Author's Note: First posted to my tumblr ( ), feel free to follow since I usually post there first.

And as always with any of my Alec fics, he has been aged up to 18.

If there was one thing I hated with a passion, it was parties.

More specifically balls.

And of course, the one thing the masters liked to throw more than anything were parties.

Or more specifically balls.

Although this one was being called a "banquet", which is really just another term for a ball in disguise.

"Anna quit wiggling, or I swear I'll tear your hair out." Heidi snipped.

"I've practically gone bald since you started an hour ago, Heidi." I grumbled, trying to sit still.

And I was trying my best, really, I was. However, my ass was achingly numb and my desperation to escape was starting to show. I would give anything for anyone to save me right now.

As if the heavens had heard my prayers there was a knock at the door. 'Finally.' I thought. 'Demetri to the rescue.' With a sigh Heidi pushed the last curl into place, showering my hair with a healthy (or rather not so healthy) dose of hairspray. The knock came again, this time a bit harsher, and I felt my heart sink. That was not Demetri's knock.

That was the knock of Satan's spawn at my door.

'Demetri you bastard.'

When I said that I would give anything for anyone to save me, I meant anyone but him. And of course I knew it was Alec. Who else could it possibly be aside from the absolute bane of my existence? I'd rather walk on glass barefoot in a room full of vampires than have him escort me downstairs. Hell, I would rather have Jane as my escort. That was saying something, right?

I stood as Heidi opened the door, revealing a very handsome and angry looking vampire. Yep. I had not been a part of Alec's plans for the evening, that much was obvious. It was also obvious that he wasn't happy about it. 'Well neither am I buck-a-roo, so suck it up.' I couldn't help but snort out a small giggle at my own thoughts. 'Ha, suck it up.'

Alec glared at me from the hall.

"Sorry." I grinned at him as I made my way over. "Thank you, Heidi. You did an amazing job, as always."

"You didn't even look!" She sniffed.

"I don't need to." I gave her a quick kiss on both her cheeks.

Alec rolled his eyes before extending his arm to me. I looked at it skeptically for a minute before Heidi decided that it was, indeed, high time for me to leave the nest and promptly shoved me out the door. I turned to make a smart remark, only to have the door slammed in my face.

"Well, that was rather unnecessary." I grumbled.

Alec's impatient voice sounded from behind me. "Anna, come on. I do not want to take all night. The sooner we get to the banquet, the sooner this will all be over."

He held his arm out to me yet again, and I this time I took it. He was right. The sooner we got there, the sooner it would all be over. He would just dump me off at the nearest banquet table before waltzing off to do… whatever he does during these things. Seducing some other girl most likely.

This suited me just fine. I hated him. He hated me. So why was I suddenly feeling… upset?

The halls began to fill with people as we neared the ballroom, humans and vampires alike socializing. I could already see a few couples hidden off to the sides in dark alcoves. A part of me highly doubted they were making it to second base. Or maybe they were. My face flushed at the thought, dumbly trying to get a better glimpse.

"Don't." Alec's quiet voice broke through, and I jerked my head forward.

I cleared my throat and gave his arm a squeeze of thanks. He made no acknowledgment of the gesture and simply led me forward into the crowded ballroom. You know the other thing I don't like about these "banquets"? They're always too crowded. And had it not been for the Volturi crest around my neck I would be on the menu. But I wore it with pride. It was only on occasions like this that I could wear it, at least until I was changed.

"Brother." Jane appeared, given a wide berth by those nearby. "Aro has asked for you."

"Thank you, sister."

He then proceeded to drop my hand and disappear without so much as a proper goodbye. Jane mirrored her brother, smirking before disappearing herself.

"How convenient." I muttered.

I decided to make my way upstairs, grabbing a glass of what I hoped was something non-alcoholic, and settled in my usual spot to people watch. It was a great way to avoid people and I usually got some form of entertainment. There was a woman over to the right, trying her best to seduce Felix, her gait and movement as awkward as a newborn bird's. Then there was Heidi with a human of her own, the man hanging onto her every word. I was pretty sure he was drooling. No sign of Demetri just yet. Good for him, because when I got my hands around his neck, he'd wish he was truly dead.

It was a while before I realized who I was really searching for, and eventually I found him. He had another girl in his arms, whispering in her in ear. And whatever he was whispering was causing her to giggle and a pretty blush to come to her face. My heart dropped. Stupid Alec. I hated him. Truly.

