So here is the next chapter...please be kind. I am not entirely happy with how it turned out but I can't stand to look at it any longer so hopefully it isn't too much of a diaster.
Please read and review and all that jazz!
Chapter 7: simmering suspicion
It is wise not to seek a secret and honest not to reveal it. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)
Green and brown whirred together; the trees were barely distinguishable from the mossy ground they grew from at this speed. Her olfactory sense in this form was far sharper than it was normally allowing her to catch and easily categorized the litany of different scents. Bark, mold, mildew, dew….vampire. It was the last one that made her slow her loping strides and circle back.
I caught something she sent her thoughts over to the pack mate that was currently on patrol with her.
The deep tenor (and wasn't that a surprise? She had never thought that thoughts could carry a tone and presence before she had changed) of Jake's thought bounced back to her, "What is it? A leech?"
"Yeah….it's on our side of the border too" she growled back in annoyance. Just what did those blood suckers think they were trying to pull? They had made the treaty for a reason. Wasn't it enough that the bastards had moved here and effectively ruined her live and any chance at happiness?
She felt her wolf itch wanting to unleash her primal urge to find one of the sweet smelling biters and tear them apart. Of course she knew that it wouldn't happen….she was far too obedient to break any of dear Sam's rules. She thought the last name with no small amount of bitterness.
Come on Leah! Can't we get through one freaking patrol without you going all maudlin and psycho on me?
Leah sent him a colorful string of expletives, letting him know just how much she appreciated that comment. Hell it wasn't her fault that the alpha bastard went and imprinted on her beautiful cousin.
One day they were happy and talking about when everyone was arriving for their wedding…the next, Sam was making out with her bridesmaid not even bothering to let her know they were over. It was just another kick to the stomach that it was one of her own family that betrayed her like that…she knew she had always had reason to mistrust her cousin. Guess she should have listened to that instinct.
Fuck you Jacob…I've been forced to listen to your pitiful whining about the stupid Swan girl for the past several months. Oh poor me…Bella doesn't even care….running off to be with Edward…oh boo hoo…. Leah threw back knowing that it was a little bit of a low blow but hell, she was sick of the pack ragging on her about Sam not having a choice. What bullshit. He might not have had a choice to love Emily but he sure as hell could have let her know before she caught him sucking face the week before their wedding.
There was silence over the wolf mind connect and Leah sighed to herself feeling a little guilty, Look Jake I'm sorry that was low…ignore me just pissed off that one of the leeches would flaunt the rules in our face by stepping over the line
There was a long minute of silence before she felt Jacob relent, Yeah, I hear you…hang on I'm almost there…
A few minutes later a large russet wolf loped over to where she was pacing and lowered his head sniffing around the area for a few second before letting out a low growl. Your right…definitely a blood sucker, though I don't recognize the scent….could be one of the leeches I haven't met..." Jacob's thoughts trailed off and Leah got flashes of a pixie like girl and the bronze haired vampire.
She knew that they must be Alice and Edward from the descriptions Sam had used to warn her about them when she had first turned. In truth she had never actually met any of the Cullen's in person …she hadn't actually met any vampire before. She had heard the story about how Jake and the boys had ripped the interloper vampire apart but of course hadn't been included.
She could tell from the tense pacing of the russet wolf in front of her that he was an inch away from losing control…she knew that ever since the leeches and Bella (she felt her lips curl around her sharp teeth at the thought of the Swan girl…in her mind she was just as bad as Sam…stringing Jacob along…) had returned from Italy, Jake had been itching for a fight.
If he didn't let of some steam soon he was going to end up exploding when his father was near him or someone else innocent…like her little brother. That was not acceptable. She paused when she arrived at a possible solution, Well why don't we go find them and remind them about the treaty…
You know Sam will tear us a new one if we start something without his permission Jacob shot back but didn't stop his pacing, Leah could sense the desire her words had caused.
Who say's we're going to start anything? We're just going to drop by with a verbal reminder…if they attack first then it's only fair that we defend ourselves. Plus we'll just follow this scent and see where it leads…Leah wheedled and smirked (well as much as was possible in wolf form) when she felt Jacob break.
Fine…we're just going to see where it leads…not going to approach them yet, at least not when we are outnumbered Jacob finally agreed causing Leah to let out a bark of glee.
I mean it Leah...Jake thought sternly.
Leah grinned back at him, Yeah, yeah… before breaking into a run. This was just what she needed….
A distraction
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Severus felt himself sneer as he looked up at the wasted extravagance of the Cullen home. And that was what it was…wasted. Back when he was human…well far enough back that he still held naïve ideals and dreams… he might have been able to appreciate the clean lines and flowering garden out front.
True he had been little more than a child at that point in his life and would have latched onto anything to help distract him from his home life. Back then he was still able to hope for a happy ending…now, now he knew better.
"Stop trying to set it on fire with your glare Uncle Sev…it's far too early to resort to that…yet" Hayden teased brushing his forearm to get his attention.
