Chapter Seventy One

Megan

I felt so wretched as I looked back to see my home and family fade from view in the far distance. Still, I only had one person to blame, myself. If I hadn't acted so recklessly and without thinking none of this would have happened.

I had allowed my feelings to rule my head when I saw that guy grab my mom and then felt so stupid and embarrassed that it had happened yet again and this time I had almost killed poor Charlotte.

So, it had been my own fault. I had given Alec the chance he had obviously been looking for to force me back to Volterra. I would never have believed he could be so evil or heartless.

He had seemed so solicitous when he contacted me after the incident at the country club. His first messages had been so caring, especially after our less than an amicable breakup. He said he felt for me. That he had told me my place was in Volterra among my peers weeks ago.

He seemed to understand exactly what I was feeling, miserable, isolated and scared. Because of that, I had foolishly listened to him instead of my parents. I felt he would understand so much better being a teenager himself even though he had been a vampire longer than either of them.

He had almost fooled me into believing that I had been mistaken. That my dad had lied about his part in Darius' imprisonment and torture because he disapproved of Alec.

I had been close to agreeing to return to Volterra and resume my relationship with Alec, but a small voice in my head had warned me to stop, to take a breath and think. Did I really trust him more than the mother who had stood up to the man she loved, my own father, to keep me safe? Or the man I called my dad, the man who had been disfigured and given up so much to save and protect me?

It just went to underline how gullible and immature I really was, but I had come to my senses just in time to pull back from the edge.

When Alec realized that he had lost me his attitude changed markedly and he started with the threats. He warned me that he would put pressure on the Volturi council to have me arrested and imprisoned as a danger to my own kind if I didn't agree to go back to him.

At first, I didn't understand and I told him so. He had told me never to darken the doors of the citadel again and not to contact him or anything. So what had changed?

"You really don't understand do you, Megan? I should have realized how immature you were. Let me explain as simply as I can. You and I are meant to be together. We will be a power to be reckoned with. The only living hybrid and the most powerful gift in our world. We could end up as co-rulers of the Volturi in time. I told you how I felt about you, but you chose to turn your back on me. No one has ever done that, no one."

"But I don't love you, Alec. I'm sorry. I should have realized it earlier. I never meant to hurt you. Please believe that. I would never hurt anyone deliberately."

His voice became colder as he continued.

"I suppose you still carry a torch for Darius or think you do. You know he'll never come back to you, don't you? He turned his back on you as soon as you gave him what he wanted. He was a vicious animal, a beast consumed with revenge and no match for you."

I didn't want to discuss Darius with him. It would do no good in his present mood, so I kept silent.

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life miserable? Pining for the love you can never have? I'm offering you everything you could ever dream of."

I remembered the things my mom had told me about Edward Cullen. Alec sounded just like him and that made me even more determined to end this foolishness.

"I'm sorry, Alec. You do what you have to. I'm not coming back to Volterra."

He had turned vicious then, spitting his words out.

"Oh, you think so? Well, you might just change your mind. I'm not asking any more, I'm telling you. The Volturi are sending people to interview you about your little temper tantrums and you are going to do exactly what I tell you or else."

"How do the Volturi know what happened? Oh, you told them. You bastard, Alec. How could you? Have you been stalking me?"

"Now, now. I don't like to hear that kind of language from my intended."

I laughed, "No chance. I'd rather rot in the catacombs than spend another hour with you."

"Maybe. But what if it was someone else being left to rot? Someone you do care about?"

I frowned, what the hell was he talking about? If he thought he could persuade the Volturi to arrest my parents he was even more deluded and stupid than I thought.

"You'll never convince Sulpicia to arrest my parents."

"Your parents? No, my dear sweet little Megan. I have someone more important to you in mind. Someone you would probably be willing to lay down your life for."

I felt sick as it hit me who he was talking about.

"Darius? Is that why he never came back? You bastard. Where is he? What did you do?"

He laughed and I shivered as I felt a ghost walk over my grave.

"Now that the penny has finally dropped you can stop talking and listen very carefully to what I am about to tell you. If you want to save your precious Darius you will do exactly what I say. If not, I promise you he will never see the light of day again. I will leave him to rot in his sensory deprived cocoon."

