Setting Dusk

by Renesmee's Theory

Love hurts. It can be a challenge. Love is a force and takes many forms. Love is crazy. Love is immortal. Love will test Renesmee & Jacob to their utmost limits. Follow Nessie's adventure of self-discovery and realization as she prepares to graduate high school with her friends but will she even make it to graduation with new threats? (Sequel to Dusk Horizon) RATED M {LEMONS}

52. Chapter 52: Introducing The Elementals

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, just my own characters

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The Elementals

Nathanael Blaise Rosenthal-Gustafson

I felt the energy surging through me and radiating off my body as I sensed his presence.

He was close.

I glanced down and raised my wrist up, pulling down my sleeve to see my emblem glowing a shiny, bright golden color, signaling the connection even further.

As I halted in my stride, I darted my head around as I scanned the vicinity of people walking. I made sure to ignore all the stares from women and men who uttered words of attraction, admiration and dazzle at my appearance.

It came with the territory, I guess. My mother always called me a ' beam of light that beckoned all those around me to draw in'.

The sanities of this universe's humans were definitely reminiscent of the one I know. Except here in California, I had no role in society. I could somewhat blend into society with nobody knowing who I was.

I scanned my eyes around the area, looking and looking for the source of the energy.

My eyes stalled as I spotted the head of a small, young boy walking besides a heartbreakingly stunning, long blonde haired woman and two pretty brunettes – one petite with short hair and the other with longer brown trusses.

There he was.

The Wandering Flame. The Lost Son of the Dragon. The Blazing Arbiter. The Conduit. The Otherworld Prince. The Beacon Boy.

He Who Wields Dragon Flame.

He was here. In the flesh.

We had been searching for him, a fantasy at times, for months. The second we felt the sudden emergence of the burning flame upon his birth, we knew we had to find him.

I had to meet him and see him with my own eyes.

I began following him as he and his family left the scene. I ran over to my Honda Civic and jumped in as I watched them pull off in their Range Rover and drove off.

I followed them all the way to Burbank, a popular city in California.

They stopped by a family friendly restaurant called Bea Bea's.

As they took their seats, I deliberated whether or not I should approach them right as they seemingly enjoyed family time.

Come on, Nathanael! This is your duty. You have to fulfill it.

I was anxious to meet him due to all the stories I had heard about him and all that I knew about his father.

Charles Ainsworth's spawn.

Would he be just as dangerous, cunning and vindictive as him?

After a few more minutes of forethought, I decided to jump out of my car and loom towards the family holding the beacon that kindled within that young boy they possessed.

I do wonder if they even knew just how powerful he was. Did they even know what he was?

I reached for the restaurant doors, dragged them open and I sauntered in.

It's okay! Just introduce yourself with your aristocratic charm. The only way I can get close to the boy is if I win over his protectors.

"You can do this," I pepped myself up.

As I got closer, I could overhear the women bickering playfully from what I could tell so maybe I could interrupt their conversation and I wouldn't get my head bitten off for it.

"Excuse me?" I spoke, lowering my voice as to not be imposing or intimidating.

All four heads darted towards me, the faces of the women in high alert as they acknowledged my presence. One of them –the stunning blonde woman – looked at me with a tinge of wariness as opposed to the other two who looked at me with intrigue. She had a protective arm around the child's shoulders on his chair. She must be the mother or primary caregiver.

The beautiful brunette woman was the first to verbally acknowledge my greeting and responded inquiringly.

"Hello?" I greeted.

"Sorry, to disturb you all," I expressed politely, my eyes landing on the little boy seated next to his mother.

He felt real.

He was real.

He wasn't a mystery anymore.

He wasn't enigmatic anymore.

He wasn't just the subject of our dreams all this year.

He actually existed.

We found him.

I then realized I needed to quickly make up an excuse as to why I was even there.

"I thought you all looked really familiar to me for some reason." I added, clasping my hands together and flashing a smile.

That normally does the trick where I was from.

I heard stories about creatures that exhibited such qualities as the woman that sat before me. Breathtakingly alluring creatures who looked like humans but had an animalistic and supernatural edge to them. Their skins, pale as white snow, and as unblemished as porcelain, hard as marble or granite but nobody told me anything about the creatures having golden eyes.

Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe they weren't what I thought they were. Maybe all the stories I read weren't all true.

Maybe they weren't malevolent spirit creatures.

They seemingly eat like humans. They blended like humans. They dressed like humans. They acted like humans.

But they still felt…different.

The boy, for instance, the boy looked entirely different from his family. He had warmth to his skin. His cheeks were flushed with blood just as they were mine. He looked like a cherub, untouched but his skin had tiny visible imperfections on them, freckles. His skin wasn't as pale as the women and didn't seem as hardened. He looked very much like a human.

No, he looked like me…

And the way he was staring into my eyes told me he felt it too.

"Have we met?" The protective blonde quipped, giving me a quick once over with her golden eyes.

I shook my head, peering my gaze from the boy and landing my eyes on the woman who now pulled the boy closer to her.

Yep. Definitely the mother.

"No! No! I don't think we have." I responded. "Again, I thought you looked familiar. I apologize if I disrupted your lunch," I said as I began backing up.

I could sense I came off a little too strong.

Again! This was entirely new territory for me.

Where I come from, I didn't ever need to introduce myself. People just knew who I was.

This felt entirely foreign.

As long as I got to see the boy for myself, with my own two eyes, I think I accomplished most of what I needed to do.

The blonde stopped me. "Wait!" She called.

Uh oh.

I darted my head towards her as I spun around on my heel to give my attention to the woman.

"What's your name?" She probed me.

The boy reluctantly dropped his gaze on me to turn back to his mom before reverting his focus back on me as he scrutinized me.

Did he know who I was?

I, so, wanted to introduce myself to the boy. He seemed curious but slightly frightened. I wanted to assure him he needn't feel that way around me.

He should be feeling that way to the people looking after him.

I locked eyes with Carter and gave him a quick reassuring small smile and nod as I revisited the table.

"My name is Nathanael Blaise Rosenthal-Gustafson." I introduced, stretching his hand out the mother.

Seemed like the right thing to do.

"You can call me Nate or Blaise." I mentioned.

The mother reluctantly took my hand and shook it. "Rose," She responded with a wary eye.

Her hands were ice cold against mine.

I then extended my hand out to the pretty short lady with the short haircut and then over to the beautiful brunette who shook my hand gladly. She felt less suspicious with me. She felt more human, despite exhibiting the same physical attributes as the other women.

As we dropped our hands, I protracted my hand out to the young boy who looked so much like Charles, the fallen Guardian.

"Hi, there!" I greeted with a warm smile at the boy. "My name is Nate." I presented.

Maybe going by the name my friends called me would help familiarize myself with the boy. I rarely went by Nate.

The boy looked down at my hand and then up into his eyes, as if to study me and ensure I wasn't a threat to him. His bright hazel-amber eyes glistened as enthralled washed his tiny face. He didn't look older than five years old if I had to hazard a guess.

"Nice to meet you, Blaise." He said. "My name's Carter," he said.

Carter.

Ah.

That's his name.

He was no longer the enigma. He was no longer The Wandering Flame. The Beacon Boy. The Otherworld Prince. The Lost Son of the Dragon.

He was Carter.

The second our hands touched, I watched the emblem on Carter's wrist –the flame shaped symbol with a ring encircling it – glowed a bright red-orange color.

He had the emblem!

The Fire Emblem!

The Dragon Flame!

This confirmed my thoughts and theories even further. We have discovered the newest fire elemental.

I watched as Carter glance at my wrist to see my matching glowing emblem although my symbol resembled that of a sun beaming with bright yellow light as a ring encircled it. Carter looked slightly struck by this but didn't mention anything.

It was almost like our little secret, our unspoken secret.

We already established a kinship with each other.

Good.

I smiled brightly at him as I gave his hand a slight shake and my grip around his tiny hand loosened as I reluctantly let go of him.

The second our hands departed, his bright flaming emblem dimmed out. He would eventually have to learn how to control that.

I looked at him one final time. Studying his face properly so I didn't forget it. He looked like Charles but not so much that he felt as potentially dangerous as him. He probably had attributes of his birth mother. Was the woman beside him his birth mother?

I noticed he was wearing a leather cuff around his right wrist with an interesting piece on it. It looked like a family crest.

Cullen was engraved on the round shaped crest with his initials, a lion, a hand and a clover below it. I also took note of all the women wearing the same crests, with the slight change being that it reflected their given names and they wore it as a large pendant around their necks.

Hmm. Carter Cullen.

I decided to give my leave of absence as I sensed the growingly cautious and anxious family were eager for me to leave. I gave them all a parting nod and smile.

"It was good to meet you. Enjoy your lunch," I bowed courteously, before glancing back at Carter and then walking away.

As I left the restaurant and walked over to my car, I glanced back at the windows where I watched the family interact with each other. The mother, Rosalie, smiling as she muttered something that made Carter giggle as he drank his milkshake.

He seemed happy.

That was good.

But he wouldn't be happy for long if he continues to live here. In a world filled with malevolent spirits.

We had to get him out of here somehow.

We had to save him.

