AN: Something a little new, Proceed with caution; the rating is for a reason, as there are sensitive subjects ahead.
I own nothing. Just the plotline.
APOV
I had read the boy; I had read the entire Coven; none of them knew about what was going on under their noses. I didn't want to be the one to tell Caius that his Mate had gotten violated in that manner, but I know that if I was in his shoes, and it was Picia, I would have wanted him to tell me immediately.
I had felt physically sick. When I had read Carlisle's firstborn, this was not the first offence that the child had committed; when he first was created, he went on a spree, not only feeding on those that he deemed unworthy of life, but after they were dead, he would violate their bodies. He was genuinely sick. I was glad that my brother had killed them all, but never had I wanted to tear a vampire to pieces so much in all my long life.
"Isabella, sister, you will need to tell Caius, he will not judge you, if that is what you fear, Caius will show his anger, but it will not be towards you; he may just want to lock the both of you up in here, and never leave, just to make sure for himself that you are safe and well. He will more than likely want to make sure that you are well first and foremost." I told her.
"Why does he have to know, though? I know that he said he was my Mate, but so did Edward. I know that Caius said Marcus saw that he wasn't, but how can I be sure?" Isabella asked me.
"Well, that is rather easy to answer. Think about Caius. Now tell me what you feel." I asked her.
"I feel like there is a rope pulling my chest." She answered.
"Now think about Edward, and tell me what you feel," I asked. I watched as she looked increasingly confused.
"I don't feel anything." She said with a slight shake of her head.
"There you go then. That rope you feel pulling you, it is pulling you towards your true Mate. He will always protect you, Isabella. Of that, have no doubt. Now, it is up to you when you tell Caius, but I suggest you do soon." I said to my new little sister. Isabella just sighed and nodded her head.
"I guess I should; I know I should, but honestly, I'm scared too," Isabella whispered as she pulled her feet up and curled into me on the sofa.
"He is already worried, and that is because you wished to speak to me in private. Please, sister, ease his worry, and it is just that. Worry for you." I told her. Pulling her closer, rather enjoying being able to hug a sister of mine once again.
"You know, if we were feeling rather mean, we could go off for a bite to eat and leave both of our Mates stewing, make them wonder what was happening that we ran out of the Castle so fast." I mused aloud. Isabella just laughed at me.
"As much as that sounds like fun, I think I will take your advice. I'll talk to my Sire." Isabella said. I got the distinct feeling that she was uncomfortable with calling him her Mate yet. I smiled and nodded. Before I suggested, either we go to brothers, or we call Caius to us. Even with these options, she was uncomfortable. Isabella stayed curled up against me for some time. I knew that she could hear the commotion going on in the Castle, just as I could listen to it. Caius was not happy about being kept in the dark about anything.
"I know very well that you can hear your Mate. Why don't we call him?" I whispered to her, again, she sighed.
"Why are you putting this off, really?" I asked her.
"I'm scared of telling him, it was the one thing that I had to give someone, and that got taken by force. When I found out about vampires and Mates, I knew that it was something that I wanted to be able to give my Mate when I found them, and Edward took that. So now I have nothing to give." Isabella whispered. The boy took her maidenhead. He told her that she was His Mate and stole her innocence. It made a little more sense now why she was so scared.
"Do you think that Caius will take something from you by force?" I asked, wanted to know if my suspicions were correct. She dropped her head and nodded.
"Caius," I called out; this needed dealing with; seconds later, he was in front of us. Seeing our position had my brother instantly defensive.
"Be calm, please, brother," I said to him pointedly. Caius looked down at his young Mate and began to calm a fraction.
"You called, brother. Isabella, are you well?" Caius asked, the concern in his voice evident.
"Remember what I told you, sister. He will do those things I told you and more." I whispered to her. She looked up at me, and I just nodded. Caius would protect her with her life.
"I will go and leave you both to talk," I told Isabella. Then, standing from the sofa and patting Caius on the shoulder.
"Be careful, brother, the conversation ahead is more delicate than you think. Tread carefully." I whispered so that only he would hear me before walking out of the room. I was making my way towards my Picia.
Once I saw her, I pulled her towards me and held my Mate.
"What happened, darling?" she asked me.
