AN: Hey guys! I'm so sorry it's taken me such an unforgivably long time to update! I've literally just finished my first semester of Uni and it was pretty hectic. Also, I know I am a very slow updater (SORRY!) and, because of that, the story doesn't flow very well at all. Because of this, I didn't want to update until I had at least this chapter and the next written, so I could guarantee you guys a faster update. Again, I'm so sorry this is taking such a long time, but rest assured I am NEVER abandoning this fic, no matter how long it takes me to write the individual chapters.

Now, provided I actually have any readers left after such a long break, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

CHAPTER 20

ALEC POV

After Alec's discovery of the wonders of animal blood the atmosphere between Seth and Alec whilst travelling was markedly brighter. Alec settled into a routine of walking, hunting for both him and Seth and sitting by Seth as the werewolf slept.

Alec estimated that it would only take them four more days of walking before they would be far enough away from Forks and La Push to catch an aeroplane to Italy without running the risk of being recognised.

On the second day of travel however, there occurred a series of events that would completely alter their plans.

Alec was had drunk his fill of animal blood for the day and was now hunting for food for Seth, who had asked for privacy to relieve himself.

Alec was in the process of stalking a small herd of deer when suddenly his path was blocked by a tall, dark haired vampire who Alec recognised all too well.

Alec turned his head sharply to see a blonde vampire of similar stature to the first lurking behind him. The appearance of this second vampire confirmed what Alec had already guessed, the Romanian coven were ready to enact their revenge for his part in the destruction of their coven.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" mocked Vladimir, stepping forward slowly. "Surely not a prized possession of Aro's, all alone so far from home?"

"What do you think," he continued, "could possibly be so important to the Volturi as to require the skills of the Witch Stefan?"

"I do not know Vladimir," Stefan replied. "It must be incredibly important for Aro to have sent this one, rather than his marginally more psychopathic sister."

"Indeed," confirmed Vladimir, staring intently at Alec. "It is of little matter to us however, considering he will not live long enough to complete his mission."

It was with this threat that Alec began to draw on his power; however the mist which allowed him to cut of his opponent's senses was too slow moving to prevent Alec from being tackled to the ground by Vladimir's lightning fast attack.

Alec was relatively untrained in hand-to-hand combat. The paralysing nature of his gift generally rendered it unnecessary, and as such it did not take long for Vladimir to have Alec pinned on his back with the Romanian's hands on either side of his face, preparing to snap his neck.

At this proximity Alec's gift was useless; Vladimir did not need all of his senses to jerk his hands and render Alec headless.

"Any last words, Witch?" Vladimir snarled in Alec's face, hands tensing in preparation.

Before Alec had the opportunity to reply however, there was a strange noise in the trees, like cloth tearing, followed by a fierce howl. Before any of the vampires had time to react a huge, sandy wolf sprung from the trees and tackled Vladimir, biting into the vampire's neck and tearing his head from his body.

Right before Vladimir lost his head Alec heard Seth's wolf howl in pain and something inside him snapped. Instead of slowly flowing from his body as it always had, the mist which carried Alec's power shot from his body faster that even his superior vampire vision could follow, immediately freezing Stefan in his attempt to flee the scene.

Alec walked up behind the brunette vampire and, with no hesitation, tore the Romanian's head from his body, pulled a lighter from his shirt pocket and set the ancient vampire alight.

Once Alec was sure there was nothing left of Stefan but ash he deemed it safe enough to turn his back and walk toward Seth.

The huge wolf was lying on the forest floor, panting heavily, but as Alec approached Seth jerked his head toward Vladimir's corpse, indicating that he wanted Alec to take care of Vladimir before helping Seth.

Quickly piling Vladimir's head and body together, Alec repeated the process with which he had incinerated Stefan before turning quickly toward Seth, remembering the pained howl he had heard just as Seth had decapitated the Romanian vampire.

Alec crouched next to Seth, taking a short moment to admire the boy's wolf-form, before running his hands gently over Seth's light coloured fur in search of any injuries, knowing that any broken bones would have to be reset lest Seth's accelerated healing caused them set wrong.

Alec saw no signs of a broken bone and he was almost ready to breathe a sigh of relief when, in the fur of Seth's neck, Alec's hand encountered a warm, sticky substance. Blood.