Severus ignored his charges nettling instead turning the glare on the cheeky teen beside him, "...not the only thing I have wish to set fire to" he muttered ominously.
It failed to have the desired affect (something that happened a lot when it came to the green eyed hybrid) instead of cowing Hayden it just caused his grin to grow wider and the teen danced gracefully out of the way of the smack he knew was coming.
Severus was not the only one scowling at the impish troublemaker. "I don't understand why you are in such a good mood" Jane hissed at him as they made their way to the front door of the glass and wood monstrosity before them.
Any retort that Hayden was going to make was interrupted when the door swung open to reveal a petite caramel haired vampire with a heart-shaped face. She was smiling at them, although the smile looked a tad forced, "Please…come in, we were expecting you" she said and stepped aside to allow them entry.
Hayden had to give her some credit at how natural her welcome sounded, if he hadn't been trained by Ciedor in the art of lying and manipulation he might have believed it.
Hayden allowed his gaze to make a quick sweep of the room they'd entered. It was spacious…very spacious….and white. Honestly he thought they were trying a little too hard to distance themselves from the stereotypical vampire. He had always wanted to decorate his rooms back in Volterra with coffins and spider webs…he thought it would be amusing. Too bad Caius didn't agree.
His attention then turned to the rooms occupants…he of course saw the two older 'siblings' Rosalie and Emmet he believed they were named . Natalie as irritating as she was could be useful for obtaining information…apparently they had graduated but still stopped by once in and while to have lunch with the rest of the Cullen teens. The stupid bint of course hadn't realized just how ridiculous this was considering that she was not aware that none of the siblings couldn't actually eat lunch. Hayden wondered why they would do this but figured it was on some delusional command from their leader.
His gaze faltered slightly when he saw Jasper sitting tensely on one of the sofas beside the seerer, but he forced himself to continue his scan. No point on getting caught staring like a pubescent girl at the gorgeous blond…especially with Severus in the room. He would never live it down after his uncle got over his fit of suspicion towards the other vampire, that is. The kings weren't the only ones who took his 'well-being' seriously.
He noted a second blond male standing and approaching the group, he immediately guessed that this was the Carslie that he had heard Aro mention every now and again. The man radiated gentleness, although it wasn't enough to completely masks the traces of self-righteousness beneath it.
Hayden let out a soft snarl when he spotted the irritating human sitting on the second couch clinging to the mind reader's side. He couldn't believe this coven…what part of 'Volturi business 'not for those unchanged' did they not understand? Of course it was perhaps a tad hypocritical considering he was not exactly changed….
Although he had endured the god awful pain of his body trying to change, not to mention he had inherited many vampiric characteristics from it so he figured that covered him. He twisted his familiar ring in agitation; it was a habitual response when he was trying to control his anger. He had always been quick to ignite and had spent many hours with Severus learning occlumency not only to guard his thoughts but to help control his temper.
As effective as occlumency was at this, over the years it was becoming less and less proficient at dealing with his emotions. Severus thought it was because Hayden always had his shields up and his body was adapting to it…it wasn't natural to suppress emotions after all. He had found that playing with his ring was far more effective than trying to re-strengthen his shields was in helping him regain control.
"What is she doing here?" Jane spat saving Hayden from having to voice the same question.
Edward shifted uncomfortably but didn't say anything. It was actually Bella that answered the question, "I am part of this family… I have a right to be included" she stated her voice sounding snooty and prim to Hayden's ears, although he was sure she had meant for it to be soft and caring.
She went to say something else but Hayden decided that he had heard enough, "No" he cut her off, "…you do not have a right- as you put it…you're beloved family might enjoy flaunting the rules…as proven by the situation that brought us here in the first place, but we do not. This is a meeting ordered by the Volturi…we will not accept an idiotic human's presence." he stated saying the last bit to Carslie with a stony expression.
Carslie sighed sounding weary, "Edward…please take Ms. Swan back home and then return"
Edward looked extremely tense as though he wanted to argue but one look over at their four intimidating guests had him nodding with reluctance instead.
"b-but…" Bella splutter with indignation, "…That-that's not fair! He's not a vampire and is allowed to stay!"
Severus looked at the whining girl with distain, "remove her before I get rid of the problem completely" he drawled in a bored tone.
Bella gulped having no doubt about what he meant and shut her mouth glaring petulantly at Hayden before walking (stomping) towards the front door.
Edward let out an almost silent sigh and followed, leaving the remaining guests standing (or sitting) in tense silence.
"Was that really necessary?" Esme asked sounding distressed over the conflict going on between them and her family members, "I mean she will be one of us eventually…" she trailed off sounding unsure.
Her comment caused the snooty blond vampire and Jasper to glare, though Jasper's expression changed back to neutral so fast that Hayden almost thought he had imagined it. Curious….were not all of the Cullen's so happy with the thought of Edward changing Ms. Swan?
If so, the inseparable Cullen coven wasn't quite as solid as they liked others to think….Aro would be pleased.