"You are just what I need right now, my darling. That ignorant Cullen child not only told our sister that she was his Mate but also took her maidenhead by force," I told her quietly. I wished that Caius had left him so that we could show him what it was like to have something so innocent taken by force.
"No, no wonder she was scared about being our new pet; she must have thought that we were going to do the same to her," Picia said to me.
"She cannot even acknowledge Caius as her Mate, only her Sire," I told her as she led me over to our bed.
"Would you want to if that is all you have known a Mate to do?" she asked. I just shook my head.
CPOV
I stood waiting for Isabella to talk to me, wondering why Aro had warned me to be careful.
"Your brother suggested that I talk to you about what he saw in Edward's mind. I know that he said that you would protect me, even though I know that he is dead, that he can't hurt me anymore. He told me that he was my Mate, you know this, you also know that he was abusive, please don't hurt me, Sire. I know that you said, just like your brother said, that you were my Mate; I don't know how permanent that is, Edward said he was, and now he's dead." Isabella said she was starting to ramble. I sat on the floor in front of her and took her hands.
"No matter what it is, you can tell me," I said to her.
"I have nothing to give you when I found out about vampires and then found out they had Mates, I decided that I wanted to give something to my Mate when I found them, but I can't do that anymore, Edward told me that I was his Mate, I know that you said that I wasn't, and I believe you. But you say that I'm your Mate, and I feel it. I feel the pull towards you, which I never felt towards Edward, but now I have nothing to give you, Sire. Edward took everything." Isabella said quietly before starting to cry.
I had to stop and try and think for a moment why she was upset. Then, finally, I got up and sat next to her, needing to comfort her; she said it herself when it came to me. The Cullen child took everything from her; she had nothing to give, the fact that she was struggling to call me her Mate.
"Isabella, what did he do to you? Can you tell me?" I asked, working my hardest not to show her that I was angry. Finally, she shook her head, crying still.
"Alright. I have a feeling I know what you're alluding towards; It makes me wish I had kept the boy alive so I can return the favour." I growled between my clenched teeth. She cried for hours, and I stayed there, next to her, holding her so that she could have some semblance of comfort.
"He raped me, told me I was his Mate, and he raped me. why would he do that?" Isabella asked me; it had been two days; Isabella had not once let me go or stopped crying; she yelled and screamed; she was angry. And rightly so. Edward Cullen had taken from her the one thing she felt she had to give her Mate when she found him. Now she felt that she could not.
Once she finally said the words to me, she looked like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. She got up and started to walk around the room.
I had come to terms with the fact that my Mate had gotten violently violated. And there was no other way when it came to the rape of a human by one of our race. Her trust in my species, broken.
"What would you like from me? what do you want me to do?" I asked her once she calmed down.
"Teach me to fight. Teach me the laws. I have nothing to give you, but I will try and be a good soldier. I will try and be someone that you will be proud to have on your guard." she said, the first sign of hope in her eyes.
"I will teach you everything that I know. But you cannot be on the Volturi's guard. the reason being that you are a Queen, my Queen." I told her, hoping that she would accept this.
"But I am nothing," Isabella said, but I had to strain to hear her. Then, finally, I stood and walked over to her, pulled her close, and told her that she was everything.
"You are my everything; you are not by any means, nothing. You are my everything; you have two brothers that are looking forward to spending time with you. If you are worried about having something to give me, all I want is your time; all I want is to be able to spend our time together engrossed in conversation, to be able to sit and read a book together. Anything else comes when you are ready for it all. Do Mates usually mark each other? Yes. But again, it will be when you are ready. If you decide tomorrow that you want me to mark you, and you mark me then and there, I will happily comply with your wishes." I told her as I took her beautiful face between my hands. Isabella looked towards her feet and nodded. I vowed to help her work on her self-confidence.
"You are a beautiful woman Isabella, please try and believe me; I will do all I am can for you to believe me, and I can only hope to get to earn your trust," I told her quietly. I had been putting off my duties, so I informed her that we needed to try and go about our lives as regularly as possible. Thankfully she agreed but asked if she could join me in the throne room. I just wondered if she was sure then agreed when Isabella said that she was. So we got ready and made our way towards the throne room.
Once I sat down, I pulled her onto my lap and held her close, my brothers both letting us know that they were glad to see us both.
