Chapter 10
A few seconds after the attack that had come out of nowhere, Carlisle, Edward and Bella came back from their hunting. Emmett had run down the stairs as soon as Rosalie had walked inside.
"Rose! Are you okay?" This was the first time I'd ever heard Emmett genuinely scared and worried. He bounded quickly over to her and gathered her up in a hug.
"I'm fine, thanks to Demetri," she said.
Emmett looked back at Demetri with a sincere look. "Thanks, honestly. I owe you one."
Demetri waved it away with his hand and crossed the floor so he was sitting next to me on the couch. He gathered me in a hug and whispered into my ear, "I love you."
I smiled back and placed a chaste but loving kiss on his cold cheeks. I loved the angle of his jaw and bones. In fact, I loved all of him. "I love you too," I felt the need to whisper as I returned his adoration. I looked around and took in my family. Edward and Bella were clasped hand in hand and looking out intently at us, Rosalie and Emmett embraced in a hug. Carlisle had Esme's hand entwined with his. She'd just come back from deep in the woods, probably adding touches from Edward and Bella's cabin.
"Maybe it wasn't a good idea for Alice and Jasper to go and visit the Denalis today," Bella sighed. I looked up. I hadn't known that. Why were Alice and Jasper there?
Edward shook his head, "No, they need to be there. It's a good thing Demetri was there."
Bella nodded. "Where is the newborn now?"
Everybody looked out at Demetri whose eyes widened and Edward hissed.
"Get him now!" Edward yelled as Demetri spat out a vulgarity.
Demetri shot out the door, the rest of us close on his heels. As soon as I reached the door I caught a glimpse of the savage newborn as it finished piecing itself together. Just as its head stitched itself back to its body to complete itself, Demetri leapt on it and had it locked in a stranglehold of a headlock. The newborn collapsed limply, knowing full well it was useless to put up a fight with the experienced warrior. It held its hands on Demetri's arm, hoping to loosen the grip. That thought failed miserably.
"Wait. Don't kill him," Carlisle spoke softly.
Demetri looked up at Carlisle with a very confused expression. Warily, he clamped the newborn's arms behind its back like a guard and prisoner and walked up to Carlisle.
"Carlisle..." Demetri regarded, with that tone of voice. It sounded like he was trying to say, 'I hope you know what you're doing.'
"Let him go. He won't talk if you hold him like that," Edward commanded.
With a frustrated sigh, Demetri let go of the newborn and stood a little back, but close enough to kill it if it tried to hurt anyone.
"Why are you here?" Carlisle interrogated.
The newborn trembled under the watchful eyes of Demetri, Edward and Emmett.
"Why!" Edward hissed, a little impatient.
It whimpered before it answered, "The two! They sent me here to kill her!"
To everybody's absolute surprise, he pointed to Rosalie. Emmett let out a growl but relaxed as soon as Rosalie patted his muscular arm.
"Why her?" Carlisle asked, patiently.
The newborn looked tentatively at Emmett who was shooting him a murderous glare.
"They didn't say much! They didn't even tell me their names!" He cried out exasperatedly. "The only things they said was something about picking off the protection one by one to get to the human and something about war." Edward drew in a sharp breath and Carlisle gave a concerned look in his direction.
"What did they look like?" Carlisle cajoled the vampire to answer.
"One had dark hair, the other had blond. They were dressed in black," he whispered. My heart leaped into my throat. Carlisle looked up to Edward from where he was crouching down at eye level with the newborn.
"It's Stefan and Vladimir," Edward confirmed.
I felt cold all over, despite the warm breeze blowing in. It felt like the world had stopped spinning and was closing in.
"Jane?" Demetri questioned into the air. The Cullen family straightened up, only Carlisle remaining in his position of kneeling in front of the newborn.
"Jane?" I asked outloud.
Out of the corner of my eyes I saw two figures roll out from the shadows. One was small and its deep black cloak shielded it from the sun and the glances of others. The other figure was tall, taller than Demetri and his muscles bulged from under his slightly darker than grey cloak. The hood was falling slightly off his face revealing the solemn expression of Felix.
