Guys, your response to the first chapter was amazing and I am thoroughly floored. I never expected the response I got and I just want to say thank you to everyone who favorite, followed and reviewed. I tried to respond to everyone who reviewed, but if I missed you, please know that I did read it (most likely on my phone) and I cherish everyone's thoughts. As always, I am up for questions if you have any and reviews whether they are good or have critiques. I can only get better if someone is nice enough to politely tell me what I can improve on. With that, read on and enjoy!
Side note – I unfortunately do not own any of these amazing characters; I am just enjoying playing in Stephenie Meyer's sandbox.
Staying in my play pretend
Where the fun ain't got no end
Can't go home alone again
Need someone to numb the pain
You're gone and I've gotta stay high
All the time
High all the time
High all the time
To keep you off my mind
High all the time
High all the time
High all the time
To keep you off my mind
JPOV
"Jasper, they know about Bella."
"What?!" I shouted into the phone. "How the hell do they know about her?"
"I don't know, Jazz. We're being summoned to their court and that was all that was on the actual summons, but once we received it, I looked into Aro's decisions and all I was able to see was that it had something to do with Bella." Alice yelled back. I heard her take a deep breath attempting to calm down. "Where are you, Jazz?"
"Italy." Was all I said. I was still seething over the idea of Aro even knowing about Bella and couldn't fully focus on Alice and her anger.
"Really?" She asked, shocked at my answer. As I imagined her gears turning, she asked, "Where in Italy exactly?"
I sighed, 'shouldn't her visions have told her this already?' I thought to myself. "Yes. Right now I'm not far from Messina. Don't ask me why I'm here, Alice, as I'm not up to sharing my life with you."
"Are you still mad at me, Jazz? It's been what, ten years now, can't you let it go?"
I had to chuckle, she hadn't changed. I kept from yelling at her but just barely, the growl was still noticeable in my response. "I may never let it go, Alice, but as we rarely ever talk, it really shouldn't bother you. Now tell me what it is exactly that you think you need me for?"
Alice sighed in exasperation. "Jazz, you are on the summons too. Apparently Aro didn't get the memo that you left our family years ago."
"Guilt trips won't work on me, Alice. If I'm included in the summons then I have no choice but to go. When are we supposed to be there?" Going into Volterra was not something I wanted to do any time in the near future as Aro had always wanted to add me to his collection of gifted vampires. I didn't relish the idea of being close enough for him to try to make that happen.
"The summons is for us to appear in tomorrow afternoon. We are flying out in a few hours hoping that once we get there between Edward and me we can get a better grasp on why we were summoned." Alice paused. "You are going to go right? I mean you wouldn't ignore Aro would you?"
"I already told you that I'll go. I don't have a death wish, definitely not for something your family did, and that is exactly what would happen if I or any of you ignored the summons. If there is nothing else, then I will see you in Volterra."
"Oh, alright, Jasper. We will see you there." Alice sighed as she hung up the phone.
I put my phone back in my pocket as I got up and walked out of the meadow. I couldn't help but wonder how Aro had learned about Bella and what all he knew. We could all be in serious danger as it was against the law that humans were allowed to live if they learned about our existence. The only options were to kill the humans or to change them. Most of the time, as callous as it sounds; it was just easier to kill them. For us vegetarians, it was harder because it was just a complete waste of life.
Shaking my head as I reached my car, I glanced at the sky before sliding into my Aston Martin Vanquish. I had always wanted one and decided since I had a home now in Italy, might as well get myself a car that I always wanted. I did have to chuckle to myself as I thought about my color choice, the sales guy said it was Volcano Red, but it reminded me more of a newborn's red eyes. Once I saw the color I had to have it as it made me think of Bella as I was certain that after finding her scent she had been turned. Thinking about that always made my chest ache as I wish that it was my venom that was running through her veins, and then I would think that she was out there, somewhere, and I still had no idea where she was.
The smile on my face from listening to the growl of the engine faded as I thought about the drive ahead of me and where I was going. Growling low in my chest, I put the car in gear and drove down the road that would take me back to the Cullens and the Volturi. I had no idea what they wanted with us or what was going to happen; I just knew that I wasn't going to enjoy any of it.
DPOV
Sensing movement in my room, I walked in from my balcony and smiled. I always enjoyed these random visits, even if I knew what the first question out of her mouth would be.
"Where is he, Demetri?"
She never disappointed. "Mia sorella, he was just outside of Messina a few hours ago and I believe he is heading this way. He should be here in about an hour or two based on his speed."
I knew she was nervous and I was the only one that was allowed to see it, other than the ones she has taken to protecting. From that first day that I saw her and was able to talk to her, we had shared a bond; one I had thought would lead me to finally finding my mate, but it was not meant to be. After a thousand years of searching, I can say that I don't really believe that I have one now. But I do have a sister of sorts as that is the bond that I have with her.
When I brought her here with me, I was told by Aro to teach her how to survive in our world and anything else she wanted. I was hers to command and she knew it, but never held it over my head. Always asked for my help or she would yell at me if I tried to take it easy on her in her training. When I told her she was legitimately kicking my ass, she would laugh and tell me to man up. Needless to say these have been some of the best years of my life.
Her sigh dragged me from my musings. "I guess I need to go talk to Aro. Thanks to you, I knew he was here in Italy, but I didn't think he would show up without the Cullens."
I went to her and pulled her into a hug. "Non ti preoccupare piccina. I will go tell Aro that we want to work on your tracking skills and we can leave before he gets here. Aro does not need to know about him."
She laid her head on my shoulder; it always amazed me that she had gotten taller with her change as that rarely happened. "Il mio protettore, how did I get so lucky to have you in this life?"
"I have wondered the same thing. Only thing I came up with is that I was supposed to be here to take care of you, like I did for my sister when I was human." Giving her a light squeeze I pulled back to look in her eyes. "If you still want to be gone when he gets here then we should be on our way."
"You're right, as always. Let us go play hunter and prey and I will try to forget that he is going to be here when we get back." Turning from me she started for the door, but stopped with a shiver.