There were a few vampires to see today that we needed to call judgment on; a few came and asked for death as their Mates had expired. Aro read them all. The last one we saw that angered us all. The Vampire was found to have kept a pet. But only did; because they had received the information from the Cullen's that it was safe once more to do so. Isabella did not indicate that she was growling before she launched herself from my lap and tore the Vampire apart; before turning to us all.
"Find them all; this cannot keep happening," Isabella growled, venom dripping down her chin; before walking away, I called Heidi and asked her to bring five criminals to my office. She nodded before looking towards the door where my Mate had just left.
"Felix, Demetri, I agree with Isabella; we need to find all the covens that have started to take Pets, bring them here and punish them; an example is needed. Take Mr McCarty and Major Whitlock with you; this can be the start of their redemption." Aro said, looking towards Marcus and me; we both nodded our agreement; this needed to get brought to a halt. I asked Jane to go and find Isabella; I suggested taking her to the training room and help her expel some of her anger. She nodded and left to find her.
We finished up in the throne room; as I was about to leave to meet up with Isabella, Aro asked to talk in his office. Nodding, I followed him. Once there, I just waited for him to tell me what was on his mind.
"How is my sister doing?" Aro asked.
"She is well," I told him defensively.
"Brother, we know what happened to her; we only want to know if she is well." Aro defended himself. I sighed and nodded.
"She is not doing well at all. She asked me to teach her to fight and teach her our laws; she wanted to try and be someone that we would be proud to be on our guard. Her actions today tell me that what Cullen's did to her was more than we realized. What did you read from them all?" I asked Aro.
"Please forgive me for being crass. I read from young Edward that she was nothing but a toy that he played with; he rather enjoyed manipulating her; Edward enjoyed hurting her; on several occasions, there were incidents that Edward would cut her. At the same time, she slept and fed on her; he did it this way, not accidentally changing her and lose his singer's blood. I read from him that he became increasingly aroused at the sound of her bones breaking while he raped her. He was not the only one to do this though, Alice Cullen also violated Isabella, she never fed on her, but she did violate her for much the same reasons as Edward did. Unknown to Isabella. She had become pregnant, Edward and Alice forced a miscarriage on her; they refused to take her to the hospital. They had caused a hemorrhage, so they enlisted Carlisle to treat Isabella. She nearly died at the hands of the three Cullen's. But that was not the first time that they had almost caused her to meet her death. Each time they pawned it off to her human father as her clumsiness when she would return home bloody and bruised. Isabella trusted them implicitly, and they abused that trust. The only two that did not know about it were the Major and Mr McCarty. The two of them were kept unaware for the very reason they knew who the Major was. They knew he would kill them all if something happened to Isabella; he indeed saw her as Marcus and I do, a sister. The same for young Mr McCarty." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They had done so much damage; I regretted killing them immediately. Death had been too good for them; they had needed to get punished; severely. It was then that we all heard a blood-curdling scream.
It was Jane.
We ran towards the training room, where the scream had originated, to find Alec in front of his sister. There was ash surrounding Isabella; she was screaming and panicked; Aro ran over to Jane and Alec, ensuring she was alright.
"Aro," I called. He looked at me and nodded. She was alright. He picked up her hand and read her to find out what had happened.
"Careful, brother, it's her gift, it seems. But I'm not sure what it is; I have never seen anything of the like. I will need to call Eleazar." Aro told me.
I walked towards Isabella. I was trying to think of the best way to get her attention.
"Isabella," I shouted. She looked at me; she was scared. I had to get to her without thought. I ran towards her through the ash surrounding her, pulling her towards me and holding her.
"You're alright; you're safe; I have you, my Queen, Breathe, focus on my breathing, and breathe with me. You can do it, my Queen," I made a choice not to call her my Mate; she only knew terrible things came with that title.
"Caius, I'm scared. What's happening?" Isabella asked me. I could feel that the ash was slowing. But it was also taking form. Whoever this ash belonged to, they were coming back.
"Look at me, my Queen, I will give you my life, my existence, to make sure that you are kept safe. I will give everything that I am to keep you at my side and happy. You are my everything; you are my world. Without you, I will not continue to exist. But my darling, I need you to calm. Can you do this for me?" I asked her. She studied me for a little while and nodded, taking a breather, she started to calm. As she calmed, the ash that had taken form started to go back to the ash that it once had been. But it had become substantial enough for us to know who it was. It was the ashen remains of the Cullen coven. Once the ash was once again on the ground, powder once again. I picked up Isabella.
