AN: Hey guys, sorry for the wait... But chapter 16 is finally here! Hopefully you think it was worth waiting for.
I would also like to let you guys know that the wonderful XMistressChaosX is writing the most awesome crack!fic for this pairing called 'Dearly Beloved'. She very obligingly wrote this story at my request and it really is very good, I highly recommend it.
Anywhoo, without further ado, I give you chapter sixteen!
Enjoy ^_^
Disclaimer: No matter how many stars I wish on, I have nerer, nor will I ever own anything at all to do with the Twilight Saga except the original idea that is this story...
CHAPTER 16
SETH POV
Okay, Seth is naturally a very sociable person, so once the awe of being alone with his imprint had worn off he was left feeling pretty bored. He and Alec had been walking through the woods for going on an hour now and in that time neither of them had uttered so much as a single word. There was only so much that Seth could find interesting about trees for God's sake!
Seth had spent a majority of the trek trying to sneak glances at his imprint without him noticing, and although Alec had not yet said anything- or even looked directly at Seth for that matter- Seth always got the feeling that the vampire knew when he was looking.
His feeling of restlessness growing, Seth sighed heavily, trying to push everything he was feeling into that one simple expulsion of air.
Seth did a very energetic happy dance in his head- complete with high-kicks and fist pumps- when his sigh made Alec glance up and meet his eyes with a questioning glance.
Relishing the chance to finally break the awkward silence Seth asked something that he had been wondering ever since he had woken up and seen Alec standing above him.
"Why do the Volturi want me?" He asked.
Alec stared at him blankly for several moment and Seth was about to give up and go back to counting trees when; "I am not at liberty to disclose that kind of information with you. If you were to somehow escape my custody this information could hinder the plans of my coven."
Seth was so consumed by the beauty of his imprints voice that he couldn't even muster up any disappointment at the uninformative answer. Seth did not however, want that voice to disappear for another hour so he continued the conversation, "Alec, I swear that I am not going to even attempt to escape you."
Seth could just see the scepticism in Alec's ruby eyes so he kept trying, "Besides, even if I was suddenly overcome with the urge to run away- which I won't be- you would be able to catch me in about five seconds flat and then I would be spending the rest of this trip with my senses cut off, which I want to happen almost less than I want to run away."
Alec continued to look sceptical, but Seth's sincerity must have convinced him (either that or Alec was just as desperate for conversation as Seth was) because he nodded slightly at Seth before looking back at their path and speaking,
"Aro saw fit to acquire himself a Quileute shape shifter, I assume to add to his collection of talented individuals. You were chosen because you have emotional connections to more members of your pack and of the vampire race than any other shape shifter that Aro witnessed in Edward's mind. I was chosen to retrieve you because my particular talent was considered to the most efficient way to extract you from your protectors with minimal fuss. As we both know this was rendered unnecessary as you were not in the presence of either your pack or the Cullen coven when I came upon you."
'Okay, that's a lot to process.' Seth thought, but then he came up with another question,
"Why did Aro choose me for you to take if I supposedly have more emotional connections in the supernatural world than any of the other wolves? Surely it would have been better to take someone less popular so that there would be fewer people trying to rescue them?" Seth asked. "Not that I would want anyone to trade places with me," he was quick to add.
"As one of the leaders of the Volturi coven, Aro does not see fit to share his every plan with me, nor would I expect him to," Replied Alec in a complete monotone.
"I see," said Seth. "Surely you must have some idea though?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him (as it often did).
Alec stared at Seth for a long time, as though trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle. Eventually he spoke, "In almost two thousand years of life I have never met someone who asks quite so many questions, supernatural or otherwise."
The words were delivered in the same emotionless tone in which Alec always spoke, however Seth swore that he could detect a hint of amusement in the depths of the vampires ruby eyes, although that could just have been a trick of the light.
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" he asked, recognising the change of subject for what it was and knowing that Alec was not going to answer any more questions on the previous subject.
Alec studied him again and Seth felt himself getting lost in the intense gaze of his imprint before Alec spoke, "You may choose to interpret it in any way you wish." He said.
Seth pondered that comment for all of three seconds before grinning hugely. "Well in that case I shall take it as a compliment," He said.
Alec's eyebrow gave a tiny twitch and his pace faltered so slightly that it was almost unnoticeable, but Seth noticed and his grin grew even larger at getting an actual, physical reaction out of the stoic boy.
As though he had never paused, Alec respectfully inclined his head in Seth's direction and murmured, "As you wish."
