A/N: Thank you for the reviews, they made my day!

By the way: in my story, Quil is not Jacob's cousin (because I honestly forgot and just had to go along with it eventually), he's just one of his best friends. So, Quil being Jacob's cousin and Alison's cousin at the same time (though from different sides of the family) is not awkward. Alison is not related to Colby is what I'm saying. I thought I'd point that out.

This chapter is somewhat less intense than the others, so, enjoy!

ALISON ANDERSON

My seizure was over in a couple of minutes. Carlisle along with the residents and the nurses made sure my vitals were okay and I didn't hurt my already-broken bones as I shook. It took me a while and a lot of questions on Carlisle's behalf to realize where I was and what was happening after it was over, and as soon as I did I asked where Colby was. Before Carlisle could answer, though, Colby walked in, smiling gently at me, wearing different clothes than the ones he was wearing before my seizure. He must have phased. Poor thing, I had him worked up pretty badly.

Without even having to speak, the more he approached me the better I felt. I knew it couldn't be true, but I actually felt physically better, like I was healing. Despite the emptiness and the guilt that overwhelmed me, I cherished his presence and the way he softly kissed my palm - the only part of me that wasn't severely injured.

Having a seizure, along with the state my body was in, generally, helped me put things into perspective. I didn't really want to die. If I did, I wouldn't feel so compelled to get better already. I wanted to fight, to deal with everything that had been happening. I wanted to lean on Colby, be on his side, let him help me. Maybe it was our imprint bond kicking in, but, for the first time in a while, I felt. I felt the urge to hug him, to love him. I knew I was empty inside, I knew a part of me died with my father, but the need to be with him was too strong. It was almost like when I first met him, when he was always on my mind. Lately, our connection was absent-minded, cold. I didn't know why, and I didn't care. I wanted this feeling - this one moment of utter shattering and complete support - to last, for as long as it could.

I smiled at him and he blinked, grinning back, his dimples showing. He glanced behind him at his uncle Jasper, who stood by the door after Carlisle left, giving him a slight nod. He turned to me, "It's so good to feel you again."

So it was mutual. My smile widened for a second, but then I remembered how he spoke to me earlier - with so much distance, coldness. My smile disappeared, "Are you mad at me?" I whispered.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing, then looked at me straight in the eyes, lowering his stance so we were both on the same level. "No," he simply said, "As much as it pains me how - how you just - gave up, without warning, without asking for help," he breathed, "No, I'm not mad at you. I'm just concerned."

It was my turn to sigh. "I know," I whispered, "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be," he said, kissing my forehead, "It's as much my fault as it is yours."

But he had been nothing but great to me! "What?" I felt the shift in my mood. As shitty as it felt to be ashamed of what I'd done to myself, to cause him pain, to be a burden to him, I never expected he would actually blame himself for this. My weakness was to blame - not him. Definitely not Colby.

He was taken aback by my tone. There was a hint of a smile in his eyes, but his face was serious. "I was disconnected from you - from what you felt, on purpose, to give you space somewhat. Giving you space like that never worked. I should've known, I should've sensed you. I should've known you were depressed."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Look, Thomas," I could literally feel how he was excited I had called him that, after all that time, "I got weak. I gave up. Keyword here is I. You can't blame my weakness on yourself."

"I-" he said, but paused as if he remembered something. He looked at Jasper again, telling him something mentally.

Jasper glanced at me, then back at him. "Alice and I will wait for you at the mansion. Come tonight, we need a brief meeting." He waved at me, shut the door and left. As soon as he did, I felt a strange tug in my chest, highlighting the feeling of emptiness again. It didn't make me any less pissed at Colby's thoughts though.

"Don't defend it," I said, "I know you care about me -magic shit or not, but let me take responsibility for my actions, Colby. I fucked up. Not you."

He narrowed his eyes at me, glancing back at the door for some reason, then back at me again. He stayed silent for a second. "We're going to move past that," he said, "There are going to be some changes in our lifestyle - for both our sakes."

Spoken like a true Alpha, I thought, but chose not to utter the words, What changes could he possibly mean? Were we not going to live together anymore? Where would I go without any family? Is he going to leave me alone? My heart sank at the thought. Does he not want to be around me all that much? But, why? Does he blame himself for how depressed I am? Do I get a say in this?