"Clean up the ash. Alec, please bring your sister to see me once she has recovered. I would like to talk to both of you. Aro, please call Eleazar." I said before I left and took Isabella back to our room. I heard his quiet 'of course' as I walked out of the training room.
Once in our room, I sat us both on the bed, just holding her.
"Can you tell me what happened?" I asked her.
"Jane came to find me. She suggested that we go to the training room and release some tension. I agreed; she showed me some techniques, said I was doing well, and then I felt something come over me, like when Edward or Alice would get angry. I couldn't control it; it was so sudden that I was surrounded by ash before I knew it. I couldn't control what was happening. Jane was too close to me, so I pushed her out of the way. Another vampire was standing in the corner of the room. Is Jane alright? She didn't get hurt, did she? The ash touched her before it consumed me; she screamed; that's when I pushed her out of the way; it took me over. Caius, what's going on?" Isabella asked.
I got up and ran to the door. I was calling for the guards.
"Search the Castle; we have an intruder. But be cautious; we think it feeds on your fear and brings it to life. One of you brings my brothers and the Queens here immediately. There is no time to waste. I do not care if you have to carry them, do it." I growled before slamming the door and going back to my Mate. Not three seconds later, Aro and Marcus were walking in my quarters; seconds behind them, their wives were getting carried through my door.
"Brother, what is the meaning of this," Marcus asked.
"We have an intruder," I whispered just loud enough for only my brothers to hear. Not even two minutes later, Jane and Alec knocked, and I called them to enter. Isabella saw Jane standing off to the side with her brother; getting off the bed, she ran over to her and cried, checking Jane over to make sure she was uninjured.
"Are you ok?" Isabella asked her. Jane, looking over at us, looked very uncomfortable.
"Yes, mistress, I am well. Thank you." Jane responded. Isabella sighed in relief and launched herself forward to hug Jane. The look of surprise on Jane's face was almost comical.
"Thank God," Isabella said.
"Mistress, thank you for protecting me from the intruder," Jane said as she lowered her head. So she had seen this persona also. I looked over at Aro; he nodded; he confirmed this and was unhappy about it.
"You were in danger; of course, I will protect you. You would do that for me." Isabella said. As though it was the most natural thing on earth to protect someone. She was selfless. Yet, she couldn't accept the same for herself.
"Will someone tell me what is going on, please? And tell me who this 'newborn' is and why she is here with us." Athenodora growled out. Isabella heard this and came over to me, hiding behind me.
"Move away from my husband; you are not wanted here, so leave while we talk." Again, I felt the hurt through my bond with Isabella; she looked up at me; before I could say a word, she nodded and ran out the door.
"That was your new Queen. Caius' true Mate, who happened just to get attacked and saved the life of one of our guards. Watch what you say; you are the one that is not wanted here." Sulpicia growled as she slapped my wife; she then asked Alec to take her to the tower and lock her in there before calling Corin to keep Athenodora Compliant for her stay there.
"Caius, you should go after Isabella. We will wait in your study." Marcus told me. I ran out after her. I was trying to find her scent to follow. After searching for close to four hours, I finally found her, but she wasn't alone; neither Isabella nor the Vampire realized that I was close. I watched as she sat, not realizing that there was another behind her. I watched as a mist was omitted from this Vampire as Isabella's back arched. I raced up to them both as quietly as I possibly could. Thankfully the Vampire must need full concertation for their gift; I ripped off the Vampire's head and tore their limbs off; I looked around for any other sign of another that could be working with this Vampire. I could not see nor sense another; I noticed that two of the guards must have heard a commotion and come to see; I motioned for them to come forward quietly before motioning for them to pick up the Vampire that had just torn apart. Picking up Isabella, she tried to fight me, but I held onto her tightly. I was whispering that she needed to keep quiet. I was begging for her to stay silent, just until we could determine if there was anyone else helping this Vampire. I whispered for them to follow me, and I ran back to my quarters.
"A Vampire was attacking Isabella again; it looked to be the same one that she described. I was able to tear the Vampire apart; Renata and Afton came upon us and have brought the Vampire if you can read him." So I asked Aro, watching as they placed down the Vampire on the floor of my office.
