Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Any other characters, settings etc. are property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Last time:
One thing was for sure. I would have to watch my back since I now had a declared enemy —not that I didn't know it before.
I went back to my book and forgot about fights, Jane, and threats, if only for a moment.
Real life was sometimes more unfortunate than Shakespeare's tragedies.
Who would've thought?
~X~
Chapter 10:
I was curled up on the library floor reading a Jane Austin novel when Felix came in making a beeline for me. In a lithe move I stood up and waited for him to reach me. I knew he came searching for me; no one else was in the room.
"Aro wants you to go with us to Venice," he said, without preamble.
"Why?" I asked, warily.
"There have been rumors of a…disturbance. We must go and investigate."
"Why me? I am not part of your team."
"Aro wants you to observe, not to be part of the action," he explained. "Besides, I wouldn't allow you to fight. You are not prepared," he added.
I said nothing in response. I needed to think.
I had only left the grounds of Hell to go hunting in the nearby forest. Going away, to another city, was another issue altogether. I didn't know if I was ready for it.
On the other hand, to see the Volturi in action was an opportunity too good to pass up.
"Well?" Felix asked, impatiently.
"How long will we be away?"
"As long as it is necessary," Felix answered matter-of-factly.
"When do we leave?" I asked, thinking I needed to hunt before going out into the world.
"Now," Felix said.
"Now? Impossible. I need to feed before leaving."
"You could feed on the way." He was probably thinking I could feed the way they did when going on these missions. Humans could be found almost anywhere.
It made me sick.
"Is this disturbance in a rural area?"
"No. We are going to the city."
"Then I need to feed before we leave," I said, determined to have it my way.
Felix hesitated before agreeing. "You have an hour." He shook his head. "Jane will not like the delay," he murmured more to himself than to me.
I smiled at this notion. "Oh, little Jane is going with us! How nice," I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm, as I made my way out the room.
Felix stayed silent.
Once in the forest, I was lucky to find a herd of Red Deer nearby. I overfed to tamp down on the blood craving I most likely would encounter and prayed I'd be strong enough.
During the past months I had methodically approached humans to awaken the blood lust in me. I even willingly closed up the distance between them and me and fought a hell of a battle with my inner demon. I've been victorious so far, but the circumstances had happened under my controlled setting. I did it to build my will power.
Now, with this trip happening away from my familiar surroundings, I was unsure of my inner strength. But I felt I needed to do it.
I was back, forty minutes later. The 'team' was formed by Jane, Felix, Demetri and Alec—they were already waiting for me in the back garden. Felix handed me a black woolen robe meant to cover my sparkling skin. It was past midnight, but we would need it if we had to travel during the day.
I grabbed the garment and held it in my hand.
"It's about time," Jane spat. "We have no time to lose, especially to comply with your wishes." She gave me a look of hatred that was transferred from me to Felix.
For a moment I thought she was going to punish Felix for letting me go hunting without her consent, but she was able to control her temper. Felix let out a sigh of relief as she turned around and walked away from us..
I gave Felix an apologetic smile and joined the procession toward the unknown situation.
We traveled on foot, sometimes crossing in the middle of the city, and sometimes taking shortcuts through the forest. The night was moonless, serving as a cloak to our inhuman pace. We wouldn't get away with it if it were daytime.
We reached our destination in just a couple of hours. It was before dawn when we stopped in the outskirts of the city.
Venice was a beautiful sight; the Gothic architecture of the ancient buildings surrounded by water looked surreal. I'd seen it before —with my parents. But seeing it again with my improved vision was something else.
Demetri took a deep breath. "South," he said.
"Look for a gondola," Jane ordered.
Demetri left in search of the unnecessary means of transport. I looked at Felix, silently asking for an explanation. We could just go under water and reach our destination. We didn't need to breathe, and the cold and wetness didn't bother us.
Felix understood my silent question. He smiled. "If you breathed, you would understand."
I had been holding my breath since we left Volterra. I didn't trust myself in case we encountered unexpected humans.
Curious to know what he was talking about, I took a brief sniff and regretted it. I immediately seized my breathing and crunched up my nose as the foul smell lingered in my nostrils.
Felix smiled. "This part of the city is ancient. It does not have a sewer system; household waste flows into the canal and—"
"I get it!" I interrupted him. And to think I always thought this was the most romantic place on earth. Humans were so lucky with their limited sense of smell.
