A/N: I don't own it. The plot is mine.
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I know I'm a little late getting this chapter out. My mother's health has gotten much worse. I have been running back and forth from the hospital and my house. My head has been spinning. Unfortunately, I really haven't had any time to write. It may be like this for a while. I will try to get something out when I can.
No beta, so all mistakes are mine.
Chapter 11
BPOV
I sat on Aro's lap with a smug look on my face. Before us stood a very confused Cullen clan. Obviously, none of them expected to see me here, of all places. I could tell by the look in their eyes that they knew they were in some kind of trouble. My presence,alone, was indication enough that something was definitely amiss.
"Well, Carlise, we appreciate you and your family getting here as soon as possible" Aro spoke to him in his authoritative voice.
Carlisle's eye darted between myself and Aro."Of course, Aro. If you don't mind my asking, what was it that you needed? The call I received sounded very urgent."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes. It didn't take much to turn the once confident Cullen clan into a nervous, shaky mess. Just one glance at the once- upon- a- time human pet of theirs and they were done for. They knew they were in trouble.
"Well, Carlisle, I think it's obvious" Aro responded.
Before Carlise even had a chance to reply, Rosalie, glaring at me, shot forward." Let me guess. little Miss Swan, here, went looking for the first vampire she could find to change her so she could come here and cause trouble for my family? See, I told you she was nothing but trouble. We should have killed her when we had the chance."
Not liking what he had just heard, Cauis ran and grabbed her by her throat. His ferocious growl echoed throughout the throne room."You will not speak of my sister in that manner. You and your family have broken our laws and when you are here, you will show the proper respect. Am I clear?"
Rosalie answered him quietly, agreeing to be respectful. The Cullens were now on edge, knowing that there was nothing they could do to get out of this situation and that Rosalie's behavior had just made it worse.
"Carlise, I'm very disappointed in you. After all that time you spent here with us, did you not learn anything of our laws?That was strictly a rhetorical question. Your actions have told me all I need to know. First, I would like to remind you that these laws are in place to, not only, protect us, but to also protect humans. Can you not imagine the mass pandemonium if news of our existence were to be made public? These laws must be respected. Secondly, Isabella did not"find the first vampire she could" to change her. I learned of this mess from none other than Victoria. You remember her? You killed her mate and left her to try to kill mine. And that would be number three. Isabella is my mate. I do not take kindly to anyone insulting her. Now, Carlisle, do you have anything to say for your family's actions?" Aro stared at Carlise. My mate sure knew how to intimidate someone with just one look.
Carlise looked at Aro. Managing to look every bit as nervous as I knew him to be, he took a step forward. " My son, Edward, and Bella were in a relation ship. After an incident on her birthday, Edward felt that ,as her mate, it would be safer for her if we left so that she could live a normal human life."
Aro was quiet for a moment. He sat still, glaring at Carlisle. Somehow I knew that lousy excuse was not going to cut it with him. I couldn't help the small giggle that past my lips. Aro looked at me questioningly.
"I'm sorry, Aro. I just find it so ironic." I shook my head bemused. " Carlisle is supposed to be the head of the family, but it's Edward who seems to make all the decisions. I wonder, Carlisle, did any of you give consideration to the fact that you gave a vengeful vampire free rein concerning me? After all, it was your family that destroyed her mate, not me. You had an obligation. An obligation that you did not take care of. Did all the deer munching mess with your heads somehow? I just don't see how you can justify what you've done."My little jab at their choice of diet had Caius and Marcus, as well as the guard, laughing." Carlisle, were you not aware of the fact that I wasn't Edward's mate? Even I knew that little piece of information before you and your family left."
I looked at the family standing in front of me. Esme seemed genuinely happy to see me and nervous as well. She was always like mother to me. I just wish she hadn't left the way she did. Alice looked as if she was fighting a desire to run over to me. Jasper was very much on edge and refused to look me in the eye. Emmett, my great big bear of a brother, looked completely heart broken. I wanted to throw my arms around him, but I just couldn't. The betrayal was too much and forgiveness wasn't something that I could easily give. Rosalie stood there staring daggers at me. Seriously, that bitch needed a slap down. And then there was Edward. He stood there , looking at me with a smug look and lust in his eyes. If it were at all possible, I would have thrown up.