And by we…

… …

I reached our clandestine, remote meeting place. Our covert lair where we all joined together again to discuss our recent discoveries in this voyage in this uncharted land.

I parked my Honda Civic vehicle in between the dark Ducati 1098 motorbike and dark blue Dodge Challenger –that belonged to my best friend.

Ah. The Brotherhood of Warriors are all here.

Good.

I slipped out of my vehicle and sauntered my way to the metal clad door. I punched the surreptitious code in and looked up at the camera as it scanned me. I heard a buzzing nose which signaled that the security entrance had been granted and I slid the heavy metal cad door open before pulling my keys out and unlocking the second gate open.

I could hear music filling the air –it sounded like the popular band Tame Impala playing in the background – and I also heard the cackling of my brotherhood and our compatriots/friends.

I locked the doors and gate shut and slipped my keys into my back pocket as I entered the room to see everyone congregated around on the sofas and bean bags, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Minus one obviously.

Lloyd.

Of course.

"Oh! Look who finally decided to join!" My best friend, Tom greeted as he lounged back on the comfortable beanbag chair with a bottled beverage in his hand.

Tom Chung. The charismatic, jovial, funny, strong, and respected warrior of Solaris, where I was from.

He was trained in mixed martial arts. A natural born fighter. A talented warrior.

Tom was my roommate and subsequent best friend for as long as I could remember.

He hailed from the powerful land Cyclonius but his family had moved to Solaris when he was young to work for the Solarisian government as sought after inventors.

He was an Air Elemental . More on that later.

I sighed as I shrugged my hooded jean jacket off my shoulders and hung it on the rack.

"Anybody care for some Doritos?" Gina Chung, Tom's sweet, nerdy and clumsy sister uttered as she entered the room with a bag of chips.

She tripped over the carpet but thankfully landed right onto the open space on the sofa.

"Careful, Gina!" Tom laughed at his younger sister.

Gina Chung. Like I said…Sweet, nerdy but very clumsy. She meant well though. She was wickedly smart. The smartest among the bunch. She could write a whole thesis about the benevolent spirits that ruled our world and a dissertation on Celtic, Gaelic, Norse and Solar runes.

She was also a katana wielding badass fighter.

She was also a powerful Lightning Elemental .

"Want something to drink, Nathan?" Wade offered as he opened the fridge.

I nodded. "A can of coke, please. Thanks," I answered.

Wade Fontaine was another close friend of mine that I had known since I was young. Our families were longtime allies as both our kingdoms worked together to trade resources and even outsource some of our most powerful warriors that went into battle.

Wade has a fun, witty, flirtatious, intuitive, sensitive personality. He was athletic as he was possibly the best swimmer in the entire world. He hailed from the Undine Kingdom, the water realm.

Yes. He was indeed a Water Elemental .

"You asked us to meet here because you wanted to tell us something important. What is it?" Lloyd snarled.

Ah.

Lloyd Dunhill.

The infamous, abrasive, hotheaded asshole of the bunch. He hailed from the Parados Kingdom, a magic dominated realm. His parents were magicians who travelled the world. He always carried a deck of cards with him to which we loved to make fun of him for. But he didn't care.

He had an elusive, moody and dark personality but he also had a dry humor that I understood, unlike many people who would find him to be a jerk. It also didn't help that his appearance was very much not welcoming to outsiders.

His body was almost fully covered up in tattoos, his ears, bottom lip and nose pierced with rings. He wore his hair in a slight bun, sporting a black headband and constantly wearing his long maroon leather coat.

The typical bad boy starter pack, I guess.

He may be hardheaded, rude and mean when you meet him but deep down he meant well I think. He grows on you.

Oh and yeah…He was a Force Elemental .

Force Elemental? But isn't he also Magic Elemental? I'll explain… Again, more on that later.

"Cool down, fruitcake." Tom scowled with a mocking laugh.

Lloyd rolled his eyes as he spun his ace of clubs card around and inhaled a whiff of his raspberry flavored vape before crossing his legs at the ankles.

Wade entered the room and handed me the can of coke. I thanked him and he sauntered over to the other side of the room but Lloyd was obstructing his way.

"Move, bitch." Wade sneered with his hand on his hip.

Lloyd glanced up and gave him a sly grin as he twisted his card around.

"Why don't you make me?" Lloyd said gruffly, shooting daggers at the dark skinned man.

Wade rolled his eyes as he surged water out of his palm and sprayed his face with the liquid. Lloyd jerked up as the water drenched his entire face, parts of his hair and his printed t-shirt.

The jerking paved the way for Wade to move past.

"What the fuck, Wade?" Lloyd shot up, his eyes ablaze with anger.

We all chuckled at the exchange.

"Why are you so obsessed with me?" Lloyd hissed.

Wade cackled like a loud hyena at his words, gripping his shirt as he held onto his stomach.

"Baby, you're not my type." He responded. "But thanks for the laugh,"

Lloyd clicked his tongue with a tsk sound. "You just won't quit hopping off my dick,"

Wade raised his hands up and began drawing water from his palms and blasted it towards Lloyd who ducked the water ball quickly this time.

"C'mon, guys! I just mopped there!" Gina exclaimed.

"Man, you got me fucked up! I'm not the one to mess with," Wade retorted as he crossed his legs together and rested his hands on the arms of the chair.

Lloyd hissed under his breath as he shook himself off.

"I asked you nicely to move, my dude." Wade responded.

"You didn't have to spurt your shit on me, bastard!" Lloyd growled as he grabbed a cloth. "You're a pain in my ass, you know that right?"

"Now you know how we feel." I muttered.

Tom, Gina and Wade chuckled.

Lloyd wasn't as amused as he wiped some excess water with his fingers and sprinkled some at me. I gurgled in laughter as I went to take a seat on the open space on the sofa.

I collapsed onto the open space beside the lovely, gorgeous piece of beauty that was the object of my affection.

Sierra Chavez. My darling flower.

What can I say about Sierra? Other than the fact that she was absolutely the most amazing and best thing that ever happened in my life.

Not only was she heartbreakingly, glass shatteringly, breathtakingly beautiful, she had a delightful personality that enhanced that beauty. She is warm, kind, welcoming, practical, dedicated, and bubbly. I've been in love with her ever since I laid eyes on her during the Meridian Hill Crest and Dandelion Hill Crest meet and greet on our first year of Elemental School.

Meridian Hill Crest, Academy for Elemental Warriors was my school. That's where the Brotherhood of Elemental Warriors was formed. Located in the heart of Solaris, near Lumina Palace (the main Solarisian palace of the Royal Family), Meridian Hill Crest was an academy where a group of male specialist elementals trained in combat and to harness their abilities.

Our feminine counterpart was Dandelion Hill Crest, Academy for Elementals where Sierra and Gina are from. The girls learned about the benevolent spirits that ruled our world, trained their powers and harnessed untapped abilities.

Back to Sierra…

Yes, I vividly remember my heart almost forgetting to beat when I met her and I spent a year and a half trying to pursue her. She made it hard but befriending her opened the door to our passionate love story.

Sierra was the daughter of a Terros president Rosita Chavez and war hero Carlos Chavez. I usually met them during diplomatic events in Solaris. I was glad they liked me enough to be with their wonderful daughter.

She was a talented Earth Elemental .

"Hi," I greeted my flower with a grin as I threw my arm around her shoulder.

She looked at me with a smile as she leaned in to plant her soft, luscious lips onto mine in a brief peck. I grinned in satisfaction as we pulled apart.

"Hey," She whispered back in her sweet, syrupy voice I loved.

I leaned in for another kiss but got distracted in the process.

"Aww, how cute!" Tom Chung joked, making playful kissy faces. "The lovebirds are making out." He mocked.

I sighed as Sierra giggled sheepishly in response.

"It's gross," Lloyd remarked dryly.

"Screw you!" I darted my eyes towards him.

Lloyd simpered slyly.

"God, I miss Aurora." Tom said to himself.

I smiled sympathetically.

Aurora. My younger sister.

You've met all my friends now! That just left me I suppose.

My name was Nathanael as you know. I hailed from the Solaris Kingdom, one of the most powerful kingdom in our whole world. Growing up, I had a lot expectations to live up to, given the status of my family and the responsibility that famous lineage had.

I was a Light Elemental.

One of the most sought after elemental spirits alive. I was the descendant of the God of Light, Apollo who gifted his people the gift of light from the blazing sun and moon. He gave his heirs the power to rule over all of the land.

Yes. I know what you're thinking.

And yes. I was a prince.

Birth name: Prince Soniva Nathanael Blaise Rosenthal-Gustafson. The Firstborn of the Shining Sun.

I was the Crown Prince of Solaris, son of King Auris and Queen Clara, Rulers of the Solarisian Kingdom and keepers of Apollo's scepter and harp.

More on that later...

I then turned my attention onto the group as I pulled my arm away from her and leaned in as I rested my elbows on my thigh, interlocking my hands together as I got serious.

"Listen, guys…" I began. "I found him." I announced.

All the laughs simmered down as all the attention landed on me.

"What?" Gina croaked.

"The boy," I simply responded. Sierra gasped.

