Ekaterina stood in the woods stoic after her hunt. She never cared much for killing people, but she had to eat. Right now she was soaking up the night's waning moon. Her thoughts were of a certain human until immediately turning sour upon the sound of hastily approaching footsteps. Turning, she saw his short brown hair and stature. "Yes, Stefan?"

The ancient male looked just as displeased as she was. "We have things to discuss."

Her brows rose, "Do we?"

"Yes," he hissed, stalking even closer to her, "Your little display of claiming her does not and will not stop me from getting what I want."

Ekaterina cocked her head, not quite understanding. She just thought they were on the run, hiding. What could he be needing? She stood straight against him, "And what exactly is it that you want? Huh? She's just a pawn in this sick game of chess of yours. Let me have my fun."

He scoffed at her, "To you she is but a pawn, but a pawn can make a difference between getting the revenge Vladimir and I seek so desperately."

Stefan, though shorter than the Russian woman, was so close to her face when he threatened, "I know you still check on your family, Ekaterina. It would be unfortunate for an accident to befall upon them all."

If vampires could go pale, she would have. She knew he didn't make veiled threats and she shouldn't take it lightly. Swallowing thickly she thought of her grandchildren that still lived today. She couldn't risk their lives for her own selfish wants.

Stefan smirked, "Do we have an understanding?"

She nodded.

"That from now on she is off limits to you," he continued.

She gave another nodded.

The smirk on his broadened to a grizzly grin, "Good, good. Now let us return. I bet my human is exhausted."

They traveled together with Stefan feeling smug while Ekaterina was worried now more than ever. She never really thought twice of her two male companions before when it was just the three of them. Now that it's four she is starting to see the men in a light that makes her stomach turn. As they approached the cabin the crackling of the fire could be heard along with the wildlife outside, but inside it was deathly silent. Not a heartbeat could be heard.

The two of them looked at one another before sprinting inside. They found Vladimir staring, deep in thought, into the fire. The blonde bewitched by the flames didn't take notice to them storming in through the door. Stefan went over to his longtime friend while Ekaterina went to the room to check what laid inside.

"Vladimir, what did you do?" Stefan came to stand in front of him.

The pale blonde still staring off dazed in the distance didn't acknowledge him. Didn't even blink once even when Stefan put his hands on his shoulders.

"Vladimir," Stefan gave him a shake before slapping him.

This caused the blonde to finally blink from the stinging aftermath. He looked up at Stefan in confusion, "I thought you were going to hunt?"

Meanwhile Ekaterina thought she was going to see a lifeless body of the woman she had just grown close to in the room, but was colored surprised. Walking in she couldn't smell a strong scent of Amara, hear, or even see her anywhere. She expected with how Vladimir was acting that Amara would be dead, but she's just missing? Did she escape?

"We went hunting, what have you been doing," Stefan asked.

"Watching the human, of course."

"She's gone," Ekaterina came out of the bedroom, "There is barely any trace of her scent inside that room."

"I will repeat, what have you been doing, Vladimir," he ground out. Panic and anger reverberated in his voice.

"I was just sitting here after she went to bed. She just went to sleep and I guess I was lulled to my thoughts by her heartbeat," he explained.

"But when the beating stopped?" Ekaterina pointed out .

"I didn't notice it," Vladimir admitted, it was his turn to draw his brows in, "It was like I was off in another land."

"She couldn't have gone far," Ekaterina went to the door to the outside world, fully planning on searching the woods for her.

Vladimir looked at Stefan sheepishly as the dark haired male looked ready to blow a gasket, "I believe I'll go help search for the plump mortal."

With barely a glance back, two of the companions left the short male alone to his raging thoughts before he too left to find her.

A late summer's heated afternoon began with an oddly cool breeze. Her duo colored hair blew in the direction of the wind. The cool air welcomed on her overheated body. She could tell just by the feeling of the noon's air that she was no longer in the mountains. Looking around she saw a a few mesquite trees that looked familiar to her. If she was mistaken, she'd climb one of those trees once.