"Yes it was necessary, as Hayden said we do not break the law like you're family seems to" Alec stated his voice flat, face expressionless. It was one thing about Alec; he always adopted this blank façade when he was around vampires outside the Volturi guard. No one outside their coven would ever suspect him of having a playful, childish side.
"No complaint here" Rosalie muttered under her breath earning her a disapproving look from Carlisle.
Alice cut in before Carlisle or Esme could add anything else that might make the tension in the air even more palpable.
"Shall we get to the reason we are all here? Or do you need to wait for Edward to get back? He should be back any momen…" She asked cheerfully directing her question at the twins.
No sooner had she finished and the front door swung open with more force then was probably polite. Edward came in not even trying to hide his displeasure at the situation.
"Ah….speak of the devil and all that…." Hayden stated perking up slightly now that his favorite target had returned. There was something about the sullen vampire that just begged to be pushed. Hayden had a feeling had he grown up around pranksters that he would have been great friends with them.
Edward sent him a hate filled glare and to his surprise received an angry look from Jasper. Shrugging off the family dynamics Hayden moved gracefully over to the now empty couch and settled down, "Ok…let's get started yes?"
"Why are you here?" Edward asked immediately sounding eerily reminiscent of the conversation Hayden had with them yesterday.
Hayden decided to sit back and let the others handle this he was much more interested in observing the coven and getting a better understanding for how they worked…or didn't work.
"I would think that was obvious" Severus stated snidely and Hayden bit back his shudder at the tone, he couldn't imagine having Severus's distain directed at him, it was enough to freeze the blood of much stronger men then he.
When none of the Cullen's answered Severus continued, "As you were made aware while you were in Italy, you broke Volturi law informing a human of our existence…" he ignored the covert glances in Hayden's direction, "therefore you must either kill or turn her, Aro has given you a year to do so…we are here to make sure that happens"
The last part of his sentence was almost drowned out by the exclamations of the 'parents' and Edward
"A year!" "That is too soon"
"Enough!" Hayden yelled over their protests, "yes a year…you are lucky to receive even that…Aro is not usually so lenient" he stated sharply effectively silencing the noise.
"Carlisle" Jasper stated in a warning tone.
Carlisle sighed, "Very well….a year…" he trailed off.
"Good…moving on, I have been made aware that there is a 'wolf pack in the area?" Severus continued his questioning.
All of the Cullen's seemed reluctant to answer that but eventually Jasper once again spoke up, "Yes…the Quileute tribe…they live on the reservation and we have a treaty with them.."
"Treaty?" Jane asked for the first time sounding interested in the conversation.
"Yes, we do not kill or hunt humans or cross the reservation lines and they leave us be, keeping our secret" Rosalie stated making it clear she did not approve of said treaty. Hayden had to admit it sounded that they didn't receive much on their end of things.
"Interesting…" Alec murmured, no doubt imaging going on a wolf hunt. Hayden sent him warning look making the vampire pout.
"What are you doing?" Edward finally spoke up sounding more than a little frustrated. Hayden smirked at the expression. Since they had arrived he had cast something that resembled an occlumency shield but could cover several people extending it to cover the twins and Severus…thus preventing Edward from reading any of their minds.
No doubt rather frustrating for the mind reader, Hayden only had to engage his own gift momentarily to read Edward's thoughts to see just how irritated the vampire was at the current situation.
While Hayden had always 'touched someone' to use his gift while he was with the Volturi, he didn't actually need to for his gift to work. It was just another layer of defense that Aro, Caius and Marcus wanted to keep secret in case they ever had need for it. This was why Hayden was so confused that his gift activated without him wanting it to when he touched Jasper but didn't when they weren't touching.
Technically he should be taking Jasper's empathy all the time if his gift was reacting to the vampire, not just when he touched him.
Hayden just smiled at the bronze haired vampire, "You should really learn not to invade other people's minds without permission Eddie" he stated in a sugary tone, "Someday…someone just might take offense"
The rest of the family was staring in confusion between Edward and Hayden until a light of understanding showed on Carlisle face. He had obviously just figured out that Hayden had somehow managed to block Edward from not only himself but the rest of their group.
"May I ask what…what exactly your purpose is with the Volturi?" the leader questioned cautiously, an eager expression on his face.
"…or what the hell he is" the big vampire muttered under his breath.
The twins on either side of Hayden tensed and let out a snarl at the question. Hayden laid a hand on both of their knees, "Easy lex..jane…" he murmured.
Severus once again chose to answer, "You may ask…but we do not need to tell..." he replied coldly before turning to the others of his group.
"I believe it is time we leave…Demetri should be back from his….trip" he stated the last word hesitantly. Demetri had travelled out to Alaska to see the Delani coven and check up on things for the kings. He had been gone most of the week and was suppose to return later today.
All three rose swiftly, almost in unison which would have been amusing if it didn't look so intimidating. The Volturi trained all of their members to be able to synchronize with each other and move as a single unit.
"Oh…and I assume you will let the little wolf pack know about us….tell them we look forward to meeting them" Jane stated sweetly just before she swept through the door.
Leaving a group of very unsettled vampires in her wake.