Not wanting to push Alec too far Seth left the conversation there, choosing instead to ponder the small pieces of Alec's personality that he had gleaned from their (admittedly short) discussion as they continued to trudge through the forest.
They walked for another two hours, the silence only occasionally being permeated by Seth's questions and attempts to start a conversation- all of which were skilfully deflected by Alec, who Seth was beginning to think just didn't like talking.
'Either that or he's just not used to it.' For some reason, this thought made Seth incredibly sad and he didn't say anything for a long time.
Sometime just before noon (judging by the sun's position, which Seth could read thank you very much) Seth's stomach began to rumble but, not wanting to disrupt Alec, Seth didn't mention it.
Suddenly, "Are you hungry?" Alec asked with his voice as apathetic as usual.
'Damn,' Thought Seth. 'I forgot about super vamp-hearing.'
"Yeah, a little bit." He said out loud, unable to actually lie to Alec but not wanting to be an inconvenience on his imprint.
"You may hunt in your wolf form if you so wish," Offered Alec. "I will easily be able to keep pace with you."
As tempted as he was to take Alec up on his offer, Seth knew that he couldn't run the risk of phasing, so he told the truth, "I can't. As soon as I phase, any member of my pack who's in their wolf form will be able to hear my thoughts. They'll know exactly where I am."
Alec stopped short and looked at Seth with the closest thing to emotion that he had ever seen on the boys face, although Seth couldn't pin-point exactly what emotion he was expressing.
"Why are you telling me this?" Alec asked quietly.
Seth felt a sudden urge to tell Alec everything- about the imprint, his family's reaction, everything- but he couldn't. He didn't want to run the risk of scaring Alec off or pushing him away, he'd made too much progress already and Seth knew that he couldn't handle being separated from his imprint now. But he also couldn't lie.
Settling on a half-truth and hoping that it would suffice for both him and Alec Seth said, "You trusted me. You offered to let me change into a form in which I could pose a threat to you if I moved fast enough. I couldn't break that trust, it just wouldn't be right."
Seth shifted from foot to foot awkwardly as Alec continued to stare at him silently, his facial expressions shifting too fast for Seth to follow before settling on something that looked a little like awe.
"You gave up the chance to possibly be rescued because you did not want to break the trust of the vampire who kidnapped you in the first place?" Asked Alec.
"Aw, come on Alec, you were ordered to kidnap me. I don't expect that you would have come at all if Aro hadn't asked you to. I know how it feels to want to please your family." Said Seth, his stomach clenching painfully as he remembered the people he had left behind to follow his imprint.
"You speak the truth," Said Alec in a tone that resembled wonder. Seth assumed that Alec hadn't meant that as a question and waited to see if he would continue.
Alec hesitated for a moment, seeming to fight an internal battle before looking right into Seth's eyes and asking, "If I leave you alone for a short period of time do you promise to stay in this location during my absence?"
Seth furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at Alec's request, but he nodded in agreement none the less.
Alec stared at him for a while longer, but before Seth's heart could actually beat out of his chest from the emotions that Alec's intense gaze were evoking in him, Alec had disappeared at a speed that only vampires and shape-shifters could truly accomplish.
Eventually overcoming his confusion at Alec's sudden vanishing-act, Seth decided not to give himself a headache wondering about it and sat at the base of one of the many trees surrounding him.
Seth had never coped particularly well with boredom and between the whole almost-battle with the Volturi, running away from home and being semi-kidnapped by his imprint Seth hadn't really had the chance to catch up on all that much sleep so it wasn't surprising when, after only a few minutes of waiting for Alec, Seth slumped gently against the tree, his soft snores echoing through the forest surrounding him.
ALEC POV
Alec wandered through the woods, taking his time to think things over, because if the fatigued look in Seth's eyes when Alec had left him was real then it was likely that he would be too busy sleeping to notice if Alec was absent for an extended period of time.
'And what if the fatigue was fake Alec, what then?' He asked himself. 'What if Seth has just been lying to you this entire time and all he's been waiting for is for you to leave him alone- just like you have now- so he could make his escape.'
These thoughts had been running through Alec's mind ever since he had left Seth to find the hungry were-wolf something to eat. He didn't understand why he had done something so reckless for a person who was supposed to be his sworn enemy and captive, but Alec still couldn't force himself to go back and check on Seth without catching the hungry boy something to eat first.
Usually it would not have taken Alec so long to hunt for a mere animal but he had been so distracted by the strange things that Seth was making him feel that he couldn't concentrate long enough to actually pinpoint any creature's heartbeat.