Her brows drew together in confusion.

Was she back home? She had to be, there was the rock she painted all those years ago, though it was faded and chipped now. The sun overhead was blaring its solar rays down upon her. Dressed in a green long sleeved dress with long thermals underneath it made her feel like stripping a few layers.

Taking a deep breath, she began walking barefoot through familiar fields uncaring of the dangers of the little critters that crawled upon the ground. This was a dream. A dream where she could go home to her last remaining family. Go to a place where she was welcome at last.

She didn't count the minutes or steps it took for her to finally reach the home she sought, but she found it with ease. The old red brick house that was surrounded by a tall fence that came into her view. A ghost of a smile graced her face. She could remember sometimes climbing over that fence and getting her shirt caught by the wooden plank, running around in the very fields she just came from to hide from her family (mainly her older sister) and even playing in the sprinkler system in the yard on the other side. A sigh escaped her, those were bittersweet memories for her.

'I'm going to see my sister,' she finally thought.

She knew that they never saw eye to eye on anything. Knew she had hurt her sister deeply and cut her with words. That the last time was the last straw with her sister, but this was a dream. Dreams let you see your family even if you're the reason they don't speak to you.

With a determined look, she took a step forward, before following it with her other foot. Slowly she realized the rocks didn't feel great underneath her feet, but that didn't faze her. That only motivated her to move quicker. The crunch of her feet on the rocky surface echoed around her as she made her way up the driveway.

The usual sounds of animal life further to the back of the property greeted her as she drew closer to the house. She had half expected the dogs to be barking at her by now. When she got within ten feet of the door she noticed something taped to it. She squinted her eyes and pushed up her glasses as she walked over to it. Looking the note over made her jaw drop in mortification. It wasn't a note. It was an obituary, but not just any old normal person's obituary. It was her own obituary.

She ripped it from the door and looked at the picture her sister chose to represent her. It was of course a picture that made her look unflattering, but at least she was important enough for a picture.

The front page read:

'Amarantha J. Davis

April 1st, 1982 - August 13th, 2006'

She opened it and continued reading:

'Amarantha J. Davis was from Dublin, Texas raised by her grandparents, Jerry and Elizabeth Davis, and sister, Jasmine Davis. She Graduated top of her class in 2000 and proceeded to follow her dreams of becoming an artist. Her talent was mainly in tattooing and painting. She enjoyed listening to music on repeat to the point it would become her own personal soundtrack to life. She had her own personal struggles with mental health, but she made the best of it with the help of her support system.

There is a lot to be said about Amarantha, she was a light in a dark room. She could simply brighten your day with a few simple words. It was a sad day to find out she was taken to soon from this world.

She is survived by her sister, Jasmine, and preceded in death by both grandparents, Jer...'

She stopped reading before looking around. This couldn't be true. It had to be a prank her subconscious was playing on her. She finally spoke out loud, "I'm not dead."

Gripping the paper tightly she turned it over to the back page that normally had a prayer on it to find lyrics instead. The song was a familiar one to her. She had always said if she were to die she wanted this to be played at her funeral, but to see the lyrics to, 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' by Pink Floyd sealed the deal.

Tears welled in her eyes and she frantically began banging on the door, "Jasmine, Jasmine!"

"I'm alive!"

*Bang* "I'm not," *Bang*, "Dead!"

She threw her body weight against the door, but still it did not budge. The tears leaked from her eyes freely now, "I'm not dead," and "Jasmine," becoming mantras between knocks.

She didn't know what if it was the heat that took her out, the heavy crying, or the overwhelming emotions, but she blacked out after a few more pathetic attempts of breaking into her sister's house.

Amara woke up with a gasp, her eyes wide. She felt shaken to her core. With a quick glance around the room, she was sure she was in the cabin she had fallen asleep in. The dream she just had was disturbing. It had felt so real.