"I believe Isabella asked you a question, Carlisle" Marcus spoke up. The anger in his voice was apparent.
"No .I mean, I always thought she was his mate. At least, that's what I was told. Alice said she saw Bella with us and as a vampire. Edward told us she was his mate" he answered.
" Carlisle, what the hell were you thinking? Think about this. Are you physically able to leave your mate for an extended period of time?" Marcus asked him angrily. He shook his head in frustration, not believing what he was hearing.
"No, I can't. It would hurt too much to even think about it, much less to actually do it" he responded ,looking down in shame.
Aro was getting angrier by the second. Gently tapping my leg to indicate his need to stand , I got up . He walked over to Carlisle. He grabbed his hand, and with it, all of Carlisle's memories.
"It seems that Carlisle really did believe that you were Edward's mate." Aro then turned to Edward. Edward having read Aro's mind and saw what he had intended, began to back away. I suddenly felt a ripple in mine and Aro's connection ,and when I looked up, Edward was encased in the clear blue shield. All of the Cullens gasped in surprise.
"Edward, you will stay where you are. The fact that you're trying to get away from me is a clear indication of guilt." Aro strode over to where Edward was being trapped by him." Alec, when I release him, remove all his senses except hearing and speech" Aro ordered. Just then, the bubble disappeared and Edward was frozen in place, unable to move. Aro snatched his hand angrily. After a few moments , Aro's growl began to fill the room. He pulled back his arm and landed a punch on Edwards face, cracking it from his hairline to his jaw. The strength of the blow threw Edward across the room and into the wall.
" Aro, what did you see?" Caius asked frantically.
Aro was quiet a few moments,trying to regain his composure. I have never seen him this angry and I knew that whatever he had seen did not bode well for the Cullens.
"It seems that Isabella is his La tua cantante, his singer. He misled his family into thinking that he was successfully fighting the call of her blood and that he loved her. He actually planned on taking her away on a trip at some point and it would be there that he would drain her. He believed her blood was a gift for him for all the years he hadn't "slipped." Aro walked back over to his throne and sat down again, pulling me on his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around me, holding me close.
"Edward, how could you? After everything I have taught you. Why?" Carlisle asked him, anger tinting his voice. Esme began to sob quietly and he pulled her to him.
"Carlisle, I'm afraid the betrayal of your family goes a little bit deeper than that. Your little seer over there knew the entire time. She knew what he had planned and never did anything to stop it. She may not have directly helped him with his plans, but by not informing you, she has betrayed you and the coven as well" Aro quickly added.
Carlisle's eyes widened further. His quiet anger I expected, but it was Jasper's ire I didn't expect.
Jasper turned to her in a rage. " Alice, you knew. You saw what he planned on doing to Bella and you said nothing. You who claimed to be her best friend. What the hell is wrong with you? I should have known. You kept giving off guilt. Always with the guilt. I couldn't figure it out." Alice refused to answer him which only made him angrier. He grabbed her upper arms, yanking her closer to him." I asked you a question. Now answer me!"he bellowed loudly.
Alice's eyes widened in fear. This was probably the first time her mate has ever spoken to her like that."I..ah..I'm sorry. I did know. I saw it. After he came back from Alaska I had a vision. He read my thoughts and he threatened me. He told me that if I said anything to anyone that he would make sure that I would pay. He said that he would make it look like a nomad had done it and since Carlisle always believes him, he would get away with it." Alice began to sob.
Jasper's eyes darkened in fury. "You son of a bitch!" he launched himself at Edward. Quicker that I ever thought possible, he tore Edwards head of and kicked it to the other side of the room.
"Jasper, try to calm down, son" Carlisle told him.
" Calm down? That asshole threatened my mate and wanted to kill Bella. He doesn't deserve to live. He is right about one thing. You always believe everything his lying ass says." Jasper held Alice to him, trying to calm her down.
" Felix, remove Edward and take him to the dungeon. Make sure that someone stands guard the entire time" Caius ordered. Turning back to the Cullens, he addressed them. "There are serious consequences for what you and your family have done.. Edward will be punished for betraying his coven, but your entire family will be held accountable for exposing our world to a human and not handling the situation with Victoria" Caius spoke up.
Marcus and Aro nodded in agreement." Your actions have brought on a series of events that should never have come to pass" Marcus informed them solemnly.
