Chapter 7

Alec and Jane had been asked again to join Chelsea and Corin at the top of the wall, overlooking the courtyard that housed the wolves.

"Corin," Jane snapped causing the dark-haired immortal to spin around backing away from Jane a bit. "Why did you send for us?"

Jane was only so tall that she reached Corin's shoulder but still the other immortal looked scared. Of course she had every right to be.

"Chelsea needed your gifts," Corin's voice had such a high tone to it that a wolf below grimaced.

"Well then where is she?" Alec sounded bored, and just as his sister he didn't like to be summoned by anybody other then the masters.

"Down here!"

Chelsea smiled up as she stepped into the courtyard, facing a pack of wolves virtually unprotected. One of them, Brady, noticed her entrance right away and he lunged for her, growling as his jaws tried to get a hold of her. But he fell to the floor before he could reach the immortal. Jane was watching him as he howled out in pain, the rest of the pack getting riled up as they all shared his agony.

"Alec," Chelsea called up, "could you please use your power on all of them?"

Alec nodded and opened his palms, quickly a black thick mist spread from them down toward where the wolves were. The mist wrapped itself around each individual wolf. Jane stopped using her gift, she watched the animals closely, smiling as she looked down, enjoying the confusion on most of their faces. They all watched how the wolves slowly calmed down, knowing there is no escaping the unending darkness and loneliness that came with Alec's power.

Chelsea grinned, she walked gracefully into the middle of the pack, the black smoke dancing around her legs but not affecting her. She grabbed a collar from the pocket of her cloak and secured it around the neck of a large dark grey wolf. The same one that got defensive during the feeing earlier that day, causing the other pack members to turn against him.

"Alec, darling, can you release him?" Alec guided his mist away from the wolf and the animal slowly, blinking his eyes as he got to his feet, growling dangerously low at the vampire that was standing in front of him. Jane quickly focused her eyes on him and he shrank to the floor, her burning gift traveling through his body. His eyes never left Chelsea's though and he never cried out in pain. When Chelsea nodded Jane ended the pain. Chelsea looked at the wolf.

"Turn back into a human." Jane giggled her high-pitched giggle and huffed, muttering "human". Causing Alec to smirk and he kept his mist in place around the other wolves. Chelsea punched the wolf in the face when he didn't do as she wanted.

"Now."

He wolf growled low but did as she wanted when he felt the first flicks off Janes power run over his spine. Chelsea looked down at the man that now sat on the stone floor. She liked it when they turned back, they were all very nice to look at. Build, very build, lots of muscles and they were always naked when they turned back to men. Chelsea pulled at the chain that she attached to the collar around his neck.

"Alec, Jane, meet me in the yard?"

She smiled up as she and the wolf walked away. Alec pulled the mist back and watched with a small grin on his face as the wolves looked up in confusion, seeing the panic starting to raise between them as they realized that one of them was missing.

Jane sighed and Alec silently took her hand in his, squeezing it gently before the both of them took off at the same speed to meet Chelsea.

When they reached the hallway leading away from the stone courtyard they saw Chelsea and the wolf in a side chamber, the wolf had his back toward the twins as he was kneeling down on one knee. Chelsea held up a finger.

"Just give me one more moment."

Jane rolled her eyes but waited for Chelsea to finish. Alec asked, "Who is he going to be for?"

Chelsea was focused on the man in front of her for a couple more seconds before she looked at the witch twins before her, smirking.

"You hadn't heard?"

Jane and Alec looked at each other and then back to Chelsea. Jane smiled sweetly at her, "you're so luck master Aro made us swear not to use our powers on you."

Chelsea smirked. "Master Aro also told me to get you two your own wolf. He thought it would be good for you."

For once Jane had no idea what to say. She felt gob smacked at that news. She'd never thought her father would go through with that, not when she had been so clear in expressing her disgust for the animals. And now they were going to have to be responsible for one. Chelsea giggled.

"Corin helped me pick out this one for the two of you. He was already starting to change. He became a target for the other wolves."

Chelsea shrugged, "besides, like this he is nice to look at."

She laughed but Alec and Jane just looked at each other in disbelieve. Chelsea tugged on the leash she had put around the wolfs, now humans, neck.

"Turn around and tell us your name."

The boy growled low, Jane thought that if she was a defenseless human she would found the sound truly intimidating.

"Bite me leech."

His voice was deep and it rumbled deep in his chest before coming out. He did turn around though, getting back up on his feet as he did so. He towered over the three immortals in the room with him, his entire body shook from the effort it took him to keep his calm. His eyes lifted slowly but as soon as his eyes met Alec and Jane's all the vibrations left his body. He stood paralysed for a moment, his chest heaving up and down with the deep breaths he was sucking in.

"Paul," he breathed. "My name is Paul."

Chelsea smirked and walked around the trio, she was feeling strangely glee about this new development, perhaps because the witch twins hadn't wanted it. Perhaps because she and Corin deliberately picked out the most volatile wolf. Although that shouldn't be a problem for the twins.