"Demetri. Aro will be pleased you got here safe," Jane greeted in her expressionless voice.
"What are you doing here?" Edward hissed. All the formalities were long gone and agitation in place.
She turned her head and let her hood fall down. "Do not take that tone with me Edward, or I'll be provoked to do something I don't like. Actually, I guess I should rephrase that; I'll be provoked to do something I enjoy very much." He bit back a hiss and turned his sights back to the newborn that had taken to clawing the earth.
"We were following this one all the way from Volterra. It took a chunk of Santiago. It seemed only fair we hunt him down," she answered after a moment's silence.
"What is your name?" she asked the vampire coldly. It flinched. I looked back at Demetri and the rest of my family; it seemed they'd seen this exact same situation before.
"Anthony," Edward answered for the vampire. Jane turned her cold gaze on Edward and gave a smirk as Edward's facial expression became tortured before Bella realized what was happening and stepped in with her shield. Jane's expression narrowed again.
"Thank you, Anthony," she spat out the last word mockingly.
Turning back to the vampire she raised a perfect eyebrow.
"A…Anth…Anthony..." he choked out.
She pursed her lips and nodded. "Why did you attack a Volturi guard?"
He gulped unnecessarily. "It wasn't part of the plan, but passing Volterra, I saw him, and I remembered him from my past. He took my family away with a beautiful girl and they never came back." My heart softened, despite the fact that he'd tried to kill Demetri and Rose.
"So you thought it was wise to avenge them?" Jane questioned.
He nodded, relaxing the slightest bit.
She nodded. "Felix."
At once Felix pounced on the unseeing creature and the oh so familiar sound of a vampire being ripped to shreds was heard and soon, a strong pungent incense smell was around. I turned my head around and surveyed the faces of my family. Esme, Bella and Edward were looking with regretful stares. Rosalie and Emmett looked somewhat relieved but wary. Carlisle was looking down, with probable thoughts for the new vampire and how he could have gotten it to control itself. Demetri was staring emotionlessly at it; he'd probably seen and done this so many times it just seemed like another rouge vampire.
"Now he can join the rest of his family," she finished, with a tinge of mock-amusement in her voice. I frowned; I did not believe she used to be someone I confided in. The cherub really was part demon in disguise.
"Now Jane, you have no more business here. Please leave in peace and bring my greetings to Aro," Carlisle spoke.
Jane looked back at Carlisle. "Unfortunately Carlisle, as much as I'd like to go home, we have more business here."
Carlisle raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
She sighed, "The rumors of the Newborn army created by Stefan and Vladimir are no coax. They really have. Anthony was part of them. There was a killing spree in Macedonia, but by the time Alec, Felix and I reached there, they were gone. We don't have our tracker anymore, so it's harder to find them." She glanced at Demetri who looked away before continuing, "Aro fears they head to your direction and sent us to warn you. He says that you are welcome to come back to Volterra and be under the protection of us."
Carlisle pursed his lips. "You must tell Aro that we are more than honored, but we also have other members of our family we must protect from this raid, and I do not suggest that Aro would approve of our other company."
As if on cue, a laugh was heard, followed by a coughing bark. I looked out the plains towards the forest to see Renesmee and Jacob in his werewolf form come into view. Felix and Demetri shared a look while Jane heaved an aggravated sigh.
"They have not turned on you?" she questioned, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"They have found things in common with us, and one of theirs and ours are to be wed in matrimony soon."
Jane's eyes widened and she choked back a cough. "I beg your pardon?!"
Carlisle smiled, "You remember Renesmee, my granddaughter. And this is Jacob, one of the witnesses from that day numerous years ago."
Jane nodded curtly. "Of course."
Jacob whined in warning as he came into view with Nessie. By now she'd seen the gathering as her lips were clamped tight.
"We leave now. And with our utmost respect, please, consider the offer," Felix spoke for one of the first times.
"We will. Please give Aro our greetings," this time Esme spoke. It seemed that from her joining in of the conversation and determined tone, she just wanted them gone too.
"Of course. Farewell," Felix nodded, getting the hint. They turned around and headed back into the shadow, soon disappearing from sight.
