah quickly wiped the tear that streamed down her cheek.

"When you put it like that, it doesn't sound so bad."

"It isn't and I know none of us expected this to happen, especially like this, but it is going to be okay. If my son can fall in love with the daughter of an alpha who just so happened to be a human that was dating a wolf at the time, I think we can survive this," assured Rosalie and Leah sighed.

"You are right. We can," agreed Leah. The two of them sat in silence for a while as they watched the sun rise over the sea. Rosalie let out a giggle.

"What," asked Leah and Rosalie smiled smugly at her.

"I totally made you cry," teased Rosalie and Leah laughed as she nudged her.

"Shut up, you did not!"

"I did, but it is okay. It is a great speech. I would have cried too," teased Rosalie and Leah rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she mumbled and Rosalie giggled even more. They heard footsteps behind them and turned to see Jacob jogging over to them with a smile.

"He is back," said Jacob and Leah sighed in relief.

Allie slipped on her robe as she stepped out of the shower. She could hear her mate in the bedroom and dried her hair with a towel before joining him on the bed. Zach was staring at the fireplace, lost in deep thought, and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Josh will be back soon," she assured and he nodded with a smile.

"I know. He is actually here already. My Aunt Alice just told me, but his mom is yelling at him about taking off like that, so I think I will stay here until she calms down. Leah scares me sometimes."

"If Josh is back, then why do you look so worried?"

"Because we don't know this woman he imprinted on. Allie, wolves have to do whatever their imprint wants. What if she wants him to do something bad or what if she doesn't want him around us?"

"Well, you will use your force field to kidnap Josh and I will get to do what I have wanted to do since she morphed into you and kick her butt. It will be fun," she teased and his booming laugh echoed around them.

"I don't think Josh would like that."

"He would get over it."

"It is weird. Nothing has happened the way Josh and I thought it would. We both thought we would be ecstatic the moment we found our mates and throw this huge party, but both of us were mortified when it actually happened." He laughed as she punched his shoulder.

"Hey, Cullen, I am sitting right here!"

"You were dating Drew and happened to be the daughter of the alpha of your tribe, an alpha that wanted you nowhere near the supernatural. Trust me, I understand why Josh is freaking out right now. Neither of us thought finding our mates would be so complicated."

"But it worked out with you and me, so that's a good thing," she said as he pulled her into his lap.

"It definitely worked out. I just hope it works out for him. I think I get it now, why he was so nervous about my friendship with him after I met you. I don't want things to change between us. He is my best friend."

"You and Josh are like brothers and no one can come between that. If she tries, she can deal with me. I would be more than happy to put her in her place."

"Thanks, nayeli, I love you. I can't imagine my life without you," he whispered before kissing her. She tenderly kissed him back and smiled as she gazed into his eyes.

"October 1," she whispered back.

"What," he questioned and she smiled even more as she played with the curls at the nape of his neck.

"You told me to set a date. The date of our wedding will be October 1. That gives Alice time to plan, but not too much time to go overboard and hopefully Josh and this woman will have things worked out by then," she explained. His dimples were on full display as he beamed with happiness.

"Really, October 1," he asked and she happily nodded.

"October 1," she stated, but they groaned when they heard Alice run into their villa. Zach dramatically fell back onto the pillows of the bed as Alice marched into their bedroom.

"Really, Allie, October 1, that gives me virtually no time to plan! There are flowers and dresses and food for the humans and invitations to make and…."

"Aunt Alice, please I beg of you, as your nephew that you love with all of your heart, please do not turn into a wedding nazi and make this stressful on us. We already have to deal with a vampire that Josh just imprinted on…."

"Who also may be lying and still want to blow up the world," added Allie and Zach chuckled.

"Right, so we have a lot on our plate right now. We have to deal with this, but we want to get married as soon as possible as well, so please embrace an autumn wedding and don't make this any more complicated than our lives already are at the moment," begged Zach and Alice tapped her chin as she thought about it.

