Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Based on the characters created by Stephanie Meyer, in her Twilight Saga series of books

WARNING: This story will contains scenes of domestic violence, strong language and other forms of physical violence, up to, and including death.

Chapter 19

Tracking the Past

Alice's preparations for her nineteenth birthday party seemed never ending. Thane indulged her every whim, thinking of the day she would leave him to take up a life on the surface. Mark had taken the week before the party off work, so he would have the time to prepare his house, and help his wife and girls with the party preparations. He wasn't sure why this birthday was so important to Alice, but he had learned long ago not to ask why women did things. It was simpler, and safer to nod, and pay the bills as they came in.

Since the night of the débutante ball, nearly four years before, Thane had searched for the scent of the other vampire on a nightly basis. He never let his guard down, nor did he assume the other had forgotten his little Alice, because he knew—vampires never forget anything. So he watched, and guarded her, with all his abilities.

"Thane!" Mark called to him, as his last shift before his vacation was ending. "I wanted to talk to you before I left for the day, for my vacation." Thane approached him, quietly. "The hospital administration is transferring an orderly from another facility, to cover my shifts while I'm gone." Thane frowned at the news. "I'm not thrilled with it, but the shift has to be covered. I don't know anything about him, other than his name is James Marwolaeth." Thane's head began to snap up before he caught himself, and continued his usual stance of indifference. Mark was used to it, even though he knew better; he had seen how deep Thane's emotions ran, especially when it came to Alice. "Anyway, I've left instructions for him concerning his duties down here." Mark took a deep breath before continuing. "There's not much I can do about protecting Alice's things, or the special treatment she has received, but almost every one that works here has a favorite. So, hopefully there will be no problems with this new guy. For that matter, if he's anything like all the others, he'll never even notice her, or her room."

"Let's hope," was all Thane said, as Mark waved and jogged up the stairs to the ground floor, to finish out his shift. "But I doubt it." Thane finished the last part as a whisper.

"You doubt what?" Alice asked, as she poked her head out of her room.

"Nothing, my child," Thane rubbed her head, as he slowly passed her.

"Not nothing!" Alice stood with her fists on her hips, as Thane turned at the tone of her voice. "I know when something is bothering you. And whatever this is, it's bothering you a lot. So you might as well tell me now. I'm just going to bother you, until you do." Alice cocked her head to the side, and gave him a small sweet smile. Thane huffed a breath, then turned back to her.

"Mark was just telling me the name of his replacement. James Marwolaeth."

"Why is that a problem? Do you know him?"

"Marwolaeth is the Welsh word for death." Thane frowned as his eyes rose to meet Alice's. He reached for her, as her eyes glazed, and the vision took her. He gathered her into his arms before she could fall, carried her into her room, and laid her on her bed. He watched over her as the vision ran it's course, and her eyes regained focus, and turned to him.

"He's been looking for us," Alice told him. "He's been working his way here for some time- looking for me." Thane sat on the side of the bed, and pulled Alice into his arms as she began to shake. Her tremors and sobs filled him with dread, but he refused to allow her to see his fear.

"Now is not the time for such thoughts," Thane placed a small smile on his face. "You have a birthday to plan." Alice smiled back at him, but it was a weary smile; the vision had worn her out. "Rest for a while, Little One," Thane laid her back on the bed, and covered her with the blanket. As he stood to leave, Alice grabbed his hand.

"Thane," her voice was weak with exhaustion. "It's going to be alright. Remember what I said before. When the time comes, I want you to turn me." Her voice trailed off, as her eyes closed, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Thane left her cell, and completed his nightly chores for his charges. Once their comfort was seen to, he returned to each cell to feed. Feeling rejuvenated, he opened the door that led directly outside. The sun had just set, and twilight, once again, welcomed him. He inhaled deeply, as he stepped out into the side yard of the hospital. He looked over at the newly constructed parking lot, and saw Mark near his new car. Many people were buying the noisy, smelly vehicles, now. Before Mark could leave, Thane rushed over to him, calling out so as not to startle the man

"Mark!" Thane approached at a fast, human pace. "This James you were telling me about. Where does he work now? And when will he start here?"

