The hotel room that Felix escorted me to after almost thirty minutes of driving was as neutral as it could be. The walls had been painted with a beige color that reminded me of human skin-color. The walls were empty, except for a small painting and a few lamps. The room was rather small and had two beds that were separated by a nightstand in the same color as the walls. The beds looked just as comfortable as a rock, but I was so tired that I didn’t care. My body was exhausted after all the things that had happened and it was a miracle that I could stand straight. I was still worried over the fact that Alec was in a car with a sleeping werewolf in the trunk, and could easily be injured or even worse. Another thing that made we worried was the fact that I worried over Alec. On the drive to the hotel I’d been thinking about what I’d realized, and the more I thought about it, the more it became normal. Those feelings had been there, growing slowly until they were fully developed and ready for the world to see – and for me to understand. I sighed loudly and walked over to the bed – if possible even more tired than before. All the thoughts about Alec had not just made my body tired, but my thoughts as well. The bed was surprisingly more comfortable than it looked, not that it mattered much, and I would sleep on the floor if I had to. With a deep sigh I lay down and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I saw someone standing close to the window. I couldn’t tell if it was Alec or not, though the person had its cloak on, but my heart stopped beating for a split second. When I saw who it was, my heart started beating again, and this time really fast. Jane stood close to the window with her eyes locked on me. She looked furious, and from the way she was looking at me, I was pretty sure I was the on who’d made her that way. I swallowed loudly and rose into a sitting position. Jane didn’t seem to care if I was lying down or not, she just kept looking at me like I was some sort of poison or something. I started to say something, but as soon as I opened my mouth, Jane rushed to my bedside in a split second. Her small, pale fists were balled so hard that they should brake and her eyes practically burned with hate. I wondered what I’d possibly could have done that could have made her this mad, though it was pretty obvious that she was mad at me. My mind rushed through all the things that she could be mad about, and then it hit me. Alec. Something must have happened to Alec. For a second my heart stopped and I was consumed by sorrow, though I was absolutely positive something had happened, and then; Jane spoke.

“You”, she said, almost spitting out the words. “Stay away from my brother.” Her words totally knocked me to the ground. What was she talking about? How could I stay away if he was hurt, or even worse; dead. I wanted to ask her why, but not a single word came out.

“Is he okay?” I finally managed to say. Jane looked like she wanted to strangle me just for opening my mouth. Her nostrils fluttered and her mouth was pressed into a thin line. The sound of my voice seemed to make her even angrier and her whole body tensed.

“Okay?” she said, trembling with anger. “Is he okay? Of course he’s not okay! How could he possibly be okay when you’re around? You and your innocent look and pathetic act, Alec doesn’t need any of that. What he needs is to not have you in his life. Unfortunately, I can’t remove you from his life, though Aro wants you alive. But trust me, if you don’t stay away from my brother, I’ll make your life a living hell. I’m only telling you this once, so listen carefully: Stay away from my brother.” Jane became quiet and caught her breath for a while. I also wanted to catch my breath, even though I hadn’t said anything. For a while we were frozen, looking into each other’s eyes. When I realized she was waiting for an answer, I nodded slowly. As soon as I’d stopped nodding, Jane relaxed and became her old, stiff self. Without saying a word, she turned her back at me and floated out of the room. For the first few seconds, I couldn’t move. All I could do was sit on the hotel bed and think about what Jane just said.

My lonely thinking didn’t last for long, after just a few minutes the door to my room opened and someone stepped inside. I didn’t bother to turn around and see who it was, and frankly, I didn’t need to. The lovely sent of pine, lemon balm, mint and licorice filled my nose and there was no doubt about who it was. Alec stopped at the other side of the bed and stood there for a while. I wasn’t sure what he was doing but all I wanted to do was to turn around and let me be embraced by his arms again. After a few seconds of silence, Alec slowly – almost in human speed – walked over to my side of the bed and sat down at the one in front of me. I didn’t look at him, I just stared into nothing. The silence between us wasn’t embarrassed; there was no need for words. We understood each other without saying a single word. After about five minutes, Alec started to speak:

“I’m sure you want to know what happened back there.” Instead of answering, I met his gaze, and he continued. “Our mission was, or still is I suppose, to interrogate this particular pack of werewolves. Aro and Caius suspected that they’ve been telling humans about the existence of vampires. Even though they’re not vampires, they’re still breaking our laws, which mean that they need to be taken care of.” Alec took a pause and looked at me. I looked back at him and for a second I saw the big wolf flying through the air before he landed on the floor, trembling with pain. The only difference this time was that the big wolf looked exactly like Jacob. The thought made my eyes tear and I quickly looked away and let my hair hide my face – I didn’t want Alec to see me cry. Alec seemed to understand that I didn’t want to show myself weak, so he kept talking.