Once Aro looked at the Vampire, he jumped back from him; it was one that we all knew too well. After all, it was one of our own, but we knew that he was loyal only to Athenodora, which would mean that she knew Isabella all along.
"Santiago," Aro whispered under his breath. He was my wife's lover. She thought that she was good at hiding the fact that she was unfaithful and could keep me in the dark. Little did she know, I knew about him, but did not care, which made her the joke.
"How was it that he was able to keep a gift like that a secret from you, Aro?" Marcus growled. That surprised me.
"I have not read him before; when I was to read the guard, he was always away on a mission at the time. So I was not able to do so. We need to burn the pieces immediately, but we will need to burn them a second time for him to stay dead. Renata, please find us some form of accelerant please. Caius, do you have…." Aro didn't even finish before Jane was handing him a bottle of what was labelled paint thinner. I just looked at her.
"I had just brought some to clean off my paintbrushes. I still had it on me." Jane said, shrugging. I had to wonder about her sometimes — our little sociopath. I smiled at her. Jane then walked over to Isabella, pulling her in to comfort her; I think they might have found a friend in each other.
"Thank you, Jane." Aro smiled down at her; she was like a daughter to both Aro and Sulpicia. I instructed Renata to take the pieces into the bathroom and place them into the shower; at least there, we could happily burn then re-burn the parts without setting the Castle on fire. I was glad when Aro had read the Vampire before we sentenced him to death; at least we were able to discover if any others were going to betray us.
"Are there any others out there?" Marcus asked what I had been thinking.
"Just one," Aro said, looking directly at me.
"I know that I'm not one, so get one with it," I growled at Aro.
"No, but your wife is. She defiantly knew about Isabella and organized with Santiago to get rid of her. She is the one that sent the Cullen's to Isabella; it seems that Alice Cullen had been working for Athenodora for close to thirty years and had told Athenodora about the fact that you would find your Mate in a human. She sent the Cullen's to humiliate, demean and destroy Isabella. All so that she could keep you by her side." Aro said, clearly, my wife had told her lover all about this.
"Bella!" We all heard Jane call. We walked out as the fire was going out.
"I'm sorry, masters, she heard what you said; she said she doesn't want to interfere," Jane said, looking worried.
BPOV
I heard everything; Caius was married, his wife knew about me before I was born, again I was just a joke, well no more, she can have her husband. So I ran as far as I could before hitting the sea, then I dove in and started swimming. It was night by the time I hit land again; I discovered that I was in Spain; I walked around and stole a map; I wanted to get home. Even though I no longer had anything there for me, I wanted to go home. I knew that there was money in the Cullen house, all over the house, so I would make my way there and raid the house for all the money I could find.
It took me nearly a week, but I finally could get back to America, running the whole way; once I made it to Forks, I made my way towards the Cullen house. Making sure that no one was around, I breathed in and ensured no other vampires around either.
Breaking into the Cullen house was something that I never thought that I would be doing. I went through every room, grabbing one of the duffle bags out of Edwards room; I quickly filled it up with cash. I found a burn phone also; once I emptied the house of all the money I could find, I made my way to the garage; I found five large duffle bags in there filled with cash. I took them all. I knew for a fact that the Cullen's didn't worry about surveillance. And for once, I was glad to know that.
It was then that I heard a car pull up the driveway and stop in front of the house. I panicked and hid in the garage behind the Edwards precious Vanquish.
"Hey there, Lil' bit, I know you can hear me; my name is Peter. I have my wife with me; her name is Charlotte. I have a habit of known shit, and I knew that you would be here; we came to help you. if it's ok with you, Char here and I would love to talk to ya." A man said, well, Peter, said.
"We just want to talk, that's all. Nothing more. If you don't like what we have to say, you can take the truck and vamoose. Deal?" he said once again. I stood up slowly, then. Keeping the money I found behind me just in case they knew about it and wanted to take it from me. The Cullen's owed me; this was my compensation.
"Ok, I'll hear you out," I said to them both; they were both looking directly at me.
"Good. Now, I know who you are; I know what has happened to you. That money you're trying to hide from us, keep it. As far as we are concerned, it's yours. We do know someone that you know; also, we call him the Major. Now he doesn't know that we here; he doesn't know anything you don't want him to know. Now, we can help you get an entirely new identity if you wish us to. We would love for you to come with us; we could teach you to fight; also, we can teach you to want we know of the laws." Peter said to me. I just stayed still, standing there and listening to what he had to say. He sighed when I didn't speak.
