AN: Hey guys, long time no see! I had an awesome holiday in Japan, it's such a beautiful country and the people were all so nice! Unfortunately nobody guessed where I was going, but that's fine because we have something better to celebrate this chapter- 100 REVIEWS! Seriously guys, when I started writing this story (My first fanfic ever!) I never once imagined that it would get fifty reviews, never mind one hundred! You have seriously made me so, so happy and because no one guessed my holiday destination, this chapter is dedicated to every single one of you amazing readers who have ever reviewed my story, I love you all! XD

Anyway, enough of my babbling. I did promise you guys an update when I got back so here it is ^_^

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the rights to Twilight, including the characters.

CHAPTER 14 (Choice)

SETH POV

Seth couldn't believe it; he had to sit down again from shock. It was mere hours after he had left, after Seth had left behind his pack, the Cullen's and his home all in order to find his vampire imprint and here Alec was, standing in front of him like it was the most normal thing in the world for him to be doing.

Seth stood completely still with what he knew was a stupid expression on his face, however he couldn't bring himself to close his mouth, which had fallen open with shock the moment he set eyes on his imprint for the second time in as many days.

Alec didn't seem at all fazed by Seth's silence, simply stared at him impassively for a few minutes before stating clearly in his clear, musical voice, "Seth Clearwater. I have received orders from the leaders of my coven to retrieve you and return with you to my home city of Volterra in Italy."

Seth closed his mouth with an audible click of teeth. 'Well, that explains why he's here anyway," he thought and couldn't help but feel disappointed that Alec had only come back at the insistence of Aro and the others.

His thoughts were interrupted when Alec spoke again, obviously taking Seth's silence for a refusal.

"Of course, you are free to refuse this offer," he said. "I am quite sure that, were you to transform into your wolf form right now and run from me, I would be unable to catch you." Alec paused for a moment, as if he was struggling with what he had to say next but then his eyes hardened and he straightened further.

"I would, however advise against that particular action. If you were to run then I would be forced to follow." He said, "You are aware of my particular, talent?" Alec waited for Seth to nod in agreement before continuing, "If you run back to the Cullen's and your pack I will follow you and use whatever means necessary to remove you from their protection and transport you to Volterra by force. I must follow my orders."

Seth sensed a hint of despair in Alec's voice when he spoke of his orders and wondered on it until it was pushed completely from his mind when Alec extended his pale, smooth hand towards Seth, "So," he said. "Which path will you choose?"

JACOB POV

The Cullen's looked up in surprise as he burst through their front door but Jacob didn't even notice when the door banged against the wall so hard that two pictures and a large vase of flowers fell to the ground and smashed. He ran straight into the living room and stopped in front of Carlisle, who tried to speak, "Jacob, wha-"

Jacob cut Carlisle off before even two words had left his mouth, "Where is Edward? I need to speak to him now!"

Carlisle looked as though he was about to argue but he was stopped as Esme placed a small hand on his arm and looked at Jacob, "He's at the cottage Jacob. With Bella and Nessie."

Jacob barely heard the last half of what she said; he was already out the door and sprinting around the back.

Again, Jacob didn't bother to knock when he reached the door, instead shoving it open and running frantically through the house. He followed his nose and- resisting the urge to go to Nessie- Jacob ran straight through the closed door leading to Edward and Bella's room.

Bella and Edward were both standing in the middle of the room when Jacob burst through their door, obviously having heard him coming from a mile away.

When she realised that the intruder was Jacob, Bella relaxed. Edward however grew more and more tense the further he read into Jacob's thoughts.

"He didn't? Please tell me that he didn't?" pleaded Jacob, looking at Edward with raw hope in his eyes and voice. "This is all just some kind of elaborate practical joke and any second now he's going to come jumping out at us with that stupid grin on his face and tease me for falling for it."

Jacob felt the last of his hope come crashing down around him as Edward shook his head slowly and spoke in a voice so tortured that it reminded Jacob of the burning man Edward had been while Bella was pregnant with Nessie, "It's not a joke Jacob. I don't know what the pack said to him but the imprint definitely happened. I didn't tell anyone because I knew that this was something that he needed to tell you himself."

