Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all rights to the Twilight series books and Summit Entertainment holds the rights to the movies. I do not intend to infringe on Stephenie's intellectual property. This story contains sexual situations and if you're under age or are offended by homo-erotic works, you should probably stop reading now. If you're not, then keep reading and enjoy :)

Note from the Author: It feels good to be writing again! I've given myself enough time to make my adjustment to my new life, but now, it's time for me to put my focus back on my readers. Below you'll find my newest installment of my series. Please feel free to comment me at twilightwars@hotmail.com I hope you enjoy!

Twilight Wars

Chapter 7 -- The Hunters and Wolves

I felt like a sitting duck. I, at times, felt like I'd prefer it if Aro swooped in and took me, sacrificing me to save everyone else. And it was times like that when I became increasingly annoyed at my husband and brother.

"Don't think like that."

"Cheer up, we're going to win this."

"Don't worry, Alex! You're not in any danger."

I wasn't safe in my own head. It was driving me slowly insane, and my mood wasn't lifted any.

Bella or Esme would usually take me to hunt when I got frustrated because it meant that the house would actually stay on its foundation. It was discovered, to all of our surprise, that when I lose my temper, my gift kicks into overdrive.

Today was even worse. It had been a month since Aro and Marcus had visited us and declared war on the Cullens. I was on edge to a degree that even Jasper was struggling to keep me calm.

"Alex, honey, you need to stop worrying. This isn't your fault," Esme told me as we hunted together. I'd done a lot of hunting lately. I wasn't thirsty, I just wanted something to occupy my time and my thoughts.

"If I hadn't walked through the city that day, Lucian wouldn't have turned me... no one would know what my gift would be... none of this would have happened, Esme!" I protested. "And I wish people would stop telling me not to worry. Let me deal with this how I want to."

Esme sighed. Her heart-shaped face still held the concern, but she didn't push her motherly agenda onto me anymore. She hunted an otter, not particularly liking the large game I preferred. My nose had picked up the tantalizing scent of a mountain lion and I was determined to get it.

I could smell the fur; hear the heart pumping the blood through the creature. It was getting stronger; I was closing in. At last, it was in my sight. I crouched low. I was perfectly still. I timed it right, and with one beautiful spring, I was able to pounce onto the large cat. It tried desperately to get away, and ended up clawing my clothes to shreds. Only a few pieces of fabric covered my nether-regions.

I drank until I was full. The warm blood flooded my mouth and throat, easing the fires that burned there. The venom forced itself into the animal, though the heart quickly stopped beating as I drained the body of anything for the heart to circulate.

I heard Esme approach. "Your hunting skills are quite remarkable."

"Thank you," I said. We walked back to the mansion. The air was tense.

"What happened?" Esme asked.

"I had a vision. The Volturi are going to send Jane, Alec, and Felix to finish off what is left of the Werewolves in Europe," Alice told us.

"We've got to stop them!" I replied. "They'll be able to turn the tables on us in our fight!"

Rosalie came downstairs. "Alright, the plane tickets are booked! We need to head over to the airport."

Jacob and his pack came over to protect Renesmee and we left, giving me just enough time to change out of my shredded rags and into a new outfit.

****************************************

As soon as we landed, I needed to hunt again. The fires in my throat were threatening to send me into madness. There was a point on the flight where Jasper actually needed to use his powers to sedate me, or we'd have had a dead flight attendant.

Lucian went with me to hunt. I only hunted a bit of small game for time reasons. Once the flames were quelled enough to permit me to think rationally, we continued our quest.

Once we entered the forest, Rosalie, Esme, and Alice ventured to find somewhere to set up camp, or a hotel that would be close to the werewolves. It was like going in blind, with Alice not being with us, but we figured it would be smarter to have the muscle and mental shields. I had also been learning to create physical shields with my gift.

Not long into our hunt, we picked up on a strange scent. It repulsed all of us. We knew at that moment that we were on the right track. We picked up our speed and realized that there were more familiar scents mixing with that of the repulsive one. It could only mean one thing. We were too late.

We sped through the forests. We had to save the werewolves. They were likely going to be the deciding factor in the war.

When we found the werewolves, there was no sign of Jane and her posse, however, we were sure we smelled them.

Lucian began talking to the leader. It was day time and the full moon wasn't too far away, so he was in his human form, but he was looking somewhat ragged. Luc introduced us all to him. They actually seemed hospitable to us, but perhaps it was the fact that we came close to outnumbering them and that we were taking the time to get to know them, instead of following the usual vampire/werewolf dichotomy.