Expecting the nervousness did not help me stand under its weight. "Merda! Piccina, you have no reason to be nervous. He will understand, I promise."
"You keep saying that, Demetri, but it's hard for me to believe. He never knew what happened, what was supposed to happen and even if he figured it out, I fear that I have broken his heart or his trust at the very least." Hanging her head, her grief saturated the air in the room.
"He will understand, if not I will kick his ass. Isa, you have not waited this long to have him turn his back on you, which I do not believe that he could do regardless of what happened." Walking up behind her, I placed my hands on her shoulders. "Now let's stop worrying about things we cannot change right now and get out of here. I would imagine you want them to come with us?"
Lifting her head, she turned to smile back at me. "Yes, they should be out of the castle when he gets here. I will have to block them as well as myself until the meeting tomorrow."
"Well in that case, I will go collect them and they can get your Ducati ready for you. I will head out while you inform Aro that we are working on your tracking skills and will hunt afterwards. You will need to be at full strength if you are going to do that much additional shielding until tomorrow afternoon." Opening the door, I gestured for her to proceed me into the hallway.
Turning to give me a hug, she smiled before backing up a few paces. "Alright, tracking then hunting sounds good to me. Tell them I will be down in about ten minutes."
Closing my eyes, I searched for them and found them already in the garage. "Apparently they knew the plans before we did. They are in the garage waiting for us. So as always, piccina, catch me if you can."
Her laughter followed me down the hallway as I headed to the garage.
JPOV
The beginning of my drive to Volterra went by quickly as I was so angry and frustrated at being dragged into the Cullens bullshit again. I knocked the first hundred miles of the trip out in under an hour. Realizing that drawing the attention of the police would not be a good idea, I slowed down to a more normal speed. Refusing to think about the Cullens or the Volturi, I spent the next three hundred miles thinking about Bella and how I imagined her to be as a vampire.
She would be beyond beautiful of course. Being my mate, she would be the most beautiful woman in my eyes. For some reason I could only picture her with the bright red eyes of a newborn. Every time I tried to picture her with golden eyes like mine, my mind refused to call up the image. It's like it's not even a possibility for her to feed on animals like I do. Deciding that it didn't really matter what she fed on, she was still mine and I would still love her no matter what. I thought that if it came down to it, once I found her and she was feeding from humans, I would change my diet to match hers. That shocked the shit out of me when I realized it, since being an empath made it hard for me to deal with the humans as they were dying, but it was something I would do for Bella.
As if the thought of her made her real, the pull in my chest intensified. I looked up and found that I was just a few miles from Volterra. I realized that I must have made better time than planned as I was still expecting about another hour of driving. Feeling the ache in my chest intensify, I saw a trio of bikers heading my way. As the lead biker flew past me, I felt the ache fluctuate and I watched in the rearview mirror as they passed out of sight. I didn't have time to figure out what that was all about, but with them going at the speed they were, they were most likely vampires and based on the colors of their clothes, they were part of the guard. Knowing they would make their way back, I focused on the issues ahead of me.
Driving slowly, I made my way through the tight streets of Volterra until I saw the castle in front of me. With a sigh of resignation, I pulled into the garage and parked my car in one of the open bays. Getting out of my car, I saw a door open to the side and someone step out into the garage. Straightening from the car, I closed the door and moved slowly towards the door and recognized the vampire standing guard.
"Felix, it's been a long time." I nodded in greeting.
"Major." Was his only response as he opened the door to the lower halls of the castle.
Walking through the door, it only took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness that enveloped me, but soon I was able to see the hallway before me and the stairs and elevator at the far end. I waited for Felix to join me as they were very picky about following protocol at all times. A visitor was to be escorted by a member of the guard everywhere unless given permission by one of the kings to go solo. I rolled my eyes as Felix moved in front of me to lead me to the elevator, which was open and waiting for us.
Following him into the elevator, I saw him press the button for level two and raised an eyebrow in question at him. Normally upon arriving at the castle, one was taken directly to meet with the kings as they did not like to be kept waiting, but their throne room is on level three and that was not where Felix was taking me.
Felix glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, not letting any emotions filter out to me other than boredom and annoyance. "I will inform Aro that you arrived early, but they will not be receiving anyone today. You are to stay in the room provided to you unless your presence has been requested."
The elevator door opened as he finished and I followed him out and down the hallway to the left. Stopping as he opened a door to a room on the left, I walked into the room and had to acknowledge that for the Volturi, this room suited my personality. It was rustic in its coloring in greens and browns and most of the furniture was made of cherry wood, its dark coloring fitting in with the colors chosen. I saw that this room had a balcony as well.
"If you need anything, just call for me or Alec, one of us will be around at all times. We will let you know when the rest of your coven arrives." Felix closed the door behind him, not bothering to wait for my reply.
I walked over to the balcony and opened the doors. Stepping outside, I noticed that it was later than I had thought as I saw the hues of red and orange tint the sky with the sun setting behind the mountains just outside of Volterra. Going back into the room, I grabbed a chair and took it out on the balcony so that I could admire the countryside behind the castle. There was a line of forest just behind the castle's outer wall and a vast field beyond that with a thick forest bordering the field on the far side. Noticing how open the field was, I could only imagine where I would be able to hunt if I stayed here too long.
"Major."
I jumped at hearing the voice behind me. I had been so lost in thought I didn't hear anyone enter the room behind me let alone walk up to the balcony door. Turning my head, I saw Jane standing there with a very odd look on her face.
"Jane, I didn't hear you come in." I offered a tight smile. "You have gotten stealthier since I last saw you."
She chuckled. "I believe it has to do with you being preoccupied."
I nodded, she was very correct on that. Standing up, I looked out towards the mountains and saw that the light from the sunrise was bathing the mountains and the trees behind the castle in a warm light. Did I really sit out here all night long and not realize it? Damn, this is not the place to be caught unawares at all.