"Miss?" I looked up in surprise to see a hand extended in my direction. "Would you like to dance?"

Demetri.

I narrowed my eyes at him, ready to give him a good tongue lashing when he placed a cold finger against my lips with a shake of his head.

"Now, now love," he soothed and grabbed my hand before leading me back down the stairs. "Has anyone told you that you look beautiful tonight?"

"If you're trying to distract me from the fact that you abandoned me and made Alec escort me tonight, it's not working." I huffed at him.

He merely grinned as he swung me around to lead me to the dance floor.

"And I don't think dancing with me is healthy for your feet, Dem."

He outright laughed. "You really think that your little human feet would hurt me?… Then again they aren't really dainty per say."

He easily glided out of the way when I went to kick him in the shin and pulled me back to him much closer this time.

"Er- Demetri. There's such a thing as personal space you know."

He chuckled. "But it's getting Alec all worked up."

I looked up at Demetri like he was insane.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

He swung me out into a twirl before bringing me back in for a slow dip.

"Take a look for yourself, love."

He dipped me a little lower to where I was able to catch a glimpse of Alec, and he was glaring right at us over the shoulder of his latest conquest. I was pretty sure if looks could kill, Demetri and I would be long dead and turned to dust. I shot Alec a confused look before Demetri began to pull me back up.

"Why is he glaring?" I whispered to Demetri.

Like whispering really mattered, I was sure most, if not all, vampires in the nearby vicinity could hear our conversation.

"I don't think he's used to seeing one as beautiful as yourself in the arms of another. Especially someone as handsome as I!"

Demetri spun me around again while I tried to choke back a laugh.

"And you, my dear Demetri, have finally lost your mind. How long has it taken now? A couple hundred years?"

"I'm still as sane as the day I died."

"So… not sane then."

"I can neither confirm or deny."

I grinned up at him as we finally came to a rest, my heart pounding and laughter on my lips. Just this one dance was worth all the trouble. But I wouldn't let Demetri know that. I glanced back to where Alec had been mere moments ago and to my disappointment he was gone. Along with the pretty girl.

"They've left for the evening I think."

I looked back at Demetri, a sad smile on my face, one which he returned.

"Do you think I've shown my pretty face enough to make my own escape for the night?" I asked.

Demetri pretended to think for a minute, fingers tapping his chin. "Perhaps you should stay for one more dance."

"If we're being completely honest, I'd rather bash my head into a wall."

"Well, we can't have you doing that, now can we?" He shook his head with another grin. "Wait right outside those doors over there and I'll escort you back to your room. Let me inform one of the Masters."

"Thanks, Dem. You're a life saver."

Demetri zipped off as I made my way outside of one of the side doors, and I felt myself relax as the doors swung shut behind me, the noise dropping down to a low buzz. This castle may be ancient but it sure as hell had excellent sound control. For me anyways.

I tapped my foot impatiently after a few minutes. Given a vampire's ridiculous speed, you would have thought that Demetri would have been back by now. Maybe I could convince him to carry me all the way back to my room to make up for it. I really just want to get out of this dress- Was that a moan?

'Well speak of getting out of dresses. Someone's getting lucky tonight.'

I grinned at the thought.

Another moan pierced through the silence and my mind was made up, my ass was walking back to my room, with or without Demetri. He could either deal with it or catch up. The last thing I wanted to do was be around when people were starting to get frisky in the hallway.

"Alec."

Oh, hell no.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Not today, Satan. The boy may be your hell spawn, but I was absolutely not going to be around when- when. Well, you know.

I immediately yanked off my heels. There was no way I was going to be able to get away fast enough in these monsters. Besides, it would make my escape a little bit more silent and hopefully Alec would be too caught up in this chick to really take notice. The thought sent a pang of hurt through me but shoved it way down.

I was not going to analyze whatever the hell these emotions were. Not now. Not ever.

I couldn't help but glance into one of the darkened alcoves as I passed. They were there, his hands roaming over her waist and thighs as she giggled. His head was tilted toward her ear, whispering away. I froze as he looked up and we made eye contact. He quirked a dark brow in my direction, his eyes deepening from that beautiful ruby-red to a muddied black. I swallowed harshly, trying to convince myself to move.

Given that her back was turned towards me, the girl didn't even know I was there. But Alec did. And he kept eye contact as he slowly positioned his lips against her neck… and bit down.