"Well, that was interesting. Good to see them again," I tried to lighten up the mood and received looks of disbelief from them. "Sorry," I muttered.
Jacob's fur bristled and stood on end as he looked at Demetri and growled. He definitely remembered him from whiles back.
"Jacob," Demetri regarded, with a tone of caution hidden in his voice. Jacob stood in front of Nessie who looked back at me with a shrug and an apologetic look. Demetri walked over to me and placed his cool hands on my shoulders.
Carlisle sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alice was right. It seems we have a problem on our hands."
Alice and Jasper came back within hours. I was confused, and the rest of my family and Demetri seemed to know something that I didn't know. Right now, we were all in the family room. This time, instead of interrupting anything they were going to say, I decided to listen and pick up what I could.
"Alice, Jasper, did it go well?" Carlisle asked with a hopeful expression.
Alice sighed but had a pleased smile on her face. "The Denalis agreed to help."
Carlisle nodded with a smile on his face. "That will make things slightly easier."
There was silence for a moment before I dared to ask my question. I hadn't realized how much I'd outcast myself to my room for the past year until Demetri came back. Until now, I hadn't realized how much I'd missed. "What's happening?"
Demetri looked from me to the rest of the Cullens with a surprised look. "You didn't tell her?"
Alice grimaced. "We didn't want to worry her, and she's been through enough already. The past year has been somewhat difficult."
I frowned. "Tell me what?"
Carlisle looked from one member of his family to another. "I guess it's better that we tell you. It's about to become a reality soon anyway." I waited patiently for them to tell me the news, not something I'd usually do.
"Alena, that night at Volterra, and the time before that, when you had your run-in with Stefan and Vladimir… Well, it was only the beginning. There is a lot more to come," Edward started.
"Like what?" I speculated.
"Since the sudden 'run-away' of the Volturi at Renesmee's hearing," Edward smirked for a moment as Demetri growled before continuing, "sparked a flicker of hope and courage in Stefan and Vladimir. Now you would know that they used to rule the vampire world. But they were not like the Volturi. The Volturi aren't as bad as they look or act. In a general sense, the Volturi aren't meant to be villains. They are the foundation of our peace and civilization."
A smug look crept across Demetri's face and he went to stroke my hand from where he was sitting next to me. I rolled my eyes and bit back a sardonic laugh.
"The Romanians, however, they were harsh rulers. They even told the people that they were vampires. So the Volturi and their guard wiped them out, buildings included, leaving only Stefan and Vladimir alive. The Volturi usurped control and have been ruling ever since. The Romanians will do anything to gain their control back. It seems since the day of Renesmee's hearing, they've been building an entire clan of Newborns. Hundreds, though that number may dwindle because they will fight amongst each other.
"The Romanians want you, for the power you will possess if you are turned. They want you to join them. If you do not accept, they will kill you and all that have affiliated with you and the Volturi combined. The only answer we have is to fight them."
I was left speechless.
"It would also seem that to get to you, they're picking off your 'protection', meaning us. That newborn was after Rosalie. We don't know whose next…probably someone close to you…"
Demetri rubbed my shoulder and I gave a shudder and held my hand tightly within his, stroking it softly while I thought. After a few moments of silence, I cleared my throat. "So, basically, if I don't join them and help them overthrow the Volturi, everybody dies."
Edward nodded, "Basically."
I sighed in frustration. "I won't let this happen! They can't do that. It's not fair; they can't kill all the people I love because I can't join them."
Alice shrugged, "We've come to a conclusion that we must fight. The Denalis have agreed to join us; Jasper and I were there today."
I nodded, that's why they were there. This was all starting to make sense.
"And if they will, so will the others: the Egyptians, Amazons, Irish, European and American Nomads. We will need to send word out for their help," Jasper instructed, his old battle commander mode coming into play.
"We will help too," Jacob voiced, receiving a harsh 'no!' from Renesmee.
"We did last time, we will again. Any excuse to kill some bloodsuckers." He grinned while the rest of the vampires hissed. "No offense intended," he sighed.