The werewolf's name was Zachary. He had a wife and kids, though they were human. He left them close to the change for fear of attacking them. They were glad we came, though, because they had no idea that Jane and other Volturi members were on their way.

Lucian stayed very close to me, something I found odd, though I didn't complain. I enjoyed being close to him. He kept his arm around my waist the entire time it took for Zachary to give us a tour of Werewolf Ground Zero. There were six of them, some more trusting of us than others.

Lucian found a moment to be alone with me and we were able to sit and talk.

"Why do they smell so foul to us?" I asked.

"Their blood is poison to us. It's one of the few substances that can kill vampires. However, if they were to be injected with our venom, they would die. So in a sense, it's mutually assured destruction," Lucian replied.

I nodded and then felt Lucian's lips on mine. He kissed me in a way he'd not kissed me before. It was strong, powerful, and desperate. When it broke, I had to question it. "What was that for?"

"I have a feeling that this may not end well. I wanted to kiss you one last time," he said softly.

"Don't talk like that!" It was my turn to be annoying. "When we married, we vowed to love each other forever. Seeing as we were immortal at the time, and still are... we skipped over the `til death do us part' bit. Death will not do us part."

He kissed me again, this time the desperation wasn't as noticeable. As his passion consumed me, so did a pain unlike anything I'd ever felt. It consumed my thoughts, my body. It was like the burning of the venom, only worse.

I flung myself away from him, because I knew he'd be able to feel it. "JANE!" he screamed in rage.

I couldn't concentrate enough to defend myself. Strategically, this was a very intelligent move on their part. The pain was intensifying as I writhed on the ground. When would it end?

"Kill me, please!" I begged. Death was definitely better than this pain. I could barely hear as this mental flame seared through me.

As Lucian searched for my torturer, Bella came to my aid. Her shield took the pain off of me. I still felt disoriented after, though. Once I'd come back to lucidity, I thanked Bella then went off to find that four foot something bitch. However, when I got to her, Lucian had already torn her apart. Alec and Felix were down for the count, too.

Lucian looked as if he were coming out of a trance. When he saw me, he rushed to my side. His hands cradled my face. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "What happened?"

"No one hurts you while I'm alive. And now, the Volturi are down three very important people."

"You have to burn them..." I said.

By this time, Carlisle had joined us. "Don't do it, Lucian. You've inflicted pain they'll not soon forget. They may try to dissuade Aro, Marcus, and Caius."

"Or they'll come after me and Alex with a vengeance, and decimate the remaining werewolves," Lucian snarled back with a ferocity that made Carlisle take a step back. Emmett ran between them.

"Calm down, Lucian. Carlisle, I have to agree with him. Why not take the opportunity while we can?"

"You have to realize--" Carlisle started, but Lucian cut him off.

"I have to realize nothing, Carlisle! She was torturing Alex! I wasn't going to let that stand without avenging him!" He looked truly vampiric as he said this. For a moment, I was afraid of him.

Carlisle, however, rebutted just as fiercely. "But he didn't kill Alex, so the punishment does not fit the crime, Lucian! Do not touch those remains!"

I had never seen Carlisle so angry before. I don't think anyone had.

Lucian snarled before grabbing my hand and walking away, "You're going to regret it, Carlisle. Mark my words. We should have taken the opportunity when it arose."

Lucian and walked for a while until we found a cave far from the Cullens' outpost near the Werewolves. They would stay there until the Full Moon, then move to a hotel nearby, that way, they'd be out of harm's way as the werewolves transformed and lost their inhibitions.

Alec and I lied together on the floor of the cave. He caressed my face and kissed my lips. "I'm sorry for losing my temper back there."

"I forgive you," I told him. "But you need to apologize to Carlisle, not me."

"I will," he said before kissing me again. His strong hands found their way down my body. Soon, my shirt was off, then his. We held each other close. We pressed ourselves together. It had been entirely too long since he'd touched me like this.

We removed each others' pants, not breaking our fervent kissing and caressing. Soon, he was between my legs and pushing himself into me. I gasped from the ecstasy of it all. He lovingly pumped himself in and out of me. The care and tender with which he made love to me reminded me of why I loved him so much. I submitted myself completely to his body. Soon, we were both moaning obscenities into each other's mouth.

As he slammed into me during climax, I came, too. After, he lied beside me. "It's been too long since we've done that," he said softly.

It was true, but I was afraid that if I agreed, he'd get on the defensive. "I hadn't noticed," I lied.

Lucian started laughing. "What?" I asked, a twinge of annoyance flashing through my emotions.

"I just think it's cute when you feel you have to lie to me. But at the same time, I don't like it," he positioned himself so that he was able to look into my eyes. One hand felt its way through my hair. "Alex, I love you. I will never stop loving you. You can tell me anything. I promise you, my darling, I won't get upset."

