Chapter 10: Donovan Speaks

"Good night Dr. Cullen!"

"Good night Mary-Ann. I'll see you tomorrow." said Carlisle as he departed with a small grin on his face. The Cullen patriarch walked out the emergency care unit and into the parking lot, his eyes going straight for his car as he passed by a few ambulances.

"Hmm . . . Esme called me an hour ago saying the talk with Aurora went great," mumbled the head Cullen as he checked the time on his watch. "It's only a little after six. Maybe she's still at the house."

Carlisle dug his keys out of his pocket and used it to unlock his car door. Once he got himself buckled up and had his key in the car's ignition, he drove out the barely busy parking lot and drove straight home. Once he finally arrived at the Cullen household, he parked his car beside Aurora's Camaro and stepped out to get hit face first with a gush of wind from the west. He let a small smile come across his face as soon as he saw his wife slowly walking up.

"How was your day Carlisle?" asked Esme as she stopped a few mere feet away from him.

"It was wonderful Esme . . ." said Carlisle as he walked up to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. ". . . And what about you? How has your day been going?"

"It's been going very well. Aurora has actually taken the news that we're vampires quite nicely," answered Esme as the two walked in to their home. "She and Alice are currently in Alice's room working on a school project."

"I see . . ." said Carlisle as the two walked into the living room. That's when he noticed that he didn't hear that much vocal activity going around the house. "Hmm . . . everyone's not here. Did something come up?"

"Nessie, Bella, Rosalie, and the boys are currently looking through the woods for a vampire that appeared a few yards away from the house earlier." answered Esme as she combed her fingers through her hair.

"Do we know him?" asked Carlisle as he raised an eyebrow.

"Edward says he didn't recognize him." answered Esme as she crossed her arms.

"What does he look like?" asked Carlisle as Esme walked over to the coffee table.

"Aurora did us a huge favor by actually sketching the man's face for us," answered Esme as she took up a piece of paper from the table. She then walked back over to Carlisle, handing the paper over to him so that he could take a look. "Do you recognize him?"

"Not at all . . ." said Carlisle as he shook his head. "I've never seen this man before in my entire existence. But I will admit; Aurora really does have a talent in sketch work."

"I know; everyone was impressed with it the picture as soon as they saw it," said Esme as she took the picture back from her husband. "But . . . who in the world could this man possibly be."

"I think I may know the answer."

Carlisle and Esme instantly turned around to see Donovan leaning along the doorframe, a serious expression on his face as he looked at the couple.

"How did you get in here?" asked Esme as she looked at the young Volturi member.

"I simply let myself in," answered Donovan as he eyed the paper in his hand. "I was just running through the area when I caught whiff of a new vampire in the area. I thought he was a member of your coven until his smell stopped a few feet back into the woods."

"I see . . ." said Carlisle as he showed Donovan the photo. "Do you know who this man is?"

"Hmm . . . he looks familiar actually," said Donovan as he scrunched his eyebrows together. "The facial features . . . they look . . . Russian."

"Russian?" asked Esme as she raised an eyebrow. "We do not know any Russian vampires. . . Carlisle?"

"No . . . we don't," said Carlisle as he looked at Donovan. "Do you?"

"Hmm . . . I don't know the story well myself since I've been keeping an eye on Aurora for the past few months," muttered Donovan as he shook his head. "But I have been getting messages from my comrades. There have been rumors of a coven forming around the St. Petersburg area or Russia in the past year. Aro has sent vampires to investigate the claim, but nothing really substantial has been found."

"Really . . ." asked Carlisle as he raised an eyebrow at Donovan. "Nothing at all?"

"Nope . . . the most they have found has been a few Russian nomads, but signs of an actual coven haven't been found yet," answered Donovan as he headed for the exit. "Many years ago, Aro met with two Russian brothers. The older one, whose name was Alexi I believe, wanted to establish his own coven in Russia, so he and his brother Andrei sought out the Volturi to learn about what a coven was like from them. They arrived about ten years after you left for America Carlisle and stayed with the Volturi for about five years . . . until the incident happened."

"Incident?" asked Esme as she slowly cocked her head to the side. "What incident?"

"Oh . . . just a little assassination attempt gone bad," answered Donovan as he shrugged his shoulders. "Alexi felt that he had a strong chance at becoming ruler of the Volturi if he could get Aro out of the way, but Aro managed to get wind of his plan and killed him when Alexi finally tried to make his move. It was soon revealed that Andrei absolutely had no idea that his brother tried to hijack the Volturi leadership, and so, he was spared . . . but he was also banned from ever starting a coven in response to his brother's actions. That was the last time anyone has ever heard from Andrei."

"He hasn't been seen since?" asked Carlisle as he crossed his arms.

"Not since that night he left the Volturi. The last time anyone has seen him was about 200 years ago outside of Moscow. Since then . . . no communication from him whatsoever, like he never existed." answered Donovan as he turned back around.

"Why are you telling us this now?"

Carlisle, Esme, and Donovan all turned around to see Alice standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips as Aurora stood a few feet behind her just surveying the scene.

"Simple . . . Aro wanted me to tell you people," answered Donovan. "He believes this piece of information will definitely help you in the near future."

"A coven we would least suspect . . ." said Alice as her eyes began to widen.

"What better coven that you would not suspect than a coven that probably never existed at all," answered Donovan as he shrugged his shoulders. "Something is going on in Russia that has yet to be figured out. But one thing's for certain . . . it'll involve Aurora."

"Me . . . why me?" asked Aurora as she turned to Alice.

"Oh . . . you haven't told her yet?" asked Donovan as he raised an eyebrow. "Hmm . . . I see . . . I guess you have a lot of explaining to do . . . I'll see you at school tomorrow."

And with that, Donovan ran past Aurora and Alice and out the room, leaving a gush of wind in his wake and a few questions unanswered.

"Alice . . . you never mentioned that Donovan was a vampire . . ." said Aurora as she fixed back her hair.

"Yeah . . . I guess so," said Alice as she scratched the back of her neck for no apparent reason. "I guess I owe you another explanation."

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