Title: Isabella Volturi
Author: MarieCarro
Beta: Project Team Beta
Translators: LaMomo (Italian) myworldisblue (Portuguese)
Genre: Supernatural/Drama
Rating: NC-17
Summary: After being left by Edward, I couldn't stand the thought of him controlling me even in his absence. I admit it was an act of defiance, but it was a decision that brought me more happiness than I'd ever thought I'd experience. New Moon AU/Canon
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
CHAPTER 29
After hanging up the phone, I took a few seconds to let the news sink in.
I couldn't say that I was particularly surprised. We all knew this day would come eventually. It was already planned to happen, but not yet.
I was still holding the phone when Edward came searching for me.
"What is it, love?" he asked me with a frown. "I can practically feel your distress."
I sighed and closed my eyes before placing the phone down on my desk as gently as possible to keep myself from breaking it. Technology had become so fragile lately and wasn't really made for creatures as strong as myself.
"Adriana was bitten today. She's changing as we speak."
Edward looked at me in confusion. "Why are you so upset over it? I thought it was already planned."
"Yes, but it wasn't supposed to happen today."
"Does it matter?"
It was at times like these that I wished Edward knew more about my coven. He wasn't a member of the Volturi, though, and so he wasn't in the know when it came to coven business. It sure would have made a lot of things much easier if I didn't have to explain everything to him every time.
I shook my head. "You don't understand. It's two months too early, which means that it wasn't Aro who bit her. I would bet my arm that it was Felix."
The confusion didn't leave Edward, but I didn't have the time to explain it more thoroughly since I had been summoned to the castle, but I did my best anyway.
"Edward, one of the brothers are always the ones to change a new member of the coven. They do it for reassurance to make sure the new member remains loyal to them since they'd be bound together by blood and venom. If Felix bit Adriana, he's broken one of the household rules. Aro's furious."
Understanding finally dawned in Edward's eyes. "So that phone call—"
"Was Marcus telling me that Adriana's been bitten, and I need to be present for a punishment of one of our guards," I finished for him and swallowed thickly. I didn't like the thought of having to punish my own brother, but he did break one of our rules, and so he had to be punished.
Edward ran his hands over my bare shoulders in a soothing gesture, but I was too worried to calm down.
"I have to go change," I said quietly and stepped away from him. I had to become emotionally detached as fast as possible and not think of Felix as my brother but as long as Edward touched me, it was impossible.
I had to walk in a brisk, human pace to the master bedroom in order to avoid exposure. The servants who wandered around the house constantly were human, and while I had complained profusely to Aro when he told me about them, he had made a good point when he explained that people would get suspicious if we bought a house as big as this without hiring servants to help us maintain it.
It didn't mean it made me any happier about it, though. My house was supposed to be my sanctuary; the place where I could be myself with my husband and not have to think about humans.
Aro told me I had to keep the servants for at least six months before firing them, and I only had another month until then, so I endured it.
I often wondered why I listened to my father so much, and why I allowed him to decide so much in my life, but then I always remembered how long he'd lived and how wise he actually was. He knew exactly how to keep the humans unsuspecting, so I took his advice.
Mine and Edward's house was much too big for only two people, but it had also become an extension of the castle in Volterra. We always hosted all the festive events in the house while the castle was only used for business.
The property was humongous, spread out over eighty-five thousand square feet, forty-four and a half acres of grounds surrounding it, plus a seven-thousand-five-hundred square foot fruit orchard with a five-thousand square foot greenhouse.
Not only was there the main villa, there was also a servants' villa, a guest villa, a reception area, and various other small houses and sheds spread out over the entire thing.
It was very grand, but also incredibly beautiful. The exterior had been preserved in its original sixteenth-century style, which was when it was built, while the interior had been remodeled into an eighteenth-century design.
In the five months that Edward and I had lived here, we had made the western wing our home so that we could enjoy the setting sun from our windows when the servants had retired for the evening. The rest of the house was very museum-like with religious paintings on the ceilings, marble floors, and mahogany staircases.