"You actually found him?" Wade exclaimed. "Wow…"

"Lloyd was right." I uttered, glancing back at him. "It was him. The boy." I added.

We all individually split up around California when our energy drew us to this town and we searched high and low for the bow. His energy was the strongest in this small town called Oakland Woods but it was pretty difficult to find him there since it seemed like his family kept him hidden from the glare of the public pretty often.

That was until Lloyd stumbled across a young boy who matched the description in the woods one day.

I had to find him myself to be absolutely sure it was him.

"That's incredible!" Sierra exclaimed with a laugh as she sat up. "We actually found him."

"What's his name?" Gina asked.

"His name is Carter." I told them,

Sierra gasped again and smiled brightly. "We did it, guys!" She squealed.

"We should tell everyone!" Tom added.

I shook my head. "Not yet," I told him.

"Why?" Sierra asked.

I sighed as I glanced back at her. "Remember when I mentioned that there could be a fortress of protection surrounding him? Yeah, I was right. He has a whole family of strong vampires." I told them.

"How many?" Lloyd asked.

"I only met three of them, one of them is his mother." I answered. "But they had a family crest which tells me there are a large bunch of them."

"A coven," Gina added.

I nodded. "The Cullens,"

Gina's head shot up instantly at the mention of the name.

"Does the name sound familiar to anyone?" Tom surveyed all of us.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"It does," Gina expressed. "I know a Cullen – Her name is Nessie. S-she goes to the same school as me,"

"Ah! School!" Tom moaned. "I still don't get why you even decided to enroll in that school anyway. You don't need it,"

Gina rolled her eyes at her older brother. "Yes, but it's an experience! If I'm gonna spend close to a year here, at least I can have fun."

"School is not fun, girlfriend." Wade mentioned. "At least not, human school,"

"Well, it is to me!" Gina's tiny voice uttered frustratingly. "I'm actually learning a lot and meeting some amazing people. Sports still isn't my strong suit I suppose."

"Nerd," Lloyd muttered.

Tom and Wade chuckled.

Gina sneered.

"Dweeb," Tom joined in.

Gina gasped, tossing a cushion at her older brother who cackled.

"So, this Nessie Cullen – How do you know her? Is she in your class? Are you friends with her?" I asked, focusing on the subject at hand.

Sierra wrapped her arms around my arm as she planted her chin on my shoulder as we looked at Gina to continue explaining.

"I wouldn't say we're friends but she is very friendly to me. She's so sweet. She always greets me when we walk past each other in the hallways and at PE practice. She's pretty popular. Everyone loves her, even the biggest bully and popular girl Melissa St. Clair, who's the mayor's daughter by the way. She's really not nice –" Gina rambled, adding unnecessary information.

Lloyd interrupted the girl. "Holy mother, you're such a gasbag! What does she look like?" He demanded insolently.

"She's so beautiful! She has long, wavy or curly reddish brown hair, brown eyes and a warm smile. She's got fair skin too. Everyone is obsessed with her at school." She chuckled. "She is in a few classes with me if that helps."

It did help, I guess.

Pale skin. Vampire.

But brown eyes? From what I knew about vampires, they had crimson red eyes as their defining identifying trait.

Could it be contacts?

Lloyd seemed to clock this as he suddenly made a realization in his mind.

"I actually know this girl," He uttered. "I think I came across this chick at a Halloween party once and then again in the woods where she was with Carter. Yeah. I thought they were just two kids who lost their way, I didn't think much of them."

Sierra and I shared a look.

"So, what…Does that mean they're what? Siblings?" Tom asked.

Gina shrugged. "Maybe, they're cousins?"

"Who are Nessie's friends?" I asked Gina.

Gina thought. "She's friends with a lot of people I guess but her closest friends are this girl named Alex Mazzola, a girl named Felicity Stone [she used to be the most popular girl in school, um…this girl named Rea Reed, a girl named Jennifer, Luke Fitzpatrick and uh…Justin Mazzola," She mentioned the last name with a deep blush.

Sierra grinned as she nudged Gina's arm.

"Is this the cute boy you told me about?" Sierra quipped with a giggle.

Gina blushed even harder.

"Ah! So that's why you're in school, huh little sis?" Tom teased.

Gina rolled her eyes and covered her face in her hands in embarrassment.

"What cute boy?" Wade inquired inquisitively as his interest was piqued. "And how hot is he from a scale from 1-10?"

I rolled my eyes.

Here they go…

Going off topic again.

As per freaking usual.

"Can we focus? Please?" I demanded.

The group quickly fell silent.

"Okay, we're going to have to decipher a plan of action." I stressed as I brought my fingers together as Sierra ran soothing circles up and down my arm. "We have figured out the ' who'…Now we've got to figure out the 'where', 'when' and 'how'."

"We have to get close to the family somehow," Tom expressed.

I nodded. "Which is gonna be hard because like I said, this family is fiercely protective over Carter. We can't just rock up to their home and threaten to take their youngling away from them. We can't even convince them either."

"C'mon, what are they gonna do? Bite us?" Lloyd laughed. "We're far more powerful,"

"We can't draw too much attention to ourselves, Lloyd." Sierra said.

I agreed. "And we don't know how powerful this family is. We don't know the abilities they have as we've never dealt with malevolent creatures as dark as them. We don't even know what type of malevolent allies they have."

Lloyd sighed but saw reason and simply nodded his head as he took another whiff of his vape.

"We need to somehow gain their trust in order to get closer to him," I added.

"I think we need to get through the girl, Nessie? She's probably one of the youngest members of the coven I'm assuming so she's the most vulnerable, I suppose?" Sierra suggested.

I looked at my flower and nodded my head. She was right. Nessie was the perfect target. If we got close to her, we could get close to Carter.

"We can befriend her. Gina already has one foot in the door being her classmate." Wade stated.

"We can also befriend her friends," Tom suggested. "If we're friendly with her friends, then she might not feel as threatened by us?"

I nodded. Good point.

"We're only here on bought time, remember guys." I reminded. "There's only so much time we can do this. Do whatever you can. Just don't get too attached."

They all nodded in agreement.

"We can't let them keep that boy forever." I said with finality. "We have to get him out of there,"

… …

Felicity Stone

"That's it! You got it!" I exclaimed as I assisted my father making small, slow strides forward alongside the mobility coach who held his weight up.

My dad, gripping onto the two rail metal bars to support him up, grunted as he shakily took several steps forward on his wobbly, weak legs.

My father had finally woken up from his coma that was plaguing him for months and began his journey to full recovery. It has been almost three months since he woke up and he's been doing absolutely amazing.

Oops!

My father subsequently collapsed right onto the ground as he fumbled on his seventh or eighth footstep. Chagrin washed his face as he gripped onto the railing as he hoisted himself back up in an upright position.

"No worries," The mobility coach reassured him. "You're doing amazing," She mentioned with a convincing smile.

I nodded. "You're doing great, dad!" I smiled.

My dad gave me a discouraging look. "I think I'm done for today,"

"But dad, you're making so much progress today –" I tried to encourage him but he cut him off.

"I said I'm done!" He yelled, abrasively. I winced. "S-sorry," He sighed, resting his hand on mine.

I smiled back sympathetically. "It's okay, dad." I told him.

The mobility coach gave me a look. I nodded in approval.

"I think we can leave it here for today. You did a fantastic job today, Mr. Stone. We'll resume our session in the morning," She expressed as she went to grab the wheelchair.

With my help, we managed to bring him onto the chair and comfortably sit onto it. He exhaled a breath of relief at the feeling of his body being mitigated of the physical stress and pain getting him to walk again brought him.

"Let me know if you need anything," The coach pressed her hand on my dad's shoulder but directed it towards me. "I'm just one beep away,"

I beamed back. "Thank you so much," I expressed.

She walked out of the room.

I made my way around the railing and laid my hands on either side of the wheelchair, gripping the bars. My dad pressed the back of my hand as I reversed his chair backward.

I halted.

"Sorry, about that outburst." My dad expressed sincerely. "I'm just a little frustrated with this whole thing. All of this has just made me irritable I guess – I didn't mean to shout at you. I know this can't be easy for you." He told me.

I chuckled. "It's okay, daddy." I said truthfully. "I'm just happy you're getting better," I said as I backed up the wheelchair towards the door.

"Yeah," He sighed. "Not as quickly as I hoped,"

"Daddy, it's a process. It'll likely be long but you'll get there. You just have to be patient," I told him. "You've made some amazing strides these past couple of months."

I felt him smile in return. "It means a lot that you're here to support me. You could be partying right now, but you're here to keep your ole' pops occupied,"

I rolled my eyes.

My dad and I had a very interesting relationship. I was always a daddy's girl for as long as I could remember but over time, his work often took over a lot of the time I could spend time with him. He was an inventor who genuinely loved his work. For better or worse, he had a crazy, amazing, strong work ethic.

I suppose that's one quality I try to imitate most about him.

But anyway, after the accident, my dad and I seemed to have rekindled that familiar kinship we had that I remembered when I was younger. I looked up to my dad. I loved him so much. The thought of anything happening to him made me lose my mind.

