Well, I was asked if I was going to write a prequel for Yellow Tulips concerning the Reynolds pack and their vampires. Until that moment the thought hadn't crossed my mind so segir this one's for you :)
So back to my Flowers Trilogy, which is what I'm privately calling it, no Alice, Bella or Edward. Just my OCs and the Volturi. Fun times indeed :)
Disclaimer: It pleases me to say that I own something in this story. Yes Lucy, Leon, Amber, Michael, Jonathon, Ruby and The Black Swan are all mine :) Volterra and the Volturi...not so much. But hey I own somehing, and that pleases me :)
Lucy Reynolds crested the grassy hill first. The city before her was walled off, away from the rest of the world, and conquering forces. A light wind pulled at her cropped blonde hair, but she ignored it; the sun was beginning to set and she wanted to get inside the city by nightfall. "Beautiful isn't it?" A bell-like voice commented from beside her. Michael Alden's blue eyes glittered in the hot Italian sun, almost as much as his pale skin did. Long dark hair made him seem paler than he really was, but Michael was a vampire, and that was to be expected.
"As far as a city can be." Her voice was much rougher than his and carried a distinctly English accent. Michael smiled, looking at the city more than his companion.
"The closest thing we have to royalty lives here. Why did you two, of all people, want to visit?" Lucy cast a glance behind her, to where a boy with windswept blonde hair and mismatched eyes was just clambering over the last of the hill. One of the boy's eyes was bright green; the other was pale blue, just as hers were. Leon Reynolds gasped for breath.
"Why aren't we driving here? Seriously?" He looked up at his sister with questioning eyes. She quirked an eyebrow.
"Where's your sense of adventure Lee?" She smiled as he straightened to his full seven feet. Lucy shared a glance with Michael, shaking her head before starting down the other side of the hill.
"I think I left it somewhere near Rome." Leon muttered before following them, sliding slightly on the dry grass. "Why don't we just wolf it, we'll be there in no time." Lucy rolled her eyes; for an alpha her brother could be very childish.
"The Volturi would kill you as soon as they saw you." Michael answered, without even looking back. Lucy was grateful for him; he was a good friend, almost a second brother. And he was a vegetarian; he only drank the blood of fish and reptiles, something that repulsed her slightly more than the idea of drinking human blood. They'd met Michael two years ago just off the French border, where the townsfolk were hunting him. The people had not been happy at the sight of the twin wolves that stole their prey from them in a flash of blonde fur.
"Besides Lee, Sam'd throw a fit if he knew where we were." Sam would not be impressed to know they were with a vampire either, she added silently.
Sam Uley was the alpha of an American pack of werewolves, their original pack. They'd had to leave when they found out Leon was an alpha too: two alphas couldn't co-exist. But they'd stayed a branch of the original pack, and in wolfen form members of a pack could read each other's minds.
"Fine." Leon grumbled as they reached flat land again. "But can we at least walk along the road?" Lucy chuckled silently; Leon could easily order her to do any of these things and she would have no choice but to comply, but her brother had never gotten used to the idea of being the leader of their troupe. He didn't like to lead.
She looked up at the rapidly darkening sky, and then to Michael's softly gleaming skin.
"Sure. It'll be dark soon anyway."
/
"Finally." Leon breathed a sigh of relief, throwing himself backwards onto one of the two beds in the room. It was a cheap hotel room, and was sparsely decorated but the boy seemed happy enough. Lucy tossed the room key at him, hitting him square in the stomach. "Killjoy." Her brother muttered, rubbing his stomach with a wounded look on his face.
"Hypocrite." She laughed. Michael rolled his eyes and leant on the wall beside the door, twirling another set of keys on his index finger. "I thought we were supposed explore first night. It's rule number one, remember?" Leon rolled onto his side, pulling the cover to his chin.
"Have fun." Lucy rolled her eyes. "I think I'll let you explore, you can lead me while we're here." She looked at Michael who shrugged, slipping the keys into his jeans.
"Sure, brother of mine. Sleep while you can. We'll call from the jail in the morning." Lucy slipped around Michael and opened the door. "Who knows what you'll miss out on?" Leon waved a hand in farewell.
"G'night." Michael closed the door, stepping out into the cold hallway.
"Next time I ask how to tire your brother out; walk him across Italy." He smiled down on the werewolf girl, cerulean eyes twinkling. "Bar?" She returned the smile, exposing sharp, white teeth.
