Caius
The last thing I had expected to come across when walking through the hallways was to find Isabella making out with a guard, in a somewhat inappropriate outfit.
Anger quickly seized me as I came toward them.
They didn't hear me as I gripped Isabella's arm and pulled her away from the male vampire, none too gently.
I recognized the male as Dexter, only a decade old. He was one of the very few in the Volturi who didn't have abilities, like myself, which is why I had always treated him a bit easier than the others. It wasn't easy being powerless, surrounded by those with astounding gifts.
However, this time, I did not hide my glare. He was forever trapped at twenty, and so would for a long time be caught up in the whirlwind of human hormones. When vampires were turned, they thought all that would go away. But your human age stayed with you for a long, long time until you learned to control it and move past it. There was once even a time when Jane and Alec had acted their human age.
I glanced at Isabella out of the corner of my eyes. She'd be stuck at eighteen for quite a while, incased in her own female hormones, which were a much stronger force to be reckoned with than anything a man could possess.
I looked back at Dexter. "You will do well to remember that in the future, Isabella's person is not to be touched."
"Yes, sir." Dexter replied, stick-straight, his expression serious.
"Spread the word to the other males who might find an interest in her."
I didn't wait to hear his response, turning sharply and dragging Isabella with me down the hallways, back toward my study.
She was quiet the rest of the way back, only looking down at the ground in what I could assume was embarrassment.
When we were inside my study, I tossed her onto the couch and narrowed my eyes at her from where I stood.
She glanced up at me from beneath her eyelashes. Amazing how she could be so shy now, after having been so involved with another in public like that.
"I don't see why I'm in trouble." She stated softly, looking back down again.
Silly girl, of course she didn't. She was a newborn, and it was well known that newborns never thought of anyone but themselves, their emotions out of control most of the time.
"We were just…having fun." The words seemed forced.
"You won't be having any more 'fun' with him, or any of the other guards. You're banned from such contact with them."
She glared up at me, catching me a little off guard.
"You can't control me. I'll kiss with whoever I want!" She said, crossing her arms over her chest. She seemed to realize too late what that did to her, in such a tight, low-cut top.
I deliberately forced my eyes to remain on hers.
"You will do no such thing."
"And why not?" she shouted in outrage.
My lip curled up in disgust. How dare she talk to me like that? Is she such a scatterbrained girl that she can't even realize to be respectful to her superiors?
The girl stood up at my lack of response, her expression fiery. Was she going to challenge me again? We both witnessed how poorly she failed last time in my study.
She stepped closer. "Why not?" she said through clenched teeth.
"Because you are already arranged for another." I informed her, watching as her face went to one of surprise.
"I'm…arranged…?"
"Yes. Aro has decided that it would be best for you to mate with one of the Volturi."
She sunk back onto the couch, all of the fire gone from her. "I…I don't understand."
Stupid girl. What was there not to understand?
"But…what about Edward?" She looked up at me, her face stricken.
"The Cullens are no longer a part of your life or any of your concern. You are with the Volturi now, and with the Volturi you will stay." I told her. She needed to get that into her thick head.
"Who is it?" she whispered softly, looking defeated.
"Aro has arranged for you to become the mate of Marcus."
Her face was a mix of shock and shallow disgust. I felt myself grow furious at the girl. She should be honored to become the mate of one of the masters of the Volturi, one of the most powerful and influential vampires in the entire world, while she was obviously unworthy of such a connection.
I wanted nothing more than to slap her. However, I refrained myself from doing so. Next time I felt the urge, though, I doubted I would hesitate.
"I won't do it!" she shouted, glaring up at me.
"You have no choice." I told her, my patience having long since departed.
"You can't just force me to become his mate!" She shouted again, leaping up and coming towards me.
"You will do as you are told!" I said angrily as she came closer.
"I am not your property to just be ordered around! When I want to 'mate' with someone, it'll be for love! And it'll be with Edward!"
She was only inches from me now. And this time, I did slap her.
Isabella fell to the ground on her side from the force of the hit. She stayed down there, cupping her cheek with her hands.
I grew even further impatient and strode toward her, squatting down and lifting her chin up with my fingers so that she was facing me.
I returned her glare with narrowed eyes.
"You will become Marcus's mate, and there is nothing you can do about it. Aro has somehow come to the conclusion that your strong personality will be able to bring life back into our old friend, life which has abandoned him since the death of his previous mate." I told her, my fingers tightening on her chin.
"What happened to her?"
"She died." I repeated flatly. She didn't need to know the details of Aro's secret.
"How?"
"You don't need to know any more."
"Well maybe I'd like to try and avoid the same fate she met." Isabella replied stubbornly.
"She was killed for trying to persuade Marcus to leave the Volturi." Her eyes widened at that, and she instantly struggled to get out of my grasp. Didime was killed by her own brother when he was at his most desperate of times. She should have known better than to try and persuade Marcus that he didn't really want to be here, though.
My free hand's fingers wrapped themselves around one of Isabella's arms and I brought her up to a standing position.
"It should not be a problem for you to be with someone other than your precious Cullen, or else you would not be dressed like that with the purpose of ensnaring a guard."