I already lost my mother, Linda to the plane crash last year. Losing my father would have been so unnecessarily cruel. It would have broken –no, it would have shattered me to my core.

Linda was my stepmother on paper but for all intents and purposes, she was very much my mother. I never once had an 'evil stepmother' moment with her for the 15 years I had known her and she loved me as if I were her own daughter. Even when she and my dad their infertility issues, she never once saw me as anything less than her daughter.

When my parents told me they were pregnant when I was 10, I was so elated to become an older sister. Linda carried my baby sister to full term. Henley Stone.

She brought so much joy to the household, even despite her physical complications and limitations, she was my rock and I was determined to be there for her, all the days of her life.

She had a heart defect in the womb and doctors didn't believe she could survive the whole pregnancy gestation. She proved them wrong and survived for almost two years.

When my parents lost her, it broke my mother deeply. She was almost immobile for a while. She almost went into a comatose state. She was there but she wasn't really…

My father coped by throwing himself into his work. Working was his coping mechanism and that sadly impacted our familial dynamic for a while. My parents grew apart from each other and I lost that strong, unbreakable bond I had with my dad.

But it was almost like our shared losses now brought us back together after all these years.

As I went to grab the doorknob, I skirted my eyes around to examine my surroundings.

I felt a new presence.

I couldn't explain it.

But it felt like a distinctive force that was oddly calling to me.

"Are you okay?" Dad asked me.

I shivered as I suddenly got chills.

"Yup. Just suddenly got the chills," I laughed as I readjusted my floral cardigan over my pink shift dress.

I stretched my hand out to grab the doorknob, twisting it open and then wheeling him out of the room and back to his hospital room. I smiled back at the nurses and doctors who walked by.

"Are you hungry?" I asked my dad as I set his wheelchair near the bed and reached for the water bottle on the counter.

His stomach grumbled in response.

He nodded. "I hope that answers that,"

I giggled as I drank some water before handing it over to my dad who took a chug of it. He handed it back to me when he was done.

"Thanks, pumpkin," He said, adjusting his glasses.

I was always told I looked like the girl version of my dad, especially when I wore my glasses. The only big difference was that I got my hair and eye color from my birth mother. So I was told.

But everything else was from my dad.

"I'll see if I can get us some food," I told him.

"That would be great," He sighed, threading his fingers through his salt and pepper hair. "And please, none of that disgusting hospital food."

I gasped. "Oh god, no! Of course not, dad! We've got standards," I giggled.

He cocked his eyebrows and scoffed in response followed by a heavy yawn.

"I'll see if I can get something real quick." I announced. "You should get some sleep in the meantime." I added.

He nodded. "I suppose I can rest my eyes. Please can I request something from In 'N Out? I'm craving one of their burgers right now."

"Dad! That's not healthy for you! Dr. Cullen said you shouldn't –"

"I'm sure one burger won't be too bad," I heard a voice interrupt me.

I spun around to see Dr. Carlisle Cullen standing by the door, knocking on the wood.

I grinned slightly at him as I nervously readjusted my dress.

The Cullen family made me incredibly nervously.

Even more so now that I knew what they were.

"Dr. Cullen," My dad greeted. "Thank you. I don't think I can stomach any more hospital crap – uh, food any longer."

Dr. Cullen smirked handsomely as he pulled up his clipboard and pen out of his little pocket.

"I totally understand, Mr. Stone. Not many patients would disagree with you in that regard," The attractive doctor stated. "Let's see…" He began as he analyzed my dad's chart.

"Your vitals look good. Your recent CT scan shows a massive improvement from the last one. Your electroencephalogram (EEG) test seems to be looking good. Your brain seems to working just fine. We just need to look at the electrocardiogram (ECG) again to further see how we can improve your heart rate and responses. Physical therapy is further required to restore you back to your mobile self." He uttered with so much compassion and care.

You wouldn't have guessed he was a bloodsucking vampire in this very moment.

"That's good to hear," I replied with a soft smile.

"Not the physical therapy part," Dad sighed.

I rolled my eyes.

Dr. Cullen smiled. "Let's just take the wins we can get right now. You're making amazing progress."

Dad nodded as he gave in. "How long do you think I have to be in these extremely comfortable hospital gowns?" He asked sarcastically, adjusting his bath robe over his gown.

I laughed. "Dad!"

Carlisle chuckled. "Look, I don't see why you can't be out of here in the next month month. Maybe even less than that."

I nodded. That was a good timeframe.

My dad would be out of the hospital very soon! He could be around to see me graduate!

Dad smiled up at me and held onto my hand.

"I'm just going to page, Nurse Sofia/Dr. Rodriguez to hook you up with a brand new IV drip –" Carlisle said but was cut off by the entrance of Nurse Rodriguez.

"I'm already here, Doctor." She said with a warm smile.

"Ah! Always one step ahead of me," Dr. Cullen mentioned with a bright smile he patted her back. "She's probably the most ethical, professional and impassionate nurse I have ever come across with in my two decade long profession,"

Two decades? He looked no older than thirty-five with the hair! Even thirty-five was a stretch! But he had grey streaks in his hair and wrinkle makeup on his forehead which somehow made him look older. I suppose he dyed his hair to make him appear older than he actually was.

It seemed to work.

I mean it worked on me because I didn't suspect a thing because I easily took him as a 40 year old man with a very good skin care routine, great health and perfect diet.

Heck! I also thought he probably had a good plastic surgeon.

I wondered what his actual age was now that I knew he was a vampire. I also wondered how long he's actually been a doctor for.

I remembered the day Nessie introduced me to her father Edward. He was impossibly attractive.

He looked incredibly young to be a father to a 17 or 18 year old girl despite tuning his appearance similarly to make him look mature. But Nessie convinced me that he and his mother were teenage parents who had her at a very young age.

But as I scrutinized him further, he didn't seem much older than any of the guys at my school. You see what you want to see, and when I first met him I saw an attractive, mature dad who looked incredibly young for his age.

I didn't even question that he could be immortal.

Nurse Sofia Rodriguez-Mazzola smiled back at Dr. Cullen. "You flatter me too much, sir."

Carlisle then went to hoist my dad and plop him onto the bed with so much ease and with barely any inconvenience. Vampire strength.

Stop pointing out that he's vampire, Felicity!

Nurse Sofia, who was Justin Mazzola's mother, went to adjust my dad's pillow before replacing his IV drip with a new one.

"Okay," I began as I scrolled through my phone. "I am going to get some food. I'll be back in 20 minutes tops." I assured my dad.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be out like a light in a minute." He told. "If not, I have Nurse Sofia to keep me company."

Dr. Cullen and Nurse Sofia cackled, Sofia blushing slightly.

I furrowed my brows but smiled regardless.

"Get some rest," Carlisle said before escorting me out, pressing his cold hand on my back as he and I strolled out of the room.

"Thank you so much for everything you did for my dad. The surgeries and everything. Just thank you for saving him," I said, looking up at the Cullen patriarch.

"It's my pleasure," He said warmly. "And thank you for being patient with him. It can't always be easy, especially for someone your age." He said, giving me a soothing shoulder tap.

I looked at his hand, tensing up only slightly but I don't think he sensed it. I gave him the widest smile I could muster.

I knew the Cullen family were not dangerous.

I knew they didn't drink human blood.

I knew I could trust them.

I knew they wouldn't hurt me.

But why was I still nervous around them all?

Even with Nessie…

Our friendship was rebuilding again and yet, I was still sometimes uncomfortable around her as I couldn't help but think…

They're all vampires.

They've probably thirsted after my blood.

Dr. Cullen gave me one last smile before walking away from me.

The familiar chills crept up on me and I shivered again.

The force was getting closer this time.

What was that?

And why was it calling to me?

I shook my head as I sighed and grabbed my car keys from my cream Chanel, chain purse and strolled out of the hospital and made my way over to my car.

As I clicked on the button to open my Lexus ES 350, I felt the force energy surge grow even more than ever before.

I span my head around to scan my vicinity, my eyes scrutinizing and surveying every possible person who walked in and out of the hospital.

Where was it coming from?

My eyes finally landed on the source of the force. The source of this uneasy yet frustratingly alluring feeling I had.

There.

Multiple yards ahead of me.

There sat a man with unique ashy, icy, platinum silver-gray hair that sat in spikes. The hipster hairstyle and color had some purple accents to it.

He was dressed in a dark leather biker jacket and dark faded jeans with matching calve length boots. He held a large helmet onto his thigh and rested both his forearms on it whilst he sat on his Ducati motorbike.

His chest was evident through the open jacket and V-neck shirt, revealing the outline of his pecs. On his chest were numerous artful, intricate, intriguing tattoos that traveled all the way up to the right side of his neck and seemingly all the way down to his hands. His face was punctured by several piercings, one on his nose, and another on the left corner of his bottom lip and at least four on each sides of his ears. He wore his hair in a bun and held it back with a dark bandana or headband.

He had painfully terrifying yet oddly sexy turquoise, icy, gunmetal eyes that seemed to be calling my own eyes over – I could only liken them to the intense eyes that belonged to actor Cillian Murphy from the movie Red Eye.

He was advertently, disturbingly handsome.