'A little too real,' she thought.

Taking a shaky deep breath Amara's brow twitched. There was something in her hand, something that hadn't been there before. Grasping the item, the crinkling sound of paper could be heard. She brought her hand to her face to see what it was.

'What the-' "fuck?!"

She sat up, pushed up her glasses once more before looking in disbelief at the piece of paper in her grasp. It was the obituary from her sister's door. She felt a scream build within her chest, but her breath was stolen from her. Tears welled in her eyes before spilling over, down her reddened cheeks. She felt like hyperventilating.

'This can't be real,' echoed across her mind.

Did this mean it wasn't a dream at all? Did she really appear in Texas just to wind right back up where she started? Everyone back home thought she was gone. Emptiness began to settle within Amara. She was alone. Utterly alone now. How could she forget how she had gotten there? She bet Luke's truck looked like a sight to behold after the accident. No sane person could possibly believe she survived that.

'Oh, Luke,' she felt a pang inside her chest thinking of her friend. How could she not of thought him all this time? He must be worried sick for her if he didn't think she was dead. At least, she hoped he had hope she was alive. Someone had to, right? Did her mates think she was dead now as well? Surely they'd know her heart still had a beat, that her lungs still required a mixture of oxygen to survive, that her body ached for their touch specifically.

Her bottom lip shook as she sniffled. Amara didn't know what to do. Where should she go from here? Blinking away a few tears she had to think quickly. She was living on borrowed time the longer she stayed here.

This was the first time the drive to get back to her home kicked in. The need in full force as she tucked the piece of paper in her breast pocket knowing it would be safe there. She practically leapt off of the mattress. The creaking of the box spring beneath could be heard. No one came into the room, and if she was honest, she was surprised by that. She hadn't exactly been quiet with her crying or breathing for that matter, let alone however fast her heart was beating right now should have alerted them to something not being right.

Amara, shaking out her boots first, slipped into her shoes and tied the laces before walking to the main area of the house to find it empty. The once roaring fire was dying out which lead her to believe she was left alone.

This would be the first time she had been left alone since first appearing here. Looking at the fire and thinking of the paper on her person, she quickly took it out and tossed it inside. She didn't want the vampires to know that she was presumed dead. She watched as the low flames licked the paper's edges before turning it to ash. She looked around for the firewood and grabbed two small logs to place on top in hopes of building back the fire and hiding the papers ash.

"Where have you been," came from inches away from her, the voice gruff.

A scream finally escaped her and she jumped practically falling back into the person. Tight cold hands wrapped around her upper arms holding her in place against their chest. Amara looked up and was frightened by the intense madness upon Stefan's face. His eyes were wild with barely any red being seen around his pupil and his teeth were on display. He was like a rabid animal just without the foaming mouth. If his hair wasn't so short Amara was sure it would have been disheveled like the rest of his appearance.

"S-Stefan, I-I," Amara found it hard to speak as she trembled, afraid this predator was going to be the one to kill her.

"A-A-Amarantha," he mocked her, fire blazing deep within his eyes, "Where have you been? Do not lie. I will be able to know."

Amara, though scared, knew one thing. The necklace tucked underneath her dress that she still wore to this day protected her from any sort of mind reading, so how could he know? She decided to test her luck by giving him a little of the truth, "I-I think I t-teleported."

She swore his eye twitched before the corners of his lips drew up into a twisted smile, "Oh, do tell."

"I-I believe I went to my home state."

"How did you know that was where you were?" Stefan's accent thick.

She felt like her mouth was too dry, but she continued, "I was in my hometown."

"And where's that," he questioned.

Amara narrowed her eyes and shook her head slowly, "You ain't getting that from me." She wasn't going to sell out the location to her sister so easily.