The fact that Seth's scent was so fresh and clean to Alec meant that the vampire boy had not realised Seth was bleeding until he saw the evidence on his palm.

Alec gently parted the fur on Seth's neck, all the time whispering reassurances to the shaking wolf, and what he saw made him gasp in horror.

There on Seth's neck were two small but deep crescent shaped scars. A vampire bite.

During one of their conversations in the past weeks, in which Seth spoke and Alec listened in silence, Seth had told Alec of the deathly effect that vampire venom could have on a werewolf. Without pausing to consider it, Alec swiftly bent over Seth's neck and attached his mouth to the scars, trying his absolute best to suck the venom from the wolf boy.

Alec could taste Seth's blood clearing, becoming fresher, however it had been too long since the bite was administered and Alec knew that if he took any more Seth would not stand a chance. It was with great reluctance that Alec detached himself from Seth's neck and whispered into his ear, "I cannot remove all of it Seth, not without risking further harm to you."

Seth whimpered in what Alec interpreted as acceptance and Alec's left hand curled gently in his soft fur before speaking again, "I need you to please turn back Seth. It will be easier for me to monitor you in your human form and remaining in your wolf form may do you more harm than good."

Seth whined again and his body seemed to ripple as sandy fur retracted into smooth, tan skin until the Seth that Alec was familiar with had returned, slumped weakly on the forest floor.

Alec gently draped his dark grey cloak over Seth and wrapped it around his shoulders to provide the injured boy with some sense of modesty, his clothes having torn in the process of his transformation.

In any other circumstance Alec may have stopped to appreciate Seth's exposed skin more carefully. Now, however his eyes were completely drawn to the swollen marks on Seth's previously smooth neck.

The bite almost looked like an infected human wound, red and puffy around the edges and oozing a clear, thick liquid.

Alec knew that a vampire's bite almost always meant death for a werewolf, however Seth had told him there were some cases in history where a tribe member had survived the bite. If a wolf has no wounds or illnesses in addition to the vampire venom then it was possible their body may be able to fight the venom's effects. All Alec could hope is that this would be the case for Seth.

Alec was brought out of his thinking by the feel of a large, warm hand linking with his. He looked away from the bite on Seth's neck to see Seth's deep brown eyes gazing intently into Alec's own.

"You got most of it out," Seth rasped in reassurance. "I'm going to be fine; I just need a little rest."

Alec nodded sharply; he knew he needed to have the same optimism in order to keep himself and Seth calm for the coming trial.

As gently as he could, Alec wrapped an arm around Seth's knees and his shoulders and slowly lifted the larger boy from the ground, being sure not to jostle his neck on the way.

Slowly but surely, Alec walked back to their agreed upon campsite for the night and carefully lowered Seth to the ground, laying him gently on the grass before rising to take Seth's spare clothing from his pack.

Alec gently dressed Seth, trying his best to preserve the wolf boy's dignity as he did so. By this point Seth's eyes had closed and his skin was burning far hotter than usual, but he was shivering as though freezing.

Alec knew this reaction was Seth's body's way of fighting the vampire venom. All the same, after he finished dressing Seth Alec once again wrapped the boy tightly in his cloak, trying to provide him with as much warmth as possible.

Looking upon Seth's shivering body Alec felt an immense wave of guilt and fear wash over him. If Seth died it would be because he was protecting Alec. It seemed to the vampire as though all he had caused Seth since they had met was pain and that knowledge made Alec's un-beating heart contract sharply in his chest in a way it had not in over one thousand years.

In that moment Alec swore that if, no when, Seth woke up, he would grab on to the werewolf as hard as he could and never let go. Alec he would do everything in his power to prevent Seth from hurting like this ever again, even if it meant disobeying the direct orders of his coven.

Seeing Seth like this, knowing the pain losing the boy would cause him, it was clear now that the werewolf boy is his mate. Alec loves him more than he has loved anything during his whole immortal life and nothing will ever be more important than making sure Seth is as safe and happy as possible.

He just hopes Seth will survive long enough for Alec to have the chance to tell him.

I was going to wait until I had written the next chapter before I wrote this one, however this chapter didn't and on as big a cliff hanger as I was expecting it to and I feel as though I have made you wonderful people wait long enough as it is.

Next chapter will be Seth's POV of these events, plus a little extra ;)