"Look, we know that your King Caius' Mate, we just want to help you," I growled at them both when they mentioned my Sire.
"Ok, don't bring that up. Got it." Peter said. The small strawberry blonde next to him smacked him over the head and took a step closer to me. I growled at her to stay back.
"Look, I know my Mate can be an ass, but he does mean well. We do want to help you. You got a raw deal; who hasn't? You have already made up your mind about us now. You can either take the truck and leave. Or you get in the truck with us, and we all go. What is it to be?" the woman asked me.
"I can keep the money?" I asked her. She nodded.
"Ok, I'll come with you," I told her; I wasn't sure about her Mate; he seemed like a piece of work. It looked like he was hiding something.
"Don't worry about Pete; he always looks like he's hiding something; it's just because of his gift." The woman said to me.
I picked up all six bags of cash I found and placed them in the truck with me.
"Where are we going exactly?" I asked.
"Well, for some reason, we got this in the mail; Pete ordered it months ago. It's your new identity. Complete with a bank account. We can take you to the bank so that you can deposit all that money so that you're not lugging it around. Everything in that envelope belongs to you and no one else. How does that sound?" the woman said to me.
"Thank you," I told her. But then, she just smiled at me.
I looked out the window, and Peter was coming out with something over his shoulder and pouring something around the house. I must have looked confused.
"He's setting it on fire; there are things in there that can expose Vampires. The only person that we answer to other than each other is the Major. The Major is our Sire; Pete has over his shoulder is the Major's uniform from his Army days as a human. It's the only thing that he cherishes." She was smiling.
"That looks like a confederate Uniform," I said.
"It is. The Major was in the Civil War as a human," she smiled. I tried to think who could have been in the Civil War, even close to that old. I had no idea, but then Aro had called Jasper, Major Whitlock.
"Are you talking about Jasper?" I asked her.
"Yes, I know you might not think so at the moment, but he is a good man; he was just used by the Cullen's for protection, you see, next to Caius, Jasper is the most feared Vampire in our race. Even Caius has said that he wouldn't want to go up against our Major. However, both of them seem to have mutual respect for the other." She told me.
Once the house was on fire, Peter came over to the truck and jumped in, handing over the antique uniform to Charlotte. We were then on our way.
We did, as Charlotte said, stop at a bank so that I could deposit all the cash that I had. But instead of doing this at one bank, we deposited it at several; it was too suspicious otherwise. From what they told me. Peter's phone kept alerting him to phone calls every half hour; it seemed; he just ignored them all. Each time the phone rang, he would grind his teeth and say something about it wasn't the right time. Finally, we had one more stop to make and one last bag to deposit into the bank. Once we stopped, Charlotte told him to call back whoever kept ringing while she took me into the bank. He nodded. He looked annoyed, but he nodded his compliance.
We both went into the back and went up the counter as we had done at the other five banks and asked to deposit the money into my account. Once it was all done, Charlotte told me to wait for a minute, to give Peter time to find out what was important. I just nodded.
"I'm getting a little hungry; is there a chance that we could stop for a bite to eat at some point?" I asked her. She nodded and told me that we would go to our next stop as it would be the one before getting home wherever home was. I watched Peter get angrier, and his call carried on. I listened carefully and tried to concentrate on what he was saying. But I couldn't seem to hear him at all — too much commotion going on around me at the moment.
I talked to Charlotte and found out that Jasper had turned them to fight in the Southern Wars; I had no idea what that was about, so I thought to ask about it later on when we got to where it was that we were going.
Charlotte told me that Peter and Jasper had formed a tentative friendship before she came along, and by the time Jasper turned her and Peter found her, Jasper was tired of all the fighting. Peter had begged for Jasper to let them go, and he did. He allowed the couple to escape the War; a few years later, he had gone back for Jasper to try and talk him into leaving Maria, Jasper's Sire; after a lot of back and forth, Jasper decided to leave with Peter and has never looked back.
"It was terrible in the Army, but at the same time, I found Peter, the thing is though we had to keep the fact that we were Mate's secret, as it was forbidden in the Army to have a Mate if anyone got found out, they were both tortured before both got killed. Maria didn't like the liability that having a pair of Mate's in her Army caused her, as the Mated pair would always defend each other before defending Maria. So when Peter and I found each other, the first thing he told me was that we needed to keep it all secret until he could talk to the Major. A few months later, during a fight during training, Jasper told us to leave but make sure Maria never spotted us close to the south again. So we left. We owe the Major everything. Not only is he our Sire, but also our Coven leader. See, you may think that he was part of the Cullen Coven, but he never was." Charlotte told me. I had to admit it surprised me; I had thought that he was part of their family; their Coven.
"We found out recently that there is a hunt on for anyone the Cullen's misled about the keeping of pets, the Major is part of it, and relishing in the hunt. The Major despised the idea of keeping Pets, Pete knew what was going on with you, we tried to get the Major to help free you, but every time we came to see him, every time we called him, he wasn't allowed to answer his phone, or he was out, and they didn't know when he was coming back. Pete and I tried so many different ways to get to either you or to the Major. But we always were intercepted." Finally, Charlotte told me, it sounded like they tried to help both of us.
"We have to apologize to you, Lil, bit; we tried everything, every variation of everything, to stop what happened. We couldn't even get close. I also tried dismembering them to get to you, that we down like a tone of shit covered bricks. The entire time that you were with them, we tried to get you away. We even tried to convince your mom to take you on holiday with her so that you wouldn't go to Forks. But that didn't even work. We failed you, Lil bit. If we had got you away, we would have taken you to your Mate. Things would have been better for you." Peter said, walking up to Charlotte and me. I scoffed at that,
"My 'Mate' has his wife; he doesn't need me," I said before walking out and going to the truck.
"I just found out the King has killed the Queen, for the conspiracy of, as well as attempted Murder on his True Mate. So how about you get over this little pity party you got going on and start to grow the fuck up. You are not doing anyone any good being like this." Peter told me, well, he can just fuck off then. So I didn't bother grabbing anything from the truck I got given; I nodded, turned and left.
I had the bank card and photo ID that I got given, which was all I had. I didn't know where I was going to go, or anything so I just walked.
I don't know how long I was walking for; I kept thinking the whole time, how did I get this way? I was the one to take care of my parents; I was the one that raised Renee. I was the one to work from when I was five, just doing odd jobs so that I could keep the electricity on and keep food in the cupboard. How have I sunk so low? Was it just a little pity party as Peter had said to me?
I kept walking, just going where my feet took me — not paying attention to anything.
I was stopped a couple of times by humans who thought I was just some lost little puppy. So I fed on them. Not long after I fed on the last one, I was stopped and confronted about feeding on another Vampires prey.
"I should teach you a lesson, little girl." The man said to me.
"Look, I had no idea that that was your meal. Just do what you want." I told him and waited for whatever it was going to be.
"You look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?" He asked, stopping when I looked up at him.
"Not that I know of; I'm not that old. Can I go? Or are you going to teach me a lesson or some kind?" I asked. The Vampire's eyes widened, and he shook his head, letting me go on my way. That was the second time that a Vampire had an issue with me for some reason and then backed down. It was just this time it was because I accidentally took this Vampires meal.
I stopped and looked around me, wondering if someone was following me that I had not noticed, but no one was around me. So I didn't know what was going on whatsoever. But then I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.
When the scenery started to change with the language, I asked where I was before I fed. I had made it to Bulgaria. Maybe I should have been glad that I had found someone that spoke English. Instead, I found myself conflicted about where to go from there; it wasn't far after all to Italy and my Sire, or do I turn around and go a different way and try and get over this 'pity party.' I sat found a little cave in a mountainside that I decided to use and sit in to think things over and try and find out what I should do. If what Peter had said was true, then my Sire had killed his wife for me. Well, he said I was his Mate. I wasn't sure now. I heard a few hikers come and go; I had no idea how long I sat here thinking.
I got used to hearing hikers come and go. So I paid no attention when I heard more footsteps, I knew I wouldn't get found as I was well hidden in this cave, so I just ignored whoever it was.
"Thank God that we found you finally." I hear the familiar voice of Charlotte. I didn't bother answering her.
"Come on, Bella; you need to get up. Pete and I have been searching for you since you left for the last year and a half. I refuse to give up on you now." I heard Charlotte say to me.
"Bella..." I heard Peter start to say something when I heard the smack of him getting hit upside the head.