I was about to ask Jane why she had come for me, when movement down on the other side of the trees caught my eye. Leaning forward, I saw a form on horseback race out onto the field angling away from the castle. I watched as she moved with the horse, flowing with his sinewy movements. She was riding bareback, but had complete control over her mount. I couldn't see her face as she was riding away from the castle, but I could see her hair that flowed behind her in the wind caused by the speed of the horse as his long legs ate up the ground on its way to the trees on the other side of the field. I was expecting to be dazzled with the sparkling of her skin as she was wearing what looked to be a t-shirt, jeans and riding boots.
I held my breath, waiting for the sight, but let it out in a gush as the light hit her and all I saw was a woman on a horse riding at a speed that was too fast for a human to handle bareback. Yet, if I were to trust my eyes, that was exactly what I was seeing. If I didn't already have a mate, I could see myself being intrigued with a woman that had such control on a horse, as I grew up with horses and they were my passion until I met the Cullens. Horses were one of the few animals that could be trained to accept living around vampires without panicking.
"Isa does that every day at the same time."
"What?" I asked, being pulled from my musings.
"I could tell you were curious about her. Isa rides her horse through that field every day at the same time. She will be riding back the same way in a couple hours I would imagine." Jane turned to leave. "Aro sent me to let you know that we have confirmation that the Cullens will land shortly and will be here within the next couple of hours. As soon as they arrive, Aro will call everyone to the throne room for the requested audience. Do you need anything before I depart, Major?"
Looking at Jane I couldn't quite figure out why everyone here was being so courteous and offering up information that normally would have been closely guarded. And why had she told me anything about that mysterious human? I could understand why they would know about her as she rode so close to the castle every day, but why tell me anything? I was a visitor and one that shouldn't be considered friendly, not with my past or my association with the Cullens and Edward's screw up with Bella.
"No, Jane, thank you. I will be fine here until I am called for."
Nodding her head and letting me see a small smirk, she left me to my thoughts.
Going back to my chair on the balcony, I thought over why everyone was acting the way they were here in Volterra. Either I was not in trouble or they were trying to lull me into a sense of comfort and would hit me with a punishment when I least expected it. Needless to say I was quite confused and that was not a feeling that I liked at all. Anger I can deal with and would welcome, but confusion is not for me. Being a Major in the confederate army, I learned to make split second decisions; confusion was washed out of all my thought processes.
Thinking back on those days, I decided to work on getting back to that mindset and focus on what I knew and not what was supposition. Confusion was going to be a feeling that I would not allow myself in the future. It would not help me locate Bella or catch up with my missing siblings.
Just as I thought that I heard hooves in the distance, a knock sounded at my door. Turning, I saw the door open and Jane stepped inside. I rose from my chair, assuming I was being called to the throne room, but growled low as I watched her give me a sympathetic look before the Cullens followed her in. Remembering my earlier promise to ignore confusion going forward, I nodded at Jane and then turned my back on the unwanted guests in my room. Looking out over the open field, I caught a fleeting glimpse of the woman riding her horse back into the trees.
Shaking my head at having missed her graceful ride, I sighed and waited for the barrage of questions I was sure to get.
"Major."
I turned around to see that Jane was standing right behind me; I arched my eyebrow in question.
Speaking low and quick, for my ears only, Jane leaned closer to me. "I only brought them here under duress. I tried to keep them to their own room, but they all but demanded to be brought to wait with you. Aro should be calling the meeting shortly, but I will be just outside the door if you need me."
As shocked as I was, I did well in hiding it. I expected my jaw to be all the way to the floor by the time she finished speaking. "Thank you, Jane. I know how they can be, so I understand. I will be ready when Aro calls."
I watched as my so called 'family' moved out of Jane's way as she left. I could sense her anger at the Cullens and I could only assume that it had to do with them breaking one of the laws for our race. I didn't sense the same anger towards me though. Every time that Jane had been around me since my arrival, it was more a sense of sorrow that I got from her and maybe a tinge of hope, but I wasn't sure. Volterra was proving to be more of a quandary than I had expected.
"Jasper."
I turned at the sound of my name uttered by Carlisle, not responding. Reaching out with my senses, I tasted everyone's emotions and got just about what I expected. Rose and Emmett were happy to see me, but scared at being called to the castle. Fear was the common emotion amongst them all, but Edward had sorrow and anger mixed in with his fear. Alice was scared of being here, but it spiked any time she caught me looking at her. So now she was afraid of me? Well I guess I should have seen that coming. I portrayed everything that she found abhorrent in our race, namely the blood lust, as well as the constant reminder of where I came from, being my southern roots.
I took a lot of pleasure in seeing her reaction to my worn Levi's, black long sleeve button down and cowboy boots. Only thing I needed was my cowboy hat and I could probably make her run screaming with a thickly accented, 'howdy ma'am'. That thought had me grinning from ear to ear, which turned into a chuckle when I heard Edward snort, obviously having read my thoughts.
"If you don't like what you hear, maybe you should stay out of my head, Edward."
I got another snort in response as he turned his back on me to look at the books on the shelves along the wall. That left me to consider the emotions from Carlisle and Esme. Both were scared, of course, but were happy to see me. I felt the same for them to a degree. But as long as Bella was missing, I don't think I could ever truly forgive them for their part in what happened to her.
I decided that I was still too upset with them for costing me my mate; I didn't want to deal with them just then. So I turned my back to them again and went back to my place on the balcony. Not long after, I felt Rose and Emmett walk out to join me, but they didn't say anything. It was comforting having them there and I knew that if we were to survive this day, they would not be leaving with the others. I could sense from their emotions that they were only here with the rest of them because they had no choice. Maybe we would talk after all this was over. I needed to check on my Harley after all, make sure Em was taking care of her.
We stood in companionable silence for a while until we heard a knock on the door. We turned as Jane entered and I could feel Felix still out in the hallway. "Are they ready for us?"
Jane nodded and watched as we filed out of my room. I let Carlisle lead the way as he was supposed to be the leader of this family, even though it appears there were now three of us that didn't acknowledge him that way.
I was the last to walk out the door past Jane and as I did, I felt her send a feeling of encouragement my direction. Again, all I could do was quirk an eyebrow at her before following the Cullens down the hallway.
It only took a few minutes for Felix to lead us to the throne room and as we got closer, there was a feeling of excitement and dread, neither of which were coming from our little group. It seemed to be coming from the throne room up ahead.