Jane smiled at my disappointed expression. "Be our guest if you want to bathe in excrement," she told me.
I glared at her and felt the impulse to push her into the canal, but Demetri arrived with a gondola, and we boarded it before I succumbed to my hostile urges.
In silence, we made our way to the south part of the city. People were slowly starting the new day. Demetri slowed his rowing pace to make it look more natural as lights started to bright the small windows of the ancient buildings.
As we approached our destination, our surrounding became more and more desolate. Demetri settled the gondola next to some stone stairs and we disembarked with a swift grace. We ascended in a dead silence and then walked for a while until we reached an older looking building that resembled an abandoned warehouse.
I stood a few feet behind and observed —that was my role.
Felix, with striking speed, walked around to cover the back part of the building, placing himself between the structure and the beach. The ocean could be seen imposing in the horizon. Demetri walked slowly toward the front followed by Jane and Alec.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Jane sang in a melodic tone.
Two seconds passed and suddenly three forms came out flying from different spots. Debris rained all over the place as they broke through walls and windows.
In less than a second one of the rogue vampires rammed into Felix with vicious strength trying to knock him down. Felix, anticipating this move, grabbed the vampire by the neck and slammed him against the ground.
At the same time, Demetri took care of the second rogue, handling him in the same matter Felix had done.
The third vampire ran straight to Jane, but he didn't even get to touch a hair on her head. She used her power and now he was twisting with pain a few feet from the angelic looking vampire.
Felix and Demetri, dragged their prisoners and dumped them on the ground next to the one still twisting in pain. Since Jane now had more toys to play with, she delivered a jolt of pain to the newcomers. It was unquestionably Jane's sense of equality— sadistic equality.
I stayed a few yards from the action —observing, and although I could only see Jane's back, I could sense the enjoyment pouring from her. She was delighted to have strong vampires literally on their knees right at her feet. She was powerful, and she relished that knowledge.
"Who is your maker?" she asked in sweet tones, as if she hadn't spent a few moments torturing them with her power.
At their silence, she hit them with a new round of pain.
"Stop!" one of them screamed. He was able to talk when Jane released him to attack the one on his right. "Please," he added.
Jane stopped her torture and turned to the one speaking. "A little piece of advise…I dislike repeating myself," she informed him.
The vampire —his face still contorted with pain—nodded. "Her name was Augusta," he whispered.
"Was?" Jane asked.
"She…she," he gulped. "She is deceased."
"Tell me something," Jane continued her interrogation. "Didn't Augusta tell you, before she departed, that killing humans carelessly is against our law?"
The fool stayed quiet, but even I knew he was planning to lie. Jane hit him with a surge of pain. "Don't you dare lie to me," she said, with a steely calmness.
After he recovered enough to talk he confessed. "She did. She talked about following rules but we didn't believe her. Her mate had abandoned her, and she went crazy. That's why she turned us. She said we looked like her mate. I tell you, she was crazy. How were we supposed to know she was serious when she said there were laws for us to follow? We are superior after all."
"An unfortunate mistake on your part," Jane said. "You left a trail of blood and carnage all the way from England. And you are going to pay a high price for this extreme behavior."
Her nod toward Felix and Demetri was subtle, but I didn't miss it. Neither did their prisoners.
"What are you—" He didn't finish his question as shock set in when Felix and Demetri decapitated his companions with their bare hands. In a split second he made his decision and tried to bolt out of a surely deadly situation. Jane, being Jane, let him believe he had a chance at freedom; he was about to dive into the ocean before she stopped him with her power. Felix took care of him after that.
They didn't have the opportunity to argue their case. They were captured, judged and executed without a trial —not that they didn't deserve to die. But the way they were disposed of…it was wrong.
In the human world, even the most vicious criminal is considered innocent until proven guilty. In the vampire world the Volturi ruled.
They killed humans and their own kind without a trace of regret.
Sick bastards.
~X~
The news about Leco's boss being a fricking vampire was shocking to say the least. What were the odds?
Edward started the car and I shook myself out of the awful news. "Wait!" I told him. "We need to go back there and rescue the blonde before Leco takes her to the vampire."
"Bella is right," Seth seconded me.
"You don't have to worry." Edward made a disgusted face. "Upon meeting you, Leco discarded the plans he had with the human girl. He won't settle for anyone else but you."