For once Chelsea was very curious to see the outcome of a situation she had created. This wolf wasn't like Sam, she could feel that much. But then again, she had never had a masterpiece like Sam. First Chelsea had gotten her mate Afton involved in the process, he had successfully removed all of Sam's memories. Memories of his tribe, his pack, his town even the memories of his wife. They had removed him from his pack and had forced him to stay human, so he couldn't communicate with them telepathically. Then Corin had joined in, she had spend a lot of time with Sam, just walking through the castle, through the gardens with him, all the while influencing him with her gift. Allowing him to be completely content with where he was and with who he was. She had successfully made him believe that here was no higher pupose then serving the Volturi, and that he should be lucky to have such an important job. A fact he now fully believed. Then finally Chelsea had taken over Sam, she had twisted and turned the wolves natural desire to be with a pack, to belong. She had taken the magic of the wolves, the magic they called imprinting and she had moved and twisted the natural security of a mate to have him bond with her masters. He had told her about the basics of imprinting. How it worked when you first laid eyes on someone, how the earth stood still and gravity shifted. So when she felt secure about the job she had done, she had taken him to meet the masters in front of the entire guard and the guests. She knew that if this wouldn't work it would be her head, but she had been sure.

And she had succeeded in making Sam imprint on the masters when he had looked at them for the first time since his arrival in Italy. She had beamed with pride. And master Aro had told her that she could have any reward (within reason of course) that she wanted. She hadn't made up her mind yet about what to pick. But there wasn't any hurry to give him her decision. But now she had to focus on Paul. He would require more work, he had all his memories, he had recollections of his past life, his brothers and who knows, maybe even a little girl back at home. Although master Marcus had said he wasn't attached to anybody in particular. And Paul didn't feel content to be here. He knew fully well what was happening, unlike Sam, who was so brainwashed he had no idea. He knew his imprinting magic had just been activated and that he had imprinted on the two witch twins, perhaps that was the reason he was now back on the stone ground, his arms wrapped around his head like he was trying to block out all sight and sound. But at the sound of Jane's particularly bored, "So what now?" , question he couldn't help but to look up. The look on his face as he gazed at Jane was one mixed with fury, desperation and complete adoration. He couldn't help himself of course. Chelsea couldn't contain herself any longer, she started to laugh. The puppy looked so lost and the twins looked so forlorn as to what to do with him, she just couldn't contain herself anymore. It lasted about two seconds, which for all those present was still a long time. One moment Chelsea was giggling the next moment she was held against the wall, her feet kicking aimlessly in the air and a hot scolding hand around his throat, squeezing hard. She gasped and clawed at the hand around her neck but nothing happened.

Paul didn't need to be told that the twins were not amused with the cackling that came from the third leech. He merely glanced at them and before anybody had to utter a word he had gotten up and grabbing her by her throat, pushing her up against the wall, shoving her head against the wall again. If he had to be honest he didn't just do it for the twins. He knew that this leech was the reason he now felt the twisted and sickening connection to the two other vampires. He knew she had done something, manipulated his wolf to get it done and that made him more furious then he had ever been before. Maybe if he snapped her neck it would undo her little spell. This magic, whatever, would stop to work with her death and he would be free again. Well, free from this sickening feeling anyway. Before he could test that theory though he felt that already familiar feeling of fire licking up through his spine. He ground his jaws together, squeezing the neck of the leech harder but he couldn't hold out, he let the vampire drop as he fell to the floor, growling trying to get away from this fiery inferno. Even though he knew nothing would help. The pain was inside him, in his bones. It would never truly leave him again. But it stopped, it stopped for now and he rolled over on his back. He put his palms against the cool stone beneath him, he had never thought he'd like the cold of this place, but right now it was heaven. He sucked in some deep breaths trying to get his baring again. He hardly noticed the argument that broke out around him. Alec laughed at Chelsea, as she ran her hands over her neck, her skin was cracked in some places from the force of Paul's assault. Chelsea glared at him.

"Control him! His actions are on you now, he is yours."

Jane released Paul from her power as she turned to Chelsea.

"He didn't do anything wrong. Besides," She pointed to him lying on the floor with his eyes closed. "He already stopped."

Chelsea glared at the witch twins.

"He is tied to you now, your responsibility."

With that she left the chamber quickly, still rubbing her neck.

Alec turned to his sister and glanced at the wolf. Jane looked back at her brother, wearing the same quizzical look. They didn't like this. They were never not in control of a situation, but with this creature…it was hard to say.

"Let's go to father." Alec nodded at his sisters reasoning, he always told them what to do; he would know what to do now. Alec turned to the wolf, "come".

Paul opened a single eye and looked up just in time to see the witch twins speed out of the chamber. He groaned and pushed up off the floor, recognizing the need to follow them he cursed them to hell and back. Pushing a hand against his head he walked slowly into the hallway.

"What the fuck have they done to me. And how in the godforsaken bleeding hell am I going to get out of it?"

He took a deep breath and followed the scent of the leeches.