DISCLAIMER – The Twilight saga and all the characters mentioned in it are the undisputed property of Stephanie Meyers. This story was written entirely for non-profit and the sheer love of the series and its memorable characters. Spoilers are included from pretty much included for every single book associated with Twilight. Proceed with caution if you haven't read everything, particularly The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.

AUTHOR'S NOTE – While I am always appreciative of the generous amount of support and feedback I receive in most of the reviews given some of them take a tone that is less flattering and sometimes disconcerting. Specifically, I'm referring to reviews that joke about killing me, murdering animals or hating me forever if I fail to update quickly or have my plots develop in a way they personally don't like.

I understand that this is meant in a jokey, casual manner but I don't consider it constructive or polite. I enjoy writing these fanfics very much and I try hard to update as often as I can despite working 40 hours a week, writing a novel and maintaining a personal life with my family and friends. On average, I'm updating one story or the other almost every 2 weeks for no other compensation than my desire to tell this story and the entertainment you all receive from it. Honestly, that's payment enough for me but it makes me reluctant to continue when people's only comment is demanding another chapter immediately and punctuating their impatience with comedic threats.

The vast, overwhelming majority of you are fabulous darlings so, please, don't think the occasional "I hope you update soon", "you're mean for making a cliffhanger" or "I can't wait to see what happens next" mixed in with some kind words is what I'm talking about here. I understand where you're coming from and you're not saying anything that makes me uncomfortable. I'm happy people are excited and eager to see what happens next and I try not to leave you in suspense for too long.

In short, I would hate for a few inconsiderate people to deprive everyone else contently following this story because I'm too alienated to even want to write. Please, just be civil and patient if you choose to review for my writing. Thank you.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, on with the show.

The (Not So) Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

By: Oy! Angelina

_Chapter 11_

Best Left Unsaid

I needed a reality check because this was not happening. It couldn't be. The only rational explanation was I slipped into some parallel universe where it was totally okay for me to kiss Alec.

Alec - one of the highest ranking guards of the sinister Volturi and self-confessed mass murder.

Alec - who insulted the Cullens because they were less bloodthirsty than the average vampire.

Alec - whose twin sister, Jane, tortured me twice for no reason other than being a sadistic little showoff.

Some girls had a think for bad boys but this was too much. No, it was unconscionable! Only a deeply disturbed and utterly depraved person would be okay with kissing someone like Alec. Which I was doing…now…while making absolutely no effort whatsoever to put an end to our unsolicited lip-locking.

If my little vacation from the Cullens taught me anything it was that I desperately needed to get my moral compass fixed.

After nine full seconds and more angst than any one teenager – living or undead – should need to endure I put my hands into Alec's chest and shoved him off. Unfortunately, the always bad combination of powerful emotion and brutal strength turned this into yet another newborn moment because the force it took to break our kiss sent Alec skidding twenty feet back.

Alec dug his feet in to keep from toppling over, carving matching grooves down the slope of the mountain. He didn't seem at all surprised by my reaction and the smug look on his face made me want to ride him like a toboggan all the way down the Carpathian Mountains.

"What do you think you're doing?" I shrieked.

My indignation served as a form of amusement to Alec. "Do you really need me to explain the concept of kissing to you? Because it seemed to me that you had a firm enough grasp of the mechanics there."

"Oh, I'll firmly grasp you alright!" I snarled back.

"Is that an invitation?" Alec wondered, taking a casual step forward.

"You damn well know it's a threat!" I strained the words through my teeth while taking a step back.

If I still had a working circulatory system I would have been blushing from head to toe. What was Alec thinking kissing me like that? What was I thinking by not turning him into a whack-a-mole the second I realized what he was doing? I knew it was stupid and wrong but that didn't stop my traitorous lips from giving Alec the completely wrong impression. Did I do something else to make him think I would welcome being kissed by him? Better question: why did he want to kiss me in the first place? Maybe this was how Alec got his laughs – Jane physically tormented people while he emotionally and psychologically tormented them.

"You just really have no concept of personal space, you know that?" I sputtered out while continuing my retreat. "You can't just kiss people without warning, okay?"

"Was there a form I needed to fill out before hand?" Alec asked. When I growled in response he laughed. "I'm sorry; I just don't see why you're so upset. People kiss each other all the time without declaring their intentions. If you were any more mortally offended I would think you were the product of a different generation."

"I'm thrilled you're such a progressive guy, Alec, but that has nothing to do with why I'm mad," I said icily. Alec's refusal to take my outrage the least bit seriously did not bode well for his personal safety. At least he had enough sense to keep the gap I created between us in tact while I fumed on. "Can you seriously not comprehend why this would be weird for me? I didn't even know you twenty-four hours ago and – upon meeting you – I had the uncontrollable urge to kick you off a roof! I was fleeing the country when you abducted me from a hotel room and brought me here!"