I listened in silence feeling more and more nauseous as he laid out his plan for me. I was to continue in my self imposed exile until the Volturi arrived and then agree to go with them. I wouldn't say a word to anyone, not my parents, not the Volturi, no one, about my conversation with Alec.

I was to give the impression that I was relieved to be returning to Italy and when I arrived in the citadel I would beg to be allowed to see Alec. I would ask if I could be placed in his care to learn how to control my temper. If I deviated in any way I would be responsible for Darius being trapped within a living hell for all eternity.

"And if I agree? If I do all this, will you let him go?"

"Let's see how things progress. Once you and I are married and you are mine then I'll consider it. But you have to be the perfect mate. Everyone must believe it, everyone. Do you understand?"

Oh, I understood only too well. In order to save Darius, I had to prostitute myself to Alec, his tormentor. Still, it was a sacrifice I was only too willing to make and I knew that Alec was depending on that.

It was hard to act the brat now I had come to terms with how stupid I had been. I wanted to go down and pour my heart out to my parents. Ask for their forgiveness and help but I dare not. Alec could be watching me even now or have someone doing it for him and I had no doubt that if he found out I had done so he would make good on his threat without a second thought.

So what could I do? My dad had promised to protect me whatever and I believed him. I also knew that his protection would extend to Darius. Dad knew how I felt about him so he would help if I could only find a way of telling him that we needed it. I just had to find a way to warn him that things were not as they appeared. I was the Major's daughter so I would find a way. I just didn't know how long I had to come up with one.

I had written as much as I dared and slipped the note into dad's hand before I left. Now all I could do was to play along with Alec's sick game until he came to save us, or at least save Darius. However, if he couldn't find Darius or persuade the Volturi that Alec was the dangerous one, then what?

The thought of even pretending to be Alec's mate made me feel physically sick. I would have to act really well and pray it was good enough to fool anyone I needed to.

I kept it together on the drive to the airport mainly because I was trying to keep calm and force my emotions away before I was forced to confront Alec.

"Are you OK, Megan?"

I nodded not trusting myself to speak and Felix just stared at me thoughtfully. Had he seen me slip dad the note? Was he even now deciding whether to go back and ask for it or whether to ask me? I prayed he would do neither and heaved a sigh of relief when we arrived at the airport. Waiting for us was a sleek gleaming black jet, the Volturi's own and within half an hour we were in the air and on our way to Italy.

I had just a few hours to prepare myself for the performance of a lifetime and save Darius' life.

No one spoke during the flight, not because they were giving me the cold shoulder but because I made it plain that I didn't want to talk. In fact, I curled up on one of the luxury leather recliner seats and closed my eyes.

Corin offered me coffee and food but I just shook my head. I felt so sick and angry, but not with self-loathing like earlier. This time I was sick with tension and the thought of what was to come. I didn't think I could pull it off. I was sure I couldn't. Then I thought of my parents and how strong they were. I had already let them down once. I couldn't bear the thought of doing so again. No, I was better than that. I had to have a plan. I couldn't just blindly follow Alec's orders unless I had a plan of my own to work too.

Whatever I did, I couldn't let anyone discover what I was capable of, that was my strength and my best chance of getting through this. Think!

Right, Alec had Darius and was using his gift to keep him a prisoner. What did that entail? How far did Alec's gift extend? How long-lasting was it? They were two questions I needed the answers to, and quickly.

Once in Volterra, I would be under Alec's watchful eye so any fact-finding I did would have to be done very circumspectly or before we got there. The problem was that I had no way of starting a conversation about Alec's gift without tipping my hand if they told him later. Or did I?

The people on this plane were under the impression that I was going back to Volterra voluntarily, to be with Alec. So, if I were to ask a few questions would that seem odd? I mean, I knew some things about him but even so. I decided to try.

It wasn't easy, they didn't want to talk as I'd made it obvious I wasn't interested. Eventually, however, Corin took pity on me.

"I guess you must be feeling a little uneasy right now. I'm sorry we had to come in force but with your control problems and your parents it seemed like the sensible thing to do."

"That's OK. It was a bit of a shock. I guess I expected Alec to come, himself."

She smiled, "Oh, he's eager to see you again but he had business to take care of. We had a prisoner brought in. A nomad whose been killing recklessly and as he's been such a problem Marcus asked Alec to keep him quiet until the trial."