I was about to speak, to try to form a coherent sentence, when he jumped back, looking startled. I frowned. What's he shocked about? Is there something on my head? I thought.

He blinked and I could hear his heart race, see his eyes widen considerably. "No, there's nothing on your head," he answered my thought.

Wait, what? "Did I say that out loud?"

He shook his head frantically. "No, no, you - you - Fuck," he said, "I'll just show you," he said and closed his eyes like he was concentrating really hard on something, silently. I frowned.

"What is it?"

He snapped his eyes open, his look unreadable. He kept walking away, but he was facing me, frowning, looking absolutely freaked out. "I - You - I'll be right back." He ran out of the room, slowly for him but super fast for a human - not unbelievably fast though. What the hell? Where did he go? What was he so freaked out about?

He came back minutes later, looking considerably relaxed, followed by his grandparents - Edward and Bella. Edward didn't speak, he gave me the same look he gave anyone else when he was trying to read through their mind. I was beyond confused at everyone's behavior. Bella stood by his side silently. What was wrong with them? I didn't want him prying into my thoughts. I wanted to know what got them on alert like that. Did I look different? Again? Aw, goddammit.

I was about to speak when Edward broke the silence, giving both Colby and me a lopsided smile. "Magnificent," he said, "Absolutely magnificent."

I was frustrated, so I spoke to him mentally. What's so magnificent? What is wrong with me?

His face lit up and he glanced at Bella before looking at me again. "Nothing's wrong with you," he said, "Nothing at all. You're quite the little talent," he added, "Carlisle, come here." His voice was normal, but I knew if Carlisle was to be found anywhere in this hospital he could hear him anyway.

I looked up at Colby, who was now standing beside me, his eyes and small smile amused. "Did you all go nuts at once, or did you take turns?" I asked, my tone sarcastic, fed up with their vagueness.

He chuckled, patting my - thankfully unbroken- shoulder. "Just wait for Carlisle, sweetie." But I wanted to know why they were all acting so weird all of a sudden. "He'll explain."

The possibilities are endless. With her new power, and Colby's unnatural strength and rule as Alpha, I can see why they're imprints. The wolf line is growing more and more powerful by the minute. Truly magnificent. I wonder what they would be like in a century or two.

I froze, my breath completely knocked out of me. Those weren't my thoughts.

They were Edward's.

COLBY THOMAS BLACK

I couldn't leave her in the hospital to attend a Cullen meeting in the mansion, so we called Alice and Jasper to join us here. Carlisle found us an empty room near the morgue. Even if someone passed by, they wouldn't be able to hear us, but we wanted to be comfortable. We waited until she was asleep and headed downstairs. I wasn't worried about her - well, I was, extremely. I just wasn't worried something would happen to her, as both Embry and Quil were stuck by her side - Embry being her cousin by marriage and Quil being her actual cousin, they not only had an obligation to me and the pack, but they did truly care about her.

The room was mostly dark - only lit by one fluorescent lamp, making everything in sight seem bluish in a way. There were beds and numerous broken chairs and equipment thrown around randomly. Most of us didn't need to sit anyway, so we made due with whatever was somewhat valid. Everyone was there - Edward, Bella, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme, Mom, Dad and Sarah. We didn't need to discuss her powers with the pack right now - since we were still brainstorming and they wouldn't have any particular experience in that field - so we decided to leave them out for the moment and fill them in later, especially that it wasn't urgent, we thought.

Being the mind reader who actually witnessed it happen, Edward was first to speak. "Her power is extremely strong. I don't know how we never noticed it before - or rather her tendencies towards it.."

"I'm not really sure what her power is, though," Emmett said, "You have all been talking about it like it was so obvious. Enlighten me." Rosalie smiled, rubbing his bulky arms up and down, looking up at him.

"We were talking," I said, "When all of a sudden I heard her in my head - not just heard, saw. She projected her thoughts to my head the way Mom and I do - visually. It freaked me out a little," I admitted, "Apart from Mom and Sarah, I never heard someone in my head in human form - especially not her. My instinct was to talk back to her, mentally, but I couldn't at the time. I tried, but it was like I forgot how to do it altogether," I explained, "For this moment there, she basically had my power. She didn't realize she had it, or was using it, but she was in control of it, subconsciously."