Our eyes were locked in a power stare that seemed to create an unspoken conversation where no words were allowed.

The intensity in the way he was looking at me should have caused an unsettling feeling in me but it instead stirred the opposite.

It drew me to him.

The intensity provoked me to want to approach him. To feel him. To touch him. To hold him. To climb him.

But I knew my head was geared on straight when I awakened from my trancelike state as I watched my keys drop to the ground clumsily.

I ultimately peeled my eyes away from the extremely powerful, strong and forceful gaze to retrieve my keys and went to open my door.

As I hopped into my vehicle, I glanced back at the mysterious bad boy who still peered at me.

I had an inkling about him.

Something was off…

But…

He was disconcerting but so captivating.

So enticing. So alluring. So exciting. So…delicious.

He flashed a lopsided, devilish smirk at me which only made my stomach churn.

I swear to god I hope I never encountered this man again or so help me I will probably melt into a thousand puddles.

I knew he was bad for me without even talking to him. Just looking at him I knew he would be trouble.

He was exactly the kind of guy I went for and ultimately get hurt by.

He wasn't good for my emotional, mental and physical state.

But boy oh boy did he excite me... The danger thrilled me to my wits end.

Focus, Felicity!

Focus!

You are above this!

You have moved on from bad boys!

He is not good for you. I kept assuring myself.

I moved my eyes away from him with furrowed eyebrows as I cleared my throat and turned the ignition on.

I mindfully pulled out of the parking lot and made my way to get some takeout for my dad and I as alternative pop started blasting on my playlist.

Yeah. I needed to get out of there ASAP!

My stomach was aching to get out there but my lady bits were calling for me to stay there and jump the mysterious, dangerously attractive, elusive man's bones.

I unwittingly exhaled a shaky breath.

Whew!

He looked right at me?! Did y'all see that? Did y'all feel that? I can't be the only one who felt that.

… I desperately needed to get laid.

… …

2 Hours Later

After enjoying some lunch with my dad, I made my way back home to my grandmother who had become my legal guardian during this entire ordeal what with my dad being hospital bound for almost a year.

I guess she wouldn't need to be my guardian for much longer.

Only a few weeks until I was officially 18 years old.

I was the youngest of my immediate friendship group…Oh no! I'm wrong!

Nessie was.

As I've recently come to learn, yes Nessie is like half my age. My best friend had been the age my sister would have been today –maybe.

Oh Jeepers!

Again…I was still very much in the processing phase of this bombshell vampire news.

It also didn't help that any chance my grandmother took to tell me how horrible vampires were in this world, my queasiness at the thought of the Cullens got well…queasier.

I knew deep down the Cullens were good people. I had to believe that. They've done so much for me, especially with everything that happened last year.

Nessie was like a sister to me. She has been my rock for the longest time these past two, almost, three years I had known her. We were planning to move to New York together for crying out loud!

She was not bad.

She was good.

I had to constantly keep reminding myself of this fact.

"Dear, Felicity," My grandmother pulled me out of my train of thought. "Would you mind accompanying me to the nursery? I would like to show you something."

I looked back at my grandmother. "Grams, I'd love to but I've got to get these muffins out of the oven in like five minutes."

She nodded. "Will you meet me there then?" She asked.

I sighed, nodding my head. "Sure,"

"You can bring a muffin or two," My grams joked, resting her hand on my cheek gently.

I snickered and smiled back kindly before my grandmother used her cane to stroll unhurriedly out of the house through the kitchen door and into the floral plant life path that led towards the plant nursery that my grandmother found solace in throughout her stay here.

After exactly five minutes, I took the muffins out of the oven and laid them out on a tray that had a scorching teapot and two cups alongside some milk and sugar sachets.

I promenaded my way across the length and breadth of the garden to the nursery with wonderful wild flowers, vines, leaf canopies cascading all around the vicinity. I smiled as two colorful butterflies flew past me and the sound of the hummingbird that lurked the nursery sang a beautiful song.

"Grams?" I called as I held the tray in the air.

Where was she?

I had been in this nursery many times since its inception years ago. My grandmother would always come to visit and retreat to this place. Sometime she could spend a whole day and never come out.

I knew she enjoyed plant life and gardening like any old lady her age would, but I didn't think she was that dedicated.

"In here!" I heard her call.

I frowned as I scanned the area to search for her and stumbled across an underground doorway/passageway. I frowned as I took a step forward to see steps leading into a lair and began descending said steps.

As more of the lair came into view, I realized now why she spent all her time down here.

It was a nest that felt more like a home than a simple hideout. There were not as many plant life as the nursery but there was certainly enough interesting things to look at.

Shelves and shelves of what looked like potions, mixes and herbs. There was a collection of mistletoe, yew, spew, spruce, holly, hyacinth, and oak parked divided up and stored in pouches under the 'Spells' component shelf. There was also two shelves with many books orderly stacked in front of the other. Some slightly tattered and deteriorating due to age and others in pretty good condition. There was a shelf filled with ancient relics and orbs. There was another shelf with small personal items like collections she seemed to have stumbled across to in many years.

It was a trove.

There were three tables in the room. One table with a mortar and pestle, scales, several different types of herbs caged in jars, as well as some potions and tinctures.

Another table had a map embedded in glass, a detailed map of the entire globe and then a separate map of what looked like a similar world map but also…different.

Another table where it was a lot emptier but had with it scattered literature and multiple journals and memoirs laid out.

In the epicenter of the room, stood a large, very round, patterned and dark tungsten, led and ceramic cauldron that is clearly employed for cooking up god knows what.

"Grams," I muttered in awe. "What the hell is this?"

My grandmother looked up at me. "Ah! My dear one, bring the tea over here!" She gestured to me to come over.

I sauntered my way over to her, sitting on the table as she wrote in her journal and set the tray on the hard surface, my eyes not skirting away from the scenery.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" My Grams mused as she looked up at me with a granny laugh. "This is my trove."

"I see that," I scoffed. "It's like a witch's lair."

She sniggered. "Except I am not a witch,"

I rolled my eyes. "Same thing."

She shook her head. "No, we actually are not. I am a Faye Enchantress, which is a lot closer to fairies than witches." She expressed.

"Oh, I know! You've told me this many times." I giggled.

She smiled. "Witches are malevolent –"

"Malevolent creatures, I know, which you are not. Faye Enchantresses are benevolent spirit creatures who seek to do good upon the world." I finished her sentence.

"And you are one too," She told me.

I rolled my eyes. Here she goes again.

It wasn't that I doubted that she was an enchantress. I knew that. She has demonstrated this fact many times. And recently, I've learned to not question anything I hear that sounds extraordinary.

However….

I just very much doubted I was one of these extraordinary creatures. Maybe the Faye Enchantress gene skipped my DNA.

"Your powers will manifest soon, then you will see." Granny Priscilla said.

I simply just smiled and entertained her for a bit.

Sure, Grams!

I then poured her a cup of tea, sprinkled in two sachets of sugar and poured some milk in and handed it to her as she began stirring.

"What are you doing?" I quizzed.

"I am just revising some of my spells in my old spellbooks." She said, taking a sip. "I've been practicing for almost three times your age," She told me.

I widened my eyes.

Wow!

That was a long ass time to be practicing magic.

"You are almost three times my age, so it checks out." I teased.

She rolled her eyes, eying me with the side eye and clicking her tongue. I laughed.

"Cheeky girl," She jested back.

My laughs simmered down as I reached for one of her memoirs that was on the desk and opened it, skimming through some of the pages as I read some of her findings.

"Elemental Spirits?" I probed.

"Hmm?" She asked, not quite hearing what I said.

I pointed towards the page with the heading 'Elemental Spirits' in wonderful calligraphy.

She hummed. "Oh, yes!" She chuckled. "Elemental Spirits. Have I told you about them?"

I shook my head.

"Well, they are very ancient spirits." She began as she took the memoir. "Elementals are summoned spirits, not evolved creatures like many creatures you may know. They have no particular survival instinct –on the contrary, they're bound to the will of their summoners." She recited her script.

I frowned. What did that mean?

"Elemental spirits being: fire, water, earth and air?" I asked.

I remember playing Dungeons and Dragons with my dad growing up and loved reading up on the mythology of the elemental beings. My dad and I also loved watching Avatar: The Last Air Bender together.

"Mhmm," My grams responded. "Elementals are creatures from one of the Elemental Planes that are made up completely of one of the four core elements of air, earth, fire and water. At least that's only what this world wants you to know about Elementals. These mythical stories you hear or read about in literature have an element of truth to them but it's only a fraction of what humans are allowed to know. There's so much more. Case in point: What you now know about vampires."

That was true. Literature and other media depicted vampires as creatures who only came out at night because the sun either burned their skin that they slept in coffins and moats, they were easily weakened of garlic, onions and holy water, that they can be killed by a wooden stake etc.

Count Dracula was to blame for that.

The real vampires couldn't be further from the source material.

"Elementals are nature spirits that are linked to specific elements of the earth. They are conscious, four-dimensional beings of pure benevolent energy." She explained. "In the Paracelsian concept, the elementals are conceived more as supernatural humanoid beings which are much like human beings except they lacked souls. They were instead brought alive by their designated element. There are four main elements which we know, but elementals can possess the powers of more than 500 elements." She said.

