Just to let you know I'm going away on Tuesday and posting will be erratic until the end of the month so I'm going to post extra chapters of this story before I go rather than starting another. Please keep reviewing and reading. Thanks Jules x

Chapter Four

Aro

When Edward asked to speak to me I had to smile, something had changed his mind, I must be careful to mask any thoughts of Alice Cullen. I didn't want him to know she was dead, not yet. My brothers joined me and we waited for him so I warned them to shield their thoughts too. It was a trick we had taken a long time to perfect but it did make life easier and now it was crucial. When he came in he looked strained, as if he'd wrestled with his conscience for a while before coming to a decision.

"Edward I was so glad to hear you wanted to speak to us."

"I've thought long and hard about joining the Volturi and like everyone else I want to live but I can't live in a cage for the rest of mine so it seems I have no choice. I would like the opportunity to research the human who killed Bella Swan while I'm here."

"Why? She's dead and nothing you can do will bring her back. Besides no one knows who was responsible and after all he only did what you should have done Edward. You broke our law by telling her about our world and not changing her. The girl's life was already forfeit."

"I still want to find out who did it."

"This is stupid Aro but if he wants to why not? As long as you don't leave Volterra Edward then go ahead, but when we call on you for duty you drop everything including your pet project and come. Is that clear?"

Edward looked at Marcus as he finished speaking,

"Understood. I give my word not to leave Volterra without your permission. Can I move from my present quarters to something more comfortable and less confined?"

"Yes you may join Carlisle and Esme. Oh and Edward, we will hold them personally responsible if you break your word. You do understand what that means?"

He nodded,

"Yes I understand Caius. Thank you."

Edward left us then and Caius looked at me grimly,

"You know if he finds out Alice is dead he'll tell the others and we will lose all of them?"

"How will he find out except if one of us tells him? No one else knows, besides he will be very careful not to cause us any problems, he is loyal to Carlisle."

"But is Carlisle loyal to us Aro? He makes me uneasy after all he left before."

"This time he knows he cannot leave unless he wants to die and take the rest of his family with him and Carlisle feels deeply for his "children" he wouldn't put their lives in jeopardy. No I think Carlisle will watch Edward for us. Maybe we can find him a mate somewhere, tie him too us even more tightly."

"Such as? Wasn't this human his true mate Aro?"

"Who knows? But she's dead so the bond is broken. Send Heidi to help him with his research, let her try her feminine wiles on him."

"Demetri isn't going to be happy about that. You know how he feels about her even with Chelsea's influence he is drawn to her."

"Demetri will be busy tracking The Major. Eventually he will make a mistake, everyone does and we will be watching and waiting ready to pounce when he does."

"I hope you're right but I fear you are not. I know him, he doesn't make mistakes...ever."

"Then he'll keep out of sight and out of circulation which will achieve the same result. Don't worry so much Caius, we have hostages against his trying anything, a lot of them."

Edward

When Esme saw me she ran over to hug me,

"Edward thank goodness. I was so worried they would kill you. Have you decide to work for the Volturi?"

"Yes but in return they will allow me to research Bella's killer."

"It's too late to do any good Edward. You can't bring her back son, it's over."

"I need to do this Carlisle, it's the only thing left that I can do to make things right. I left her, told her I didn't want her any more, that she was a distraction nothing more. I left her broken and hurting, easy prey for a monster."

"Edward there are monsters in every world and Bella was just unfortunate to cross paths with one. She might have died even if you hadn't left her, who knows? It could have happened while you were hunting or she was on her way to school on a sunny day."

"Or I could have left her with a dangerous predator already there and waiting."

"Edward I don't believe for one second that Jasper was responsible for her death and neither do the others, Alice especially. He left because he believed we were wrong to abandon her the way we did."

"He also suggested killing her when we discovered I was drawn by her blood, and then he tried at her birthday party."

"The first time he was trying to keep us safe and the second was an accident. We all thirsted for Bella's blood, me included, and he was overwhelmed by that."

I knew Carlisle was right but it was easier to blame the monster I knew than to believe a stranger had taken her from all she knew. He tortured and killed her and she probably screamed for me as she died. I should have been there for her but I wasn't.

"Maybe you're right Carlisle but I need to know. If it was a serial killer then he will have left a trail and I will find it eventually."

Carlisle

Blaming Jasper for Bella's death was Edward's way of coping but he was wrong and he knew it. I doubted he'd find the man responsible. I had followed the case and I knew the police were no nearer to finding him. There had been other deaths but every one was a little different and they struggled to fit Bella's death in. Things were a little different each time and they were wondering if there was in fact more than one killer responsible for the ten deaths they had attributed to the one perpetrator but if it gave Edward a little peace from his demons then what harm could it do? At least the sentence of death had been lifted, although we were now all at the mercy of his whims. If he decided to run from Volterra he would be signing our death warrants and I wanted him to know this so I approached the subject as soon as I could.

"Edward I know you feel you want to hunt this man down but you cannot leave Volterra."

"I know, I gave my word to the brothers."

"More than that son, if you try we will all die and while my own life doesn't concern me over much Esme's, Emmett's and Rosalie's do. I wont allow you to do anything that might result in their deaths or Alice's wherever she is. Just remember that Edward."

"I understand Carlisle and I accept that I can't do what I want without risking all of you. If I decide to try anything I will make sure they know I did it alone."

"Edward it doesn't matter what you do or say, we will all die. If I think you are even contemplating anything I will warn Aro."

He looked at me in shock, was it really so hard to understand that I would protect my family, the ones I loved? Was Edward so very self-centred that he didn't see this? Perhaps Bella was better off where she was, her life with Edward wouldn't have been the fairytale she thought, my son had too many flaws for that and the realization of that truth wounded me deeply.