Author's Note: This story feels as though it is coming to an end. I'm feeling around chapter 25 and it will be over, probably less. It is not going to be long, but I know for a fact that I am going to write a sequel. I already have the first few chapters planned out. That will be a while though.

Anyway, I wanted to answer . Questions.

1. Athena and Marcus go back very far. She trusts him for whatever reason she has.
2. An imprint is a powerful thing.

Chapter 14. Wow.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

I want to hold you to the sun
I want to be your faithful one
I want to show you all the beauty you don't even know you hold

I'm hurting you for your own good
I'd die for you; you know I would
I'd give up all my wealth to buy you back the soul you never sold
~Liar by Emilie Autumn

Of Love & Loss
Chapter 14

Marcus's POV

"Athena, look at me," I say, moving to sit by her. She does, and suddenly she starts talking quickly.

"He's going to kill her," she says, looking at me through wide eyes. "We have to help her."

"Who is going to kill who?" I ask calmly. She closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, they are calmer but no less terrified.

"Caius is going to kill Leah."

"What?" I ask, not comprehending. Sure, Caius is a pissed off asshole most of the time, and he may have a well-known grudge against werewolves, but he wouldn't go that far, would he? That doesn't seem at all like Caius.

"You heard me," she responds sadly. I nod, my eyes widening.

"How do you know?" I ask. She looks offended that I even have to ask.

"I'm his wife. He tells me things."

I suddenly remember back to that night when Leah and Embry were in the kitchen talking about information that Leah overheard. She had immediately pointed the finger at us. Turns out I shot down the ideas that were actually right.

"Where is she now?" I ask. She closes her eyes, and I know that she would be crying right now if it were possible.

"Out. In town. With Giovanni Salvatore." She responds slowly.

Giovanni Salvatore…no one has seen or heard from him in years. He was the one human to ever escape our clutches. How could no one realize that he was back in our city?

"Where?" I ask. She shakes her head helplessly.

"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me."

I lean back in my chair, letting everything sink in. No wonder she had been acting the way that she had earlier. She had wanted to get out of there without running into me because of the "imprint."

I can't believe that I am thinking about this right now. I immediately push back from the table and pull two bottles of blood out of the fridge and place one in front of Athenodora, keeping the other for myself.

Leah's POV

Well, he may not be the best person in the world to come to a movie with, what with the smart ass comments he makes at all the scary parts that make it funny instead of terrifying. But I have to admit, it was a great date. We split the popcorn and laughed when everyone else in the theatre was screaming their heads off. We were the targets of several dirty looks, but it was worth it.

I hate to admit it, but this is pretty much the first date I have been on since Sam.

We part ways at the fountain where we met,and he promises to call me again. I smile as I walk back to the castle, unbelievably happy. I figured that the date would be overshadowed by thoughts of Marcus, but I found that as soon as we sat down, all thoughts of Marcus were driven out of my mind. It is actually kind of scary. That kind of thing just doesn't happen, even in unhappy imprints.

When I get back to the castle, I walk to my room and pull on a pair of gray sweat pants and a navy blue tank top to sleep in. I find that I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, something that is a nice change from my usual tossing and turning for hours.

I wake up the next morning fully rested. I get the feeling that something is up, but I ignore it. Today is going to be a great day, I can feel it.

I walk downstairs to the kitchen and grab a fiber one bar for breakfast before going up to the library. I need some good reading. I wonder if they have anything current, or if their whole library is full of classics. That would be a lot of classics, but they are very old. I can see how they could accumulate a collection of classics that large.

I walk through the shelves, breathing in the smell of old books as I look for something interesting to read. Finally I find a shelf of modern smutty romance novels that I am sure must be Heidi's. She seems like that kind of girl.

I pull out The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I had heard good things about the movie, so I want to read the book.

I don't know how much time passes by before the lights suddenly shut off. I sigh irritably and push myself to my feet, suddenly glad that I am a shapeshifter. I can see in the dark better than the average human, though not nearly as good as a vampire.

I close my book, keeping my finger inside to mark my page and slowly find my way to my room. This is a strange thing. I get the feeling that this happened on purpose. Someone purposefully shut off the lights. But who? And why? I have no idea.

I make it to my room and walk over to the window, pulling the curtains open to let some sunlight enter the room so that I can continue my book.

I hear the sounds of fighting from down below, and I finally set aside my book to go check it out. I wonder if there is an unwanted intruder or if one of the Voltouri turned traitor. I chuckle to myself at that. The thought of a traitorous member of the Voltouri is laughable.

I see Demetri, Felix, Jane, and Alec fighting against men in black. I snort. Men in black. How original. How cliché.

I debate whether or not to join the fight when my mind is suddenly made up for me by a cool grip on my arms. All I know is that it is not Embry and it is not Marcus. So my fighting instincts kick in.

I slam an elbow back into their stomach, cursing my stupidity. That won't do anything! But to my shock, the breath leaves my attacker's lungs in a whoosh. I turn around, confused, and stop short.

Oh my God.

Author's Note: Aw, I'm so mean. This is probably the biggest cliffy in this story.

Reviews please! I feel like people are actually reading my stories when I find reviews in my inbox. And they make me feel good…

~Nephi Lockwood