That was comforting —at least for the girl.
"Let him try to get close to Bella," Seth said. "And I will kill him just for trying."
"Not if I killed him first," Edward added.
"Stop that!" I told both of them. "I told both of you, nobody is killing anyone." I looked out the windshield and drummed my fingers on my thigh. "What we need is a plan."
"I suggest we leave before they enter the parking lot, thus finding us in a conspiratorial situation," Edward pointed out.
He was right. We needed to go. "Are you sure the girl is safe?" I asked him once more.
"Yes." His face was a mask of fury. "I read Leco's mind and he was already planning on dropping off the girl immediately so he could get all the information about you from Carlos and plan his next step."
"All right. Let's go to my house," I told him.
Edward started the car and drove smoothly out of the building, while Seth made a phone call to Jake asking him to meet us at my house in fifteen minutes. I glared at him because he was getting Jacob involved in a dangerous situation without even consulting with me. He just ignored me.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Edward tensing; disliking the idea of Jake's involvement as much as I did. But his reasons were probably not concerning the werewolf's well being.
Fifteen minutes later Edward parked his Volvo in my driveway, behind my truck.
I really wanted to take care of this awful mess by myself —the time I spent with the Volturi taught me a thing or two about vampires, but knowing Seth and the little I knew Edward, it was going to be close to impossible to convince them to leave this in my hands. They were two stubborn males, and I wasn't even counting Jake in the picture yet.
I opened the front door and gestured the way in. Seth walked in and Edward stopped next to me. "After you," he said softly.
I walked in and he closed the door behind us.
Seth, already sitting on the couch, spoke first. "Let's not start planning until Jake gets here."
"You shouldn't have involved Jacob in this," Edward told Seth. I agreed with him but didn't comment about it.
Seth rolled his eyes. "As if I were able to keep any secrets."
Edward raised an eyebrow. "Amazing," he said. "Does it work when you are in your human form?"
Seth scowled. "Stop reading my mind! Jake will have my ass if I give away secrets of the pack." He then hooded his eyes and smiled.
Edward laughed.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"Seth started playing scenes in his mind of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to keep his mind away from the secrets of the pack —a very smart strategy mainly because I disliked that show so much."
"Really? I've watched reruns of Buffy with Seth, and I think it is a good show." I was not going to admit that the reason I watched Buffy was because I had a crush on Angel; the tall, handsome and dark haired vampire. I didn't want Edward getting ideas on my preferences.
"Why—? His question was cut off by the noise of footsteps on the gravel outside the house. The kitchen door opened and Jacob came in wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts, and nothing else, which meant he arrived here in his wolf form. His long black hair was dripping with rain, small beads of water running down his neck and bare chest.
He really was a beautiful male specimen.
He grabbed a kitchen towel and used it to dry himself with it. I turned my eyes from Jake and caught Edward looking at me…no... glaring at me in an accusatory manner. As if I was doing something wrong by admiring my friend's physique. I love Jacob as a brother, but he wasn't my brother. Besides, he was beautiful. And I didn't need to make excuses for appreciating a good body when I saw one. I glared back at him and turned to sit on the love seat across from Seth.
Edward took the seat next to me instead of choosing the single chair, and Jake sat next to Seth on the couch. My good-sized couch looked tiny with two massive men sitting on it. Edward's form, although we were not touching felt too close to me and I thought about moving to the single chair but it was childish and too obvious to change seats.
Hadn't I just endured his touch for more than two hours in the movie theatre?
I stayed put.
"What's going on?" Jake asked. "And what is he doing here? He nodded toward Edward with disdain.
Seth, using some very colorful adjectives, explained in a rather short manner what happened at the theatre. Jacob cursed a few times and shook his head. Edward and I listened in silence.
"Fucking blood-sucking parasites!" Jake said, and sent an apologetic look my way. He didn't look at Edward instead he turned to Seth. "Again, why is he still here?"
"Well," Seth said, looking uncomfortable. "We know about this vampire because of Edward's mind reading abilities," he offered as an explanation.
Jake looked at Edward. "We'll take care of it. You can leave now."
Edward smiled and relaxed further into the seat cushion —a way to tell Jacob he was not going anywhere. "He is a vampire. We —the vampires—will take care of it."