My eyes bulged. "Five hundred?"

She nodded. "And there are new discoveries every day."

"Wow," I expressed. "How come we have never come into contact with an Elemental?"

I know of vampires. Werewolves. Shapeshifters. Witches. Enchantresses. All of which seem to exist in our world but I had never really heard of elementals existing.

She smiled at me. "Remember the story I told you about the Otherworldly Dimensions?"

I nodded.

I remember the story about the malevolent and benevolent spirits going to an all-out war millenniums ago where benevolent spirits then casted out the dark spirits out into a different world in order to keep the peace, serenity and sanctity of the benevolent world. Benevolent creatures ruled one world. Malevolent spirits ruled another world.

And these two diverging beings ended up creating an incursion that separated the worlds to make other dimensions. Creating a sort of parallel dimension or parallel universe that looks like the other but only slightly different in the type of creatures that inhabit it.

"The incursion that occurred during the benevolent and malevolent wars that lead to two parallel universe forming, I remember." I told her.

"Yes, well…These parallel universes didn't just exist because of the wars. They already existed. You see, there are other worlds out there. Yes, plural. Ones that are alternate realities to our very reality – a reality that exists beyond the one we experience right now. Realities that don't follow the same laws of physics as we do and can be even more magical than our reality."

"So…would you say we live in an alternate reality too? An alternate reality to one where humans only rule the earth and nothing else?" I asked.

She nodded. "Precisely,"

I smiled. And here I thought, months ago that I was just living in a stupid, mundane, human world.

"There are also universes with parallel timelines, this concept describes time as a tree with major events causing time to split into multiple branches, each branch containing the timelines that include the different possible outcomes of that event." She said.

Almost like The Flash. Going back in time to alter reality.

"You'd have to travel at the speed of light to travel to that parallel timeline," My grandmother injected.

I nodded. This can easily cause a Mandela Effect because many people can share the same false memory.

Parallel universes do bring up an interesting theory that maybe our four dimensional reality isn't as black and white as we thought.

"The breaking of the space time continuum.." I said.

"Yes. Each event requires three space dimensions and a time for its description, so time and space taken together are said to form the space-time continuum. When that breaks... We get the black hole theory. When something gets sucked into a black hole, just as it crosses the even horizon, from an external point of view, time will stop for that object." Nana explained.

I nodded. That was Einstein's theorem.

"The actual breakage of the space time continuum is what leads to alternate universes and timelines." My grandmother added.

I read a book about Stephen Hawking's theory about black holes being a route to other universes. I suppose he was correct.

"But the one I'm about to tell you will answer your question about the Elementals." She began. "The Other Realm…The Other Universe. This is an alternate universe, perpendicular to ours that shares the same timeline as ours and people exist in the same world, but may make different decisions as they think differently than we do. We look the same. We talk the same. But we don't all share the same fate. If you were born in 1910, your other realm version of yourself would be born in 1910 as well. But the decisions you each make will determine your fate." She said.

I nodded. That made sense.

"So…Where do the Elementals come in?"

"Because of the war, Elemental beings along with other benevolent spirit creatures such as Gods/Goddesses, Fairies, Faye Enchantresses, Elves, Pixies, Mermaids, Warriors, Guardians, Pegasus, Dragons, Daemon, Genies, Caladrius, Wizards/Warlock, Sorcerers and Gnomes etc. all ruled the world. They all lived in harmony with each other although no world is ever fully at peace. They were the sole creatures who kept the order in the other realm." She said.

"That's cool!" I expressed.

"It is cool," She sniggered as she looked around as if she thought of fond memories.

"So Elemental creatures don't exist in our world because they're not from our world but a different one?"

"That is correct." She nodded.

Huh.

That's interesting.

I wonder where my other self is right now in the Other Realm.

"Does this other realm have a name?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I like to call it Earth Prime. Seems like a better place to be, in my books."

I laughed.

That I kinda agree with.

So we live in an expansive multiversal plane with different worlds, universes and realms.

But this begged the question, if one earth had benevolent aka good creatures roaming the earth, why couldn't we simply just leave this earth's plane and travel to the better earth?

And how the hell do we get there? Was there some sort of portal we could go through? Or did we need to travel through a black hole to get there?

Our earth was beyond repair at this rate.

I wouldn't mind just astral projecting to a new earth and staying there forever.

"How do we get... To the Prime Earth?" I asked my grandmother.

She looked at me with a strange look. "Never mind yourself about that."

I frowned. "But grams, if there's a better earth out there shouldn't we find a way to get there? Like some sort of portal?"

"That will disrupt the very laws of physics I told you about. There are just some things you shouldn't do. We are meant to be in this earth. If we decide to travel to other realms, we risk causing an incursion." She told me.

"We also can't just travel to another universe willy nilly. The multiverse exists within the same geographic area of our universe, the same space, but without touching or overlapping as they vibrate at different frequencies. That's why spaceships that travel around our space and disappear are actually traveling at a different frequency in the multiverse. This prolonged multiversal travel can cause one or more universes to be entirely destroyed." she said.

"In most cases, those who travel to other universe would die horrible, violent and mercifully quick deaths. If the destination universe has just slightly different natural laws, then chemical bonds do not work as they do here and poof! you dissolve in a mist of mostly hydrogen, with some carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and trace amounts of other stuff, or you explode as the chemical energy is released." She elaborated further.

My eyes bulged.

"Luckily, it would happen so fast that your brain would never get the chance to register it." I chuckled.

She smiled back. "Pour yourself a cup of tea, dear." She gestured.

I nodded and did just that.

But if a portal were to be created that would not cause an incursion, disrupt the space time continuum or get myself killed then... I would totally want to travel to the other realms.

There are so many questions I wanted answers to.

… …

Alex Mazzola

The boys, Rea and I were currently congregated in our hangout spot in the booth at Krusty's Grill. It was a Saturday afternoon and I was hungry AF.

I desperately needed some grub.

I was never usually this hungry but today, god I could eat a whole horse and still ask for seconds.

We decided to meet up just to hang out, chat about each other's lives. We didn't hang out as much as we used to given all that's been going on in our lives. It was nice to have friends we could vent to sometimes.

We were also joining together to discuss a plan of action with the whole Cassia situation which was honestly bugging me for the longest time.

The fact that Cassia had the ability to configure or shapeshift herself into whoever she pleases freaked me out a lot.

Unlike Seth, Embry and Jacob who could shift into wolves, Cassia had the ability to molecularly shift the formation of her biological cells at will to change her appearance and thereby assume the form of any human or vampire.

She was essentially able to shift into anyone she pleases. Vampire. Human. Things she has been in her lifetime.

Tell me that's not the most terrifying thing you ever heard?

If what Ray told us about her was true, she was seriously dangerous and unpredictable.

I didn't know who to trust anymore.

What if Cassia was in the room with us right now?

I widened my eyes as I gnawed my nails fretfully at the thought.

"What if Cassia is in the room with us, right now?" I whispered.

Justin and Luke shared a look. "Alex…"

"Just think about it?!" I murmured. "She could be any one of these people in this room and we won't know it. She could be one of you!"

Luke and Rea shared a brief look.

"What was that?" I demanded in paranoia. "Cassia... Is that you?"

Rea rolled his eyes. "You're being paranoid and delusional?"

"Am I? Or are you all not being paranoid enough?" I questioned.

"H-How are we even sure Ray is telling the truth? He could have easily made that up to scare the Cullens," Luke suggested.

"Why would he lie about that?" Justin asked.

I nodded. "It would honestly be a seriously messed up thing to lie about too. Getting everyone on edge for gags?"

Luke sighed. "I don't know..."

"I'm serious! This chick freaks me out and I haven't even met the bitch," I uttered as I took a sip of my soda. "I mean, Ray Parker didn't give us much of a physical description so we don't know who to look out for."

"So how do you suppose we resolve that matter?" Justin questioned. "Just rock up to everyone and ask them 'So, are you a homicidal vampire chick who can shift into any human or vampire?'"

I shrugged. "It's better than doing nothing."

Luke chuckled.

"Look, Nessie and I are planning on sneaking into the Town Council archives to read up on Cassia's history there. She was a frequent debutante after all,"

"Debutante Ball... What an elitist, fascist event to uphold archaic, self-righteous ideologies and gender roles," Luke remarked.

That I agree on.

"And you're a debutante?" Luke quipped, laughing at me.

I gritted my teeth. "And I'm not proud of it either."

The cons of being a founding daughter of this damn town.

Mazzola's had a long history with the Oak Wood town. My ancestors helped build this town with many other families. They were also internationally recognized as pillars of the Founding Family in Italy as well.

I couldn't believe I had to participate in this kitschy and opulent event. Dressed in a puffy dress with opera gloves and a headpiece and pretend I'm some royal Disney princess.

Argh! Someone save me from this nightmare!

Justin moaned. "You just reminded me I have to be your escort! Argh!" He groaned, rubbing his eyes.

I glared at him. "I'm not particularly thrilled about it either, bro. I didn't have a choice in the matter."

