"Always and forever," Klaus whispered in my ear as the Volturi disappeared. "Never forget that."

He pressed a chaste kiss to the side of my cheek before pulling away. As a large smirk drew across his face, I glanced over my shoulder following his gaze towards Emmett. Suddenly, Klaus grabbed hold of me, and flashed off in to the arctic. I wanted to protest, but the only thing I could manage to do was burry my face into the crook of his neck as we ran at vampire speed for what seemed like forever. I've made mention of it before, but I really have never adjusted to vampire speed, and at one point, I actually thought I might even pass out. We were soon shrouded in complete darkness as we passed over the Arctic Circle, and much to my relief, Klaus laid me down into a warm, soft bed a few moments later.

"I'm sorry, Love," he began as he caressed my cheek with his thumb. "I know how the vampire speed messes with your head."

"Then why did you kidnap me?" I slapped his hand away as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Kidnap you?" he snickered. "It's not kidnapping if I'm bringing you back to where you belong."

"Oh?" I challenged. "And where's that?"

"Back home," he replied. "By my side. Ruling as the rightful queen--"

"Of New Orleans? Please." I scoffed as I interrupted him.

Suddenly he flashed forward, inches from my face-- I could tell he was angry.

"You belong by my side as the rightful queen of the entire supernatural world," he snapped. He huffed angrily as he spoke, and even though his voice was calm and even toned, I could sense he was holding back the storm that was raging inside.

As my head finally quit spinning, I was beginning to notice more about my surroundings. "Where are we?" I asked as I stood up and began inspecting the igloo.

The bed that I had gotten up from was lined with luxurious silks and thick, heavy furs and as a damp coldness began seeping into my pores, I immediately began to regret my decision of leaving that bed.

"We're in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve," he said as I continued to walk around the dimly lit snow house. "So I would suggest that you stay close to me. Not only will you catch hypothermia in a heartbeat, but I do believe there are some wild animals out there looking for a rather tasty meal," he grinned evilly.

As if on cue, a dozen or so wolves suddenly howled into the night sky sending a shiver up my spine. I gulped nervously as I looked back at him. There was no way I would be getting out of here any time soon.

I walked back towards the bed and noticed there was an intricate design carved into the wall.

"You did this?" I asked as I ran my hand over the art work.

He nodded his head as he moved closer to me. "I remembered how much you loved the mural I painted for you, back in Mystic Falls," he replied.

A small smile tugged at my lips as I let my finger trace over the detailed snowflake designs. Taking a deep breath, I sat back down on the bed as I let out a long exasperated sigh.

"What are you doing her Klaus?" I asked as I ran my hands through my hair. "I don't love you anymore," I said as I tried to make my voice sound as convincing as possible.

"You and I both know that's not true," he decided, sitting down on the bed next to me.

I stood up to glare down at him in defiance, but he stood up with me. His piercing blue eyes staring down at me now, instead-- daring me to look away. My eyes traveled down his face from his eyes, to his deliciously perfect lips.

"Even now, your heart betrays you," he said as he stretched out his hand and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

In the blink of an eye, he had crushed his lips to mine, kissing me hard. I had forgotten how warm and delicate they actually were, compared to the strength and power that flowed through the rest of his body. His tongue gently caressed my lips, asking for permission to enter. My conscious screamed 'no', but the rest of my body betrayed me as I melted into his strong embrace. With each passing second, I could feel myself falling more and more back in love with him.

But what about Emmett?

With Emmett, things had been new and exciting. He possessed the body of a young muscular god and the horny sex drive of a teenager. It had been thrilling and incredible to say the least.

But with Klaus, things felt familiar and passionate. He possessed more strength and power in his ring finger than Emmett contained in his entire body, yet he was as gentle and delicate with me as a rose. He was always ten steps a head of everyone and apparently that included even me.

Sensing I needed air, he pulled back, leaving me breathless and panting. As I stared into the deep pools of his eyes, I grew weak in the knees. He quickly and easily lifted me up into his arms, holding me tightly against him-- it felt like he would never let me go.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, Little Mate," he smiled as he laid me down in the bed.

