Chapter Twelve - Nessie's POV

The Denalis were with the rest of our family in the living room, and fell silent as we wandered in. I noticed that my cousins' eyes didn't widen at the sight of Rachel, though Eleazar's did narrow when he spotted Ciel. His mate, Carmen, was holding Henry, who'd grown considerably since I had last seen him. That head of black, curly hair reminded me of his mother, painfully so. I knew he'd remember her, just like my brother and I had remembered our mom after we were born, with stark clarity and a non-deteriorating memory.

"Nessie, EJ," Tanya greeted us, coming forward to hug us both at the same time. "It's wonderful to see you two again, though the circumstances could be better. My, how you've both grown."

"But you're almost finished, eh?" Garrett grinned as Tanya pulled us forwards and Uncle Emmett shut the door, his golden eyes sparkling. "Can barely remember what my childhood was like."

Kate snorted from his side, and he flipped back her long pale blonde hair so that he could press a quick kiss to her neck. Through the bond, I felt my twin's wistfulness as he watched their display of affection. Let the rest of our family get used to Ciel first, I adviced, resting my chin on his shoulder as he said, "So, even though introductions aren't really necessary, this is Ciel. Ciel, these are our cousins, the Denalis. You probably already know which is which."

"Ah, yes, you have the gift of clairvoyancy mingled with telepathy," Eleazar mused, his dark gold eyes still narrowed. "But how am I unable to sense it?"

"My powers have evolved to include a shield so that I can protect my mind from being bombarded with too much information," she explained. "It is not a gift of its own, but more a byproduct developed through mental practice."

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Carmen said, nudged her mate as she flashed a warm smile. "Welcome to the family."

"The family?" Dad said in confusion.

"Why, are she and your son not mates?"

"Oh, no," Ciel answered hurriedly, stepping away from Jay and refusing to meet his eyes. I squeezed his shoulder until the tension faded. "I just want to apologize once more for the danger I have brought upon you all."

"Do not fret, child." Patting her shoulder, Tanya winked and said, "We have turned the Volturi away once, and we can do so again."

"But in this case, the circumstances are vastly different," Uncle Jasper stated as we all moved to dining room. Ciel took a seat between me and Tanya, and my brother reluctantly sat on my right, still annoyed and concerned over her attitude towards him. "The Volturi are coming to take Ciel, not kill her - her gift is too extraordinary for Aro to want that."

"The Volturi have never forced anyone to become a member of their guard before," Eleazar argued, his dark brows drawn together. "Why should they do so now?"

"Since the reason for them leaving is so heavily focused on a dhampyre, I'm unable to clearly see their reasons for coming." Aunt Alice twisted her lips at her lack of usefulness, and her husband took her hand in his. I looked across the table to where Jake stood, unwilling to take a seat with us even though he was friendly with the Denalis. Would we ever be able to hold hands together like that?

"And I won't know until they arrive." My father's voice jolted me out of my musings, and I flushed guiltily under his pointed look as he continued, "So, we must decide on how we prepare."

Garrett interjected, "Why not just get all our friends together like last time? That sure sent those royals running."

"The circumstances were quite different," Granddad gently refuted. "We only asked them to tell the Volturi of the twins' growth and thus prove them not to be immortal children. It is another thing to ask them to stand with us in what will no doubt become a fight."

"If we can't fight them, and we can't run from them, then what are we supposed to do?" Uncle Emmett asked in frustration.

"This is all my fault," Ciel's voice broke in, small and pained. "I never should have come here. I'll just turn myself in to the Volturi's justice and - "

"Not an option." Everyone's eyes turned to Jay, who sat there with his arms crossed. "What kind of people can we call ourselves if we just hand you over to their so-called justice? You're a fellow dhampyre in need."

I thought I saw a quick flash of remorse cross her face before the violet-blue eyes shuttered. "Thank you."

"You're more than welcome," Grandma said with her warmest smile.

"So now, we must establish a plan of action," began Uncle Jasper, his topaz gaze shrewd. "We cannot run nor fight sucessfully, and though it will no doubt be much more diffcult with the support of our friends, I do believe that trying to convince the Volturi is our only chance of success."

Eleazar sighed and shook his head gravely. "When Aro wants something, it is very difficult to sway his mind. And, based off of how he wanted Bella so badly, he'll be even more desperate to get his hands on Ciel and her extraordinary power."

"Then we must convince him that it is in his best interest not to take hold of it," Aunt Rosalie interjected, her grip on Henry tightening slightly. The boy looked around in interest with his intelligent bright blue eyes, and I wondered how much of the conversation he understood.

Furthermore, I wondered about the person who'd sent him and Rachel here - their father, if the young dhampyre's word was to be taken as the truth. What did they have to do with Ciel's own mysterious appearance? There was no doubt a connection between them; the odds of so many of my kind all being in the same location where slim to none. And Joham and Nahuel were still players in this puzzle, too. How could I get in contact with one of them?

"Ness, aren't you hungry?" My mother's voice jolted me out of my train of thought, and I realized that the discussion had ended and the others were dispersing. She, Dad, and Jake all lingered around, waiting for me to rise. I did so immediately, trying not to flush at being caught zoning out. Had my dad heard my thoughts? From the curious look he was sending my way, I assumed the answer was a no.

"Starving," I answered, linking my arm with Jacob's and tugging him towards the door. "Where's Jay? I'm sure he needs to go hunting as well."

"He followed Ciel out." At my frown, Dad asked in concern, "Is something wrong?"

I pushed aside my lingering doubts and gave him a bright smile. "No; I guess he'll just have to miss out on the fun. Let's go!" We all left the house, even as in the far corners of my mind, the worry for my brother grew.

~~~~~

Finally, Sunset is up and running once more! Sorry for the longer-than-expected hiatus; it took a while for me to get back into the mentality of the story after being away for so long - all I could think about was Destiny, lol. xD But now, all's good, and updates will (hopefully) be back to arriving each week. So, look forward to next Thursday! And remember, drop a comment about what YOU think's gonna happen.