"Jacob Black! You will not fight! Do you know what I'd feel if you or one of the pack was hurt?" Renesmee whined.
He sighed, "How many times do I have to tell you? We don't get hurt easily! We're made for killing vampires!" It was as if the tension in the room couldn't grow any tighter.
"Thanks Jacob," she muttered.
Edward looked up; someone had probably spoken to him in his mind.
"Why would you do that? If I recall, the Volturi, including you, Marcus, Caius and Aro aren't fond of werewolves, or the rest of the witnesses since Renesmee's trial."
I felt Demetri shrug nonchalantly next to me. "A common enemy will unite even the oldest of rivals."
I shivered as I realized what he meant. He wanted the Volturi to fight with us against the Romanians. That would make…fifty-one vampires in total. If everyone from the trial agreed. Against a hundred and a possible Immortal Child… The outcome didn't seem to twist in our favor.
"Don't worry Alena; we're evenly matched somehow. So far, it seems that Ozera and Dan are the only ones with extra abilities. If everybody agrees, we'll have Demetri, Jane, Alec, Chelsea, Renata, Aro, Marcus, Eleazar, Bella, Alice, Jasper, Zafrina, Kate, Benjamin and I to add more to our side."
I huffed, "But what about Ozera's shield?"
Edward shrugged. "Someone will have to take her out first."
"And the Immortal Child?"
"We don't know if they actually created one, or how they'd keep it from a rampage. But Immortal children are more a threat to humans than vampires."
I nodded; Immortal Children didn't seem so bad, but only by less than a fraction.
"Jasper and I can go and ask the others to help like last time and bring them with us back here," Alice mentioned. Carlisle nodded in thanks.
"If I'm allowed to leave Alena in your protection, I can go back to the Volturi and ask them to join," Demetri also said.
I frowned. I didn't want him to leave, but then that would be selfish.
"She's already in our protection," Rosalie muttered, under her breath. I shot her a look and she sighed.
"Set aside the fact we have a new member in our group, some of us need to brush up on our Newborn fighting skills," Jacob admitted sheepishly.
We all looked to Jasper who, even though he looked like he hated the spotlight, also looked liked he knew he was the only one perfectly acquired for this job.
"It's settled then. We should get started immediately; the sooner we get started…the more ready we'll be. Alice?"
She closed her eyes for a few seconds and the rest of us waited patiently while she watched a scene much more different from the one that was presently around her. Slowly she let out an unnecessary breath. "We have roughly a month and a half before they reach here. They've decided to take their time raiding cities so that their newborns have the utmost possible strength they can reach."
Carlisle pressed his lips together and nodded. "It will take a while for Jasper to teach absolutely everything he knows. Last time he only taught the basics. It will take a while for us to feed, have our strength and be taught absolutely everything. So every knows what they're doing."
"Bella and I will head over to Egypt. Carlisle, you and Esme go to the Amazon. Jasper and Alice, you two can do the Nomads. I'm sure that they'll accept easily so it will take no effort to do the two other groups; the Europeans and American. Jasper, if Peter and Charlotte know of any more vampires, which would help. Rose, Emmett, you two will head to Ireland and try the Irish Coven. Demetri, the Volturi. Renesmee and Jacob, go and round up the pack."
They all nodded and each couple started to disperse and left. Then there were Demetri and I. "Looks like you're coming with me Belita."
I grinned. "What's Belita?"
As he took my hand and kissed my lips, playfully chewing on my bottom lip and leading me out the door while continuing the kiss he smiled and finally drew back. "Come on Little Beauty," he translated. "Looks like we've got a flight to Italy."
I smiled in delight. Even though I hadn't had the best relationship with some people in the Volturi, I did have good relationships with some others and I couldn't wait to go back.
"You seem excited," he grinned.
I nodded. "Of course I am. Italy was the first place I met you."
He smiled as we walked a meter or so away from the house. "My life wasn't much until I met you. I want you to know that now; you are my only reason for living."