"What do you mean. Bella's a vampire now. So, someone else took care of that problem for us" Rosalie foolishly said.
Aro hissed at her."Carlisle, you need to control you coven better."Aro leaned forward and gently kissed my cheek. Sensing my increased agitation, he began to gently rub my back." You all need to understand that Victoria has been after Isabella for a year. The shape-shifters were protecting her. In fact, they did such a good job that Victoria got so frustrated that she came here looking for help . When I saw her memories, I saw Isabella and I immediately felt the mating pull. It was also then that I saw that Victoria was building a newborn army."
The Cullens , except for Jasper, all gasped. He just stood there, with his arms around Alice, waiting for the rest of what Aro needed to say.
"I took a few of my guard members and went to Washington. The guard went to Seattle to deal with the newborns, and I went to Forks to get my mate. "
"Were the newborn eliminated?" Jasper asked.
"Yes, but some clean up work had to be done. As successful as the mission was, we still ended up running into trouble" Aro replied.
I looked at my mate and he looked really uncomfortable with having to talk about this part of the story. Thankfully, Caius didn't seem to have such qualms.
"In case you haven't noticed, Carlisle, Jane is no longer with us. She has betrayed the Volturi, for no other reason than for the fact that she was jealous of Isabella being mated to Aro."
Yet, another round of gasps came from the group.
"And, if her betrayal wasn't enough, she, as well as Satiago, have teamed up with Victoria. We had Demetri tailing them. They went to Forks, where they slaughtered a house full of party goers. All but one girl, a friend of Isabella's, died" Marcus informed them. Their shock was plastered all over their faces.
"Unfortunately, that's not all. They also attacked Isabella's father. Demetri found him near death. He had a faint heart beat. He made the decision to change him .So, as of right now, Demetri is en route, in the private jet, with two people who are well into their transformation" Aro explained to them.
" Which one of Bella's girl friends?" Esme asked quietly. This was the first time she had spoken up.
" It was Angela" I told her quietly.
"Oh, Bella. I'm so sorry. We were wrong. We never should have left you . We should have taken care of Victoria. We let you down. I always thought of you as one of my own,but then I left you and I didn't even say good-bye. What kind of mother does that?"Esme cried.
I just sat there, on Aro's lap, unable to respond. At this point in time, I really didn't have any desire to forgive them for what they had done.
"This situation is precarious at best. Since this mess is your creation, you will help fix it" Aro looked at each of them .
" Of course. This is all our fault. I never should have listened to Edward. I have relied to heavily on his mind reading. I just stopped listening to my gut feeling. " Carlisle looked at me. "Bella, I'm sorry. I take full responsibility. You didn't deserve to be treated this way. I know we don't deserve you forgiveness, but I want you to know that we are truly sorry."
"Listen, I hear the apologies and to be honest, I'm really not looking for a bunch of words. They are hollow and empty to me. I loved all of you like you were my second family. But, when you left without even saying good-bye, you told me that you don't care about me the way I cared about you. That's fine. It is what it is. I moved on with my life. The one thing I have to be thankful for is that this entire debacle allowed me to finally be with my real mate. So, I'm torn. Part of me wants to hate you for leaving and the other part is happy you did."I leaned back against Aro.
" Listen, Carlisle, Isabella is going to need her space. I don't want anyone pressuring her. If she decides to forgive your family, then let her make the first move" Aro cautioned him. Carlisle nodded his agreement.
"Heidi, please get some rooms ready for the Cullens,. Put them in the guard's wing" Caius ordered her." We still have more to discuss. I think that Marcus, Aro, Carlisle, and I should take our conversation to the study."
At that point, the huge doors were thrown open and Felix came rushing in. "Master Aro, the jet has just landed."
"All right. Felix, go meet Demetri. He's going to need help. Take Afton with you" Aro instructed him. We stood up, getting ready to greet our new guests. My nerves were jumbled . Aro kept his arm around me."Well,it looks like we're about to get our hands full."
As if my nerves weren't on edge enough, what I heard next finished them off.
" Where the hell am I?" My father yelled at the top of his lungs.
Here I go again. I'm leaving you hanging. I just can't put it all out there, can I?
I'm sorry it has taken me forever to get this chapter out. I'm afraid that the way things are, I won't be able to update as much as I like. Plz just bear with me.