"I think they said he works at the Biloxi Sanatorium. Christopher has the shift for the next two days, so he won't be here until Wednesday. Why? Do you know him?"

"No, I don't. But I will." Thane then turned and walked away, back to his cellar. Mark was left with a curious, but concerned look on his face, as he watched his friend's back disappear back into the side door of the large stone and brick building.

Thane waited for the nightly activities to calm down on the upper floors, before putting his plan into action. As the hospital settled in for the night, Thane opened his wardrobe and pulled an ornate wooden box from the floor. He placed the old and scuffed box on the table, and slowly opened it's hinged lid. From within the box, he pulled a long, black, wool cloak, with a large hood. As he wrapped the cloak around his shoulders, he could smell the death surround him. When he pulled the hood up over his head, the scent of those he had destroyed became stronger. His head was filled with the memories of each and every one of those he had rent, and seared. He took a deep breath, pulling in the smell of the smoke from the fires, and let the old feelings resurface. He knew that once he began this, there would be no going back for him. Once again, he would become death; seeking vengeance on those of his own kind who flaunted the laws that protected them all.

"Thane," Alice whispered for him. "Please don't." A low growl rumbled through his chest, as he stalked past Alice, and out into the night.

He knew the location of the sanatorium, and, avoiding all chances of human detection, ran at full speed to the hospital grounds. He stood in the shadows of a small stand of trees, as twilight turned to night, and watched through the open, shadeless windows. He inhaled strongly, and examined each scent for the one he was looking for. As he exhaled through his mouth, he tasted his prey.

Yes, he thought to himself. Recent, earlier today, perhaps four or five hours ago.

He slowly circled the building, taking care not to be seen by anyone inside. In his search, he found a trail through the woods that this James had used often. He stepped closer to the building, listening to the activity inside. He was able to discover that James used the basement entrance, but did not work in the cellar. He was also able to determine that he was not at work now.

"Did you hear James is going to be gone all next week?" Thane heard a woman say, from the second floor. He looked up and saw smoke slowly rising from the open window.

"I heard he was going to work at another hospital, for someone that's taking some vacation time," another said.

"He's such a strange man," the first one again. "I'm glad he's going to be gone. He's very good looking, but for some reason, he scares me."

"Martha, on the third floor, said the same thing. She said that he reminded her of the murderers she use to work with. Just made her nervous to be around him."

From there, the conversation turned to fashions and an up coming party. Thane turned away from the building, and returned to the trail he had found earlier.

It's good you are not at work, Thane thought, as her entered the woods. The rumbling in his chest grew louder, as he tracked his prey. He moved quickly through the trees, as he followed James' scent. Finally, he came out of the trees near the ocean. Thane followed the trail all the way to the waters edge. He stood like a statue looking out to sea, while listening for sounds along the empty beach. His fists clenched tightly at his sides, his head flying back as his eyes looked up into the star filled sky, and he roared in frustration and anger. The rumbling in his chest refused to cease, as his anger grew. It had been many years since Thane had become this angry. He knew he couldn't return to his cellar in his current state; he could not allow his Alice to see the face of this monster, so he turned back to the city.

He skirted the less desirable neighborhoods near the shore where he was. It was getting very late, and his choices for what he wanted had dwindled. He finally found a woman he thought might suit his purpose. She stood at a corner, with a closed derelict bar at her back.

"Mick," she grabbed at a man exiting the abandon building. "I got ten. Please!" she begged him.

"Fine," he sounded tired. "But you owe me."

"You got a blowjob, earlier. Quit your bitchin'."

"This shit costs money," he grabbed her by the upper arm. "I can't pay for it with blowjobs. I need the rest tomorrow, so get your ass out there and earn it." He passed her a small square of folded paper, and walked quickly away. She carefully unfolded the paper, placed her nose into the middle of the elaborate folds, and inhaled deeply.