"Fine, I will not complain. I am just happy you finally set a date. It is about time, by the way. Lucky for you, Asa already showed me your wedding and I started making plans based on that months ago, so I am already off to a great start. This is going to be wonderful," exclaimed Alice as she clapped happily and Josh entered the room with a smile.

"Hey, glad to see you are happy I am back," said Josh as he hugged Alice and she scoffed.

"Oh please, you weren't going anywhere for long. It has been three hours, don't be so dramatic. I am mad at you for ruining your outfit though. I loved that outfit on you and that Volturi jacket was state of the art. Just because your mate turned out to be some vampire woman that we were tracking like a fugitive doesn't give you the right to ruin your wardrobe," scolded Alice and he chuckled.

"I am sorry, Alice," he said as he hugged her again.

"You should be, especially for a certain path that you tried to take earlier in Venice. Really, Josh," she asked and he smiled sheepishly.

"Can we call it temporary insanity," he asked.

"We'll call it the wolf gene," she replied and he nodded.

"Fair enough," he agreed as she skipped out of the villa. He hopped on Zach and Allie's bed and she rolled her eyes as he got comfortable on one of the pillows.

"Good to see your meltdown is over and you are back to invading our personal space," said Allie and Josh stuck his tongue out at her.

"You do seem better, J. Are you okay," asked Zach and Josh shrugged.

"I'm not sure, but I don't feel as panicked. I need to find her and figure some things out, but for now, I am just happy to be back here. I need to get some sleep, but first I wanted to tell you I was back."

"I could hear your mom yelling at you from all the way over here," he teased and Josh cringed.

"Yea, that was bad, but at least I'm not grounded. She wanted to lock me up and throw away the key, but my dad talked her out of it. I think he gets it since he imprinted on Renesmee. I better get back. I don't want my mom to freak out again. After I get some sleep, you two want to play some video games?"

"Yea sure, we would like that," said Allie and Josh winked at them as he hopped up.

"Good, see you later," he said and Zach smiled as Josh left.

"I think he is really going to be okay," said Zach and Allie rested her head on his chest.

"I hope so. I still don't like his mate," she grumbled.

"Why do I have a feeling that before this is over, you are going to attack her like you did Callista?"

"I didn't attack Callista. I simply questioned her motives and proceeded to defend myself when she didn't like my line of questioning," she informed and he chuckled as he held his mate in his arms, relieved that his best friend was back.

After spending time with his family and friends, Josh finally got some sleep. The wolf was tired after all of the stress and his adventures in Italy. He managed to sleep well past noon and only woke up when he felt someone shaking his shoulder.

"Okay, enough sleep already, I think I have been quite patient. Wake up, Josh, it is time," urged Alice and he groaned as he sat up in bed. She giggled and fixed his messy hair.

"Alice, what are you doing," he asked as she started sifting through his suitcases and placed an outfit on his bed.

"It is time to get dressed and go meet your mate." His eyes widened and he quickly scrambled out of bed.

"Wait, you have seen her? You know where she is? I planned on going to search for her today anyways….why do I feel this sudden urge to search for her anyways? I should be terrified, but I'm not. Either she loves me for me or she doesn't. Uh, that must be the imprint thing," he mumbled and Alice snickered.

"Yes, that's it, the imprint thing, nothing or no one else but that. Anyways, I still can't see her, but like I said, I can see what path you have to take to disappear from my visions and I know that you need to go to the mainland, so go shower and get going," she instructed. He ran into the bathroom and she skipped out of his room with a smile. She groaned when she saw Leah in the living room with an irritated scowl on her face.

"Before you say anything, I know we don't know who this woman is, but that is why he needs to meet her. No, I can't see her, but I do have a good feeling about this. He isn't in danger and the Volturi have already agreed to postpone any questions they may have for her until Josh figures this out. They meant what they said. As long as she isn't a threat, they are fine with her," explained Alice and Leah gave a curt nod.

