Age 15, Somewhere in Western Canada near the Alaskan border

After two years with the Cullens, John had decided it was time for him and Lily to move on. There was still a lot he wanted to show his daughter and he couldn't do it playing happy family with his friends. Everyone was gathered to say goodbye and Lily did not want to go. Tears flooded her eyes while venom filled the eyes of her family.

At the moment she was wrapped in Jasper's arms while he tried to calm her. She sniffed. "It won't work, cowboy. I'm too sad."

"I know, princess, but I have to try. This is breaking my heart. I expect to hear from you every day. Understand?"

She nodded as she pulled away from him. She couldn't look at him, it was too hard. Her heart couldn't take it. Alice was next and Lily didn't have it in her to complain about the strength of the hug. Right now, she didn't care if it crushed her. She rested her chin on her friend's head and returned the embrace. Her height had shot past Alice with the growth spurt she'd had last year. "I love you, pixie."

"I don't like not being able to see you," she muttered. "It worries me."

"Sorry, but you aren't the only seer out there. I don't like people knowing what I'm up to." Lily's tone was apologetic. She didn't like disappointing her friend.

"I understand, Lils. Just take care of yourself."

And with that she was passed to Rosalie. The blonde squeezed her just as tight as Alice had. "I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Rose. I'll call, I promise." Emmett took her from Rose and gave her one of his wonderful bear hugs. He was silent which said more than any words possibly could. He was never at a loss for words until it came to saying goodbye to his little sister. The two just held each other in silence for several minutes.

"You can't keep her, Emmett. Hand her over," Edward said. Emmett scowled but finally released her. Edward looked her over for a moment but she wouldn't meet his eye either. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and pulled her into his chest. "You are incredible. Your heart, your spirit. I am happy you are my friend and I am honored to call you sister."

Lily sniffed again. "Thank you, Eddie. I'm happy you're my brother. And I'm sorry I called you Bunnicula."

Laughter bubbled up from everyone. He moved her back so he could see her face. "I don't recall you ever calling me that."

She gave him a smile and tapped her head. "Sorry you didn't hear me." That brought more laughter.

Esme was weepier than anyone save Lily herself. "Take care of yourself. We're here if you need us." And then she was gone, not able to linger on the goodbye. It was too much for the mother's heart.

Carlisle's hug was firm and all embracing. He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "You can stay if you want. You really are family, Lily."

She pulled back to look at him in surprise and he gave her a small smile. Glancing over her shoulder, she found John standing a short distance away, waiting for her to finish. He wasn't looking at her but she knew he'd heard. As much as she wanted to stay here with this family, her family, she couldn't. John was her dad, he rescued her. She owed him everything.

She embraced Carlisle again. "He needs me, doc."

"Yeah, he does." He sounded disappointed, but she knew he understood. "Our door is always open to you, Lily. I promise."

Stepping back, she nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Thank you. Goodbye, everyone." She gave them a little wave and turned her back on them. Taking a deep breath, she kept her eyes on John and his sad smile. She'd almost reached him and the truck when she gave a little cry.

Turning, she raced across the yard, Jasper meeting her halfway and sweeping her up in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. Tears poured down her cheeks as she buried her head in his neck and wept. In moments, they were surrounded by everyone in a big group hug. "I don't want to go." Her voice broke along with what was left of their hearts.

They stood that way for a long time until slowly, people began to move away one at a time. Familiar hands took her from Jasper and she wrapped her arms around her dad's neck and let him carry her to their truck. He rubbed her back while telling her it would all be okay. It was a mantra he kept up as they drove away from her family. His words were empty. Lily wasn't sure it would ever be okay again.

***

16 years old, San Francisco, California

Lily grinned at her phone then slipped it into her back pocket. She'd set up a group chat for her and the Cullens and they'd been talking all morning. At the moment she was making her way through the open air market picking out some fruit and vegetables for herself. Her phone buzzed, but she ignored it. Having her attention on her surroundings was more important, especially when she was by herself. Since the sun was shining brightly, John had stayed behind in the apartment.

As much as she wanted to get out and enjoy the sun after her morning coursework, she'd felt like she was being watched since she walked out of the building. She'd briefly considered just going right back home but she needed the food. The trip to the marketplace was several days overdue. Besides, it was daytime. The truly dangerous tended to come out at night.

She paid the vendor for a couple of beautiful apples when that feeling of unease creeped up her spine again. Turning, her eyes caught a glimpse of a figure draped in a gray cloak in the distance. A large hood completely hid the person within.

"Miss?"

Lily turned her attention back to the vendor to find him waiting patiently with her change and her fruit. She took them both with a thanks and looked back to where she'd seen the figure. There was nothing there. Deciding her shopping trip was over, Lilliana hurried home, checking over her shoulder as she went.

***

She spent the afternoon chatting with the Cullens in between her dad helping her with her Italian coursework. Lily had graduated six months ago and was currently taking some online courses though she hadn't enrolled in college yet. When evening came and the sun set, John stayed with her while she ate dinner before excusing himself to go hunting. She changed into pajamas and settled on the couch to watch a movie. Her feet were on the table in front of her while she picked at the bowl of popcorn in her lap.