That stopped me in my tracks. I'd never been so far in a relationship ever and had never enjoyed it so much. My heart felt like it was about to burst at the seams and pulling my sleeves over my hands, I clasped his face and captured his stone-cold lips with mine. He was surprised for a second but then his lips started to move with mine. The coldness was searing my lips but the warm I was exerting myself was patching it up. Everything seemed in perfect balance as he cupped my face in his hands and then grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me closer. Haggard breaths escaped his mouth and his actions became more urgent and his legs pulled closer to mine, pressing his tall and muscular frame against mine. I breathed deeper and I gasped. I smiled and his tall frame shook with silent laughter. I pulled back with a confused expression.
"What?"
He pressed a fist to his mouth and suppressed a laugh.
"What?" I demanded, a little annoyed he'd stopped me in our moment of bliss.
"I'm sorry Belita. I just find it amusing how we can find something so pleasurable to distract us in one of the most dangerous times."
I smiled and breathed out a laugh. He was right. Focus was the key right now and well, I guess we hadn't reached that level of control yet.
Shaking his head he rubbed my arm. "I think I should get changed. I don't like the Newborn's scent… It's disturbing. I'll be right back. Do not move." He made me promise.
I watched as he swiftly came back into the house. Shivering a little bit and feeling somewhat paranoid, after that random newborn attack, I had the right to be watching my back.
Suddenly, a twig snapped somewhere towards my left and I became rather aware of how close I was to the left side of the forest that bordered our house. Unable to make a sound, I held my breath and waited in fear to see what creature was lurking in the shadow. Then, out of nowhere, a huge sandy brown wolf appeared with its tongue hanging out. I laughed in relief and ran over to it, enveloping it in a giant hug, burying my face in its fur that was by some means both soft and rough at the same time.
"Seth!" I laughed happily. I felt guilty; it'd been a while since I'd seen anyone from the pack other than Jacob. The giant sandy wolf whined happily in reply and let out a coughing bark. "Where's the rest?"
He looked behind him and then dropped down on the floor, lying down as though he might be waiting a while.
"Let me guess; Jacob got to you first and instead of waiting for him to get the rest of the pack, you decided you'd run here first." The wolf inclined his head and barked. I laughed.
I patted Seth's fur. Seth would forever be stuck at the age of fifteen until he had control over the shape shifting and didn't shape shift for a while. The pack, with apparently another addition, was still here. Even over the eighty years or so. Mmm, what good came with not having to age?
"Ale- Oh dear god."
I cringed with amusement as a concerned voice bit into the air. Turning back, I saw Demetri looking at Seth and me with caution and shock. I dusted my jeans off and patted Seth one more time, distantly hearing the snuffles of the rest of the pack not too far away. Seth wouldn't be alone for long. I walked back to Demetri who'd taken to trying not to scrunch up his nose.
"I'm so sorry love. Honestly I am…but…" He seemed unable to finish, probably not wanting to hurt my feelings. But I laughed.
"Oh no, don't worry. I know. I probably smell like wet dog or something."
He smiled and handed me his cloak. I took in his black pants, black shoes and black shirt that had a grey, snug fitting sweater pulled over the top. His contacted eyes were gleaming. He was so beautiful I had a moment of weakness as my lust took over. I was tempted to pull him back to the house and do things that I thought only existed in my vivid imagination. With a lot of difficulty, I pulled back and reigned in my feelings, the fear for the safety of my loved ones overriding my mixed feelings of desire and love. Taking the cloak, I pulled it over, finding that it descended lower than my knees. But it seemed to suit, not to mention the fact that it was keeping me warm from the weather that had decided to turn that slight bit colder. He held out his arms with a sly smile.
"Ma'am, would you be so kind?" he grinned.
I smiled and let myself be scooped into his strong arms and I inhaled his sweet aroma as he held me tightly and close to his chest. "Hang on tight Belita," he whispered into my ear as he headed in the direction of the airport.
Pretty soon, we were at the airport. Before we walked into the door, he stopped in the cover of some overhanging trees that shielded a wall of the airport. I quickly fixed my clothes and hugged the cloak closer to my body and quickly smoothed my hair. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
"Ready for the trip? Aro will be happy you've come to visit."