"I didn't have a choice in the matter," He mimicked me in a mocking tone.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"My brother's also my escort," Rea told me.

Rea Reed was also a debutante given that her family, the Reed's supplied the town with oil and minerals.

She wasn't a founding daughter but her father, Robert Reed was a member of the Town Council.

Reed Enterprises was one of the biggest conglomerate companies in the whole of California and Oliver Reed, Rea's older brother was the new CEO after their father's death and he came back from his disappearance.

"Do you think we're going to have to waltz?" Justin asked nervously.

I shook my head. "We're not going to waltz."

Justin pumped his fists. "Yes!"

"We're going to do the Viennese Waltz and the Foxtrot," I told him with a smirk.

His mouth fell to the ground in horror and eyes bulged in fear.

"Are you kidding me?" Justin demanded. "You know I have two left feet! How am I gonna do that?"

I chuckled. Dancing was not Justin's strong suit.

However, this was my arena. I was very good at dancing. I've been a dancer since I was a little girl or "Mini Bambini" as my dad would call me.

I leaned more into the modern contemporary and ballet dance side of things but I did dabble in some ballroom dancing as well.

"You're gonna help us out right?" Rea asked.

I turned to her. "Sure! But we all have to go to the lessons. I mean – Felicity is doing it, I'm doing it, you're doing it. Nessie's the only one not doing it."

"Is that why you plan to sneak her into the Debutante Ball?" Luke asked.

I nodded.

"Listen, if we can get Nessie to sneak into the archival throne room without being detected, maybe we can actually get closer to this defeating this bitch before she strikes."

Justin sighed. "Look, Alex. I know it's a little alarming –"

"It's not just alarming, Justin! It's freaking terrifying!" I exclaimed half-quietly, half-loudly.

My brother raised his hands up in the air.

"Aren't you supposed to be a badass huntress?" Luke joked.

I sent daggers at the dork. "Luke, I swear to god…"

"Where's Nessie?" Rea changed the subject quickly before I choked Luke's head off.

Oh…

Nessie.

I missed her so much.

I needed my best friend right now.

She was the only person who could calm me down right now other than Seth who I frustratingly can't even be seen in public with until only after I graduated.

Ah! I was even more unsettled.

But, I was okay with her not being here knowing the reason why.

She was about to get engaged – or she did get engaged already. I was kind of puzzled about what the actual plan was.

All I knew was, Jake requested that we allow them this weekend to fully bask in their newly engaged couple bliss on their anniversary weekend before they announced to the world, friends and family about their engagement.

It was meant to be an intimate affair.

It made sense though. I wouldn't want to be bombarded with texts and calls from people as I had hot, sexy, heavy celebratory sex with my new fiancé either.

That's supposed to be our time!

So…I got it.

I hoped all the mind-blowing sex they were having wherever they were was worth it. Lovebirds.

I wished them well.

I had reservations about teenage marriage in general but Nessie was mature beyond her years so I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that she would get hitched at a young age.

Jake was also at the age where some guys his age got married, I guess.

I was genuinely also happy for them. They made a very lovely couple. I honestly couldn't wait for them to make it to the altar.

My best friend's wedding was probably my most anticipated upcoming party.

"Yeah, where's Nessie?" Justin asked.

"Uh…I think she's on a wellness retreat for the weekend," I lied slightly.

"A wellness retreat?" Justin asked.

"Yep! Uh…" I began. "She needed to get her body rejuvenated." I giggled.

She was definitely getting her body rejuvenated alright. Her guts were going to be rearranged inside out and recharged by the massive Bosco Stick in Jacob's pants.

"I think you mean to get her mind rejuvenated," Rea corrected.

I shook my head. "No, I meant what I said." I chuckled. "She wanted to recharge and reload her body with all the goods the wellness retreat has to offer,"

I flew my hand over my mouth as I tried to stifle my laughs.

I was such a crude bitch sometimes!

But honestly...

Good for Nessie.

She deserved to get her back blown out and her head knocked back onto the headboard until she saw God.

This was a momentus moment in her life.

Justin and Luke shared a confused look with each before shrugging their shoulders and shaking their heads.

"Um…Okay," Luke hummed. "Anyway. Everyone ready for the senior camping trip?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, pretty excited about it."

"You don't like camping," Justin pointed out.

I gasped. "Brother! I am offended!" I exclaimed. "Sure, I hate camping but any chance to get the hell out of dodge for a weekend I'll take it," I conceded.

He nodded. "That part," He sighed.

The entire senior class was going to be camping at the Oak Creek Meadows Campground in two weeks. We were going to be doing a bunch of team building and individual exercises that were designed to help us prep for the real world or whatever.

I honestly didn't care.

I just wanted to get out of here for a while.

Half of the senior teacher's faculty will be joining us on the trip which has its pros and cons. Pros being that we can prank them in their sleep and cons that we have authority figures that will probably make our stay a living hell.

"Oh, hell," Luke muttered under his breath as his eyes focused on the door.

I followed his gaze to see none other than the school bitch, Melissa St. Clair make her entrance known as she walked in with her floozy clique of followers – more like asskissers.

Melissa St. Clair was the leader of this clique of girls called the Pink Foxy Barbies.

What a fucking stupid name. It should be more like the Pink Trampy Bimbos if you ask me.

Melissa was the daughter of the mayor –or deputy mayor, I wasn't sure – so she thought she ruled the school.

Her father, Atticus St. Clair was also a white privileged asshole so I guess it ran in the family. The weird thing was, her mother was black so…I guess being biracial didn't stand in the way of her tapping into her privilege and abusing it to make other's lives miserable.

Anyway, Lissa Simmons and Stacy Graham who used to be Felicity's minions were now part of Melissa's group.

One thing about Melissa…She was always going to claim something that used to belong to Felicity. She wanted everything Felicity Stone had.

Back when Felicity and I were childhood friends, Melissa always wanted to one up Felicity Stone in some shape or form. Be it in her grades, at sports, in cheerleading and stealing her boyfriend.

She loved Hunter Hamilton before he died and when he and Felicity started dating, Melissa made it her life's mission to make Felicity's life a misery.

After what happened in the past year with Lecity's crazy life, Melissa assumed the role of popular girl in school from Felicity.

She spread some pretty nasty rumors about her over the past years.

Felicity was now treated as the school pariah by a quarter the school but the other three quarters frankly didn't care and treated Felicity with respect or indifference.

The loud minority was just that…a minority.

Melissa just needed one hot, hard, bitch slap in the face. Just one.

I offered to volunteer but I knew I was already flirting with the law in my day to day life as it is. I didn't need aggravated assault on my record.

Dominic aka the popular jock and Hunter Hamilton's best friend, came in with his group of friends who also ran in Hunter's circle.

Again…She wanted everything Felicity had.

"Look who rolled onto the Bitch Town Express train," I muttered in annoyance. "I wish I could get a tramp stamp and mail that bitch to Antarctica where she can freeze to death."

"Jeez, Alex!" Justin scolded. "Pull back on the throttle a little, huh?"

I groaned. "She infuriates me! All those rumors she spread about Felicity? The rumors about Felicity being a secret druggie? And how she spread around the nasty rumor about Set – Mr. Clearwater dating a student! Which was entirely false, btw!"

She was a nasty bitch.

"How do you know it's false?" Rea quipped.

I shrugged nervously. "I don't know – It doesn't sound like something he'd do, right?"

"It does sound made up," Luke joined in.

Thank you so much!

"I also doubt Mr. C, has that much game to pull a chick from school." Justin laughed.

Luke bellowed in chuckles. "I know that's right. He's a dork."

"Takes one to know one," I snarled back, defending my wolf's honor.

Luke looked offended. "Okay! What's your problem? Seriously, what did I do to you, Alex?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes at my brother's best friend.

"Nothing. I'm just…frustrated."

I don't know what was wrong with me.

My hormones were all over the place today. I was so irritable, more so than I usually am.

Maybe I was just uneasy because everything in my life was aggravating.

I desperately needed to shot of vodka or tequila right now.

"What is Jennifer doing here?" Justin expressed.

I spun my head around to see Jennifer entering the room with Embry.

Wait…Embry?

How the hell did she know Embry?

"Who's the tall guy she's with?" Rea asked.

"Uh…" I began but decided I didn't want to elaborate further. "I don't know."

I wasn't quite sure what the public story was around Embry. I knew the public story around Seth and Jacob was that they were cousins which technically was true but they were very distant cousins in reality. In public they were first cousins who were raised together as brothers.

Embry has only been in Oak Woods for less than a year and he's been with Jake and Seth most of the time but hasn't been to our school like Jake has so not many people even knew him.

Jake was known around the school because of his relationship with Nessie who everyone in school loved to know about. Nessie was for all intents and purposes 18 years old.

And Jake was obviously a lot older physically and literally so many whispers in the halls started playing a game of broken telephone and rumors spread about her relationship.

Half of the kids either cared about her personal life - mostly because they were envious, maybe.

The other half simply didn't care like many high school kids should.

I don't think it bothered Nessie much though. High school was only 3 months away from being done.

Thank goodness for that!