“So that’s why we visited that house. The village has been empty for decades, and the house was a meeting spot for the pack. Our first plan was to talk to them, to see if our suspicion had a reason. But when we got attacked, we had to protect ourselves. Not that Caius will be devastated over the killing.” A dark smile spread across his face and for a second he looked really dangerous. But just as quickly as the smile had appeared, it disappeared and Alec looked like himself again. “We’re going to speak to the werewolf that we cached. And that’s what we need you for. Werewolves don’t know half breeds exist – at least not the majority of them – which gives us an advantage. If there’s even a slight chance that you’re human, they won’t hurt you.” At the word hurt Alec’s forehead wrinkled and he looked worried for a second, like he didn’t believe his own words. I really did hope he was right, because I doubted it. How was I supposed to talk to a strange werewolf who’d tried to kill me a few hours ago? Alec believed in me more than I did. I wanted to say that there was no way I could do that. That there was no way that wolf would speak to me and not kill me. I wanted to run away and hide. But I didn’t. Instead I met Alec’s gaze once more and nodded.

“What do I do?”

My heart pounded like crazy as we walked out of the hotel and in to the car. I couldn’t believe that I’d agreed to interrogate an angry werewolf. But here I was, on my way to probably die and all I could think about was how close Alec’s arm was to mine. A small, tiny little inch separated us from touching. Alec had told me all I need to know and what I should do, but I could hardly remember any of that right now. I could feel the cold from Alec’s marble skin and I wanted to touch him so bad. But I didn’t dare. So instead of doing what my whole body and spirit desired, I sat quietly in my seat and looked out the window. Alec drove us far into the woods. When the road ended, Alec stopped the car and turned off the engine. When I made an attempt to get out of the car, the doors suddenly locked. At first I thought that I must’ve imagined the clicking sound of the lock. But when I tried the door, it wouldn’t open. With a confused look on my face I turned to Alec and looked at him. A crooked smile lightened his face and my heart stopped for split second.

“Why did you lock the doors?” I asked and was seriously starting to wonder what the hell was going on. Alec didn’t seem to bother about the doors though; he just smiled that wonderful smile and looked at me with those fiery red eyes.

“I need to say something before we step out of this car”, he said and suddenly looked serious. All the traces of humor disappeared from his face and sudden cold surrounded me. What could he possibly say that made him this serious? For a second I considered all the possible things he could say, but then I stopped and just listened.

“I want, no need you to be careful. Okay? The second you feel like this isn’t working or you’re having doubts, you tell me. Look at me and blink hard, if you do, I’ll get you out of there. Are we clear?”

“Why?” I asked and looked into those wonderful eyes. “Why do you need me to careful?” I hoped he’d answered what I wanted him to, but there was also a piece that didn’t. I remembered Jane’s threat loud and clear in my head, and I really didn’t want to be the target for her anger. Alec looked at me and for a second he looked confused. And then, the crooked smile was back.

“Don’t you know?” he said and leaned forward. “Don’t you know, dear, silly Renesmee, that I care for you?” Alec took my face between his hands and looked me deeply in the eye. “I love you Renesmee Cullen, more than anyone I’ve ever known. I love you.” His words made my jaw drop at least six feet and I stared at him, unable to speak. I wanted to scream and jump up and down of happiness. But I couldn’t move. My body was frozen in this position, with Alec’s cold, marble hands on my face, with his fiery eyes looked on mine and with his lips so close. I opened my mouth to say something, but all that came out was a low gasp. Alec’s smile grew a bit bigger, but I could see the worried glance in his eyes, the fear that I didn’t loved him back. But I did, I really did. Suddenly my body could function again and I could speak, and I did.

“I love you to”, I whispered and a smile spread across my face. For a while we just smiled at each other and then, Alec leaned forward and I could feel his wonderful breath against my face. Our lips touched each other and I could feel how the kiss embraced me. Alec’s left hand tangled itself in my hair and his right one stayed on my face. My hands drifted as well, I ran them through his smooth hair and rested them around his neck. Our bodies were pressed together and my fluttering heart galloped faster than I thought was possible. I was truly in heaven.