Alec could feel himself getting more worked up the longer he thought about Seth and he had actually turned around to make his way back to Seth when suddenly, he was overwhelmed with memories of the wolf-boy from the last three days,
'I see them as people who have made the best possible choices to survive with the life that they were given...'
'I do not hate vampires...'
'I couldn't break that trust...'
'I know how it feels...'
These memories stopped Alec in his tracks and he was overwhelmed with a warmth that he now realised he had never felt before meeting Seth. Suddenly, Alec realised that his dawdling was doing neither him nor Seth any favours, simply making him more anxious and (assuming he was even awake- and where Alec had left him) Seth more hungry.
Within minutes Alec had caught two rabbits and was speedily making his way back, to once and for all see if Seth had been telling the truth.
Alec heard Seth before he saw him and the boys soft snores echoing through the trees caused Alec to grin with true happiness for the first time in almost a decade. He passed the last few trees with haste and finally came upon Seth slumped peacefully at the base of a tall fir tree.
Alec felt his smile dim until it was only the gentlest curve of his mouth as he looked upon the sleeping boy, then, as quietly as he could (which is pretty damn quiet considering that he's a vampire and all) he sat on the ground not too far from Seth and settled down to watch him sleep, smile still in place.
SETH POV
Seth woke a little while later to see Alec sitting nearby; yet again seeming to have been watching him sleep.
Seth straightened up slowly, yawning and rubbing his eyes slowly before asking Alec, "Where did you go before?"
Alec seemed to shake himself out of some kind of daze before reaching behind himself and holding up two dead rabbits by their ears.
Seth was at a loss for words, simply staring at Alec with his mouth gaping open stupidly.
Alec looked slightly uncomfortable with Seth's staring and he shifted slightly where he sat before speaking, "You cannot hunt in your human form without a weapon of some kind and from what you have revealed to me, hunting in your wolf-form is out of the question. I do not wish for you to starve to death and so I took it upon myself to obtain food for you. I assume that you eat rabbit?"
Seth continued to stare at Alec in complete shock. His heart was beating loudly and his stomach was twisting tightly, but Seth had never felt better in his entire life.
Not fully believing that he hadn't just imagined this entire conversation and that any second he would wake up and the perfect boy sitting in front of him would be gone, Seth discretely pinched his own arm and when nothing happened, he sought clarification from Alec.
"You caught those rabbits for me?" He asked quietly.
"If they are not to your tastes I will dispose of them," Alec said quickly, making to stand up.
"No!" Yelled Seth, reaching his arms out frantically.
Seth hesitated when his yell clearly startled the vampire, but he couldn't let Alec leave so Seth forced his mouth to stammer out some semblance of English words, "I-I just... You-.. Why?"
'Yep, Seth- that was really smooth,' He chided himself. 'You couldn't have just said thank you and been done with it could you? You've just got to make yourself look like a complete idiot...'
If the slightly confused expression on Alec's face was anything to go by, his thoughts were travelling along a very similar path to Seth's.
Seth braced himself for a scathing insult of some kind, or worse- that Alec would continue on his way and leave without saying anything at all. Suffice to say; when Alec did speak Seth was pleasantly surprised.
"You understand," began Alec. "You understand that just because a person does not display their emotions openly it does not mean that they do not still feel."
Here Alec lifted the rabbits still held in his hand and said, "This is my way of expressing my gratitude to you for being the first in my extensive lifetime to treat me like a true person. This is my way of thanking you Seth."
Seth's heart stuttered in his chest. He had never heard Alec say so many words in one go, nor had he heard Alec speak with anything that so closely resembled emotion before. Couple this with the fact that his imprint had just said his name for the first time since coming to 'retrieve' Seth for the Volturi and Seth was feeling pretty damn awesome- the way that Seth's name had sounded rolling off of Alec's tongue had him literally cease breathing in shock.
When Seth finally worked up the ability to speak again he was dangerously close to crying.
"You are so very welcome Alec," He eventually choked out. "But I treat you like a person because, vampire or not, that's what you are."
Not wanting to hear Alec argue against what Seth believed with every fibre of his being to be the truth, Seth walked over to his imprint and gently took the rabbits from him, being very careful not to let their hands brush because Seth didn't think that he could handle skin to skin contact with his Alec when he was already feeling so overwhelmed.
"Thank you Alec," He whispered before leaving the vampire alone to think while Seth himself attempted to light a fire for the rabbits.
Okay, I'm not going to waste space with a huge Author's Note here as well, so please just review and let me know what you think XD