There was a flash of a sneer that crossed his harsh features. He released a scoff and his grip loosened slightly on her arms causing her to easily fall back into the table there. Catching herself before she ended up completely on the ground, Amara's eyes wide as a doe.

"Do I need to remind you of the deal we made? Huh, Dragă," he asked as smoothly as honey. Amara stayed silent which gave him initiative to continue, "We help you, you help us. Remember?"

He slowly circled, "It's only been a day and you have already tried backing out of said deal."

Amara's brows furrowed, eyes not as wide in fright anymore, but from the sheer audacity of this man. "What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything," he stopped in front of her, "I'm stating that you have tried breaking the agreement by running away."

"I didn't run away. It's not like I choose when I teleport or to where," Amara felt her voice raise.

Ekaterina and Vladimir, both having heard a commotion, returned to the cabin. They both stayed silent in the doorway as they watched Stefan wave of the mortal woman. "Regardless you are now not allowed to sleep without supervision."

The gears ground away within Amara's mind, "You mean to watch me as I sleep?"

He nodded.

"Fucking creep," escaped from her chapped lips.

There was a loud crash before she could process what it was from. Stefan broke a chair by throwing it into the wall so hard it exploded into pieces of scrap wood. That only made Amara poke the bear further, "Break as many fucking chairs as you want, it still makes you a creep."

He came centimeters from slapping her when Ekaterina held back his hand by grabbing his arm. Amara marveled in how fast the older woman made it to her side. "Stefan," Ekaterina spoke in her native tongue, "She is human. You will kill her and ruin your plans."

Stefan's cruel sneer worsened, "Pets deserve discipline when bad, Ekaterina."

"Then don't feed her for a day, don't beat her," the older woman said still gripping his arm hard.

He huffed before snatching his wrist from the woman's grasp. "Fine, fine," he turned his eyes to Amara before ordering, "Ekaterina will be watching you for the rest of your sleep cycle tonight. Rest well, we have a hard day tomorrow."

He gave her a daunting promise before sending her and the Russian to the room. Amara took a few small steps away from him and the table on shaky legs before finding her strength to walk. Ekaterina closed the door to the room for Amara to get a little sense of privacy. Behind the closed door Amara's strength evaporated and what was left was a husk of a human.

She had thoughts rushing her mind ranging from her mates to her dream, that wasn't a dream, to the encounter just now back to her mates. She kept thinking about them a lot and wondered if it was the bond or if she truly just missed them.

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her in comfort. 'When did I crumple to the floor?' Amara wondered as Ekaterina soothed her. She couldn't help, but wished it was Marcus, Caius or even Aro whose arms were around her right now. She missed the smell of eucalyptus and spearmint from Marcus, the rich vanilla and parchment scent Caius exuded, and Aro's mixture of sandalwood and a fragrant patchouli. 'When did I start crying,' she thought as more tears leaked from her reddened hazel eyes.

She really missed them. After all the thoughts of wanting to be away from them, but now all she feels like doing is getting back to them. She never thought she would feel this way about them. Sure they weren't perfect by any means, but neither was she and they accepted her. She would be asking for forgiveness when she got back and prayed they'd give it to her. Even if she felt like she didn't deserve it at this point. She made everything difficult for them after they tried to do everything for her, she cheated on them, and she ran from them.

Well she was through with running from her mates. Now she had a new problem. 'Stefan, Vladimir, and could she even trust Ekaterina,' she questioned while in said woman's arms.

She looked blankly at the wall. One last thought occurring to her. If she knew anything, it was confirmed tonight, she was in serious trouble.

Two kings sat in a study while a third paced back and forth. The unofficial leader of the bunch had his head in his hands trying to concentrate on the task at hand and not on the gnawing uneasy feeling he had. His head peaked up when he heard one of his fellow coven mates speak.

"We should check them all," the blonde suggested.