Alec was waiting for us and as Felix reached him, they opened the doors for us to enter. They nodded to me as I walked between them and entered the throne room.
As expected, the guard surrounded the room, standing along the walls and keeping an eye on us as we made our way to the center. As I walked to my place next to Emmett, I watched as Jane, Alec and Felix moved to stand next to Demetri, on Caius' left hand side, just below the stairs. The brothers were all up on the raised dais, Marcus and Caius were seated and watching us intently as we walked in. Aro was ignoring us completely as he stood before three cloaked figures that stood on the steps before him.
Out of all of the guards, I noticed that Demetri had the strongest emotions flowing off of him, but they were shifting so quickly I couldn't get a bead on them. I sensed anger, worry, excitement and love, but I couldn't tell what they were all aimed at. He caught me staring at him and gave me the slightest nod and went back to watching Aro and the three in front of him.
I fought off the confusion again as I tried to understand all that was going on around me. Why were the members of the elite Volturi guard acting the way they were with me? It made absolutely no sense. Suddenly, a sense of longing crept across the room towards me and my head snapped up, I was staring at the backs of the three cloaked figures as the feeling was suddenly shut off. It left me with such a sense of emptiness I had to stop myself from taking a step forward in search of the feeling.
What the hell was going on here?
BPOV
I stood in front of Aro with my cloak up as I didn't want the Cullens to know I was there until everyone was in the room. Aro had let me arrange this as this was my show. Aro was just standing there, watching me and waiting for the Cullens to file into the room. I knew the moment they reached our floor, I could feel all of their emotions flowing out of them like rivers; fear, anger, curiosity, worry, confusion, longing. I could also feel some of those emotions from the guard as well; anger, worry, curiosity. Only those in my guard were feeling anything other than curiosity as the rest of the guard had no idea what was going on, which was how Aro liked it. My guards were aware of some of what was going on and that was how I wanted it. They needed to be prepared for anything that could happen.
As the Cullens filtered into the room, fear became the most prominent of the emotions and it was so over powering that the air in the room tasted foul with the acridness of the emotion. I could tell when they saw us standing in front of Aro as confusion and curiosity mixed in with the fear. Once everyone was in the room and the twins had closed the doors, I bent my head down, absorbing the emotions behind me. Then my senses touched on the one I missed the most, the one I longed for and I momentarily let my emotions slip out of my shield. I knew the second he felt them as his shock filtered over to me.
Quickly regaining control over my emotions, I looked up at Aro and nodded, waiting.
Aro paused for effect, allowing the Cullens to stew in their fear of the unknown reason of their summons. After a few minutes of staring at me, completely ignoring the visitors behind me, Aro nodded and gave me a smirk before moving back to his throne.
I closed my eyes to gather my strength as I knew I would need it to keep my powers under control as well as my emotions. There were some things that the Volturi and their guard did not need to know and I was going to keep it that way. I guess I was taking too long as I heard someone shuffle their feet behind me. I raised my head to look at Aro questioningly.
"Aro, it has been a long time, my friend."
Aro's eyes snapped from mine to a point just behind my head and to the left. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers before responding. "Carlisle, it has been a long time. I trust all is well with your…family?"
"Ah, yes, we are all well." Carlisle cleared his throat, his unease evident to everyone in the room. "May I ask why we received your summons?"
"Yes, you may ask, but unfortunately that question is not mine to answer." Aro sat back in his seat and smiled at the shock each of the seven vampires behind me were feeling. I know the cause of their shock. They weren't used to Aro not being in control and it was making them uncomfortable. Nodding to me, he crossed his legs and relaxed into his throne, ready for the show to begin.
Before I made a move to reveal myself and drop any of my shields, I glanced at the two vampires flanking me and then to the rest of my guard standing by Caius. They all knew what was expected of them, especially Demetri. He was to move to stand behind Edward with Felix in case Edward reacted as I expected him to. Just for precaution, Alec and Jane were to move to stand behind the rest of the Cullens, doing that would also keep them off balance and unsure of what was going on.
With my shield still in place over my guard, I spoke knowing they would be the only ones to hear me. "Remember your orders. I will keep everyone shielded so that your thoughts and decisions cannot be detected. Let's try to keep this peaceful."
I sensed them all nod in acknowledgement and that was my queue to begin. I had been waiting for this for the last ten years and now that the day was finally upon me, I was nervous about the unknown outcome. I knew I would get the answers to the questions that I have been fuming over since I was brought to Volterra. I also knew that there was one certain person that the rest of my immortal life rested on and that scared me.
Keeping my emotions in check I let my outer shield drop, the one keeping my scent from being detected by the others in the room as well as keeping my little speech private. At the same time, I reached up to pull the hood from my head and letting my hair fall back over my shoulders to fall down to my hips. There were a few gasps behind me, but I could tell that they hadn't gotten my scent yet, so I waited. I knew the second Edward recognized it as his anger and fear went through the roof. Then I heard a faint sigh as well as feeling a wave of longing hit me that almost sent me to my knees.
Remembering that we had an audience, I blocked his emotions, knowing I wouldn't be able to pull this off if he kept sending me his longing. The two vampires beside me pulled their hoods down. I knew that only one person behind me would recognize them, so I wasn't going to wait for reactions this time. With a final nod to Aro, I turned to face the vampires that I once called my second family.
I looked at the Cullens, standing there with different degrees of shock on their faces. This was my family, one that had chosen me and not because of my supposed love for Edward. They had accepted me for who I was and wanted me to be changed to be a part of their family forever. Emmett had said that if Edward and I ever split they would keep me instead of him, which had always made me giggle. I knew I could always count on my big brother to back me up; he even tried to with Rose. I know I should be mad at them all for leaving me, but I have had a lot of time to think about what happened and why and I knew they were trying to protect their family and just listened to the wrong person.