The girl let out a ragged breath, stuck somewhere between a moan and a scream. And I just stood there, holding his gaze as he began to drain her dry. Hurt mixed with something dark was stirring in me at the sight of him feeding and with a jolt I realized that I wished that he was feeding from me.

Which made no sense.

Surprisingly there was no screaming, in fact the girl barely made a sound. She didn't even put up a fight. Slowly, she began to go limp in Alec's arms, her blood trickling down her neck until eventually it ran dry between his lips. With a long, slow lick of her neck, he let her slump to the floor, and wiped his mouth with the backside of his hand, never breaking eye contact. Finally, his gaze drifted over me, lazily taking me in, and I was suddenly aware of how heavily I was breathing. Aware of my nipples, which were hard and pert beneath the silk of my dress. I could feel the throbbing and wetness between my legs. 'For fucks sake, what is wrong with me?'

I shifted uncomfortably and bit my lip. His eyes zeroed in on the action and before I could comprehend what was happening, I had my back against the wall, his face buried against my neck. He was shaking ever so slightly, with his hands on either side of me, digging into the stone. I even heard the stone begin to crumble beneath his fingers.

"Alec-"

"Don't. Move."

I clutched the front of his shirt as I tried to control my breathing.

"You are testing my restraint, Anna." His voice was tight as he breathed me in. "I have been trying for the past year to keep you at arm's length and not devour you on sight. And yet here you are. You didn't even try to run."

I sucked in a breath at the admission, and he traced his nose along my neck.

"Ah, and there it is. Your heart is really racing now. Do you finally fear me, Anna?"

"I-is this the la tua cantante thing?" I nearly squeaked and then closed my eyes at the stupidity of the question.

Alec paused. "How did you know about that?"

"Uhm. I've heard the term being thrown around a bit."

I didn't want to throw Demetri and Felix under the bus, but I was seriously starting to consider it.

Alec let out a heavy sigh and I realized that he had stopped breathing all together for a minute. Slowly I let my fingers unclench and smoothed his shirt and jacket down.

"Alec," I cleared my throat and winced as I realized my mistake when he tensed. "Sorry. Sorry. It's just… We both know that I will be changed eventually. You can have your fill then, yes?"

'I'd rather not die tonight, thanks.'

"No. If I were given the opportunity to drink from you, I'd drain you dry in less than a minute. Just being this close to you is… difficult. Harder than you could possibly imagine."

Wow. Well, that sounded just peachy.

"I believe you have more restraint than that."

He looked at me then, his eyes still dark, but no longer black. I bit my lip again and of course he noticed. He let out a growl and I swear heat shot straight down between my legs.

When the hell did I become so horny?

"Stop biting your lips, or I will do it for you."

I felt a sudden surge of bravery (and possibly stupidity.)

"What if that's what I wanted?"

His eyes widened and before he could formulate a response, I snaked my hands up and around his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair and pulled him to me. His lips were hard and cold, but they molded to mine so well and I finally let out a moan. I took a chance and swiped my tongue along his bottom lip causing him to respond in kind, his tongue cool in the heat of my mouth. He growled again and I let out a whimper, pushing my chest against his in a desperate attempt to relieve my aching nipples.

What was happening to me? What was I doing?

This was Alec. And he hated me. And I thought that I hated him too.

I pulled away suddenly, panting.

"I'm sorry. So sorry. I wasn't thinking-"

"Don't you dare."

He lifted me up by my thighs before pressing me back into the wall more. The sudden movement was followed by a rip as my legs found themselves wrapped around his waist.

"Alec, my dress jus-"

He cut me off with a deep kiss before biting down on my lip roughly enough to where it stung but didn't break the skin in the slightest. I melted into him then, letting my hands wander up to cradle his face before finally sliding back around his neck. I could feel him harden beneath me, pressing into my center, and I couldn't help myself as I ground down against him.

It was his turn to moan and his grip on my thighs tightened enough to where I was sure there would be bruises in the morning. Not that I would mind. I kind of liked the idea. Apparently, I was a bit of a masochist.

'Huh, you learn something new every day.'

As suddenly as it began, it stopped. Alec seemed to snap to his senses and let me go without forewarning. I suddenly found myself dropped on my ass, with Alec on the far side of the alcove, not breathing and holding his hand over his nose.

"I need to leave." He hissed.

"What?"

I barely had time to blink before he was gone, and I was left in the dark alcove, with a dead body next to me.