Alec shrugged at my list of gripes and grievances. "And you agreed to stay. Obviously you can't be that mad if you were willing to spend time with me despite all that."

That was an excellent point and I kill Alec for making it. What was wrong with me? There was no logical reason for me to be spending time with Alec. Did I have Stockholm syndrome or something? If there were vampire therapists, I needed to schedule an appointment because I didn't want my second life to be as messed up as the first one.

"I'm going home," I announced, already turning to head back down the mountain peak.

Alec's eyes popped open. "What? Why?"

I shook my head. "Do you really need to ask?"

"Yes!" Alec said fiercely. "A couple minutes ago we were having a perfectly good time and suddenly you want to go home?"

Now he had the decency to look shocked. No longer content with keeping his distance, Alec took a couple tentative steps towards me. I knew if I made an attempt to run he would just chase after me, probably across the Atlantic itself. Alec already proved how tenacious he could be and - after that kiss - I was afraid I had a stalker on my hands. I needed to make myself clear here and now, otherwise I would always be looking over my shoulder, waiting for Alec or his power to creep up again.

"What do you mean suddenly? You knew I wanted to go home," I said, folding my arms. "I promised Esme and everyone else that I would be on the first flight out tonight. You saw to it that wouldn't happen but I still have every intention of flying out of here tonight."

Hopefully Alice saw the reason for my delay and would tell Esme so she wouldn't worry. Oh no…that meant Alice also probably just saw Alec kiss me. I crushed my eyes shut and suppressed a groan. This was not something I wanted the Cullens knowing about, especially Emmett. Assuming I didn't get kicked out of the house for fraternizing with the enemy this was bound to become one of Emmett's favorite talking-points for the rest of eternity.

Alec made a face. "But you didn't care about any of that before I kissed you."

"Which should tell you how much I enjoyed the experience," I said impatiently.

"You must not have hated it considering the fact you let me continue doing it for more than a second," Alec said with an ample amount of snark. He didn't seem to like this tone any more than I did so Alec drew a sobering breath and tried again, calmer this time. "Bree, I'm not saying this because I want you to feel embarrassed or ashamed of yourself. I'm just trying to illustrate a point, namely that we were getting along very well despite an awkward introduction. I don't want you to rush off in haste because I acted on an impulse. If I can get over you kicking me from a cathedral, can't you find some way to cope with me kissing you?"

"Maybe, if I had any clue why you did it in the first place," I told Alec point blank. "I explained why I kicked you and apologized for it. Why don't you do the same?"

Alec gave me an incredulous look, the narrowed his eyes as his lips formed a thin line. "You want me to explain why I kissed you? Fine; I felt like it. That was my only motivation."

I could sense that much was true but that hardly answered any of the questions in my head. I waited for more from Alec but all I got was a frustrated growl.

"I'm not going to apologize, if that's what you're waiting for," Alec said flat-out.

I couldn't say that surprised me but I still wasn't happy to hear it. "Right. Because the Volturi are never in the wrong."

"This has nothing to do with me being in the Volturi or you being with the Cullens," Alec snapped back so harshly the force behind his words made me reel back a step. He stood, fists balled at his side while staring me down with petulant expression fixed to his face. "I won't apologize because I'm not sorry I did it. Why do you have to make it more complicated than that?"

"You're the one complicating things, not me," I said, throwing an accusatory look his way before turning my eyes to the wilting sun. I gave it a glare, half-convinced it was to blame for all my discomfort now. Things were great up until Alec started talking about my opal-like skin. Sighing, I turned back to Alec and our discussion.

"You're right, though; nothing about your reputation makes you sound like a safe person to be around and relentlessly chasing me around the country gives me plenty of reasons to keep on avoiding you. Yet – in spite all that and my better judgment – I hung around. You're a horrible person, Alec, but you're not a bad guy. Not to me, at least. I actually think you can be funny, clever and considerate in your own warped way and hearing about your human life makes me wonder whether you can even help being vicious or manipulative anymore. All the same, it's hard enough for me to imagine us being friends without you throwing kissing into the whole mix."

For the first time since I met Alec he seemed slightly unsure of himself. It was a curious sight to watch someone so confident and unabashed squirm under the attention of a ragamuffin newborn. Alec swallowed as he contemplated his next words.

"I wasn't trying to ruin anything, Bree," he said finally and with absolute sincerity. "Perhaps my timing wasn't opportune but you made it clear you intend to return home as soon as possible and likely have no designs to return. That affords me little time to work with so if my choice is between acting brash or not acting at all…well, it's not in my nature to let people get away easily."