I heard several gasps from the ones who weren't there. Edward had a smirk on his face. "He, then, came to me outside and tried his gift - and it worked, so she only had it temporarily," he said, "Bella and I walked back with him to her room and I saw how disoriented she was - very confused. Her mind was all over the place," he said, "But as soon as she spotted me and figured out I was concentrating on her thoughts, she was completely muted. I couldn't hear a thing out of her," he explained, "Once she was muted, though, I could hear Bella's mind - very clearly. Like she lifted her shield, but she didn't actually do that on purpose. She took her power, too, when she willed it."

Despite everything that was going on, I was very proud of her. Concerned, but proud. "But then she wanted to know why we were all acting so weird, so she took Edward's power, and subconsciously read his mind. That's when she noticed it." Afterwards, she showered us with questions, but unlike most, she wasn't overwhelmed by her own abilities, she wasn't afraid that her mind went on and used it without her awareness, she was beaming. Seriously, if she could physically beam, she would have at the time. It relieved me quite a lot seeing her so content, so curious. The spark in her eyes that had disappeared after her transformation was slightly showing in her tone and aura in general. I'd almost forgotten everything that had happened lately when I saw her like that.

"That's fucking amazing," Dad breathed, "But can be extremely dangerous, no?"

I frowned, "Dangerous?" To whom?

He shrugged. "Back when the Volturi paid us a visit, when Bella was still basically a newborn," he said, "We met with a lot of vampires who had a lot of different powers - some mild, but some extremely powerful. Of course, they were properly trained, but if Alison were to meet them or absorb their power, she would temporarily hold a weapon that could possibly not be controlled."

Everyone was silent for a moment, pondering the thought. What if she gained knowledge of how to use the gifts she absorbed as she did it? Maybe that was the case. Maybe it came with her power, but we couldn't know for sure - yet. "She's going to have to put her power to test," I said, looking at Carlisle, "Every one of us has a gift in one way or the other, we could train her. See what she's capable of."

The idea of training her was particularly pleasing to me because not only would she know and be able to control what she was capable of, but it would help take her mind off everything - lift her spirits a little. She wasn't a little girl anymore, so adjusting to her new skills and life could be of great help to her at this point. Edward nodded at my thoughts. "She does need a distraction," he said.

"But, why now?" Esme asked, "She's transformed completely about six weeks ago, didn't she? Why is her power only visible now, after the accident?"

I grimaced; accident, right. Carlisle shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said, "Could be how hard she hit her head - it was pretty rough in there. Could be related to her seizure somehow; maybe it activated her power in a way, triggered it."

"Or maybe it was triggered by her emotional turmoil," Jasper suggested, "She was a wreck - still is. Just being around her today was painful. Sorry, Colby," he said, his eyes as apologetic as his tone, "Maybe all the change in moods in such a short period triggered it - maybe her body needed it so badly to regain control in a way."

I nodded. "It could be. But the question is," I said, "What's the limit of her power? Could she only absorb gifts? Could she also absorb strength? Healing?" Everyone was silent. "You saw how easily her bones were broken and she was unconscious," I winced, "Not as easily as a human's of course -" Or she would've been long dead and crushed "-But still pretty easily for a vampire, or even a hybrid," I said, "But at the same time, when Bryce first phased -" That jerk "-She was able to kick him off of her, and we all know the only creature as strong as a fully, newly phased wolf is -"

"A vampire," Sarah said. Everyone's jaws dropped slightly.

"Do you think she absorbed his strength at the time?" Mom asked. I nodded.

"Which further proves my theory," Jasper said, "She used her power at the time out of her survival instinct. It could be entirely emotion-based."

"Wait," I said, "Could we try to get her to 'absorb' some of the wolves' ability to heal? She could be out and well within moments, really."

Dad rolled his eyes and Edward shook his head. "Even if she was able to absorb powers from different individuals at the same time, that would need some training, and you don't know how this would affect your pack - maybe they would regain their ability to heal once they were away from her, but there's a possibility she would be absorbing from a limited well."

I sighed, Edward was right. "Then I'll talk to her about it tomorrow, and if all goes well," I said, "We would begin her training once she's fully healed -" I narrowed my eyes, looking at the one person who was more eager than anyone to start this "- Fully healed, do you hear me, Emmett?" He grinned mischieviously.

Goddammit.

Ooo :D I know! What do you think of this? Any thoughts on Allie's newfound power? Leave it in a review pleaase vv