Once inside our bedroom, I opened the double doors that led to the huge walk-in closet that used to be the room next door, but it had been reconstructed to hold all of our clothes. I was certain even Alice's chin would have dropped to the floor if she saw this closet because it looked like a private two-story boutique. A chandelier hung from the ceiling and the walls were covered with shelves and racks filled with shoes and clothes.
I quickly picked out a black business dress with a fitted stretch crepe skirt, and put my hair into a smooth, low bun. My crest hung around my neck, and the black pumps I already had on had to do.
I went back to Edward and gave him a kiss. "I don't know how long I'll be gone."
Edward smiled and placed his hands on my waist. "Just come home when you can," he said and kissed me again.
"Always." I grabbed my cloak and carefully exited the house, making sure that I remained in the shadows all the way to the edge of trees that surrounded the garden. Once covered by them, I started to run at full speed toward Volterra.
I arrived outside the castle only thirty minutes after I had gotten the call from Marcus, but I still felt as if I should hurry. I went toward the throne room where I knew they were waiting for me.
Father was pacing back and forth with a stormy expression etched on his face.
He looked up when I entered. "You took your time, Isabella," he said with a displeased tone.
For once I didn't cower under his stare. His servants had been the cause of my delay, and he knew it.
"I apologize, Father, but the servants you insisted on slowed me down considerably," I bit back, and while he narrowed his eyes at my tone, he didn't reply. He just continued to stare at me until the door to our right was opened and Felix stepped inside with his head bent forward.
An uncomfortable surge went through me as the last of my hope that it wasn't Felix went up in smoke.
I didn't show how I felt, though. Instead, I walked up to stand next to my father.
Felix raised his head and looked at me, but he could see that this was one of those times where I was his Mistress and not his sister.
Father explained the reason for Felix's punishment before he called for counsel between the four of us. We decided that his rule break wasn't severe enough for a hard punishment, so he was suspended from guard duty for two months.
Some might have thought that it didn't count as punishment, but this suspension would cause him to lose some of the respect from the other guards, and it would take quite a while to build up again.
After, Felix went in the direction of the room that Adriana was in. I quickly followed him since I had a few questions I wanted to ask.
I caught up with him outside of the door where high screams could be heard from within.
Felix cringed.
"Why?" I simply asked and stared into his eyes.
He knew exactly what I was referring to pulled agitatedly at his hair. "I don't know. I didn't plan it, it just happened."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
Felix closed his eyes in shame. "Adriana and I were in the reception when she, out of nowhere, kissed me." He sighed and finally looked back at me with devastated eyes. "You know I have avoided everything physical with her yet because I'm afraid to hurt her, but when her mouth touched mine, something took over. I couldn't control it. The next thing I consciously knew was that I had my teeth buried in her neck."
He threw his hands in the air in to show that he clearly didn't know what to do. He looked so destroyed; I just had to hug him.
"I feel so guilty," he confessed. "Aro gave his permission for her to join us and this is how I thank him?" he mumbled into my neck.
"It wasn't your fault. It was instinctual," I reassured him. When I leaned away, I looked at him questioningly. "But why didn't you tell us this before? I know Father would have understood."
Felix shook his head. "I deserved the punishment. I should have been able to control myself. I acted like a newborn. I know better than to let my instincts take over like that."
"No, you don't," I told him and forced him to look at me when he tried to look away. "Felix, the instincts that come with being mated are completely new to you. They caught you off guard and you couldn't help but act on them."
He still didn't listen to me. "Don't minimize my rule-break. Edward was in the exact same position when he met you, and he never attacked." He was determined to put all the blame on himself. His tone made it clear he wasn't open to anything but his own explanation.
"You can't compare yourself with Edward. When we met, he had been denying his instincts for seventy-five years."
A particularly loud scream made us look at the door that separated Felix for Adriana. For a second, Felix's expression changed and it looked like he was the one burning.
I knew he ached to be with Adriana, but Aro never allowed anyone inside the room during the transformation. He said that it strengthened the psyche if one went through it alone.