Jacob rolled his eyes. "Do you think I am going to trust you with something as important as Bella's life? You will probably make this vampire aware of us, even help him escape."
I didn't think Edward would do that. He was so mad and disgusted when he told us about Leco and his vampire boss. Besides, why tell us about their evil plans if he wanted to protect them? He even talked about killing them.
"If I wanted to protect him, why tell you about him?" Edward asked, voicing my own thoughts.
"I dunno. Maybe cause you're stupid?" Jake retorted.
Edward tensed next to me and looked ready to sprint toward Jake. He didn't seem to take insults easily. It was time for me to intervene. "Jake, stop the insults right now. We know about this awful mess thanks to Edward, the least we could do is be civil to him."
Jacob grunted and Edward sat back in his seat.
"All right," Jake said. "Seth and I will follow this Leco's scent, find the vampire and kill them both. Easy, fast and effective."
"Yes! Let's go," Seth said, eagerly and stood up.
"Seth, sit down," I told him in a firm tone.
"But the sooner we get this solve the better," he explained.
"Please. Sit down?" I asked once more in a softer tone.
He sat back down.
"Bella…" Jake started to argue.
I stopped him mid-sentence. "Jake, listen to me." I looked into his eyes so he'd understand how serious I was. "I will not allow, and I repeat, will not allow you and Seth to place yourself in danger on my behalf."
Jake shook his head and was about to interrupt me. "Jake, listen! I will not." When I was sure he really was listening I continued. "We know nothing about this vampire. We don't know how powerful he is…and I don't mean physically," I added when he was about to interrupt me again. "You don't know this, but there are vampires with unthinkable powers all over the world."
"Like reading minds?" Jake spat, throwing a disgusted look at Edward.
"Yes. Like reading minds, or looking into the future," I said, thinking of Alice.
"But not our future," Seth added smugly, letting Edward know I had informed my friends that his sister powers were ineffective when applied to them.
I felt Edward's eyes on me and I couldn't help but look at him. The hurt expression on his eyes made me feel guilty about revealing his sister weakness to my friends. But I shouldn't feel guilty, I told myself. I was just looking out for my friends' well being.
Then why did I feel remorseful?
I shook myself internally and turned to look a Jake. "Most of their powers aren't actually physical; they take place inside the mind. Some have offensive skills and some defensive."
"What do you mean?" Jake asked suddenly interested.
"It means that they could use their mental power on you to disable your physical abilities, leaving you defenseless, and at their mercy," Edward explained before I could.
The mental picture of my friends at the mercy of vicious vampires sent unpleasant shivers down my spine.
Jake frowned. "Maybe we're immune to their powers as we are to your sister's," he said.
"As immune as you are to my power?" Edward asked instead, reminding him that he could read his mind perfectly.
Jake scowled at him at the reminder.
"Look, guys," I said. "There are vampires who use their mental powers to confuse you and kill you without you lifting a hand in defense. Others mess with your mind to make you think you are feeling excruciating physical pain, leaving you cringing on the ground because your brain says you are in pain. The killing after that is easy."
The look of disgust in my friends' faces made me cringe, but they needed to know the reality of the situation. "I know a female vampire, she can turn friends against each other, or make you think your enemy is your friend."
"That's just fucked up!" Seth exclaimed.
"Some vampires also have physical powers," Edward added.
"Yes," I said. "Super powerful strength," I was thinking of Felix.
"No," Edward corrected me. "They can actually manipulate the elements. Physically."
"Really? I've never heard of someone with that kind of power," I said. "Who is he or she?
Edward looked around uncomfortably, setting his eyes on Seth and Jake. He didn't want to discuss vampires' secrets with the werewolves either. I could respect that.
"Overall," I said, bringing the attention back to me. "We don't know what this vampire's power is about, or if he has any at all. We need to be careful."
Jacob looked at Seth and there was a silent understanding between them. I knew they couldn't read each other's mind in human form, but whatever passed between them it was as clear as if they have spoken aloud. Seth nodded.
Edward, on the other hand, didn't have any problems reading their mind when they were in their human form. "Getting the whole pack involved will not help. It might complicate things instead."
"Stop reading my mind, you rude blood sucker," Jake spat angrily.
Edward shrugged unrepentant. "Keep your thoughts to yourself."
"Enough!" I told both of them. "Here is what we are going to do. We are going to let Leco approach me and let him believe he is wrapping me in his little web. Then I will let him take me to the vampire."