Given an opening, I jumped in quickly.

"Yes, he said his gift came in useful for things like that. I haven't seen it in action myself. I guess you have though?"

"Yes, and I can tell you it's impressive, but creepy too. It takes a while to build up but you don't see it coming."

"Right, and how long does it last?"

"That depends on Alec."

She frowned, "Really you should ask him. It's not something I feel comfortable discussing."

Felix who had got up and was wandering past stopped and leaned down.

"Yes, Alec loves to brag about his gift. He thinks it makes him important and scary. It does have it's limitations though. He has to stay within a couple of days journey of his victim if he wants to keep them under his control. Any further and it takes too much of a toll on him, poor little lad."

Corin glared at him. I guess she didn't like the guards gossipping about each other but Felix took no notice of her. I guess there was very little that intimidated him.

So, if Alec wanted to keep Darius under he would need to keep him within a few days journey of Volterra which narrowed the search. Maybe, if I could discover where he had kept him before, he might be using the same place again. After all, he'd kept Darius for a long time. Now, who was it who had discovered what he'd done and forced him to let Darius go? I couldn't remember right now.

Maybe, if I allowed Alec to think I was going to do just as he wanted he might take me out and that way I would get to see more of the countryside around Volterra and even Pisa. That wouldn't be too far away for him.

The only problem would be if the council decided I needed to be taught a lesson and kept me confined to the citadel. Well, I would worry about that when I arrived. I felt a little better for having decided on a plan of action. I was not going to be a helpless victim. I would just let Alec believe so.

When the pilot finally announced that we were coming into land at Galileo Galilei airport I began to feel nervous again. Would Alec be waiting here at the airport? Or, would I have a little longer to compose myself before beginning my act as the besotted mate of the little asshole?

Peering out of the window I was relieved to see a driver standing beside one of the Volturi cars waiting for us to disembark. Of course, Alec could be waiting in the car hidden from view by the heavily tinted windows.

Felix motioned for me to follow him down the steps onto the tarmac and the heat hit me. It was late evening yet still hot and yet Felix insisted on draping my jacket over my shoulders. It was quite touching his solicitude toward me.

I followed him across to the car where the chauffeur stood, the door now opened ready to swallow me up. It did show me that Alec was not hiding in there waiting for me and for that I was grateful.

I was somewhat surprised when Corin and the others didn't follow me into the car. It appeared that only Felix was accompanying me to the citadel and he slid in beside me pulling the glass soundproofing panel to shut us in the back, remote from the chauffeur.

The car slid effortlessly through the traffic and headed out of the airport towards distant Volterra.

We sat in silence for some time and I felt Felix's presence intimidating although he had always been polite and courteous to me.

"So, it would appear you are to become a permanent fixture in Volterra."

I jumped when he broke the silence. I had been trying desperately to find a way out of my present predicament but I was still coming up blank.

I smiled, "Yes. I'm looking forward to it and being with Alec and all my friends again. I guess it's going to be a little awkward at first, after all, I am on parole or something, aren't I?"

"So it would appear. Personally I don't see the necessity to drag you all the way here. I'm sure your parents are more than capable of any discipline that was necessary and how do they expect you to work on your self-control if you are shut away from human contact?"

Unnerved by his close proximity and unsure what he meant I just shrugged hoping that would be sufficient answer.

"Well, if you find yourself needing a friend in Volterra, other than Alec I mean, you can text me. This is my number."

I looked at him, puzzled by this, a friend? What did that mean? He seemed to understand my confusion because he nodded slowly.

"The citadel and its surroundings are vast and little used these days. Only a few know their way around underground. It would be unwise of you or anyone else for that matter, to explore alone. You might become confused or lost and never see the light of day again."

I opened my mouth to question him further when there was a sharp rap on the partition and it was slid back by the chauffeur.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, sir, but Marcus wanted you to return to Pisa as soon as we drop off our guest. Alec will be waiting for her at the clock tower."

Felix nodded and sat back in his seat not bothering to shut the partition again and just glanced at me before we entered the town through the huge gated archway and began ascending the narrow road that led up to the central square and the citadel. We were here and I still had no idea if I could pull off this deception when I set eyes on Alec but I had to try.