I looked into Carlisle's eyes and saw the shock as his golden eyes met my violet ones. Keeping my face clear of all emotion, I moved on to Esme, the woman who told me to call her mom. She was sending me such a strong feeling of love and relief that it took all my strength not to run into her arms. I had missed my parents so much that it made my dead heart hurt. Next was Edward. I met his gaze briefly, but quickly moved on to Rose who was looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and relief, which the latter shocked me. As I met her gaze she gave me a small smile and nodded towards Emmett.
I looked at my brother and had to let a smile grace my lips. Emmett was beaming such happiness that I bet all of Volterra could feel it. I knew these past ten years had been the hardest on him, not being able to say goodbye and then believing I was dead. Without thinking I sent him my feeling of love for him and watched as his eyes widened in shock. I saw that he was about to comment and I shook my head at him, hoping he would keep quiet. Next to him was Alice, the little pixie. She looked so small standing next to Em. I think she was the most shocked out of all of them. It didn't feel like she was shocked I was alive, more at where she found me. Guess she was having visions again or had them.
Moving to the last in the line, I glanced at Jasper. When I met his golden gaze, I saw his start to darken. I knew how he felt, I was barely able to keep myself on the steps, but I didn't want anyone else to know that I had a mate. I felt his confusion as I didn't move towards him. Part of me wanted to run to him, but I knew that there were things about me that he wouldn't like and I didn't know if we would be able to get past that. So I sent him a sense of calm and turned back to look at them all, but not before I registered the shock added to his confusion.
"I am sure you all have a lot of questions for me, but we will save them for another time." As I spoke I watched Edward for his reactions. So far all he had done was stare at me as if I couldn't really be here. "I requested your presence as there was something that I believe needs to be addressed and cleared before I can move on with my life."
"You sent the summons?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes, I did." I met his gaze. "Honestly, you had to expect it at some point what with me disappearing and you allowing Edward to leave me as a human."
"But that doesn't matter now, you are…" Edward started to protest but I cut him off.
"Be silent, Cullen!" Demetri snarled from behind him.
Seeing Edward tense, Demetri moved closer to him with Felix close to his side. While they repositioned themselves, the two people standing next to me finally turned around. I knew that the Cullens wouldn't recognize them, but they would not go unnoticed.
"Peter? Charlotte?"
I looked at Jasper and saw the confusion and hurt flash across his face. He looked at me and then I saw his emotions just shut down and an impassive look was aimed at me. Even though I expected his rejection it still hurt and I barely stopped myself from wrapping my arms around myself.
"Major." Peter said as he placed a hand on my shoulder, sending me his support.
"So this is why I haven't seen you in the past ten years?" Jasper asked, barely suppressing a growl. "You have joined the Volturi?"
Peter sighed, he had known this was going to be tricky and had warned me about it. "I can't explain it all right now, Major, but we are here for Bella. You could say we joined her guard, not the Volturi."
Aro snickered behind me. He always found it funny that I had brought them back with me after my first hunt. "Major, I can assure you they have declined all of my requests to join the guard. I can't seem to get rid of them though as they have taken quite a liking to Isabella and she them. They do belong to her after all."
"What are you talking about?" Jasper took a step forward, only stopping when I shook my head.
"Aro, please stop baiting Jasper." I turned and glared at him before looking back to Jasper just in time to catch another look of shock cross his face before he shut his emotions down again. "Jasper, please, I will answer your questions later. Why they are here is not important right at this moment."
"As you wish, Isabella." Jasper returned to his place next to Alice.
My eyes flashed in irritation and I snapped without thinking. "Don't take that tone with me, Cowboy."
Jasper's eyes flashed to mine in confusion, the look on his face never changing.
As our eyes met, I gave him the chance to see the pain in my eyes, the sorrow I felt over being apart from him for so long and the guilt I felt for the betrayal he assumed his siblings were a part of. After a few seconds passed I shut down my emotions again as I heard a low growl from Demetri. Looking at him, I shook my head to quiet him and proceeded with the plans. This really was harder than I had expected, taking a deep breath with the hope that I would be able to get through this.
"Carlisle, as the head of your family, you may ask your questions and I will answer if I am able. I will tell you now that everything will not be revealed at this time. Your presence has been requested here for a few weeks if that is acceptable to you?"
"Bella, I can only speak for Esme, Edward and myself, but we would be most grateful to accept your invitation to stay. We have missed you and would love the chance to talk about everything that has gone on." Carlisle paused as he heard another short growl come from behind him.
"Demetri." I snapped and that was all that was needed. I watched as he bowed his head and took a step back from his place behind Edward. "Carlisle, why do you not speak for Rose, Emmett and Jasper?"
"I…" Carlisle started but was cut off.
"Why are you worried about them, my love? Did you not notice that he left out your best friend? He never mentioned Alice, are you not concerned about her?" Edward asked anger evident in his tone.
I growled at him and he flinched. "Why do you think I am worried about her? She was right there with you in controlling my life. She did nothing to stop you, only encouraged you. If I want to know what happened to her since I last saw her then I will ask. Do not interrupt again!"
Peter leaned over and whispered for my hearing only. "Don't let him get to you, Bells. Remember, you need to stay calm to conserve your energy."
I looked at him and nodded, my eyes catching a bite mark just showing above his collar under his left ear and I sighed. He was right. I couldn't afford to let this get dragged out by drama, I only had oh so much energy and shielding everyone in my guard was taking its toll already. "Carlisle, please."
Carlisle sighed and took a step forward. "Bella, as things have changed with you they have changed with our family as well. This is the first time that we have seen Jasper since he left ten years ago. As for Rose and Emmett, they have spent most of their time travelling since Jasper left us."
"Why did they all leave? Emmett? Why did you leave your family?" I asked.
Emmett looked at Rosalie and then stepped forward, looking sad and yet hopeful all at the same time. "Ah, Bells, we left because we couldn't stand being around Edward anymore. He was the reason that I lost my lil sis and it was unbearable to be around him, so we left."
"Really?" I couldn't stop the hope from leaking out in my question.
"Yeah, we left right after we learned that you were missing."
I couldn't breathe; Em had missed me and left the family because of what happened. Was it true? I looked at Rosalie and she nodded as she met my eyes with a look of regret and sorrow. That was all I needed to know. Without a second thought I threw myself at Emmett and wrapped my arms around his neck. I had moved so quickly that he didn't have time to prepare, but he quickly wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair.