"Lead the way, Mikey." She slipped her arm through his, and allowed him to lead her away, down the hall and out of the building.
/
It didn't take them long to find a place. The Black Swan was just down the road from their hotel, and was a delightfully dark, surprisingly English, bar that was most certainly not geared towards tourists. "I was hoping this was still here." Michael smiled, pushing the wooden door open and holding it for Lucy. The wolf girl slid into the dark room, mismatched eyes darting around to capture every detail.
The bar was made of dark wood, the same as the walls and a halo of pale smoke floated above the patrons' heads. The dark walls were scattered with pictures, tables and stolen road signs. Lucy liked the place immediately. "I wonder…" Michael ambled over to the bar, leaning against as if he belonged there until a pretty young bartender moved towards him.
"Ciao, cibi. Can I get you anything?" Lucy's lips twitched into a smile as she joined her friend, hopping onto a stool, and swinging her legs like a child.
"Sure, a whiskey for my friend here, and a scrap of information." The blonde behind the bar was entranced by Michael as she handed Lucy her drink, and the wolf handed her a few coins. Lucy had seen many a human girl ensnared by the brilliant blue eyes, and she found it endlessly amusing. "Could you tell me if Signore Jon still works here?" The blonde girl just stared at him in silence.
"It's still my name over the door, kid." A portly man with salt and pepper hair moved into sight. A wide grin spread across Michael's face, as Lucy noted the crimson eyes. Vampire. A human-killer at that. She growled softly. "Most people leave their dogs tied up outside." 'Signore Jon' sent her a good-natured smile that she didn't return.
"Lucy, this is Jonathon. He's a good man." The wolf flared her nostrils and sipped her drink.
"I'll take your word for it." She muttered, turning away from their conversation to scan the crowd.
Among the myriad of smells she could smell a mob of vampires, each one with a subtle change in their scent. A crimson-eyed man passed her, leaving the stink of vampire mixed with lilies behind him. A flash of crimson whirled past again, this time dancing with a wide-eyed brunette that smelled of sunlight and flowers. Human. Her grip on her glass intensified until she could hear it creak in protest.
"Relax, Luce. You're outnumbered here, don't do anything rash." Rash, of course, was something she was known for being. But she wasn't stupid. She turned to tell him so but, instead, found herself meeting burning ruby eyes.
The girl before her was beautifully pale, as all her kind was, with long brown hair that curled towards the end. She wore a dark cloak and a gold chain with a pendant in the shape of an intricate 'V'. Lucy flared her nostrils, moving to step around her. The stranger stepped back into her path.
"I'm Amber." The vampire's voice was musical, another thing that did not surprise her. "Who are you?" Lucy realised she wasn't going to get away from the girl, and tried to catch Michael's eye over her shoulder.
"Lucy." She muttered finally, resigned to the vampire's company.
"That wasn't so hard now was it?" Claret eyes skated across her form. "I've never met a werewolf before." Lucy cringed, and half of the bar stopped moving to turn towards her, somehow hearing Amber over the pulsing music. Amber looked around lazily at the other, murderous looking vampires in the bar. "Maybe we should take this outside." A cold hand snared one of Lucy's and pulled her from the bar, the werewolf had no choice but to comply, glaring at Michael's back as the doors closed behind her. "As I said, I'm Amber."
"Charmed." Lucy muttered, leaning against the doorframe.
"I'm sure you are." Amber's lips curved into a devilish smirk. "So, Lucy. What brings a werewolf to Volterra alone?" The wolf rolled her eyes.
"Passing through, and I'm not alone; my brother and my friend are here too." Amber smiled sweetly, fight or flee reflexes warred in Lucy's brain. From her experience vampires were not the best company to keep, Michael was her one and only exception.
"How long are you staying? Maybe I could meet them." Now the vampire looked predatory. Settling on fight, Lucy growled. "Easy, wolfy. I'm only being friendly." Lucy took a step backwards, intent on returning to the hotel. Michael had hung her out to dry; he was on his own too now.
"Overly so." She muttered, just loud enough for the vampire to hear before turning on her heel and stalking away.
"Sweet dreams, Lucy Reynolds."
Oh it is nice to write Amber again :) She's everything my best friend would be without morals ;)
Thank you for reading this story, feedback would make my day :)