I nodded. There wasn't anything for me to say at the moment, so I kept his words in mind.

He planted tender kisses on my cheek and neck. "You don't need to keep anything from me, my sweet."

I was about to tell him that I knew I didn't have to, but a new drama posed itself.

"Cover up you worthless bloodsuckers!" came a rough voice from the opening of the cave.

"It can't be!" Lucian hissed. He kept his voice low and began pulling on clothes at a speed that was fast, even for a vampire. I followed his lead. "The family was said to have died out!"

"What is it?" I asked, keeping my voice low as well.

"The Rammage family, a family of vampire hunters," he explained. "What do you want, you murdering filth?" Lucian's forcefulness towards this stranger alarmed me, even though I had just been told he was a hunter.

"Last I checked, I didn't feed off of the blood of innocent people."

"Last I checked, neither did I," Lucian shot back.

"What are you talking about? You're a vampire. You can't survive without blood!"

"I hunt only animals, same as my mate and the rest of my family. So take your self-righteousness elsewhere," Lucian replied. We now walked to a distance I could make out the man's features.

He was big and rugged. His blood smelled like honey and I wanted nothing more than to taste it. I was shaking with the effort it took not to sink my teeth into his neck. It would take only a few seconds. With my human blood, I'd still be able to taste some of his blood before Lucian could stop me.

"Don't, Alex! His blood is poisonous to us. It's what he uses to kill our kind!"

"Very smart, leech!" the man said with a grin.

"My name is Lucian and this is my mate, Alex and I'd prefer that you refer to us by those names, thank you," Alex said through a forced politeness.

"My name is Nicholas Rammage. I'm a descendant of the Noble Rammage Family. I kill the scum of the earth, like you vampires. I've been looking for you for a very long time, Lucian Bennett. You didn't think you could kill my great-grandfather without retribution, did you?" Nicholas asked.

"I did it in self-defense. It was Darius's life or mine. I did what anyone would have done... vampire or not," Lucian replied. His voice remained steady and calm.

"You shouldn't even exist! You're a freak of nature!" Nicholas spat. His blood moved even faster through his veins. Venom poured into my mouth and the fires in my throat rose to levels I had never before thought capable.

"I had no choice as to whether or not I became a vampire. And while I regret killing your great-grandfather, I'd have done it again if I had to because I survived long enough to meet and fall in love with the man I am glad to be with for eternity," Lucian said, speaking in a manner that would have made me flush if I could. I held onto Lucian's hand to show that he and I were united and would destroy him if we could.

"Too bad I'm going to have to cut that short," Nicholas answered with mocking tones. He pulled out a long fang. Lucian whispered to me, telling me it was a werewolf fang and one of the few things that could pierce our skin. I could tell it was filled with the same honey-scented blood as his body was. He ran at us I tried to throw him back with my gift, but it didn't work.

Lucian pulled me out of the way. "His family is, for some reason, immune to vampire venom and gifts. If we're going to win this, it'll be the old-fashioned way. But I need you to go get Carlisle. You're too obsessed with his blood... He could kill you!"

"I'm not leaving you!" I told him as we dodged another attack and Lucian engaged him in hand-to-hand combat.

"Do as I say!" Lucian growled. I realized then that it wouldn't do me any good to resist, and the longer I took, the more of a chance I had of losing my dear Lucian. I ran, using my gift to propel me faster than a bullet through the woods, toward the scent of the rest of the Cullens.

"CARLISLE!" I screamed as I bolted into the Cullen camp. Carlisle and Esme met me at the border of their camp.

"What is it, Alex?" Carlisle asked. His tone showed me he wasn't going to hold Lucian's actions against me.

"Lucian and I were attacked... by a vampire hunter named--"

"Nicholas Rammage..." Carlisle interrupted.

"Yes, that's him! Lucian's trying to fight him, but he sent me to come get backup. Please... I don't want Lucian to die..."

"No one will die, Alex," Esme assured me. By this point, all of the Cullens had joined our group.

"Lead us to where he is," Edward insisted. I, of course, obliged. When we arrived back to the cave, Lucian was pacing. His clothing was torn, but he looked alright. The honey scent of Nicholas's blood lingered and, in fact, filled the cave. The fire surged again.

"So now we've got to worry about the Volturi killing the werewolves and us, along with trying to keep ourselves from being killed by the Vampire Hunter. Great," Rosalie snarled.

"If he's hunting us, he's leaving some other coven alone," Emmett reasoned.

Though it made me laugh, it most definitely did not raise my spirits.