"Oh, lil sis, I am so sorry." He sobbed into my shoulder. "We never should have left you."
"Em, stop. It's all in the past and I want to move on. Can we start over, big brother?" I leaned back and took his face in my hands, forcing him to look me in the eyes. I smiled as he nodded so vigorously it would have been a blur to human eyes. Once he stopped, I placed a kiss on his cheek and stepped back from his embrace. "I'm glad to have you back. You too Rosalie."
Rose nodded as she pulled Emmett back to her side.
I was worried about the outcome of the next question, but I had to know and my impatience got the better of me. I turned to the blonde at the end of the line of Cullens. "Jasper?"
He kept staring at Peter and Charlotte, ignoring me.
"Cowboy?" I tried again, hoping to reach him.
He slowly turned his head to look at me, confusion in his eyes. "Yes, Bella?"
"Why did you leave your w…family?" I held my breath, hoping my slip went unnoticed.
Jasper stared at me and his mouth worked, but no sounds came out. He looked to be at a loss for words. He looked at Peter and then turned back to look at me. "I…"
"Bella." Peter interrupted Jasper. "I believe you have more important questions to ask right now. You can play catch up later."
I whirled around, anger flaring at the interruption. I saw Peter cringe, just enough for me to see that he was aware that I was angry. He was right though; this wasn't the time for me to question Jasper, but damnit it still pissed me off. I stood there, staring at Peter, trying to calm myself down, when suddenly I heard him.
'Bells, I am really hoping you have Eddie's gift working. I'm sorry, but you were the one who wanted to keep your mating situation away from the Volturi for now.'
I snorted and took a few steps towards him, not really planning on doing anything, but distancing myself from the Cullens to give me a chance to think. It had the added benefit of causing Peter to shuffle his feet minutely.
'Ok, so I deserve the stare and you can beat my ass later. Can we please just get this over with? Having Aro at my back is making my skin crawl."
Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I turned back to face the Cullens. "Peter is right. We can catch up later. Right now, I have some unfinished business to deal with."
I felt Jasper's eyes on me, studying me and probably trying to figure out what was going on and why I seemed to be taking orders from Peter. I also caught a thought from him, wondering how I managed to scare Peter into fidgeting. Just that thought alone caused me to laugh. I locked down my emotions again because if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to deal with Edward. I stood up straight to my full height, allowing them to see that I had actually gained a few inches thanks to my change. Turning, I looked into the eyes that I once thought were the most beautiful thing in the world. Now they just left me feeling empty, knowing how false the beauty behind his eyes really was.
"Hello Edward."
"Bella, immortality suits you." Edward smiled his dazzling smile, hiding his fear behind his smile. "I am sorry about what I said in the woods, Bella. I was trying to protect you from our world. I did it because I love you."
I hid my cringe at his words, I knew what he was feeling and thinking, but he didn't know that. This was something we had decided I would have to let slip regarding my powers. Peter came up with the idea that they would just be actual powers themselves, that I had three total. Which that wasn't a lie, we were just fudging the truth about one of them to protect me as Peter put it.
"Edward, if you truly loved me there is no way you would have been able to leave me like that. You said I was your mate and yet you were able to so easily turn your back on me and walk away." I stepped towards him and held my left hand out, palm up just like Aro does. "I knew you were going to leave me, Edward. I always knew. I had thought you were beyond perfection back then and I knew that being a clumsy pathetic human couldn't compare to your beauty, your grace or to anyone else that you may have met. I won't lie and say it didn't hurt when you left me; it hurt worse than the burn of my change. So tell me something, anything, that would make me believe that what you did in those woods was out of love for me."
Edward stood there, staring at me and my hand. His emotions were a jumble of confusion and fear, yet there was just the tiniest hint of hope tangled in there as well. He smiled as he stepped forward; taking my hand thinking this was a sign that he was going to gain my forgiveness. "Bella, my love, you know that I only ever wanted to protect you from our world. I loved you too much to see you hurt by Jasper or someone else from our world. You were so fragile and I just wanted to be with you forever, but I knew that was selfish of me. So I decided that you would be better off if we were out of your life. I had no idea that us leaving would make things worse for you. For that, I truly am sorry."
I listened as his words flowed over me and I smiled at the thought that he was saying everything in just the right way to win a person over. I stared into his eyes and felt his emotions; I sensed no guilt or shame, just hope and eagerness. Looking down at his hand in mine, I brought my right hand up to lay on top of his hand before looking back into his eyes. "If I were to ask Emmett if he would be able to leave Rose like you left me, what do you think his response would be?"
Edward jerked backwards but was held in place as I still held his hand. Shock and anger flowed from him.
"What's wrong Edward?" I tilted my head to the side in question. "Should I not ask Em that?"
"I already did."
I turned from Edward to look over at Jasper, shocked at his statement. "You did?"
"Yes, he did and it was rather unpleasant." Edward said. "The thoughts Emmett was thinking were quite painful to listen to."
"Painful? You mean Emmett was in pain just thinking about leaving his mate behind?" I waited for his answer; I was not expecting to have repeated a question Jasper had already asked.
"Yes, I can only imagine what it would have been like to feel his emotions." Edward snapped back.
"You did feel his emotions, Eddie boy; I made sure to share them with everyone in the room. I am a little surprised that you don't remember that as they should have just been an echo to what you felt leaving Bella." Jasper looked at Edward with murder in his eyes, but otherwise he portrayed a sense of calm.
"I find that quite interesting, Edward." I brought his attention back to me as I patted his hand. "I think you may need a refresher. Was this anything like what Emmett felt?"
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on sharing the feelings with the Cullens, my guard and the kings. I wanted to make sure that everyone understood that Edward was lying. I knew this was not going to be easy for me to relive or for everyone else to experience, but it needed to be done. I had only done this once before and that was to make sure that it worked, but I didn't go anywhere near these emotions and the thought of sharing that scared me.