"But rest for now, Love," he said as he lightly rubbed circles along my back. "Tomorrow will come soon enough."

***
Emmett

I frantically ran to the spot where Evie and that curly haired man had just been standing, but there wasn't nothing there. No foot prints-- no scent-- nothing! It was as if they had just completely vanished into thin air.

I fell to the ground on my knees, cradling my head in my hands. How am I ever going to win her back? I cringed as I replayed my last words to her, over and over again in my head. Had I actually suggested handing her over to the Volturi?

Standing up, I felt a new resolve to set out and find her. Even if she didn't return home with me, I needed to make things right. But I still had one giant problem-- where on earth had she disappeared to?

"Perhaps, we could be of some assistance."

I spun around to face female owner of the voice and was surprised to be met by two pairs of eyes. One of them, I recognized as Evelyn's supposed brother, but the other I had never seen before.

"You are looking for our dear Evelyn, are you not?" She spoke again- a tall beautiful blonde with big doe eyes. If I hadn't been so in love with Evie, I might have given this woman a second glance.

"Yes, yes I am," I answered. "But who are you?" I asked.

"It's not important," Evie's brother replied.

"No," I disagreed with a shake of my head, "I think it is. I saw the plane ticket and I know you don't want her here. So why are you suddenly willing to help me now?" I asked.

"Evelyn is very important to us," the blonde replied. "And our brother can sometimes be--" she paused for a moment, searching for the right word, "difficult."

"Wait a minute, now I'm really confused," I told them. "You're saying the man who took Evie is your brother?" I asked.

The girl nodded.

"But aren't you Evie's brother?" I pointed towards the man whom I had met just days before.

"My connection to Evelyn is complicated at best," he explained. "I love her dearly, like a sister, and she has been nothing short of family for the past forty years. But I guess if a proper title is what you're looking for, then I believe brother-in-law would be best suited."

I'm sure he was expecting me to be shocked, and in fact maybe I was, but this only made me question their motives even further.

"So why would you help me?" I asked again, my voice becoming irritated as I leveled my eyes at them.

"For years I have lived at the mercy of Nik's tyranny," the woman said. "I will not idly sit by and watch him do the same to Evie. She deserves to find true love."

"And you?" I asked the man.

"I do not believe in such fairy tales as my sister," he replied. "But I'm willing to see how this whole thing plays out."

I simply nodded my head at the pair. It wasn't exactly the response I was looking for, but it would have to do. I accepted their help and we immediately began searching for Evie.

I later learned that their names were Elijah and Rebekah and that they had another sister Freya who was also helping us. Apparently she had given Rebekah a talisman that would help lead us to Niklaus, but as soon as we headed into the Artic Circle, I began to have my doubts.

"Are you sure that thing is working properly?" I questioned.

"Yes, I'm sure," Rebekah snapped.

"But there's nothing up here," I insisted. "There's no way he would be able to keep Evie alive up here."

Rolling her eyes at me, Rebekah stopped to show me the talisman.

"It glows brighter as we get closer," she explained. "And trust me when I say, Niklaus has his ways."

I frowned, opening my mouth to let out some snide remark but was cut off by the irritated voice of Elijah.

"Are the two of you done?" he questioned as he suddenly turned around from where he stood. If I thought his tone was condescending, his scowl was even more so. "Because I do believe I have located them."

Sniffing the air, I silently cursed myself as I caught a hint of Evie's delicious 'cake batter' scent. I licked my lips and bit down on my lower lip, allowing her fragrance to take over my senses. I sped forward and found myself standing in the middle of a dimly lit igloo. There were rose petals and candles everywhere and I could hear her heart beating rapidly.

As I ventured further into the ice cave, it suddenly dawned on me that she wasn't alone. I could feel my temper beginning to rise and with my fists clenched by my sides, I stared at the scene in front of me in horror-- my heart shattered into a million pieces.

"Evie?"