"No! No fucking way. You got to be kidding," was yelled at me, in unison, by the three angry males sitting in my living room.
I rolled my eyes. "I won't be in any danger. Although it is hard to believe," I told Jake and Seth, "vampires generally don't attack other vampires unless provoked. Not knowing your opponents powers makes you think twice before attacking. It's a self-preservation issue."
"Exactly," Edward said. "You don't know what this vampire's powers are. It's too risky."
I knew that, but I couldn't think of any other way to find out how to stop this madness. And I had to stop him. No way was I going to let more victims fall to their doom. I shook my head almost absently. "I have to stop him," I murmured.
"We," Jake corrected me.
"I think, first, we have to gather all the information we can about this vampire before we even start planning on how to stop him," Edward said. He looked at me specifically. "You will not take unnecessary risks."
I gave him an annoyed look. "And do you have any suggestions about how to proceed, then?"
"Alice," he simply said. A smugly smiled curved his lips.
Of course! Her visions would come in handy. "How does her power work, exactly?" I asked.
"She would explain it better than I can," Edward said. A mask of calmness filled his features, but I knew he didn't want to talk about her sister's powers in front of their enemy.
"What are you waiting for?" Jake asked. "Call her in."
Edward turned to look at him. "As Seth pointed out before, Alice's visions tend to disappear when your kind is around." He actually sounded happy about this little fact.
Jake had nothing to respond about this.
I stood up. "Why don't you guys go home and rest while Edward and I talk to Alice about this?"
Edward stood up and so did Seth. "Bella is right, Jake. Besides, we need to give the full report to Sam."
Jake glared at him. "Don't give out too much information."
Seth rolled his eyes. "As if that will stop him from reading my mind."
Jake turned to me. "Call us as soon as the fortune teller gives you all the information," he told me." He started walking toward the back door beside Seth. Before he exited he turned around. "And don't you dare doing anything without us," he added.
He knew me so well.
I smiled but did not promise a thing.
As soon as the back door closed I turned to look at Edward. "Let's go see your sister."
He gestured the way. "After you."
Once inside the Volvo Edward's presence and scent became almost uncomfortable without Seth acting as a distraction. I lowered the passenger window a bit, to let the outside air downplay the intoxicating smell that filled my senses.
I was glad Edward didn't comment on my sudden urge to breathe the outside air. "Do you think Alice will be able to tell us something about this vampire? How do her visions work?" I asked when the silence inside the car only made me fixate on Edward's closeness.
"I'm not sure why she hasn't picked up glimpses of a vampire being in the vicinity," he answered referring to my first question. "It must be that he is not close by. But once we tell her about his existence and the plans Leco has laid about you, she will be able to see."
"Oh, so she needs to know about someone or something in order to see the future?"
"Yes. Visions of the future don't come to her sporadically. She has to know what she is looking for in order to see into it. Once she focuses on this vampire's existence and the plans he might have for you when Leco reports back to him, we will know what to expect."
I had to admit that to know how things will develop beforehand was an extremely useful weapon when you're about to confront the enemy. Aro would love to have Alice in his service. "It's a pretty nice trick," I said.
Edward smiled as he exited the main road, driving into a side road made up of just dirt; deep vegetation surrounded both sides of it.
The road ended into a clearing where a big colonial house stood in the middle of it surrounded by a beautiful garden. The mansion was three stories high, painted white. Huge windows were the predominant fixtures of the building —with the isolation around it, being touched by sunrays while in the privacy of your home was not a concern for the Cullens.
As soon as Edward parked the car, Alice came out of the house with a frown on her face. "About time you got rid of those wolves," she told Edward.
It seemed that as soon as my friends left my side, she was able to see the reason for my visit. Good!
"What can you tell us about this vampire?" Edward asked.
Her frown became more pronounced. "Nothing."
"What do you mean?" Edward asked.
"I don't know," she said shaking her head. "As soon as the Wolves disappeared from your company, I was able to see you and Bella coming to ask me about this vampire. I tried to focus on getting information about him, but just saw a hazy glimpse. It was as if he were surrounded by a thick fog I can't penetrate."
Carlisle, followed by Emmett and Jasper, came out of the house. "Hello," he whispered.
I nodded a greeting but focused back to Alice. "What does that mean? Do you need more information about him to see what he is about?"