"I just hope you know what you are doing." Alice planted her hands on her hips.

"Don't you take that tone with me, Leah Black! I love your son and will always do what is best for him. I am tired of people questioning me. I know what is best. I always know what is best! Now, go spend time with your husband. You have been grumpy since last night and making things tense around here. Go for swim and relax, shoo, go," ordered Alice as she pushed Leah out of the villa.

"But, Alice, I…."

"Nope, not listening, shoo," demanded Alice and Leah rolled her eyes, but headed toward the beach where Jacob was surfing. Alice smiled as she watched Jacob run over to Leah and hug her. Jasper wrapped his arms around his mate and she kissed him sweetly.

"No one orders someone to have fun like you do, darlin'," he teased and she winked at him.

"I have had years of practice," she teased back.

By the time Josh anchored in the marina of Porto Rotondo, he was a ball of nerves. His stomach rumbled out of hunger, so he decided to postpone the inevitable and stop at a bistro for lunch. As he headed toward a small café he visited before in the square, his senses perked up and a scent washed over him. He detected a vampire in the vicinity and followed the scent to a table outside the bistro. His breath hitched when he saw her there, typing rapidly on her computer, and she stopped when she sensed his presence. She took in a shaky breath when he sat down at the table and the two of them openly stared at each other in silence for several minutes before she had the courage to speak.

"I was halfway to Iran before I realized I needed to turn back around. I still think you are working some type of voodoo on me and that is why I feel the need to see you, but you did save me from the Volturi. I wanted to thank you for that. What is your name," she asked and his eyes widened in shock.

"You don't know who I am?"

"Am I supposed to?"

"Yea…well no….I guess I am just surprised. In your world, I am known as Josh Black, Zach McCarty Cullen's best friend."

"I don't know who Zach McCarty Cullen is. Then too, I don't keep up with the happenings in my world that much. The last I heard, Aro was gone and there were new rulers, but I thought that was too good to be true. Obviously, I am a bit behind on things. I keep to myself. Is Zach one of the mates from last night?"

"Yea, he is my best friend and Allie is his mate. I am surprised you haven't heard of him. It seems like everyone in your world has."

"Well not me, so you are a shapeshifter, like me?"

"Yes, but I only turn into a wolf. My tribe, the Quileute Tribe in Washington State, phases into wolves. It is part of our heritage," he whispered.

"That is some heritage."

"Yes and there is more to it than that. It is the reason you and I feel connected to each other. It is long, drawn out, and really complicated, but before I tell you all of that, there is something I want you to know. I don't know who you are, but you are safe with me. No one is going to hurt you and if you really aren't trying to bring the end of the world, then I promise you have nothing to fear. I just want to get to know you, if that is okay." She closed her computer and surveyed him quizzically before nodding.

"Well, Josh Black from Washington State, I am Natalie. I was born in Morocco, but grew up in Genoa. I have not had a true home for a very long time though." He slipped his hand into hers and she gasped at the sensation that spread through her from his touch. He let himself fully gaze at her for the first time, allowing himself to embrace the idea of their connection instead of fight it. He noticed how beautiful she truly was, the fullness of her lips, her tall, slender frame, the way reddish brown strands of hair wove intricately in with the dark brown of her curls. His eyes locked on hers again and he smiled charmingly.

"Hello, Natalie, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Finally," she questioned as she found herself leaning toward him and he nodded.

"I didn't expect for it to be you, but I have been searching for you for a while now." The smile that crept onto her lips left him speechless and he sighed happily. In that moment, he knew exactly what his family and best friend meant. Josh never put much emphasis on the idea of imprinting in his life, but in that moment, he realized how powerful it truly was.

AN: The end….for now! I hope you enjoyed and feel free to let me know what you think. By the way, I have gotten a lot of reviews and messages about people liking Callista, so here is a question for you. Which character do you like more, Callista or Tess? Let me know in your reviews or messages and until next time, love, peace, and Twilight!

~Emmettroselover