Marcus, who had been sitting staring off in the distance, didn't even respond to Caius' suggestion. Aro's lip nearly touched his nose, not liking the idea, "Check every vampyric coven, you mean? Or do you forget the Children of the Moon, Dear Brother? They too are enemies."

"They are nearly extinct because of us, there is no way they have her. Besides she'd be dead by now, a full moon has passed," Caius retorted.

Marcus looked as if he was despondent and not paying any attention. What he was really doing was watching the connections of their mate. He wished he knew the three mysterious people in her life right now. The lines that connected her to them kept changing from black to muddy brown which wasn't a good sign. Even the one companion's line had changed its color from red to brown in less than twenty-four hours. He wondered what was happening to her to change her bonds so quickly.

Aro turned his gaze to Marcus, "She is still alive, right?"

Marcus turned his head toward Aro, his chin resting on his chest, "Do you think I'd be living if she weren't?"

Aro knew Marcus was not joking when he said that. He knew very well the extent Marcus would go to, to be with Amarantha again, whether it be in living or in death. Aro preferred everyone to stay alive. Satisfied enough with the answer he was given, Aro stood from his chair and joined in on the pacing. "We cannot simply demand to check every coven and its members," Aro began.

"And why can't we? We are the ruling coven for a reason. What we say goes," Caius inquired before stating an obvious fact.

"How very dictatorship of you, Caius. When we want to make more enemies, we'll call upon you for the plans," Aro snidely replied.

"We're fucking KINGS! At least I'm trying. You two are just moping around doing nothing," Caius exasperated.

"I'm not moping, I'm thinking, Caius. There's a difference," Aro stopped his pacing in front of his desk. He ignored his blonde brother's outburst, "Besides, the only one who mopes is Marcus."

Marcus didn't respond or even move. His hair had fallen like a curtain in front of his eyes as he still watched her lines. They didn't matter to him at this moment though their argument continued.

"Then what are you thinking, almighty Aro," Caius over exaggerated the 'almighty' and rolled his eyes while he lifted a hand in question. His sass was on a whole new level.

"We need to assume the worst possible options first, seek them out and check," Aro spoke after some time, "But we must not let anyone know what we are searching for. I fear for her safety."

Marcus stood up out of his daze and proceeded to the door.

"Where are you going," Caius called out.

"To find our mate," Marcus returned.

"We can't be the ones to search for her, Marcus," Aro started. A discomforting look overcame Marcus' face. He continued, "There needs to be someone not normally associated with us doing the search."

"And how will we know they won't harm her?" Caius stopped mid-step and turned to Aro.

"Because they don't drink human blood," Aro whispered.

"No."

"Caius-"

"No, Aro," Caius waved his hands in displeasure, "Malnourished vampires trusted with our beloved mate." He crossed his arms before scoffing, "I have had enough of them."

"Hear me out," Aro pleaded with his brothers. The feeling of apprehension and stress were ever present in his chest. If he still had a heart he would have placed his hand over it from the aching there.

Marcus, who had stopped at the door way, pivoted toward the other raven haired vampire in the room. At this point Marcus was willing to try anything to get her back. He wasn't going to allow himself to feel anything until seeing her again. After the death of his first love Didyme and, of course, his previous actions, he can/had become overly emotional. The husk of Marcus still grasped at hope though. It was the only emotion he'd let drive him forward. He stared Aro down, "Well, go on. Explain."

Carlisle held the phone to his ear even though he didn't have to. He was honestly surprised to know that his old friend knew how to work one. The young attractive doctor listened to what was being proposed to him and his coven with a quirk in his brow. Usually he had his "first born" here to help with decision making, but he wasn't there. Instead he had the rest of his family surrounding him as they too listened to the proposal.

"So let me see if I understood you correctly," Carlisle had to take a mental step back. He honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing, "You would like our help in finding your mate in exchange Bella can stay alive until she is ready to be turned? Plus, you'll stop actively trying to recruit members from my coven?"

