EPOV

At last, my family and the Denali's had arrived back from their hunting escapades. Carlisle and Esme were the first to enter, followed by Carmen, Eleazar, Emmett, Jasper, Kate and Garrett. Tanya trailed in after the others. I looked around to try and see if Irena was anywhere to be found, but didn't see her among us.

"Carlisle," I said, standing up from the couch, "It is my honor to introduce you to my good associate and friend, Adalfieri. He is the leader of the Twelve Princes; my father's associates from Chicago."

Carlisle came forward with Esme by his side and shook Adal's hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet the leader of Edward's fine coven," Adal said strongly, "I have heard so many wonderful things about his family. I am so happy to finally be able to put faces too all of the names. Please, allow me to introduce you to my lovely wife, Samantha."

She stood tall and slender next to her husband, the light of the room magnifying the many shades of her shoulder-length ginger hair. She smiled and swept her side bangs out of her eyes with her long, delicate fingers. Her red eyes were a piercing feature against the contrast of her lovely ivory skin, which was naturally pale even against the peachy satin wrap-around dress that so elegantly adorned her petite form.

"I am so happy to be here," she smiled, "You have a lovely home, Esme." She gave Esme a glance and looked away demurely.

Esme smiled at her in return and graciously accepted the compliment with happy eyes.

"This is my dear brother, and right-hand-man, Vicenzo," Adal continued, gesturing to a slender, younger-looking man to his right, who was indeed his literal flesh and blood brother (well, at one time, blood, but the same principle still applied even after the immortal change they had both undergone). "And this is his companion, Natalie."

Natalie lifted her hand and waved, smiling. Her energetic personality matched her short, spiky purple hair which was as bright as her deep, crimson eyes. I saw Esme staring at the tattoo on her right shoulder- a Celtic cross with a large green shamrock wrapped around the cross and three individual stars linked at the bottom of the cross.

"Hey," she said casually, "Congratulations Edward, on the marriage and all. And it's nice to meet you guys too." She took time to look each of my family members and other guests in the eyes. She was not shy, and could never be mistaken as such.

These two women, referred to in their group as the Wild Cards, were so similar to one another, and yet so different at the same time… 'Hot and Cool.' They were the perfect compliments to their mates as well as to one another. Their individual powers alone were something to be envied, but when they stood side-by-side, it could be argued that they were the most powerful force among our kind. Samantha was able to detect any falsehood in one's statements or mannerisms. Natalie was able to conquer people with her voice. If she could maintain eye contact with someone, she could ask them a question and the one being asked would lose all desire to lie to her. This pair really came in handy to the men, not just because they were splendid matches for each of them in every way, respectively, but also, they were incredible assets to the business. In a mafia-ish world such as the one the Twelve Princes worked in, it was handy to have Honesty on their side. No Lady Luck was required of them so long as they could keep their fairer counterparts happy. Indeed, it is often joked about among those that know these couples that the Wild Cards are 'The Business' who send the men out to do their bidding.

"And these are my ten associates," Adal said grinning.

Each of them stood and nodded toward everyone as their names were called.

"Alessio, Brizio, Fedele, Damiano, Ezzelin, Terenzio, Ambrogio, Casimiro, Eligius, and Sansone."

"We are so happy to have all of you in our home," Carlisle smiled.

The groups dispersed and mixed into one another's conversations. Adal and Vico were telling Carlisle and Eleazar of how they were changed. Vico had 'disappeared' from his family home one day. His entire family assumed that he had been kidnapped and murdered because of the nature of their family business. He appeared to be only nineteen even now, as when he had assumed to be taken. Adal was actually Vico's younger brother in mortality; younger by a whole six years. Vico wasn't kidnapped, but changed into a vampire by Natalie. She met him and fell in love with his strong character and charm. They have been deeply in love with one another ever since.

Ten years after his 'disappearance,' Vico longed to go home to see his family. He knew he would only ever be able to watch them from a distance, and accepted that. Natalie and her friend, Samantha, accompanied him on his trip. At seeing Vico's little brother, who by that time had become a strong, strapping man of twenty-three, Samantha knew it was love at first sight. She decided to take him as her own, and like the first pair, they have been eternal mates from that day forward.

A second disappearance of kin was a tragedy to the brothers' family, but a rich addition to Vico and the small gang of ten he changed based on their exceptional talents. Adalfieri was elected the leader, nominated by his own brother, and has retained that role ever since.

The group still kept their residence in Chicago, where they have owned a series of family businesses over the many generations. In fact, Vico, to this very day, is convinced that he developed the original Chicago-style deep dish pizza. I asked Natalie whether or not that was true once. She informed me that she had questioned him on it, and her only answer ever was, "Hey, he believes it. As far as I know, he is telling the truth."

It was past midnight when Samantha and Natalie approached me.

"Edward," Samantha said, "We have brought a gift. But it is not for you only. It is for the woman who is to become your wife as well. Speaking of such, where is your lovely bride-to-be?"

"I, uh…" I ran my fingers through my hair, not sure what to say.

It was then that the entire room turned toward the front door. My jaw dropped when I saw Bella walking through the threshold, smiling confidently and striding over to my side. I had never seen her this way before. She was followed by Alice and Rose, who stood behind her proudly, smiling triumphantly.

"Hello, everyone," Bella confidently chimed over the crowd, hushing the final debris of muffled conversations, "I'm so sorry I'm late."

...

A/N: A special thanks to mafiabitches, aka Samantha and Natalie. Their physical descriptions in this story are true to real life. Yes, even that tattoo is real! Their personalities fit these two characters perfectly and I just had to 'collect' them, lol! Thank you ladies, so much, for participating.

As for the Twelve Princes, they are not based on anyone in the real world or the world of established fiction. I picked their names based on what they mean. A list is provided below. I know that these men are not included in the canon version of the Twilight series. Nonetheless, I like to add my own characters to the stories sometimes to bring the plot to pass, but also to keep things fresh and fun.

...

THE TWELVE PRINCES

Adalfieri (Adal) = "noble oath" [There is a reason he is the leader, and it is because of his name… it will come to be fully explained later]

Vicenzo (Vico) = "conqueror"

Alessio = "defender"

Ambrogio = "immortal"

Brizio = "craftsman"

Casimiro = "commands peace"

Damiano = "to tame or subdue" but euphemistically, his name means "to kill"

Eligius = "to choose"

Ezzelin = "noble one"

Fedele = "faithful"

Sansone = "like the sun"

Terenzio = "twist"

...

Thank you all for reading!

Until next time,

Stephanie