Alec's

Big Bear's Rest Stop and Motel read the blazing neon sign that twitched in the quickly darkening night sky. The shabby run down looking building sat strategically on the outskirts of this little trucking town.

I can't imagine why anyone other than a vampire would willingly live here, I thought to myself. Even then, I don't know if I could stand being here for just one night, let alone years.

I decided that, even though I didn't need any sleep and although I was a vampire who never got tired, I needed time to think. I needed a moment to gather my thoughts and figure out my next course of action. Where in the world was the love of my existence and where could I find her?

I pulled into the gravel driveway and into the parking space furthest away from the door. It was a force of habit. Being a predator for the majority of my immortal life taught me that to be invisible there were certain precautions you needed to take.

I sauntered to the door carefully taking in my surroundings. It was a very unremarkable place and a perfect vampire hideout.

I walked into the lobby with dim flickering lights and asked for a room for the night slamming down a wad of cash on the counter. The over sized woman behind the desk raised her eyebrows and slid the cash into the till, but didn't ask any questions. Hmm, I wonder how many strangers this woman sees every night.

She handed me a small key with a large wooden handle attached to it on a silver key ring. It was completely unnecessary and ridiculous. I walked out of the door and walked down the long outdoor hall in search of door number thirteen. I wondered if the room number was an omen of sorts…nonsense, I didn't believe in such things.

Luckily (no pun intended) room number 13 was all the way in the back. Apparently I was going to be granted my wish for invisibility tonight.

I slid the key into the keyhole, unlocking the door with a soft click and swung it open. Instantly I heard a racing heartbeat and smelled an intoxicating scent of blood. I looked up scanning the room before I entered it, my whole body tightening into attack mode. The familiar knot in my stomach twisted and the fire in my throat burned. That deer from earlier today really wasn't doing me any favors right now.

My eyes found the source of my discomfort within a millisecond. There in the middle of the bed sitting cross-legged staring straight at me was none other than the human Bella had saved so many days ago in Italy, Natalia.

When you've been a vampire for a thousand years words aren't that hard to come by. In fact, we talk quite a lot and learn our rather smart remarks and get better with them over the many years of existence. It isn't every day that we're rendered speechless, but I was. How in the world was she in my motel room clear across the world in this backwoods town?

I walked in the room flipping on the lights closing the door behind me. I dropped my book bag and leaned against the door with my arms crossed. I gave her one hard look and her eyes widened for a second in what I have learned over the years to recognize as raw fear, but she relaxed just as quickly, tears streaming down her face, her green eyes glazed over with them.

"There are so many things I want to ask you right now, Human. Let's start with, what the hell are you doing here?"

She took in a deep breath filled with sniffles and wrung her fingers together. Her eyes avoided mine as she begun to explain.

"M-my…family… they are all…d-dead."

What!? How could they be dead? I helped save their lives! I made sure they were okay.

I pushed off the door and sat on the bed next to her. She moved back a little so that the headboard was directly behind her. I couldn't blame her. She was alone with the worst predator she would ever face. Even now, as I tried to control my thirst in a promise made to Bella, the venom pooled in my mouth as her scent drifted over in waves before me. I gripped on to the bed covers as temporary outlet to release my tension. I took in a deep breath in another effort to steady myself – big mistake. She noticed my stiffness and took in a sharp breath but didn't move. I thought of Bella. She would not want me to act like this. She would feel sorry for the poor girl. She would sympathize, not think of the million ways she could kill her to take her blood and find ways to dispose of her lifeless body. Calm yourself Alec Cross. You're better than this. I reached out a hand and placed it on top of hers. Strangely she relaxed as I did this. It made me feel almost…human.

"What happened?" I asked trying to sound as kind as I could. I realized that I didn't want to scare her. I was overwhelmed with the desire to want to make her trust me. She could trust me. She could thank Bella again for sparing her life a third time, even if it was indirectly.

"T-the V-Volturi…" she started but didn't finish. She threw herself face down on the pillow and sobbed her little heart out.

I reached out trying to sooth her by running my hand along her back. She looked up and me sat up and threw her arms around my neck. I stiffened and stopped breathing. This girl obviously did not understand my intense craving for her blood.

"You helped save us, but they came after us again anyway!" she cried, her voice muffled in my shoulder.

"I saw them coming but it was too late, no one would follow me…so I ran and ran. Then I saw that you would be coming here. I knew that if you were here she would be too. So I jumped in the f-first plane and…and…"

I wrapped my arms around her and made shushing noises. The poor girl was shaking violently in her despair for her deceased family.

"I'm sorry." I said sincerely. She wrapped her arms around me tighter and cried harder.

"Its Natalia right?" she nodded her head in my shoulder.

"What did you mean when you said you saw them coming after you and you saw me coming here?"

She let go of me picking up the pillow lying next to her and pulled it into her arms. She wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve and took several steadying breaths before she could look me in the eyes again.

"I don't know…" she began in her thick Italian accent. "I could see the one they call Caius coming for us. I was asleep, and he was there. I saw the whole thing happen. Then I woke up and it was all happening again, like I was going through it all a second time. I tried getting them out, but they thought I was crazy. You see, I'm the only one who remembers what happened that day we were held captive. The little man tried to make me forget but I didn't, I pretended to though. The rest of my family remembered nothing. Apparently what he did worked on them. So, when I told them that the vampires were coming for us again, they all just stared at me. They thought I was crazy…and then one by one Caius and the others I didn't recognize took them all. I hid before I could be found. When I went back to the house there was blood everywhere, but no sign of any one."

I let the silence hang in the air for a while, letting her gather her composure before I asked her about myself.

"What about me, Natalia? How did you know I would be here?"

"The same. After…it happened I was all alone. I had nobody. Every night I would think of her before going to bed and I needed to see her. I…I just needed to see her, but every time I closed my eyes it was like a black hole. There was nothingness. I could hear her, but not see. Then I thought of you…and I could feel her through you. I thought that maybe it was because she was with you. Why is she not here?" she said looking around the room as if Bella would appear at any moment out of thin air.

How could I tell her that my warlock friend kidnapped my fiancé? Furthermore, why in the heck would she want to see a vampire who tried to kill her…twice? I needed to get her out of here or there might be a second one after her, a recently vegetarian vamp who wasn't sure how long he could hold back his cravings, especially with someone who smelled to go-

"Why will you not tell me where she is?" she asked cutting off my thoughts

"You need to leave." I said bringing her to her feet and pushing her towards the door. As much as I wanted to be human, act human, I wasn't human. I could not hurt her. I didn't want to hurt her, so she needed to go for her own good.

"No!" she yelled putting up a fight.

"Go. Now."

"Is she in trouble? Maybe I can help." The words rushed out of her as I threw her out of the door slamming it in her face. She pounded on it over and over again. I leaned my back against the door sliding down with my head in my hands.

"I wish I was looking into your eyes, Bella." I whispered into the air in front of me. "You would know what to do, you could save me from myself."

There was a thump and a slow slide that came from the other side of the door. I knew that Natalia's movements mirrored mine.

"Please…let me help you find her." He voice was garbled full of tears.

"Why. Why do you want to help me?"

"Because." She said, her heart beat picking up momentum. "Because I love her too." She finished in barely a whisper.

I lifted my head out of my hands and stood up my hand on the doorknob. Shaking my head in disbelief and hoping I wasn't making a big mistake I opened the door slowly. She was sitting on the floor her back to the door. The light from the inside of the room beamed over her face as she turned to look at me with her tear streaked face.

"Come in." I said extending my hand out to her. Her face spoke of pain and confusion. I stared right back at her until she took my hand. She didn't make an attempt to come inside.

"We'll find her." I said finally after three minutes of awkward silence. "Together."