Carlisle never knew the Volturi to bend the rules, ever. The law was the law and they broke the first one. The whole reason they sent their mate over was to hand deliver a threat. He waited for a response.

He heard an unnecessary clearing of one's throat before, "Well.. Essentially yes."

The blonde was flabbergasted, "I'll have to talk with my family first about this."

He could hear a different more aggressive voice in the distance say, "What's there to talk about? We've practically bending over taking it in th-"

"That's understandable," spoke his friend.

"I'll give you a call back with our decision," Carlisle said.

"We'll be waiting."

He hung up the phone and turned to look at his worried mate and other "children." He walked over to Esme and placed a hand on her shoulder before drawing her into a hug. As he hugged her, he spoke, "What do we think?"

"I think their running out of ideas or their desperate," Jasper with his southern drawl, he stared down his mate, "Which I don't blame 'em. I would be out of my mind-"

Alice came up to his sitting form and gave him comfort. She smiled softly at him, "I'm not going anywhere without you."

"We should tell Edward since it evolves Bella," Emmett piped up from behind the glorious bombshell, Rosalie.

Rosalie patted Emmett's hand that laid on her shoulder. She added her opinion, "I think we should stay out of this and leave Edward and Bella alone, they're on their honeymoon."

"They have a right to know," Emmett's golden gaze went down to Rosalie.

"Tell them when they get back, but it's not our problem. Besides, aren't the Volturi the one's with a tracker? Why can't they use him," Rosalie looked from her mate to her fellow family members.

"If I were them I wouldn't let the whole world know my mate was missing. That's a target painted straight on her back. It's smart for them to use an outside source, but why us? I have no clue," Jasper gave his two cents, "I don't know what we should do either."

"I might have an inkling," the pixie haired vampire added, "They think we are the safest option for her. That we won't hurt her."

"How do you-," Rosalie began but stopped her sentence, "Did you see it?"

Alice shook her head, "Just a small tidbit."

There was a silence before Esme stepped out of Carlisle's grasp, "To not be hunted for their coven," she looked toward Alice with a smile, "And to no longer be under a time constraint might change everything. We need to at least inform Edward of what was said. I know they are currently busy focusing on themselves, but a five minute phone call should be fine. I'd like to keep everyone together. I just feel as if we should help. We are still technically inclined too, she did disappear in our territory."

"She might not want to be found," Rosalie spoke up again, "What do we do then? Force her to go back to them?"

Another silence steeped through the air as each one of them thought of the options. The evening rain poured down outside their windows. "She belongs with them," Jasper eventually broke the tension, "She must know it by now if she's still alive like they assume."

"She is alive," Alice stared at Jasper who gave her a questioning look, "I might not be able to see her future, but I can still see her. She isn't dead. It's quite intriguing how she is cloaked."

Her gaze had clouded over as a vision overcame her. When she came to she smiled over to Carlisle, "Bella's asleep now if you want to give Edward a call."

Carlisle nodded and dialed the number to Edward's cellphone. It rung only once before it was answered with a, "What's wrong, Carlisle?"

The good doctor released a sigh before explaining in detail what Aro asked of them. What the award of helping them would be. He gave everyone's input besides his own. All Edward did was listen to his maker as he went over everything with only one question that came to mind, "What's the catch?"

"There didn't seem to be any ulterior motive when I spoke with the man," Carlisle's brow scrunched with confusion, "I've never heard him sound so, so-"

"Needy," called Emmett.

"Hush," Rosalie scolded her husband.

"I'd say anxious, myself," Jasper piped in earning him a small look of disapproval from his pixie haired mate.

"Hello everyone," Edward greeted through the device.

"Hey's," "Hello's," echoed across the house in return.

"There has to be a reason other than just wanting to keep her safe. What is their game plan? Alice, can you see anything?"

Alice gained another far off look until she returned to reality, "Aro and Caius are fighting over the law while Marcus is just staring off at nothing."