I gawked at Alec. It wasn't the most mature reaction but I was dumbstruck by his candor. Given my experience with the Volturi I naturally assumed obsessive Alec's pursuit of me was similar to James's chase after Bella; just some older vampire's twisted way of killing a little time. It never occurred to me that Alec cared if I was more than a passing breeze. Why would he? I didn't have anything to offer Alec other than morality debates and random acts of violence. I also didn't flatter myself into thinking I had such an awesome personality that Alec would willingly overlook all the grief I caused just to bask in my presence. I certainly wasn't the type of girl he should be kissing.

Part of me felt sorry for Alec. Most vampires I met were at least a couple years older than either of us. I was probably the first vampire he met in a while that was close to his age and – with only his sister for company – that had to get lonely and after three centuries or so any teenage vampire girl who happened along would probably turn his head.

I didn't have it in my heart to be upset with Alec for flustering me anymore. I felt something else, though; something close to the emptiness that ate at me whenever I thought about Diego and how he left me behind. Alec didn't want to hang out with a girl like me, he was just settling for me because there wasn't a better option around. I wasn't special; I was a consolation prize for a bored vampire with a growth deficiency.

Alright, I was starting to get upset again…

"I'm going to America, not the dark side of the moon. Do you Volturi ever make social calls that don't end with someone getting executed?" I asked coolly.

Alec gave me a sly smile. "Only rarely but the Volturi have been known to make exceptions."

I nodded but it wasn't like I expected Alec to come see me. As soon as I was gone he would go back to his thrill-a-minute life as the creepy yin to Jane's crazy yang. By the time my plane touched the ground Alec would already be wondering why he bothered following me around and focus on whatever it was Volturi cared about. Supervillians usually kept busy schedules that revolved around body counts and world domination so I doubted Alec would make a whole lot of time for some mild-mannered, all-American girl.

"I guess you can always call," I said, content to continue sulking until I heard the echo of my own words and remembered something I shouldn't have forgotten.

My eyes widened with shock as I threw my hands over my mouth. Aghast by my horrible behavior, I grit my teeth and stomped my foot in a futile rebuke of my own thoughtlessness. A fissure opened beneath my heel and zigzagged down the slope with a crackle and groan of its own. In the distance I heard the sound of rocks tumble and snow sift as the avalanche Alec warned against churned down the face of the mountain.

"What is it?" Alec asked, unable to conceal all his surprise at my outburst.

"Seth," I moaned through my fingers before burying my face in my hands. "I was talking to Seth on the phone when you used your powers on me. We were in the middle of a conversation and…oh man, he's probably freaking out!"

"Oh," Alec said dismissively. "I thought it was something important."

A growl rumbled past my lips. Maybe Alec didn't care about whether my long distance calls got disconnected or not but I sure did! I skulked over my second defacement of the Carpathian Mountains and headed towards Alec with a scowl.

"Okay, play time is officially over," I told Alec impatiently. "Where did you stash my luggage? I need my phone to call Seth back so he doesn't do something stupid like dog-paddle across the ocean."

Alec crinkled his nose. "I don't care to imagine how he would smell after that."

I whipped my head his way with a stunned and wary look. "What are you talking about?"

"I know Seth is a shape-shifter," Alec sighed as if not in the mood to be coy.

I couldn't have been more bowled over if I tumbled with the avalanche down the peak. "Who told you that?"

"Seth dropped a few hints and I'm good at piecing things together," said Alec nonchalantly. "Although, I had assumed he was a werewolf until Alice corrected me."

"Wait, hold on – you spoke to Seth and Alice?" I cried, fueled by alarm and anger. "Why didn't you mention that?"

"It didn't really pertain to any of our discussions," said Alec.

"Why do I even act surprised anymore?" I threw my hands up as a show of giving up. Of course Alec wouldn't have said anything – he was a sneaky brat with control issues. I knew Alec less than a day but that was long enough to know this kind of mind game was totally typical of him. "Whatever. Take me to my stuff right now."

Alec hesitated long enough to tell me I wasn't going to like his answer. "Your luggage has been forwarded."

I narrowed my eyes to slits. Alec packed both my passport and phone into a suitcase and now he was telling me I didn't have access to either. "Forwarded where?"

"Volterra," said Alec.

I processed this with a swell of fury. That meant if I didn't get my stuff back from the Volturi I was stuck swimming home. It was a sucky choice but an easy one, though it didn't explain why Alec put me in this position to begin with. I glared at him, waiting for more.

"I felt you were laboring under some false assumptions about what Volturi represents," said Alec smoothly. "You might benefit by visiting my coven in person and judging for yourself whether we're the sinister fiends you take us for."

"Wow, thanks for clearing up that horrible misconception by stranding me in Europe and cutting me off from everyone I know!" I willed myself not to have yet another newborn meltdown, though I felt totally justified in this particular instance. "Give me your phone."