Thane watched as a contented smile spread across her face. He saw her begin to bounce on her toes, then walk quickly to one end of the block then back. She would periodically giggle to herself, and whisper unintelligible words, as she paced the block. Thane walked over to intercept her mad dashes, and waved two gold coins in front of her face. She smiled, and followed him without saying a word. He led her to a tree lined section of the empty waterfront. He listened for the noise of other humans nearby, but heard only the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. He walked until he found an area that suited him, then took off his cloak, and hung it from a low-hanging branch. The woman watched him closely, as she began to loosen her clothing.

"No room, huh? I take it you want this to be a very quick...interlude?" She smiled and swung her hips, as she pulled her blouse from the waist of her skirt.

"Yes," Thane responded in a hushed, seductive voice.

She walked toward him, unbuttoning her blouse, and pulling it open. Thane grabbed at her bare breast, as his face sought out the crook of her neck. With his nose behind her ear, he inhaled deeply, as she raised her skirt to her waist, then reached out for his belt. Thane began backing her into the trees, as she worked him loose from his pants.

"God," the woman gasped. "You're a big one." She giggled, as he pushed her into a tree.

"Family trait," he hissed into her throat.

With his face buried in her neck, and her back pressed firmly against the tree, Thane sheathed himself into her with a loud growl, and a feeling of impending satisfaction. It had been too long since he had done this, and his control was faulty. Too long since he had felt the rush of the cravings that now possessed him. The insatiable lust that had replaced the overpowering anger he had felt earlier. Lust that would soon become bloodlust. Then would come the hunger in his hands, with the uncontrollable desire and need to rip and rend. She screamed, as he pumped hard into her. Pulling away from her neck, he looked at her face to see the pain, and dawning realization manifesting itself there. She saw his red eyes, and screamed again. Thane laughed, as he pounded her into the tree. And as he spilled into her, he sank his teeth into the soft flesh of her throat. Her thick blood filled his mouth, and coated his throat. He drank deeply from her, his throat pulling large, full droughts through the wound in her neck. He moaned at the ecstasy of his sexual completion, and the taste of her blood dancing on his tongue. And as her heartbeat stilled to silence, he pulled himself from her broken and bloody body. His face lifted to the starry sky once again, roaring in both frustration and triumph, this time, as the woman's body folded, and fell to the leafy ground.

His anger still not sated, Thane growled again, then began to rip the woman into pieces. Even though he had drained her, there was still blood in her tissues, and as he ripped her apart, her blood splattered his face and clothing. As the emotions that had set him on this course began to calm, Thane looked around at the carnage he had created. He began to feel guilty for his actions. Not for the woman he had killed, but for his Alice. What she would think of his actions.

Please let her not know what I have done, he thought, as he gathered the parts of the woman, and began to throw them out to sea. After all the pieces had been disposed of, Thane walked far out into the water, and sank to the bottom. He washed the blood from his face, hands, and groin, then pulled sand from the bottom and scrubbed his clothing as clean as he could. When he considered himself clean enough, he emerged from the roiling sea, took his cloak from the branch, threw it over his arm, and began the walk back to his cellar.

He knew that Alice was in danger every minute he was away. The fact that the trail ended at the ocean, blocking all possibility of pursuit, was a clear indication that James was stalking someone who could possibly track him. If he was choosing to live among humans, then he would have a room somewhere, and would not be returning to the ocean to hide his trail. That he was working at a hospital, indicated the identity of his victim. This was the way Thane thought. This was the way he would have worked, if it had been he, that was tracking Alice. Stalking her. Thane growled loudly, and began to run. Staying aware of his surroundings, he made it back to his cellar in a matter of minutes. He hung his cloak in his wardrobe, then changed out of his wet clothes, and laid them out to dry. He took a moment to straighten his hair, and brush away any remaining sand, then stepped out of his room to see to his charges. Alice was waiting for him, as he entered the hall.

"You won't find him until he's ready for you to find him," Alice's eyes were on the floor, as she spoke to Thane. He stood with his shoulders back, and his head high, as he looked at the wall behind his smallest charge.

