I'm deeply sorry for the long wait. Working to get my Bachelor Degree soon. But i promise i will not drop it or start any other story before finishing this one first.

To Zed, the noor of my eyes.

Demitri is not here.

Here I stand, facing the smug face of Jane Volturi and Demitri is not here.

He was supposed to be here, being the honorable Volturi that he is, comforting me with his gentle threats, uprooting my conviction about joining the Volturi, about making the mistake I am ready to commit a million times over for his ungrateful person.

But he is not. In my despair, I spent the previous 48 hours running through every scenario possible, trying to calibrate my heartbeat so it won't betray me when facing them, when facing him in front of this unpleasing audience.

Yet I am hyperventilating, bile and pure acid rising to my throat ready to leave my body at any second. Questions starts filling my head, expecting the worse. Is he alright? Do they know? What if they suspected him when seeing his golden eyes, casting him off this mission? Jane smirks knowingly, and it only succeeded in making me sicker.

"Good to know you still know your place, dog" Jane starts sweetly.

I do not answer, only focusing on letting air into and out of my lungs rhythmically, my eyes not leaving the ground. My heart is beating erratically, trying to repress the images that started flooding my mind. This moment of icy passion meant something to him too. Right?

Where the hell is he?

Jane gets impatient since she has that frown on her face. I feel a familiar tug on my heart. Someone is trying to get through the invisible shield enveloping me. My eyes leave the ground to meet the Woman's in the back.

Chelsea.

She is the one who manipulates bonds. So she must know. Since the beginning. Even before I did, I just realize. She is as expressionless as the rest of them, yet she radiates serenity and grace. Answer.

"I will join the Volturi" I answer as confidently as I could.

It was obvious Jane has not expected such a response, for once she is speechless.

At that moment, Demitri decides to make his appearance, out of nowhere landing in front of Jane, facing me. He is sneaky even when surrounded of vampires, emphasizing his natural abilities as a tracker. A mixed expression of relief and horror is apparent on my face, my eyes stuck on his dangerously golden eyes. He smiles privately at me as his eyes shifts to stare at his colleagues from the corner of his eye. My heart starts throbbing no matter how prepared I thought I am. I close my eyes for a moment to compose myself. He is here.

Without waiting for the other Volturis' reaction, he starts addressing me.

"Well then, welcome aboard, Miss Clearwater." He extends his hand to me to take. My heart gives a leap. I can spot Jane smirking at my reaction, mistaking my fear for Demitri for fear of Demitri.

He is smiling widely now. This is going to be good. I try to keep the beam from my face, forcing my expression to remain serious and stoic. We will be together from now on. My happiness is one step away. I can see Jane frowning in the background but I only have eyes for Demitri. No one else matters. Only Demitri is capable of drawing me to him like a magnet.

I never realized how wonderful the bond is supposed to feel till this moment since beforehand, it seemed like a curse being drawn to the enemy. And no matter how awful it sounds, I would always choose him first.

He extends his hand, ready to seal the deal. As my hand automatically touches his fingertips without even waiting for my consent, I feel the world blur around me. I look up ready to shift when I feel pure coldness wrapping around me. I am unaware of what is happening till the wind striking my face like a blade. My mind take a while to register that I am being carried away. Demitri's grip on my waist and back hard enough to crush.

The expression on Demitri's face makes my heart leap. Not from joy but terror. His golden eyes are no longer gentle, his welcoming smile faded into something way darker. I have never seen Demitri look or sound this deadly before.

"One protest, one wrong movement, and you're gone, Leah"

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. He was not bluffing. I was ready to give up everything to him. His hand travels to my neck, his nails digging threateningly into my spinal cord. Instead of the sparks, electricity travels to my bones electrocuting me, paralyzing the muscles in its wake. I am frozen, and for the first time in my life, I shiver from the cold.

Flashback

Demitri's POV

She is insane.

She drives me insane.

Insane enough to be where I am.

Two of them know I am here, yet they are fine pretending.

I sigh, I guess they want to see me crawling on my knees. I take the first step toward the house and hear a soft amused "Oh this is going to be good". At that moment, the alpha heads out of the house. His satisfied expression turns vicious when he smells me. Instantly metamorphosing into one giant russet wolf, he attacks me. I sigh, not moving an inch but I can almost see the smug expression on one Edward Cullen looking out the window as I mentally prepare myself to be torn to pieces.

I guess I deserved that.

When I regain my eyesight, I find myself on a sofa surrounded by all types of Cullens staring at me, and one uncharacteristically fidgety alpha who looks uncomfortable and would rather be elsewhere.

Everyone is dead quiet and unmoving, tense expecting the worse of me yet I sit more comfortably on the sofa before starting lightly: "Well, you keep a lovely home, Mrs Cullen".

Edward shoots me a warning look "Demitri…" before his eyes shift to the alpha "Explain."