"And these are the people who rule us?"

"Emmett," Rosalie swatted lightly at his hand, "You know better than to voice your concerns."

He looked sheepishly at his family and shrugged, "I say we let them fall apart from the inside out."

Rosalie's eyes widened with fear not for herself, but for her mate. Such words could get him maimed by the Volturi. A pin could've been heard dropping the silence was so deafening as what he said sunk in. What if the Volturi tore itself apart? What kind of chaos would the vampire world be in? What about the world itself?

"Something is telling me we need to do this. It's not a bad idea to be owed a favor by the Volturi," Alice gave another perspective.

As if Edward could still read everyone's thoughts from so far away, he gave another predicament, "What if we never find her and we agree to do so, what then? Are we responsible for her then? Will we be punished?"

"Good questions. I don't know the answer to them, but I'm afraid we already know what will happen," Carlisle stated into the phone.

"It would put not only Bella in danger, but everyone else as well," Edward whispered so Bella's sleeping form definitely couldn't hear.

"So should I give him our answer," Carlisle asked for everyone's input.

Edward and Alice said yes while Esme and Jasper gave a nod. Rosalie was too off in thought to reply and Emmett just huffed. Carlisle nodded, said his goodbye to Edward and proceeded to take a second before redialing that number.

The sound of his big feet thunder across his hard floor frantically throwing what was in his arms on the table. He smelt something very familiar in the air. 'That can't be right,' his inner monolog began, 'Could it possibly be-'

"Luke what's wrong," a brunette with curls for days atop her head asked.

He shook his head knowing he couldn't tell her the truth, "Nothing, Jasmine. Just thought I saw something."

"You know, I do that too," she said with a sad smile before coming up to him and placing a hand on his arm, "I really appreciate you coming to the memorial service. I know my sister and I never got along, but I knew one thing about her, she really cared about you."

'She's not dead. It would have drawn too much attention to the situation if I didn't come,' he wished he could tell her the truth.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world," he gave his own bittersweet smile to the brown eyed sister to his missing best friend.

Jasmine gave him a quick pat on the back before going to bring in the rest of what was in the car. He excused himself through the front door and said he needed to take a walk. Once outside he took a big intake of air. He smelt Ami's scent that's unmistakable. The scent was faint but he began to follow it further out towards the woods. As he took the path a small sense of hope began to build deep inside his chest as the scent grew stronger.

'What if she's here,' he thought excitedly.

Picking up his pace, Luke continued past thick brush, cacti, mesquite and rocks littering the landscape. It was when he came across a rock with a faded bluebonnet on its surface with a hummingbird did he pause. That style looked similar to hers. Sniffing the air again, he smelt a concentration of her scent coming from an empty spot where a strange pack of cigarettes laid.

He looked at the symbols for letters, his brow knitted, 'What's this, Russian? What would a Russian pack of cigarettes be doing out here?'

Luke reached and grabbed the red package with big, white Cyrillic letters. If it hadn't been for the smell of tobacco leaf he wouldn't have known what it was until opening it. He took another whiff of the pack. Her scent flooded his senses along with a few others. His head was up on alert, eyes looking around.

"Ami," he called out, hoping she'd somehow still be there.

No answer.

"Ami!"

Still nothing happened for Luke as he desperately clung to the pack of cigarettes. He felt so close to her, yet also so far. Helplessness was not usually a word in his vocabulary, but he felt it right then.

"Ah," he slammed his empty fist into the nearest tree, unbothered by the pain.

He didn't know how her scent led him here, how this strange pack of cigarettes got here, or how it had her scent. One thing he knew, he needed to preserve the pack of cigarettes. It was a gut feeling that he needed to share the scents. Something just didn't sit right with him about them.

He hated to admit this, but he needed a smarter mind than his own. With much thought he knew who he needed to see. He needed to run back home.

The magic of running gets you far ;)