"What makes you believe I have phone?" Alec wondered.

"Because it's the twenty-first century and you live on this planet!" I ranted back, shoving my hand out. "Now, give me your phone or I swear I'll dismantle you trying to find it."

Alec proved unwilling to test the sincerity of my threat and tossed me his mobile phone. I briefly noted that it was way cooler than mine before dialing Seth's number only to realize there was no reception. How could I be on the top of a freaking mountain and not have any reception? I threw the phone back at Alec before I could demolish it in my frustration.

"Perfect. Just perfect," I grumbled through my teeth as I waved Alec off. "Forget it. You can keep my stuff – I'm swimming home."

"Bree…" Before I could take a step Alec zipped to block my path. "…don't you think you're over reacting a little?"

"No, I think my reaction is very proportionate to your sabotage, Alec!" I snapped, fully prepared to knock Alec out of my way if he didn't move on his own. "I would say I can't trust you as far as I can throw you but I'm so pissed right now I could probably skip you across the Atlantic like a stone! You pulled your last dirty trick with me. There is nothing you can say or do to make me go to Volterra so don't even bother trying to talk your way out of this."

Alec eased himself away from me, not in resignation but retreat. He continued building a gap between us, never once taking his gaze from me. I made a disgruntled noise and rolled my eyes. Did he actually think I was going to attack him? I was mad but not enough to lose all self-control. Frankly, part of me half-expected something like this to come up. If Alec was willing to abduct me from a hotel room in the middle of the day why wouldn't he try something as underhanded as this?

Lucky for me, I wasn't the materialistic type. Alice was bound to be disappointed all her clothes went to waste and it would be a pain loading songs onto a new MP3 player but I could deal with all that far better than I could handle a visit to Volterra.

I was content to storm down the slope without so much as a goodbye until Alec's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"I should mention that I sent something else of yours to Volterra as well," Alec began, testing my reaction from a safe distance. "I encountered someone acquainted with you shortly after you left Sibiu."

The reaction Alec got was a look of horror as I realized he could only be talking about one person; the same person I crossed an ocean to find and the only other vampire who recently visited Sibiu. Alec found Fred before I did. And he sent him to the Volturi.

I could barely get the whisper across my lips. "Did you do something to Fred?"

"No, he was perfectly fine when I last saw him," said Alec and – fortunately for the both of us – he was telling the truth. I wanted more, though, and I waited for it. Alec squared his shoulders before continuing. "Fred expressed an interest in meeting the Volturi and I obliged him by directing him to the location of my coven. He was eager enough to go I didn't even need to talk him into it."

"Fred is in Volterra right now?" I tasted the words I had hoped would never roll off my tongue and they were as bitter and nauseating as I imagined they would be.

"He's not in any danger, if that's what you're concerned with," Alec said, still scrutinizing my expression. "Last I heard he was the subject of much fascination amongst Aro and the others on account of his unique talent. When we arrive in Volterra you'll see Fred is completely safe amongst the Volturi."

It was too much to bear. Everything I set out to do had ended in spectacular failure. I hadn't saved Fred; I didn't even have a chance to warn him about the Volturi. I could have saved myself a trip and days of worry for all the good I did. I could be home right now with my family instead of talking to Alec; the same person who ruined my chances of finding Fred and delivered him into the hands of evil. And now he expected me to go to Volterra with him!

With a blur of motion, I closed the distance and grabbed Alec by the front of his shirt. A snarl reverberated in my chest and I lurched him off his feet so our noses were a hair from touching.

"Bree…" Alec cautioned. He sounded far away as my consciousness receded down a dark tunnel edged with pulsating, bloody red.

"Bree…" Alec tried again, still miles away from the rational part of my mind. "…you need to calm down…"

If I had any control over myself I would have laughed. I felt like I was possessed and having an out-of-body experience at the same time. There was no chance whatsoever of me managing my own anger. I had a better chance of keeping my cool in a blood bank than I did right now. Not after everything I'd been through and everything I couldn't do since leaving the Cullens.

I felt myself slip farther away from my body until I lost touch with all my senses. I assumed Alec used his talent once he realized I wouldn't let him go on my own. In spite of it all, I was glad for that. I didn't want to tear Alec apart…well, I did but I would have put him back together once I returned to my senses.

He was diabolical, selfish and infuriating but I still liked Alec a whole lot better than Riley or Victoria.

AUTHOR'S NOTE – Currently, there 249 members who have made T(NS)SSLoBT one of their favorite stories, which means a lot to me so thank you for the support and thanks to everyone else who takes the time to read, review and give Bree a third chance at life.

I'll probably take some time to catch up with Alec's point of view so expect some delays but, hopefully, AtaH will amuse you all in its own special way.