I smiled and clasped his hand in mine. "Ready as ever." He shot me his smoldering smile and together we walked through the doors of the airport and quickly went in the right direction to purchase our tickets. As soon as we reached the lady, she seemed to melt under Demetri's gaze.
"Hi. We'd like two tickets to Rome, the soonest flight please," he spoke in a voice that was a little too…honeyed…than it should be for normal speaking.
The lady's face nodded, her breathing becoming quicker and her hands were shaking as she typed on her keyboard. With a genuinely sorry expression, she glanced back at the exquisite figure that belonged in a museum as it stood in front of her.
"I'm sorry sir, but it seems that the soonest flight from here to Italy is booked out. I'd be more than happy to book you for the next available flight."
A strained look took up his face and he sighed, "Oh, it's just…my cousin and I… Well, our relative just died and the funeral is in Italy."
I almost choked in surprised. What a cover up story! But it worked all the same. A story was a story, and if there was a gorgeous vampire feeding you the story, you might as well eat it up. The lady at the desk immediately took on a sympathetic expression and she even had the nerve to look delighted as he said cousin. What she did shocked and angered me even more; she reached over the desk and touched Demetri's arms. I felt the need to pull him away from being so close to the desk. He flinched away the slightest bit, but she didn't notice, or she didn't care. Either way, a hopeful smile was plastered on her face. I felt an impulse to deliver a good slap to her face. I might not be able to hurt vampires or werewolves, but humans… They seemed like cake compared to my family.
"Actually, I'm sure I can find two seats on that plane," she said dreamily.
He gave her a mesmerizing smile, not my smoldering smile, thankfully, as she typed frantically in the computer's keyboard.
"Thank you so much," he said with the honeyed tone returning.
"Oh you are sick; please don't traumatize the poor girl," I laughed in his ear.
He laughed but then snapped his head up as soon as something was printed out. She closed some papers around two tickets and handed them back to Demetri. It was then I noticed he was wearing leather gloves, which was a good thing because the woman decided to 'accidently' brush her hand against his. He smiled politely back and took the tickets.
"Thank you."
She was completely lost and mesmerized in his eyes until he looked away and dragged me towards the terminal.
"What do we have?" I asked.
He laughed quietly, "First class."
I snorted, "Hmm, no seats left, my ass." He rolled his eyes and clasped my hand as we gave the tickets to the flight attendants standing outside and they checked it and gave it back.
As everybody boarded and the plane took off, I snuggled into Demetri's chest beside me and giggled to myself as I felt it rumble silently. Trying as hard as I could, I tried to ignore both the lusty stares of women around me toward Demetri and the venomous glares from the women around me about the fact that the beautiful creature had already been snatched up.
I heard a small breath intake from Demetri and I looked up to see a confused expression on his face. Straightening myself comfortably back on my own seat, I looked over to a piece of paper he was holding.
"What's this?" he asked me and showed me a piece of paper that had been given along with the tickets. As soon as I saw a name and number I choked back a laugh.
"Wow, that was subtle for her," I grinned.
He looked at me confused, "What do I do with it?"
I glanced at him for a second then decided better than to tease him. He'd been alive for a thousand years, give or take, and not in many relationships. He wouldn't know that much. It humored me for a moment that I could possibly know more about relationships than he did.
"Nothing," I mock-glared. "Not unless you plan to run away with that woman." His eyes opened wide and he shook his head wildly, fear overrunning his face. "Honey, I was kidding," I laughed quietly, burying my face in his chest as his expression relaxed.
"Oh."
For the rest of the journey, I slept, my face buried in Demetri's chest. His arms were welded around me in a strong but gentle grip. Then, sooner than I expected, he lifted up an arm and shook me slightly from my dreams.
"Alena, look out the window love."
I opened the shutter of the window next to me. Bright sunlight streamed in and I smiled to myself as I came upon a sunny country with lush waters and green land that had provided me with so many memories and my one and only true love. I grinned in spite of the hazardous situation of a newborn army and war. We were back. I breathed out in content, reminiscing on how much I'd missed this place. Demetri's homeland and where part of me felt at home too.
"Italy," I smiled.
He grinned, "Yes my love. Italy."
A/N: I don't own anything