Disclaimer: I do not own characters, expect for my own OC. Based purely off of the genius of Stephenie Meyer.

Note: Thanks to those of you who took the time to review :) Please continue to R&R, and if anyone has any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear it. I've heard a lot of interesting reviews and messages about the nature of the story, so I just wanted to say now that I had intended this fic to be quite dark (I mean look who the main character is). That being said, I have also gotten some very positive feedback, so thank you for that as well. Also I'm currently looking for a beta for this story, so if anyone has any interest in that let me know!

Warning: This chapter is going to be very dark, so I would not recommend it to the faint of heart. That being said, those who don't have a problem with that; enjoy! :)

Chapter 4: Love Bite

I woke up feeling the warm sunlight dancing against my skin. I forced myself to sit upright in my bed, I was still tired but I felt as though so much weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was alone in my bed, as usual, and I glanced around the room as though I expected to see him there somewhere. I dragged myself out of my bed and walked slowly into the bathroom, I had decided that another warm bath would be the only cure for my sore, tired body.

After my bath, I dressed and made my way slowly through the castle to the kitchens in the basement. I hated that there were several chefs and butlers there simply to serve me, the only person who ever used the kitchen. I ate slowly as well, lost in thought, as I had been for many weeks now. For some reason every aspect of my life felt like it needed to be re-examined lately.

I thought about him, a lot, I rarely found a moment when I was not thinking about him, about us. I let a small chuckle escape my throat as that crossed my mind. Us, who was I kidding, there was no us; he didn't love me, I was like part of the staff, someone kept around to satisfy him when he was feeling restless. Besides he already had a wife, Athenodora, not that she was ever a big part of his life. But she was there, drifting throughout the castle, probably trying to avoid me as much as I tried to avoid her. I didn't expect her to like me, technically I was the home wrecker, the other woman, but I was fairly positive there had been many other women throughout their marriage. I'd also been thinking about the guests who would be arriving shortly, the castle was busier than usual, everyone cleaning and preparing everything.

After my breakfast I decided to walk through the castle, I hoped that maybe it would clear my head. I finally ended up in front of the large pewter doors of the main library. I came here often to read, sometimes just to get away, especially since I had never seen another soul in the library in all of my years here. I had always loved the library, especially this one, with its domed ceiling, ornately painted with cherubs and embellished with gold. The book shelves must have been at least thirty feet high, and every shelf was filled with books, old books with leather covers, some had even been bejeweled. I strolled through all the shelves glancing at the titles, some in languages I was sure no longer existed, but nothing seemed to capture my interest today. I slipped out of the library and made my way down a deserted corridor and slipped through a small archway which had been cleverly hidden by a very old, and slightly dusty, tapestry. I walked up the narrow spiraling stone staircase stopping at a very narrow stone opening, which served as a window. The sun sparkled against the rooftops of Volterra and far below I could see people strolling through the city, enjoying the day.

Was that why I had been so restless of late? Did I miss the freedom of my life before the Volturi? Did I miss going wherever I wanted, whenever it suited me to do so? Or perhaps I missed being able to truly be alone, no guards, no hidden figures or gleaming red eyes. Maybe I missed being with a man, a human man, with warm soft flesh, and a pulse. I closed my eyes, shaking my head softly as though I hoped to dislodge the thoughts from it. When I made it to the top of the staircase I slipped through the door into the large room. I liked that it was plain, rough wood floors and stone walls, and I loved the way the sun shone through the narrow glass windows that extended from the floor, straight up to the ceiling. I sat down in front of the window, to continue to watch the people below. Their lives seemed so simply, so easy; they weren't forced to make love to a blood thirsty vampire night after night, and hope that he would spare their lives each time.

I closed my eyes and let my head rest against the cool stone wall, and it was only moments before I had drifted off, presumably to make up for the sleep I had not been able to achieve during the night.

Demetri's arms were like stone, as they effortlessly tossed me to the floor. As my knees collided with the marble I wanted to cry out, to let the pain take hold of me, but I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. The pain caused my eyes to tear up and spill over, running down my cheeks. I couldn't bring myself to look at them, but I could feel all three pairs of red eyes leering at me. It wasn't exactly hostility I felt, perhaps more curiosity than anything else. I don't recall them actually saying anything, but a moment later Demetri grabbed my upper arm and launched me to my feet and dragged me back out of the great hall.

Aro's POV:

Something about this human was different, I couldn't place my finger on it, but I was sure that there was something valuable in her. She was the most beautiful human I had ever laid eyes on, but I didn't want her for myself, I had no interest in human women. If their blood did not call out to me, I had no interest in them. But Marcus had said he'd seen something between the girl and Caius, he had only seen it briefly, but there was indeed a future between them. What sort of brother would I be, to know this and kill her anyways? Of course I could do no such thing, so I sent her to be cleaned up and then she would go directly to his chambers. What he would do with her then was his choice.

I slowly opened my eyes, only to realize the sunlight had faded behind cloud cover. I remembered that night, the first night I had ever spent with Caius. It still astounded me that I could want someone that badly, and fear them with every ounce of my being at the same time. Nothing had changed that, when he came to me I would submit, not just because I knew I had to, but partially because I want it; I wanted him. Yet every time I feared it would be my last, that he would decide he longer wanted me, and that would be that. But I was still alive, and he still wanted me, almost every night, and I was addicted to him.

I felt a chill run down the length of my spine as I let the night before play back in my mind. I remembered his icy fingertips under my chin forcing me to look at him, and the way he held the back of my neck when his lips found mine. I wanted to think that these were romantic gestures, but they weren't, they were dominant. He wanted me to know he was always in control, as though I would forget. I recalled the way it felt as he made love to me; the way his icy skin made me feel feverish, and how it felt as he bit the sensitive skin on my neck, ever so gently, as our bodies lay entwined together afterwards.

As I sat there, lost in the pleasures of the previous night, I almost thought I was dreaming as cool fingers gently began to caress the back of my neck.

Sorry for the wait! Hope it was worth it Aro's POV refers to his POV at the time of Lyana's flashback. Hopefully that wasn't too confusing.