She continued to struggle. "Dexter doesn't mean anything to me." She replied.
"Good," I released her and took a step back. I watched her for a few seconds before deciding to turn back to my desk.
Before I reached it, though, something occurred to me that I had not thought of before. "You are also to keep your distance from Demetri."
I could hear a quiet, deep growl from behind me as I reached my desk. Strange. Did she have feelings for him already, even with her beloved Edward on her mind?
"Demetri is one of the only people kind to me here. Nothing you say will keep me from trying to obtain his friendship."
I sat down at my desk and looked at her, still standing in the center of my study, fuming silently.
"Perhaps you didn't understand me earlier, Isabella. Or maybe you just don't know how things work in the world of vampires, since you've been living in your little daydream with the Cullen boy for too long. You are arranged to Marcus, and what that means is that he will be the only male you are close with." I informed her. "You are not to be friends with any other."
"Well then," she replied sarcastically, her gaze fierce. "I guess I should be going now. Wouldn't want us to become best friends before the wedding."
She turned around and made her way to the door, surprisingly forgetting that vampires have excellent hearing, despite her claiming to be in love with one, when she whispered lowly to her self: "I feel sorry for your mate."
Anger instantly surged through me and the next thing I knew, I had Isabella pinned to the back of the door, one of my hands wrapped around her neck while the other was pressed against the door beside her head.
Both of her hands weakly tried to pry my hand away from her throat. Even though she was a vampire now, she still breathed. It was only natural, since one was in the routine and habit of doing so all their lives. Breathing took the longest for vampires to get out of doing.
"You dare to insult me?" I seethed, my eyes narrowed. "Do you have any idea who you are dealing with?"
"Yeah," she choked out, smirking slightly. "A temperamental drama king with an ego problem, in serious need of an attitude adjustment."
I squeezed my hand around her neck before throwing her to the ground and stepping on her stomach with my foot before she could get back up again.
I pressed down on her and could hear bones crack. She gasped in pain and tried to push my foot off, hardly budging it in her desperation. You'd think she was still a human with how weak and pathetic she was acting.
"Know that you are only alive right now because you have the safety of being Marcus's future mate and of having Aro's interest in your ability. If ever you should be unwise as to endanger those arrangements, I shall not hold back." I warned her, before returning my foot to my side.
Isabella's arms instantly wrapped themselves around her wounded abdomen and she groaned, clutching it.
Due to the vampire's accelerated healing, she would be better within a few hours. I wished that her pain would last longer to teach her a lesson. The newborns were always hard to break, but once they did, they were able to take orders well.
I wondered how hard it would be to break Isabella, how long it would take.
Something in me wondered if such a thing were even possible—if she would ever break—but I quickly dashed those thoughts. Of course she would; they all did. She couldn't resist forever.
"Choose your words more carefully next time." I advised, before heading back to my desk. Once I was seated again, I glanced back at her, still lying on the ground.
Isabella gasped loudly for air before struggling to stand up, almost falling down in the process. She had the wide variety of emotions that newborns so often possessed, but she didn't have the strength of one. It was odd, since the newborn phase was when vampires were supposed to be at their strongest, unable to control their own bodies due to the new venom in them. Perhaps her "ability" restricted her strength?
I'd heard she hadn't been drinking much lately, and for a newborn that could be dangerous for them. We'd have to assign her another meal soon, hopefully to be met with less resistance than the last one.
Once Isabella was standing steadily enough, she walked toward the door, opened it, and left, closing it behind her without looking back once.
I had been counting on Aro's words, that her personality wouldn't change much with the transformation. She was such a meek human that it would be a good thing for her to be a meek vampire, in a way. She'd only have to stand there and protect Aro like Renata, not go into battle, so her taking orders would be better than her having the guts to fight.
Aro had been wrong, though—which was not something that happened very often. She still held on to some of her meek emotions, but she had gained a new confidence and temper along with her vampirism.
It was a curious thing, and I wondered how the Cullens would react if they could see her acting so. Would Edward even want her then? I smirked to myself in thinking that he'd probably be repulsed by her.
It was a tempting thought to invite the Cullens to Volterra, just so they could see and reject the new Isabella. That would certainly get her mind off of Edward and off of going back to him. Then she would more easily agree to a bond with Marcus.
I would have to be an idiot to follow through on such thoughts, though—especially with Isabella being so testy. No…let the Cullens come in their own time, if they even will. The longer it takes them, the better. Let Isabella's hope dwindle and die, and her acceptance of never leaving grow. Her resistance would surely fade then.
After much thought, I finally decided to make this chapter in Caius's POV. I'm considering making the really-big-announcement/decisions in Caius's POV. Let me know what you think of that.
So...Aro's little plan is out of the bag. What do you guys say to that? I had a few comments wondering if he was intending Bella for Caius, but remember that Caius already has a mate. Don't worry, Athenadora will be dealt with sooner or later. And it will be in a way that I've not come across in other fics before, so that's good. :)
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the story so far! Your reviews really mean a lot to me, and I enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions on chapters. So until next time, happy reading! ^_^