Nessie was still generally loved by the school though. Being a very genuinely nice, likeable girl played in her favor. A lot of the teachers loved her because she was smart and took great pride in her work.

She was in a lot of clubs in order to help her get extra credit for college. She was a softball player, she was a cheerleader, she was in the student body council with Felicity and she was a decathlon genius.

She joined me as my fellow newspaper committee leader for senior year. She was much better at news journalism than I ever was.

But she was not as extroverted as Melissa and Jennifer, who, naturally many students paid more attention to.

Nessie had a quiet popularity.

Jennifer told Embry to take a seat over to the tables outside as the waitress escorted him.

Hmm. It looked like a date.

I wonder if this was her plan to get closer to Jacob? Or was Embry her consolation prize?

Jennifer noticed our presence and waved towards us.

"God, she's so hot." Justin remarked. "She's waving!" He muttered before pathetically waving frantically back at her.

I rolled my eyes.

Oh brother…

Melissa then called for Jennifer's attention and gestured for her to come over to their table.

Jennifer looked back at us before running over to Melissa's table and began conversing with the whore.

"I didn't know Jennie was friends with Melissa?" Luke expressed in shock. "Well, that's unfortunate."

I wasn't surprised. Jennifer and Melissa seemingly cut from the same cloth. Melissa wanted Felicity's life and Jennifer wanted Nessie's life.

Potato Potatoe.

"Hopefully the brownie points she'll get from fraternizing with the enemy will keep her company when she has no friends." I muttered gruffly.

Justin attacked. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with you today but you seriously need to get a grip."

I glared. "Excuse me?"

He gulped. "Alex, you've always been an asshole but today you've upped your assholery a lot more."

Justin and I usually bickered often and we usually resolved it by wrestling it out on the floor like many brothers and sisters do, but we couldn't exactly tussle in the restaurant.

So we had to use verbal attack cards.

I thought of a good comeback.

"You know what..." I began but trailed off as I stopped myself to look at his cheeky, smug grin.

Screw words!

I leaned in to slap my hand right across his cheek, causing him to subsequently jerk in shock.

"Whoa!" Luke exclaimed.

Justin groaned as he reflexively came closer and slapped his hand cross my face in response.

I gasped as my hand covered my burning cheek.

Justin was always a genius slapper.

"Hey! Stop it, you two!" Luke lamented. "Do I have to put you guys on a timeout like I'm your daddy? Is that what you want?"

I rolled my eyes at my brother and then glared at Luke.

"Do you want a slap too?"

Luke grunted. "At least buy me dinner first before we get kinky."

I tried so hard to bark back at him with a snarky remark but the moment my brother and I locked eyes we couldn't help but let out a loud cackle because Luke made a genuinely funny joke that had us in stitches.

Luke anxiously laughed along whilst Rea looked at us with disapproving eyes.

"Glad you guys sorted it out quickly," Luke said.

"I'm hungry," I said.

"But you just ate!" Rea said.

I shrugged. "What's your point?"

"She always has dessert after every meal and the dessert is almost always a second round of food." Justin explained.

I stuck my tongue out at him. But he wasn't wrong.

I ate a lot but my metabolism burns really fast so I never ever gained weight. I enjoyed a lot of exercise as well to keep fit. I was also a dancer and swimmer so I burned calories a lot faster when I did those activities.

I also did other activities to burn calories quicker...

Flashback...

Seth and I peeled our bodies away from each other and sat each of our bedsides, looking up at the ceiling as we panted heavily.

"That was incredible." Seth expressed in gratification.

I snorted. "Yeah," I simply replied. "You're amazing in bed, Seth!"

I could feel him blush underneath my head as I lay it against his cheek and under his chin, as he breathed in my hair.

"Thanks. You're pretty good yourself," he answered, adoringly.

"Oh, I know!" I laughed confidently. "Credit to all the swimming and dancing."

"Thank you for swimming and dancing!" He raised his hands in the air.

I giggled as I lifted my head up from his chest to sit up and look down into his eyes.

"Say sweetnothings to me," I told him.

He thought for only a brief second before smiling brightly at me as he caressing my cascading raven hair down my shoulders.

"Of all the things my hands have held, the best one is you," Seth mentioned cornily.

I laughed aloud. "That was such a cheesy pickup line, oh wow!" I teased. "Does that work on all the ladies, Seth?" My hands clasped his fingers.

He blushed.

I giggled as I stared at his cute face and leaned in to lay a soft, passionate smacker on his firm, full lips.

END OF FLASHBACK...

I smiled brightly at the memory.

I missed Seth.

It was not easy being away from him. Nessie tells me it's the imprint bond that makes it hard for us to be away from each other.

She told me she felt it every time Jake wasn't in the room with her and more so when he's far away from her.

Jacob and Nessie were a different couple from Seth and I in many ways. But our shared experience of the imprint bond made us relatable to each other.

"I'm telling you, that's what I saw..." We all heard the voice of someone walk past our booth as he talked to his friend.

A tall, handsome black man with an athletic build walked alongside a stunning, curvy brown skinned woman with corkscrew curly brown trusses.

Luke's eyes locked with the man and I watched as the two exchanged flirtatious exchanges with each other before the man resumed his discussion.

Luke was blushing a deep red scarlet as he looked back at the boy.

My eyes bulged.

No freaking way!

I glanced over to Rea who was awkwardly looking at Luke with unconcealed adoration.

Double whammy!

No wonder Luke had such bad luck with girls and why he was so clueless to Rea being totally in love with him.

He was playing for the same team.

Justin's beeper went off and he glanced at his smartwatch to see his next shift was up.

"Looks like I've got my next shift. Lunch break is over! Gotta run guys," He announced as he slid out of his seat and shook out the apron and wrapped it around his waist.

I moaned. "What about my food?!"

He rolled his eyes. "I'll bring it in,"

I smiled. "Thanks bro!"

"Yeah, whatever. See y'all later." He told us before walking off.

"Where's Felicity? Isn't she coming?" Rea asked.

I shrugged. "She said she would make it when she's done at the hospital but she's probably still looking after her dad."

Luke and Rea nodded, both sharing awkward glances at each other as each tried to catch each other staring.

"I think I'm going to run to the bathroom real quick." Rea informed us.

I stood up and out of my seat to pave the road for her to head out before I slipped back into my seat and leaned in to slap Luke's arm.

"I saw that!"

He moaned. "Ow! Saw what?"

"You checking out that cute boy just now!"

"What? No! I was just being polite." He told me nervously.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, give it up. I know!"

"Know what?" He asked.

"That you're queer!"

He scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Alex. You're delusional!"

I clocked him again with a cocked eyebrow.

"You were checking out his ass as he walked by. You really need to be more careful with your leering. Don't make it obvious!" I warned him.

He shook his head awkwardly. "No-No I don't even know why you would say that?"

I laughed.

"I-I'm serious! I was just checking what jeans he was wearing." He made a stupid excuse.

"Like that's any less gay?" I questioned.

He rolled his eyes. "I am not gay!"

"It's okay. I had a phase of my own, remember?" I pointed out.

I used to be bisexual or bicurious before I met Seth. Now I'm just... Sethsexual.

"I am not gay! And even if I was - Which I'm not okay!" He retorted.

I raised my hand up. "Fine. You're not. I'm sorry! Maybe you don't wanna to put a label on it. Everyone has their own coming out journey and even if you aren't I don't wanna pressure you to. But if you are, I want you to know there's no shame in how you feel." I assured him.

I realized I may have come on a little too strong. I would have to approach this topic better next time.

Luke had always had a crush on Felicity Stone for as long as I could remember but growing up, I also got a feeling he had feelings for my brother Justin for a short well. Maybe they were feelings he didn't quite know himself.

But I was a good judge of character.

The theory with my brother could just be misplaced so it wasn't anecdotal evidence but Ray Parker certainly was.

His obsession with Ray Parker always piqued my interest. The way he got flustered at even the mention of Ray's name made me question things.

He always had a tinge of excitement in his eye when we talked about the elusive werewolf.

I don't exactly blame him. Ray was very attractive. I mean, I don't personally find him hot but I knew he definitely was hot to a lot of people.

The dark, mysterious, tragic backstory and traumatic edge to him worked in his favor I guess.

Maybe Luke had unexplained feelings about a lot of people?

Maybe he isn't gay. Maybe he's confused? Aren't we all at that age?

Maybe he's bisexual? Maybe he's pansexual? Maybe he didn't want to label it just yet? Maybe he's still finding himself?

Whatever his journey was, I wanted him to know I was there if he needed to talk about it.

He looked at my sincere eyes, his mouth agape slightly as if he wanted to say something before he sighed and closed his lips.

Rea returned shortly after as if nothing had happened and we waited as one last round of food came in (mostly for me) before we all decided to take a check.

I would be sure to text Felicity tonight to make sure she was okay and then message Nessie to finally congratulate her on her engagement.

---

A/N: There you go! Another swift update! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I have finally introduced The Elementals. What do you guys think of them so far? Also the story Felicity's grandmother told her about other universes will be very integral to the storyline. Things will be kicking up to high gear soon so I hope you're ready! It's going to be crazy!

REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVORITE!