Alec's POV

I let go of Bella and Natalia and rushed over to Ulric, picking him up so that we were eye to eye with each other and I slammed his little head into the wall.

"Are you CRAZY?" I shouted into his face. "YOU BROUGHT US BACK TO THE VOLTURI?" I didn't give him a chance to respond. I threw him to the ground knocking him unconscious and looked around the room. It was Just Bella and Natalia there. The Cullen's were gone.

Well isn't this just fucking great? I thought as I looked around to make sure there was no around to see that we had basically beamed ourselves into their damn fortress. There was no one around, thankfully. I reached down to pick up the little bastard only to find that he was gone.

I groaned.

"I'm going to kill him." I whispered furiously. "That midget just signed his fucking death warrant!"

I grabbed Bella and Natalia's hands and led them down the spiral staircase just in front of us. If I had a heart beat I'd probably be feeling an anxiety or heart attack right now. We were just fine and the warlock throws us into the seventh pit of hell. If I wasn't so afraid for my family's life and in a rush to get them as far away from here as possible I would have searched the entire castle until I found him and I would kill him.

We were in one of the top towers were the Volturi usually came to keep watch from the top, or stargaze if they were feeling particularly sentimental. Today it was nothing but a death trap threatening my fiancé and my little girl's life.

I heard the sound of soft cries coming from Natalia and I stopped midway down the stairs pulling her close to me. Her body was shaking uncontrollably with fear.

"I know, I know." I said trying to calm her. "I'm going to get you two out of here, okay? I won't let any harm come to you. I'm going to need you to calm down though; your heart beat is like having a large gong announcing our presence. I know its hard baby girl but please try."

She nodded her head taking several deep breaths and straightened herself.

"There you go." I said. I looked over at Bella and she looked furious.

"How could he do this to us?"

I shook my head. "I don't know Bells."

I placed my palm on the back of her neck bringing her close to me. I kissed her quickly.

"Stay close."

I turned around and started walking back down the stairs. When we got to the bottom door I pressed my ear against it trying to hear if there was anything on the other end.

Nothing.

I opened it slowly, indicating to the girls to stay back by raising my hand. I peered out the door and saw that no one was there. That was odd. There was usually a guard here.

I walked completely out and looked down the long hallway to my left and to the right, still no sign of anyone.

Damn it. What is going on here? Not that I wanted to see anyone, but the lack of vampires, where there normally where ten to twenty, was unsettling. I opened the doors and signaled them to follow me. They did and I was so proud of Natalia for being so brave. This must be especially hard on her. She never asked for any of this yet now her life was mingled with dangerous vampires. I remembered being in her shoes once upon a time, a time before Aro turned me.

I decided to go left as this was the fastest way out. Slowly I crept down it, hugging the walls in the process. When I neared the end of the hall there was still no one around.

Something wasn't right. I turned back and saw Bella peak her head out to the side, I motioned for her to come. When she caught up to me she grabbed my hand.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"I don't know. Something is off and I can't figure it out. We should have run into at least twenty Volturi by now." She sighed and let go of my hand. We both froze when we heard a familiar voice from somewhere around the corner. The voice rang out loud even though no one could be seen.

"They're somewhere in this castle, Marcus. Get the guards together and start searching. They can't have gotten too far. "

It was the son of a bitch Ulric! You have got to be fucking kidding me! I turned around to see Bella and Natalia's startled faces. Yeah, they knew we were in trouble. My heart nearly fell out of my chest just thinking about the horrible things that would happen to the girls if we were caught. The plans that Edward had for Bella were fucking repulsive and I couldn't let that happen. I could care less if they took me or killed me, as long as I knew that Bella and Natalia would get out safe.

As if sensing my thoughts Bella reached out and grabbed me whispering, "NO!" frantically shaking her head.

I can't lie. Now that I had what I never knew I always wanted, I was terrified. I couldn't lose Bella or Natalia. They were absolutely everything to me, the reason to be good, to be who I always should have been. Being back in this castle, it's like looking into to the past, a not so pleasant one at that. I couldn't play along with their games any longer. I couldn't pretend to be one of them. They knew who I was. I knew who I was. I was not longer this monster the Volturi created or I enabled. I no longer was a predator of men. I was Alec, Bella's Alec. I strived to be the best I could, if not for myself then for the beautiful woman who loved me, who stood by me and who saw me for the person I could be and not the animal that I was. This perfection of God loved me, me! I could not let her down. I could not go back in my ways. I could never, ever prey on a human ever again. As much as the burn in my throat ached, whenever the urge came on and the thirst grew unbearable I thought of how much trust Bella had in me. Not only that, but I thought about the other stunning girl in my life, the precious, innocent Natalia who looked up to me, who trusted me to protect her. What kind of horrible monstrosity would I be if I sunk my teeth into another living human being again? I would not let her down, ever. I would be the friend and family she needed me to be.

So, being here, in this place I used to call home, in this lifestyle I used to call my own, I was scared shitless. I had to face my demons, the people I have spent a thousand years with; old friends. Shit! I even had to face my own sister, my flesh and blood, even if the flesh was no longer living and the blood no longer flowing.

I turned to look at the two innocent faces of the people I loved the most in this world and cringed at the danger they were both currently in. I feared for them, because I no longer knew if I could protect them. This place was a trap and I cursed Ulric for sending us here. Where was the little fucker anyway?

"Alec, please don't leave us alone." Natalia stretched out her hand from where she stood behind Bella's protective crouch and grabbed my arm. I stared at her in shock. How did she know I intended to face the Volturi alone? As if being able to read my thoughts from the look on my face, just as Bella had done, she pointed to her temple.

"Crazy future seeing ability, remember?" I smiled at her, my heart swelling with my love for her. She really was like family.

"It's not crazy, Nattie, and as for leaving you…" I trailed off not finishing what I was going to say. I couldn't. It hurt me to know that I was going to leave them alone. My mind would not rest knowing that I had left them to fend for themselves, but I had to. I had to go and face the evil that ran this place. I needed to fight for them.

"Alec…" Bella whispered, her face contorting with sadness. With that one word she pleaded me not to go.

I grabbed Natalia's face and kissed her forehead and then brought her into my arms. She cried and I tried to quiet her, but I didn't blame her. I couldn't say that I wouldn't be crying myself if I could. My heart was breaking.

I let Natalia go and turned to face Bella.

"You keep her save, okay?" I said my voice cracking a bit at the look of utter terror in her face. I knew she wasn't afraid for herself. She was afraid for me.

"I love you." I said caressing her face. She threw her arms around my neck and I held her close hoping to God that this wouldn't be the last time.

"Come back to me." She whispered in my ear in a voice that only I would be able to hear. I kissed the top of her head and pried her arms loose.

I took one final look at them and turned away, the pain of being even this far from them eating away at my soul. I didn't take more than three steps, however, before I felt a pull at my arms. I turned to have Bella pull me into the deepest kiss she had ever given me. My knees nearly buckled at the immense emotion in that one gesture.

It ended too soon…and then she left, taking Natalia by the hand and rounding the corner trying to find a safe place for them to hide.

I sent a silent prayer to the man upstairs hoping that my atrocities over the centuries haven't made him deaf to my cries.

God, it's me Alec. Please keep the girls safe. I would like the chance to see them one more time before I die.

And with that I tore my eyes away from the spot where they disappeared to and went to confront my fate. I would face the Volturi and take as many of them down with me before I was gone.

Bella's POV

As my eyes fell on the retreating figure of the man I loved, I panicked. What if…what if something happened, something bad? What if…what if I never saw him again? I couldn't let him go, not like this.

I reached out for him and pressed my body against his as I crushed his lips with mine. My heart was breaking. I was on the edge of falling apart. My only binding, the glue that held me together, was about to dive head first into the lion's den.

Every ounce of feeling I had I gave to him in that one kiss. All of my fear, anger, sadness – all of my love – it was all released into him, and he took it. He wrapped his arms around me holding me tight, holding me together. He told me he loved me with his kiss, with his touch, with the sad groan that escaped his lips.

I was about to break and shatter into a million pieces when I heard a soft sniffle from behind me. Natalia. I thought about her pure heart, her loving tendencies and of the forgiveness she has given me. No, I couldn't break; I had to hold myself together – for her. She needed us. She needed me. She and I shared a bond, something like a pull, a force that almost physically binded us together in a bond so deep neither of us knew how to describe. It had to do with her blood. The day I drank from her, I don't know, she's felt that pull the same as I have, but hers was different – stronger. Perhaps it was because she was quite literally a magical human. Honestly, it didn't matter. I love her.

She didn't ask for all of this, but because for some reason, she was one of the unlucky ones. I could not, no; I would not let her down. She, along with Alec had become my whole life.

Alec let me go, his fingers lingering on my face for a second longer before I pulled back, knowing that if I stayed in his arms, in his touch any longer I wouldn't be able to summon the strength to get Natalia to safety, which I knew I needed to do. I wasn't stupid. I knew what Alec was about to do and why he was doing it. I knew there was a possibility that everything could go wrong, but I trusted him. I trusted him to make the right decisions, to be there for us when we needed him. Unfortunately I knew that he would not hesitate to put his life on the line and that is what worried me. I couldn't lose him. I couldn't live without him. So as I looked into his beautiful eyes I resigned, knowing that nothing I said would change his mind. I walked away. I only hoped that it wouldn't be the last time I ever saw his face.