I look around before my stare fixes on the beautiful girl clinging to the alpha. Her heart starts beating faster when looking at me. She looks into my eyes for a long time as if seeking my soul. Eventually, she gets up from Jacob's side, gently smoothing the wrinkles of her flowery skirt, and heading my way before the alpha grabs her, pulling her gently but protectively back to his side, yet she shakes him off.

"It's ok, Jacob. He is harmless."

That image gets me infuriatingly jealous. Why can't I have that with her? Why can't she see that the Volturi would change her, molding her into a perfect assassin, erasing everything she is now, everything I came to love about her? Am I willing to take this risk, just to keep her by my side, regardless of the person she might become?

The loathing and the madness is clear in my eyes, as I can see Edward shifting tensely, ready to intervene if it came down to it. When she is directly in front of me, she places both hands on my face, cupping my cheeks as she looks once again deeply into my eyes. "Such a sad soul" she whispers. The warmth radiating from her skin, her beating heart, the intense look in her eyes reflected perfectly the genuine innocence deeply rooted within this outcast by nature.

And then the images started fast-forwarding through my mind.

Images of Leah, and only Leah.

The look of wonder and surprise is obvious on Edward's face, so how did she know?

End of Flashback

I look down at her, she is staring ahead, not bothering to move or shift or even stare at me. She won't even blink, her face scarily blank for someone who cannot mask their emotions on normal days.

She does drive me insane. Which is why I did what I had to do.

With the Cullens' help, I was able to fend off most of the Volturi, scattering our scents in all different orientations to fend them off. Chelsea did not bother participate in this fruitless dance, knowing I am shielded. Felix is not quite motivated in pursuing me either, knowing it would end up with me dead. Santiago is miles or so to the east. And even Jane is far off, the wrath seriously damaging her intelligence.

Which leaves Alec. Who is mile and a half behind me. No matter what direction I take, or strategies I form, he seems to read through all my plans. He is extremely skilled in predicting people, figuring out the different scenarios, calculating the Variables and selecting the most probable. He is not one to vent and his silence is one of his strongest assets.

This is bad. No matter how to look at it. I am almost on Canadian borders and it would not do me any good to go into hundred hectares of empty forests. Leah's heartbeat is a dead giveaway even with the waters crashing on the cliffs and the ruffles of trees surrounding us.

Flashback

"Nessie, what the hell is going on?"

She removes her hand from my face, mirroring her father's look before ordering "Explain"

I look at Jacob before stating simply: "I am Leah's mate"

I never expected the following silence to be this uncomfortable or the elephant being this sneaky, crawling in a room full of vampires. "Imprinting, I believe you call it?"

Jacob is still silent, looking around him, realizing he is the only one left in the dark. "I do not buy it"

I shrug. "I do not care. But know that Leah agreed to become a Volturi for me."

The look of pure betrayal should have been a payback but it does not feel like it since Jacob is tremblimg, on the brink of changing.

End of Flashback

It has been almost half an hour that we are going in circles, Alec on our track, never relenting. And to add fuel to the fire, Leah is still dead silent, refusing to talk or even acknowledge me. I am in deep trouble if I get caught. To think Aro might off her just to punish me.

A certain noise in the background comes forward, and I focus on the smell. Can I do it? Can I put her life at risk just to save ourselves? She did not ask for this, yet I couldn't come up with a better plan. I circle around a certain area, before tearing off my cloak and Leah's jacket making sure our scent is the strongest there before heading back in Alec's direction. She does not even protest.

"I am so sorry Leah" I tell her regrettably "Please forgive me" I beg as I urge her to take a deep breath.

A moment later, our bodies hit the waters.

The only surface that could distort her heartbeat and completely clear our scents is the waters, which left me no choice but to jump into the pacific. I swim a bit more deeply, my arms still gently wrapped around Leah, hoping the icy water could harmlessly decrease Leah's fast heart rate and the elevating pressure prevent Alec from locating us. He is still on the surface, paralleling our pace. However, he comes to a halt nearby the area where our scents is the strongest. This halt gives me a much needed head start as I keep swimming, aware of Leah's lost breath. A few seconds later, she starts struggling against my grip. I clutch her tighter. A few more seconds is all I need. Few seconds in which Alec will be deciding what to do. He wonders around before choosing to head east. I swim fast to the surface, bringing a limp Leah along with me.

I keep track of the Volturis' movement. None seems suspiciously close. The Cullens are performing their daily tasks, and even the wolves are doing whatever they usually do. All in all, nothing looks overly suspicious.

Once on the coast, I lay her on the sand, carefully hidden from view between the rocks. She is heavily shivering and barely conscious. Too terrified of touching her, I stay back. Panicking, I thought of removing her wet clothes to prevent her from getting too hypothermic but before I can act, she was coughing water, but the shivers has not decreased. She gets up straightening her back before her eyes lock with mine.

Happy Read :)

2 more chapters.