Taking a deep breath, I allowed myself to remember how I felt back when Edward was leaving. Slowly the feelings of loss, of inadequacy, of heart break, being incomplete started to creep out through the room. I listened as Edward gasped and shook from experiencing the intense feelings that he caused so long ago. More gasps reached my ears as the feelings spread out to fill the room. This I was expecting, the growl of pain from the end of the Cullens was not expected though.
My eyes flashed open and sought out Jasper. He was doubled over, arms wrapped around his chest like he was trying to hold himself together. The irony of his reaction was not lost on me as I had found myself in that position more often than not after Edward left. I wasn't done with Edward yet and now seeing Jasper that way, just made it all the more clear that Edward deserved so much more.
"Char." I snapped.
She was by my side instantly. "Whatcha need sug?"
"Go to Jasper. I can't pull this back from him. Do whatever you can that won't piss off Peter to counter what I'm sending out. You know why it's affecting him like that." I couldn't pull my eyes from the torment that Jasper was going through and it was all my fault. Why didn't I think about that before? Of course this would affect him more than the rest, all because of the mate bond and his gift.
Char moved quickly to Jasper's side and knelt in front of him, leaning in close to his ear to whisper God knows what. As she worked to calm his emotions, he snapped his head up and stared at me. The pain on his face almost sent me to my knees and then I looked into his eyes. His eyes were black with pain and were brimming with venom tears that would never fall.
"Peter, help your mate." I growled out while fighting to remain where I was. An overwhelming urge to make sure he was ok was creeping up through my control and I fought to beat it down. I couldn't give into that urge here, not yet. I knew Peter and Char would take care of him and I would deal with his anger later.
Turning back to face Edward, I saw the grimace on his face as he felt a compressed version of what I went through after he abandoned me. I started pulling the feeling back from everyone else, but I left it flowing into Edward, he needed to feel these emotions just a bit longer.
Sighs were heard throughout the room as everyone was released from my emotions. A few coughs were heard as well as if to cover up the uncomfortable silence, as what do you say after you felt that kind of pain?
"Isabella?"
I dropped Edward's hand before I could read his thoughts and turned to stare at Aro. I watched him stand from his throne as well as his brothers.
"Mia figlia, what did you do to us?" Aro asked as he placed a hand over where his dead heart lay.
I walked over to stand in front of him, just before the steps. "Those were my feelings from when Edward left me."
Caius held out his hand towards me. "Come here, piccola."
As I stepped to the side to take Caius' hand, I sensed movement behind me and turned around.
Edward had stepped forward with a snarl on his face. "She is not your daughter, Aro, she belongs to me."
I waited to see how Aro was going to respond, but still moved to stand closer to him just to be safe. Protecting the kings was one of my jobs as a part of the elite guard and I took great pride in their trust in my shield.
"I disagree, Edward. Isabella belongs to no one as she is not a possession." Aro waited for his response.
Edward was sending off waves of anger and possessiveness. "If she doesn't belong to you then I will be taking her with me when I leave. Her rightful place is at my side, not being a part of your collection."
I tensed at his words, ready to act if needed.
"Indeed, I believe you may want to rethink your position, Edward." Aro chuckled. "As I said, she is no one's possession and our deal is almost complete, but my dear Isabella is not one to suffer fools and she has quite the temper when riled."
"She is not yours!" Edward growled.
Seeing into his thoughts I knew what he was planning, so I leapt to stand in front of Aro so that I could protect him from the idiot before us. "You will not touch him, Edward."
"Why not? Why would you want to protect him when I know you love me?" Edward took a step closer.
Before I could respond, I saw Edward shift into a crouch and prepare to attack Aro, even with me in the way. Suddenly my focus was drawn to the side as I felt my heart cry out for my mate. He was emitting so much pain and anger it brought tears to my eyes. With my attention diverted, Edward decided to make his move.
Edward launched himself in my direction, but was knocked back onto his ass as he came into contact with my shield. Demetri and Felix were on him before he even landed. At the same time that he launched, Jasper moved to place himself between me and Edward to protect me. I stood in awe at how fast he had moved and then I watched as he crumpled in pain in front of me.
"Jane!" I growled at her. I ran to his side and placed my shield around him, shutting out Jane's powers. "Cowboy, are you ok?"
He looked up at me and I could see his confusion, need and anger still smoldering in the depths of his black eyes. Then as if nothing happened, I watched his emotions leave his eyes and I was met with a cold stare. Standing he watched me as I followed suit. "I am fine, Isabella."
"Glad to hear it, Major." Again, his anger hurt me, but I did what I could to hide my reaction as I had expected it. I needed out of that room and away from Jasper's anger. Turning away from Jasper, trying to ignore the pain it caused, I walked over to Aro. Stopping before him, I took a deep breath to calm down. "Aro, thank you for standing up for me like that."
"Of course Isabella, I could not stand by while he treated you so badly." Aro reached out and pushed a stray hair behind my ear, shocking everyone in the room. "Mia figlia, I do not want to see you hurt. What do you want me to do with Edward?"
Thinking about him made my jaw clench and I knew now was not the time to deal with him, it wouldn't be beneficial to anyone if I accidentally killed him out of anger. I wanted to handle him calmly. "Detain…"
Edward attacked me from me behind, having used my distraction with Jasper and then Aro as a way to get away from Demetri and Felix somehow.
Aro stepped back and watched us before him, motioning everyone to stay where they were. "Now, Edward, you will see what I meant about her temper."
I allowed Edward to pull me backwards as I didn't want to chance Aro getting caught in the fight. He managed to get his arm around my neck and tried to pull backwards to get me to stop fighting, but it only worked to anger me further. With a deep growl I jerked my elbow back into his ribs and threw my weight down to the floor, dropping out of his hold. Faster than anyone could see, I was behind him. Kicking the backs of his knees, I forced him down and in the next second I had his head tilted to the side and my teeth at his neck.
From start to finish, our little squabble lasted less than thirty seconds.
Aro clapped his hands as he always enjoyed watching me fight. "Alec, please incapacitate Edward so that Isabella can detach herself from him before she takes off his head."
I felt Edward twitch at Aro's words and I growled. "Don't move, Edward."