"No. Knowing of his existence should have been enough," she explained.
"Then?" I asked.
Carlisle answered instead of her. "It could mean that he is a very powerful shield, whose gift is strong enough to hide him from Alice's visions."
"It may also explain how he has kept his presence under the Volturi's radar," Jasper added. "If he has people working for him, he must have some type of organization going on. The Volturi would not be happy with this."
Of course they wouldn't. In their eyes, any type of organized clan would pose a threat to their well-structured system. Only they had the right to grow in masses.
"We don't know what he is using these girls for," Emmett commented. "Maybe they are just food to him."
Disgusting.
"No," Edward said. "He wouldn't go to the trouble of hiring humans like Leco, spend a fortune, just to kill them at the end." He shook his head disgusted as I was. "He must use them for something else."
Probably for prostitution, I thought. "Those girls need to be rescued," I said, to myself.
Edward turned to me. "You must take into consideration that there is a possibility that those girls, if they are still alive, probably are not human anymore."
"That is a most likely scenario," Jasper said. "He must be building an army of vampires. What we don't know is why."
An army.
Just then, Esme came out of the house and walked straight to me. "Bella, how nice to see you again," she said, smiling sweetly at me. She turned to Carlisle. "Where are your manners, honey?" She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the house. "Come inside where you can talk comfortably about these ugly turn of events."
I wanted to refuse her invitation, but simply couldn't. The rest of the party followed us inside.
"Please, sit," Esme gestured to the white couch Rosalie vacated as soon as I came in. I sat down and Alice took the spot next to me. Carlisle and Esme sat on the opposing couch while Edward and the rest stayed standing.
I didn't think there was anything else to talk about. Alice couldn't help with her visions and that was that. But I didn't seem to be able to be rude to Esme. I don't know why. I guessed it was the maternal vibe she emitted that made you say 'yes mom' although you didn't want to.
"Well," I said, after everyone settled in their place. "Since Alice cannot help me with her visions, I guess it will have to be done the old fashion way with some luring, baiting and hooking."
"Definitely not! It's too dangerous." Edward said, as he perched on the couch's arm, where Carlisle and Esme were sitting. "If this vampire can cloak his presence from Alice, he is indeed very powerful. No one, not even the Volturi, can hide from her."
"Jake and his pack can," I reminded him.
Edward dismissed my argument with a shrug of his shoulders. "They are more animal than human. It doesn't count."
Arrogant son of a… "Animals are nobler than vicious blood sucking leeches, whose selfishness has no limits," I all but shouted.
"It's only a fact, Bella," Edward said, in a conciliatory tone. "Werewolves, because of their shape shifting abilities are able to disrupt Alice's sense of reality; therefore their future is nonexistent in her visions."
When I didn't argue his logical explanation he continued. "This vampire, on the other hand, is hiding purposely. And that makes him dangerous."
"And you think that my friends are not dangerous?" I asked, hurt by the statement that my friends didn't count as dangerous.
"Werewolves are very dangerous indeed," he said. "But your friends are just kids."
I couldn't argue with that.
Edward narrowed his eyes. "Are you planning on involving them in this?"
"Of course not!" I said, offended by his question. "I know how vicious vampires are. I wouldn't put my friends in jeopardy. This is something I have to do alone."
"What do you mean 'alone'? What about us?" Alice asked. Now she was the one who sounded offended.
I didn't think they wanted to get involved in this. Edward, after being inside Leco's mind, seemed genuinely concerned about the girls' fate. But I attributed it in part to his sense of chivalry due to his old age, and in part to his competitiveness with the werewolves.
"Do you want to help?" I asked Alice.
A chorus of 'of course', 'yeses' and 'hell yeah' (this last one coming from Emmett) erupted in the room.
Wow. I was speechless.
Edward moved from his spot and crouched down in front of me. His honeyed gaze fixed deeply with mine. "You are not alone, Bella. Not anymore. Not ever."
His voice was so deep with sincerity that made my whole body vibrate with emotion.
For the first time in a long, long time, I didn't feel quite so alone.
A/N: Thanks to Marijee
I sincerely apologize for the delay. A shattered screen (my laptop R.I.P.) was the cause of it. Soon, I will be able to replace it. In the mean while, I will continue sharing the old desk top with three other people in the household. But will continue with the story.
Thanks for your understanding
n