Jacob couldn't even bring himself to be mad at his once-enemy; he knew that he would have done the same thing in his place, especially if it was for Seth.

Jacob and Edward were so preoccupied with their own thoughts that they had both completely forgotten that Bella was in the room, they had also failed to notice that the rest of the Cullen's had appeared in the smashed-up doorway behind them, so both Edward and Jacob flinched when Bella interrupted their musings with, "Umm, sorry to interrupt guys, but what the hell is going on? Who's imprinted?"

"I think that all of us would like to know that." said Carlisle from his position in the doorway and the rest of the vampires nodded in agreement, looking towards Jacob and Edward expectantly.

Edward didn't look as though he had the strength to open his mouth, so Jacob spoke, "Seth's gone." He said, almost choking on the words as he forced them from his lips. "I found a letter hidden in one of the trees along your driveway earlier this morning. Seth imprinted on one of the Volturi and the pack didn't take it very well, so he left. And he doesn't plan on coming back."

The vampires stood in stunned silence, neither moving nor making a sound until Alice spoke up, "Are you absolutely sure?" She asked quietly.

Normally Jacob would have been angry at being questioned about something so serious but he understood Alice's need for proof so, moving in a daze he nodded and reached into the bag that was still clutched tightly in his fist and withdrew a second envelope.

"Here," Jacob said, passing the letter to Alice. "There's one for you guys too."

Alice hesitated to open the letter, simply staring at the tidy inscription written on the front in Seth's handwriting which simply said Cullen Family.

Jacob saw Alice look over to her mate with an almost pleading expression on her face. Jasper nodded slightly and suddenly a wave of calm swept through the room, causing everyone to relax their stance.

Alice shot Jasper a grateful smile- which he returned- before opening the letter and reading out loud.

"Dear Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rose, Jasper, Alice, Edward, Bella, Jake (I know you're listening bro) and Nessie,

I will assume that Jacob found his letter first and has told you guys that I am leaving- that I have already left. I'm so sorry to have to say goodbye via letter, you guys deserve so much better than this, but like I said to Jake, I know that if I see any one of you again I will keep on finding reasons to put this off until I (or one of you) convince myself not to go at all, and that is not what I want. I want to go after my imprint, more than anything I have ever wanted before. It makes me feel horrible that in order to find Alec I have to leave all of you behind when you have been so nice to me, but being practically rejected for who I am by the ones supposed to love me the most has given me the strength to make the first selfish decision of my life. I can't stand the thought that there's a chance- no matter how slim- of seeing the same look of revulsion and unacceptance in your eyes that I have seen already in the eyes of my mother, it would kill me.
Please do not follow me, I really, really want to do this and I believe that, to succeed, I have to do it on my own. You need to know that I love you all so very much. I consider you to be my second family and I love and value you just as much as I do my blood relatives. Again, I am so, so sorry to have to leave you guys- especially you Nessie, it pains me more than you will ever know that I will not be there to see you grow up. I suppose that if one good thing can come to this family by me leaving for the Volturi it is that- for the next few decades at least- Aro will be too busy studying me to try and annihilate and/or collect any of you, which makes me incredibly happy.

I want to thank you guys for accepting me into your family so long ago; it has meant more to me during the events of tonight (last night for you now) than you will ever know, and whether or not I ever see you again I want every single one of you to know that I will always consider you to be my family.

Love always,

Seth."

When Alice finished reading Seth's letter the room was silent for what felt to Jacob like hours, then suddenly and without warning, Alice dropped to her knees and sobbed. Despite- or perhaps because of- the fact that she could not actually produce tears, Alice's crying was the most heart-wrenching scene that Jacob had ever witnessed and he felt hot tears running swiftly down his own cheeks in response to her despair.

Was it good? Worth the wait? I hope so :D
I already know exactly what's going to happen in the next chapter, all I have to do is write it so hopefully I will have it done fairly soon. Maybe before I go back to school and become too depressed by homework to write ;)

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