"He will be here on Wednesday," Thane avoided discussing his earlier failure, and emotional explosion. "Perhaps we will be able to come to some sort of agreement."

"You know as well as I, that will never happen."

"No. It will not. He is a hunter. A tracker. I recognize the tactics." Alice closed the distance between them. She took his hand and led him toward her cell.

"Tell me about it?" she asked him, as she led him down the hall.

"I expected a very different reaction from you," Thane said as he entered her cell.

Alice sat on her bed, then moved to the middle where she sat Indian style. She waited for Thane to sit on her desk chair, before she spoke again. He looked at her, his eyes blazing red from the large amount of fresh blood he had ingested. He waited for her to speak. For her to raise her eyes, and condemn him with her stare. But when Alice did finally look at him, he saw no condemnation. Only curiosity, and a great deal of understanding. He took a deep breath, and let his thoughts reach back to the past. To his days as the hand of vengeance, for the Kings of his kind.

"As a tracker, the hunt is all. We, my kind, are all hunters, but for a small few of us, it is more. It is everything. We search the world over, for worthy opponents. Those with which to play our game of hide and hunt. I found my opponents in my own kind. I hunted and destroyed those of us who refused to follow the law. And when I found them, there was only one verdict, and I was both judge and executioner."

"Why did you stop?" Alice had always been curious about Thane, but he had never opened up to her before, so she pressed him for as much as she could get.

"Many years ago, I was sent to investigate an incident of immortal children. The circumstances are not important at this time. It suffices to say that, not only was I forced to destroy the vampires who created these abominations, but the abominations themselves. There were several of them living in hiding, in Russia. I worked with a team of three others. We hunted and killed seven children, most of them babies, and twenty three adult vampires. All within twenty-four hours. The fires, and the smell of the smoke..." Thane shook his head slowly, as he was overcome by the memory of the carnage he and his team had created. "I walked away that day, and never looked back. I vowed to never track again."

"And because of me, you felt you had to again." Alice looked at her hands in her lap.

"NO, Little One." Thane was at her side, pulling her into his arms. "Not because of you. Because of him.He is the cause of this, not you. It is his aggression. He had to have smelled me on you, at the ball. He has to know that you belong to me, to another vampire. It is he who chooses to ignore this, and pursue you." Alice allowed Thane to comfort her, as she considered her next words.

"Thane?" He tensed, as he was sure he knew what was to come next. "The woman." It wasn't a question.

"Our emotions run deep-very strong, and can be difficult to control. It can be even more difficult if the emotion has been denied for a very long time. It is comparable to the proverbial floodgates. Once open, there is no way to close them until the level evens out. I have worked for many years to control my anger, and bloodlust. Tracking James, realizing what he is, what he can do to you, and not being able to stop him tonight, my anger got the better of me. Once I lost control of one emotion, they all came flooding out. I am a vampire. I feel no remorse in the killing of that woman. I only feel remorse in the thought of how it may have made you feel." Thane paused, as he moved Alice's face so he could look her in the eyes. "I never want you to have cause to fear me. I never want you to think ill of me. I only wish for you to be happy, and safe."

Alice smiled up at Thane, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She laid her head on his shoulder, and whispered to him.

"I've told you many times, I could never fear you. You're my Thane, and I love you. I feel happy, and safe, and loved when I'm with you. But we're going to have to leave tonight. He's coming, and he's going to kill us." Thane held to Alice tighter, as he considered her words.

"Perhaps," he whispered to her. "And perhaps not."

I'm hoping to be able to get back to my regular posting schedule...I hope! RL is still a problem, and doesn't look to be calming down anytime soon, but I will work harder at writing whenever possible. Even a little a day, will eventually get a chapter finished.

Thank you all, for sticking with me, while I worked through a few things. I can only hope to do justice to you, my readers, by continuing to give you a good, well written story. Well...as well written as I can write it. :-) Please continue to let me know what you think.