It was about an hour into the movie when the window beside her shattered. Liliana didn't even turn to see what happened before pushing herself to the other side of the room. Her sword resting beside the front door was her goal.

She'd nearly reached it when she was yanked backward by a grip on her tank top. The hold loosened causing her to fly across the room, her arms and legs flailing as she went. She couldn't hold the little shriek that escaped her lips. She slammed into the wall, her head bouncing off the corner of a picture frame. As she slid to the floor, she focused on getting her feet under her. She had to be able to move if she wanted to live.

Her gaze found her attacker. "Fuck."

The vampire with blazing red eyes laughed. "You face your death and that is your response? Fitting I think." His accent was Eastern European. Lily thought so anyway. John would know if he was here. Obviously this vampire had been watching for a while. It couldn't be coincidence he attacked when John was gone.

"Can I ask why?" She ran her eyes over him taking in as much detail as possible in case she needed to remember later. Average height. Average build. Brown hair. Red eyes. Ugly sneer. The only thing remotely interesting about his appearance was the Volturi crest that rested against his chest. Shit.

He laughed again before dashing toward her. She dodged to the side at the last moment leaving him to crash into the wall behind her. Again, she tried for her sword. Her phone sat on the table beside it charging. Her fingers had just wrapped around it when she was rammed from the side. The phone flew from her hand and slid across the room. Ribs snapped and she gasped for even the barest whisper of breath. Oh god.

She rolled away from him with a groan, well aware she was only escaping because he allowed it. It amused him. Fan-fucking-tastic. She pushed herself to her feet and turned to face him.

"You are resilient. I give you that." He prowled toward her closing the distance between them. He picked up a strand of her hair and sniffed it. "I've earned you. Always watching. Sent to follow from the shadows while you lived your pathetic human life." His hand wrapped around her throat and he pushed her into the wall with enough force that the drywall cracked around her. He leaned forward and hissed near her ear. "And you smell so divine. So lovely. You will be mine, won't you, Kicsim? (my little one – Hungarian)

This guy was a fucking creep. And she really, really didn't want to be eaten by him. She turned until she was looking him in the eye and snarled. "No." Unfortunately for the vampire, he was holding her at the perfect height so when she brought her knee up with all the force she could muster, she crushed his sparkly balls.

Instead of releasing her as she'd hoped, he roared and threw her away from him. Just her luck, she flew through the glass French doors that separated the living room from the rest of the apartment. So now she was bleeding in front of the vampire that already wanted to eat her. Great.

The furious vampire stalked toward her. Lily trembled, her hands slipping on the wood floor as she tried to pull herself backward. Then her attacker was the one flying across the apartment. In his place was John. Her dad looked her over quickly before he flashed away to the other vampire. Lily tried to follow their movements but they were so fast it was just a blur of color. She used the wall to pull herself to her feet. Taking a breath, she blocked the pain. Finally, she grabbed her sword ready to help her dad fight off the intruder.

But then those blurs stopped to show John on his knees with the other vampire standing over him, head in his hands. "Say goodbye to your protector, Kicsim."

John's eyes found hers and he looked so damned heartbroken and worried. I love you, he mouthed just before his head separated from his body.

She screamed, a wordless, unholy, mournful sound as she ran across the room to kill the man that decapitated her father. She could put him back together as long as he didn't burn. It would take him forever to heal, but she could do it. Then, quicker than a breath, liquid covered his body and the asshole dropped a lighter on the corpse which instantly began to burn. No, no, no.

And he laughed at her as he saw her coming. Saw her as weak, human, not a threat. He was still laughing when she swung her sword and sliced his head from his body. The head landed on John catching on fire instantly. Ignoring the heat and the pain, Lily reached through the flames and grabbed the crest from the vampire's body. She put her foot on his back to push him further into the fire.

By then the flames were spreading, eating up the wood in the apartment, spurred on by whatever accelerant the killer had used. Smoke poured into the hallway outside the apartment from the crack under the front door. Someone pulled the fire alarm and Lily instantly had one less thing to worry about. She hurried to the front door, slipping on the canvas shoes she had there before grabbing both hers and Johns packs they kept there for fast getaways. Almost everything important was in those two bags. John's phone was burning with his body. Where the hell had hers gotten to?

She finally found it on the other side of the room, a lot of flames between her and it. She made sure the pain block was firmly in place and wove through the fire until she could grab the phone. It only took a glance to see it would be too hot to grab so she slipped off her tank, leaving her in a sports bra and sweats. She made a pad out of her shirt and grabbed the phone. Then she hurried onto the fire escape. She paused long enough to wrap the phone up and slip it into her pack. Hurrying down to the street, she was thankful for the heavy rain that had moved in.

As she hurried down the street, it washed away the blood and cooled the heat from the fire. It also hid the tears flowing freely down her face. She couldn't break down. Not yet. Not until she was safe. She snuck past the first responders and the gathering crowd. She'd always been good at that. At getting from one place to another without being noticed. If she hadn't been so distraught she might have noticed a pair of red eyes following her in the dark.