"I'll get Alec," I said without taking my eyes off the door.
I didn't care what Father said. The transformation was the worst thing a vampire would ever experience, and I had always envied Alice who had no memory of the event. With Alec's help, we would be able to ease Adriana's pain.
When the night fell, I decided to call Edward and tell him to come to the castle instead of me going back home. I would have to get back here when Adriana 'woke up' anyway, and I wanted to be there for Felix.
I told my father and uncles about what truly happened with Felix and they did understand. They also respected that Felix would still take his punishment without complaint.
When there were mere minutes left of Adriana's transformation, I was right by Felix's side, holding his hand tightly in mine.
Felix was a complete mess. I had never seen him so unhinged before, but Edward was with us, and he explained to Felix that Adriana didn't think badly of him for changing her. My brother looked a little bit relieved after hearing that, but he couldn't relax completely until he could hear his mate say it to him directly.
As soon as Adriana's heart stopped beating, he unlocked the door and went inside. I slowly followed and made sure that my facial expression was passive before coming into Adriana's line of sight.
It had been decided that I would be the leader that made the rules clear to Adriana, as she was the first changed after my "adoption" into the family. I hadn't wanted to do it, but Father insisted.
Adriana was sitting up in the bed with Felix hovering in front of her, her face cradled in his hands. She cautiously turned her head when she heard my entrance, and while her face didn't give her thoughts away, Edward's low growl revealed them to me anyway.
"I wouldn't entertain those thoughts if I were you, little girl," I warned with a sugar-sweet voice that didn't disguise my authority.
She quickly averted her gaze, but when she did, the most peculiar thing happened.
The condensation on the window started to move toward its center until it created a small drop of water that slowly trickled down the glass. With a sizzle, it evaporated into steam.
I froze in shock, but my thoughts ran wild. I was certain that what we had just witnessed had everything to do with the girl on the bed.
Felix hadn't noticed anything as his eyes were for Adriana only, but Edward and I exchanged a look that said I had to run this by the brothers.
When the couple on the bed turned to us, I once again wore my passive stone mask. I ordered Adriana to follow me to the basement where her first meal was to take place.
When everything was settled, I hurried to the throne room with Edward by my side. We burst through the doors to find the brothers engaged in a conversation with Demetri, Jane, and Alec. They were about to go out on a mission.
"Take Santiago with you. You need some muscle now that Felix is suspended," I heard Marcus's advice before the three disappeared.
Father looked up at us and frowned at our appearance. I was sure we both looked flustered because that's how I felt. Almost as if I'd run a marathon.
If Adriana possessed a gift as powerful as I suspected it to be, it could mean a huge uplift for the Volturi guard.
"What is the matter, my dear?" Father asked.
I strode up to him, lifted my shield, and showed him what we'd just witnessed while Edward explained it to Caius and Marcus.
"She's hydrokinetic," I said. "I don't know how powerful yet, but she definitely has a physical gift."
"Incredible," Aro breathed out.
"Who should we assign as her trainer?" I asked.
We only had one in the coven who possessed a physical gift and it still wasn't the same kind as Adriana's. Marcus's ability counted as physical as what he saw wasn't an illusion.
"Can you take someone in from outside?" Edward asked.
"It would complicate things, but it's definitely possible. Why? Do you have someone special in mind?"
All four of us directed our attention to Edward.
He nodded. "The most qualified person would be someone that has a gift similar to hers, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"Well, wouldn't Benjamin be the best, then?"
I grabbed Edward's shoulders and pulled him forward for a hard kiss. "You are brilliant," I said against his mouth. Of course the only atmoskinetic we knew would be best. "We should contact him immediately."
"Yes, we certainly should," Aro agreed and studied Edward speculatively.
Edward must have heard his thoughts for he stiffened for a second as he looked at my father, but then quickly relaxed again. I had absolutely no idea what that was about, but I knew that if it was important, Edward would tell me once we were back home in Florence.
I would never force him to tell me everything that went through his head. He was allowed to have his secrets, just like I was allowed to have mine.
If he wanted to tell me, he would.