Alec was quick to spread his gift over Edward and I sighed in relief as I was able to let him go. With a last look into his glazed eyes, I stood and moved back to stand in front of Aro.
Aro gestured for me to join him on the dais, taking my hand as I joined him. "I shall not insult you by asking if you are alright, mia figlia. I believe dear Edward has hopefully learned his lesson where you are concerned. Speaking of Edward, what would you have me do with him?"
I looked at him, still seething over his stupidity while fighting to maintain my shields that I still had up. I was not going to deter from my original plan, even after his little stunt. So taking a deep breath, I answered Aro. "Detain him, but let him stay with his family."
"Are you sure?" Caius asked from beside Aro. "I believe he deserves much more than just detainment."
"Yes, Caius, being detained with Emmett and Rose ought to be a good start." I turned back around as he chuckled. "Carlisle, you all will have freedom in the castle as well as the ability to come and go. I did not summon you here to be held prisoner, I promise. Go hunt if you need to, but Edward stays here in your rooms. Felix or Jane will stay outside the room at all times. Do you agree?"
Carlisle looked astounded that I was giving orders and that Aro was letting me. "If that is what you wish, then yes, we agree to the terms. I hope that we will be able to talk later."
"There will be time for talking later, Carlisle. For now, I need to leave." I nodded to Peter and Charlotte and gave in to my emotions and ran from the room. I could not stand to be around Jasper and his anger any longer with the danger of my shields faltering. I fled to the stables and climbed up to sit on the roof, where I knew I would be left alone with my thoughts.
JPOV
I had watched as Bella ran from the throne room last night and was slapped in the face with her emotions. They were the first emotions that I had felt from her, pain, longing, hurt, and acceptance. I tried to follow her, but Peter held me in place and told me she would find me when she was ready to talk to me. Shortly thereafter, Aro dismissed us and I watched as Felix man handled Edward and dragged him to his room. After feeling Bella's emotions that she shared with everyone and then Edward's before he attacked, I was emotionally drained myself.
Thinking back on that, I was shocked to learn that Bella had to be an empath like me, otherwise I had no explanation for how she had us all feeling what she felt. So she was a shield, which appeared to be both mental and physical with how Eddie boy bounced back on his ass, and an empath. I had never met another empath so this was something new for me.
I continued to distract myself with thinking about her powers as I searched the castle for her. By the time the sun was rising, I believe I had searched the whole castle, but I still couldn't find her. But someone found me.
"Isa will be out at the stables right now taking care of her horse before she leaves for her morning ride."
I turned to find Jane standing behind me. "Her horse?"
"Yes, Major, she is the rider you saw yesterday riding away from the castle grounds. As I said, she goes at the same time every day unless she is out on a mission, which she will be here for at least the next few days as Aro wants to keep her close right now." Jane turned to walk away, but looked back over her shoulder first. "I am sorry for attacking you last night, I thought you were going after Isa and I couldn't let that happen."
I watched her walk away, confused by her apology and then confounded that I had watched Bella or Isa rather, riding her horse yesterday and I didn't even know it. As I made my way through the castle to head out the back entrance, I was even more confused, how I could have mistaken Bella for a human.
I stood in the trees just out of view from the fields in front of me. Thanks to my talk yesterday with Jane, I knew that Bella would be riding past any moment as she was still within the castle. Jane had confirmed this morning that she did not have any plans for any missions for at least the next few days. She had been avoiding me at every turn since the meeting last night with the kings and if I was being honest with myself, I wasn't quite sure how to handle that she has been a part of the Volturi all this time.
Shaking my head, I reminded myself that this was Bella, my Bella, and no matter what she had done for the past ten years, she was still mine and I was hers. I had felt a dull ache in my chest since I saw her alive and well last night in the throne room. The ache intensified as I watched her run out of the room after giving the orders to detain Edward. I suddenly remembered the giddiness and excitement that Edward had felt when Bella had turned around in the throne room and became visible to all of our senses. Then she had lost her temper with him, understandable as he had attacked her, and she was on him. As a human she had been so docile that she took everything Edward and Alice threw at her. As a vampire, there was not a single docile bone in her body, at least not where Edward was concerned.
The sound of hooves drew me from my thoughts and I caught sight of the big black horse bringing Bella closer to me. I only planned on following her in the hopes of trying to find out what happened to her since I last saw her and yes, I wanted to be close to her. The ache was unbearable now that I had found her. She had said that we were mates in her letter, but outwardly she hadn't shown the emotions I had expected.
I watched as the horse came to a stop about two hundred yards away and I wondered what Bella was doing. Looking past the head of the stallion, I saw that Bella was staring directly at me. I could not fathom how she had seen me, but as I had been caught, I decided to walk out of hiding. I stopped when I was in full view, about ten feet from the trees. I watched as a multitude of emotions crossed over Bella's face, she was blocking her emotions from me again, so I could only go based on what I saw.
Happiness, guilt, sorrow, love, trepidation all cycled across her face before settling into a mask of resolved determination. Without feeling her emotions, I had no clue as to what was going on with her. I had placed my hands in my pockets while I watched her emotions on her face and was not expecting her reaction to seeing me there.
One moment she was sitting motionless on the back of her horse and the next she had spurred him into a gallop heading directly at me.
The shock at seeing her charge me on horseback kept me from reacting and I could only stare in dismay and shock as my mate drew closer to running me down with her horse. My last thought before she was upon me was 'What the hell did I do to piss her off?' and then I was nose to nose with the giant stallion.
Chapter song is Stay High by Tove Lo
Mia sorella = My sister
Non ti preoccupare piccina = Do not worry little one
Il mio protettore = My protector
Merda = Shit
Mia figlia = My daughter
Piccola = Little one
A/N – I am sorry if you guys aren't enjoying the cliffies, but that is just how this story is flowing right now. I can let you know that I am already well underway with the next chapter and there will be some one on one time with Bella and Jasper. I hope you guys are having as much fun reading this as I am writing it. And as I find this to be a quirky concept, if you have any questions for the characters, feel free to ask away, I will either have them respond to you or will add them in to the next chapter's opening A/N. Thanks again guys!