"You don't get to say anything. You already fucked things up before." Charlotte said to him, growling slightly. I heard him huff.
"Bella, can you look at me, please," Charlotte asked me, sighing as I did. I turned and looked at her.
"Bella, I talked to the big lug over there after you took off. He had talked with the Major; they had not long gotten back to Volterra after searching and destroying all the Coven's that were keeping Pets; when he got there, Caius was missing, still, in Volterra, you leaving didn't do any good, do you know what happens when a Mate leaves the other?" Charlotte asked me.
"Why would I know? I don't have a Mate; I have my Sire. My Mate used me, lied to me, abused me, raped me, got me pregnant, thought that I had no idea what happened, but I did, forced me to miscarry. My Mate nearly killed me several times just in the year that I was with him. So why should I trust what anyone says? I got tortured because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time; my father was killed because a vindictive bitch had a grudge. Everything bad that has happened in my short life has happened at the hands of a Vampire." I screamed out.
"Don't take this out on us because of them; not all Vampires are like that," Peter shouted at me.
"Really? Show me one? My Sire lied to me; no one cares what happens to me, this Major that you keep going on about, that is so great, where was he when I needed him? He was right along with them while I was getting the raw deal; he was there when I was getting beaten up, he didn't care; the Major, you go on about is just as much a piece of shit as the rest of the Cullen's were. So don't tell me that not all of them are the same." I shouted at him.
"You aren't worth any of this shit; we are putting our lives on the line to get you back to your Mate and you… I'm not going to get my Mate or me strung up because of your shit," Peter said before storming out.
"Just go, thanks for the new ID, sorry I didn't say it back then," I told Charlotte; she nodded and walked out, following her Mate. I felt sorry for her being with a pig-headed moron like Peter.
"He is a pig-headed moron." I heard. Looking over, I saw Jasper standing there.
"What you remember as me standing by, while you got beat up, was me getting restrained by Carlisle; I was going to tear the fuckers apart for doing that. Yes, I knew about a few of what they did, but I had no idea about the majority of it. I'm sorry about that. Edward was not your Mate no matter what the idiot said; he wasn't, I would have felt it. I sent Peter and Charlotte after you when you took off from Caius; they have been keeping tabs on you for me. I know that Vampires as a whole has done you wrong, and if you don't want to give him a shot, you need to let Caius know, but I beg of you, Bella, just try and see the good, even if it is only in Caius. What you have no idea about, though, is that when one Mate leaves the other, they break down and start to die on a basic cellular level. So when he dies, you won't be far behind. Is that what you want? Now I will be outside; I hope you will come and find me to take you home. Home to your Mate." Jasper said to me. I was honestly surprised to see him here.
"Jasper," I called out; he turned back to me. "I'm sorry for everything," I said. My voice was hardly a whisper.
"I know, with the Cullen's then Victoria, you didn't see the best of what the Vampire race has to offer, but think of this. I was introduced to Vampires by a sadistic vampire that forced you to fight for her if she was having a bad day; she starved all of the vampires in her Army. I get why you are so angry because I was too. I was in your shoes. I got forced to do things and forced to endure the wrong things daily. The only difference was I was a Vampire when all those things happened; you were human. If I can grow and get through all of what I did, I know you can too. It all comes down to if you want to. You have a good man back in Italy waiting for you, ready to give you the world if you asked for it; all you have to do; is try and begin to trust again, trust in him to start with, is he not only your Sire but also your True Mate. There is nothing he won't do for you." Jasper told me.
I nodded. I thought over what Jasper said, wondering why his view meant more than anyone else — but deciding to go back.
Getting up, I followed him out of the cave to see Peter and Charlotte standing there. Peter just growled at me.
"Enough, Peter. There was no harm intended on her part. And if you insist on carrying on, then have a go at me for the way I got introduced to Vampires. So shut the fuck up. I expect you to apologize at some point." Jasper growled at him.
"What do you want to do, Bella? "Jasper asked me.
"I'll take a page out of your book; I'll try and trust again," I said to him while looking at my feet.
"Do you want me to take you back? "Jasper asked; I nodded.
"Yes, please, Jasper," I whispered out again. Knowing he could hear me.
"Alright, then. Let's go." Jasper said; he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a car that looked similar to
Edward Vanquish. It didn't take long, well, not as long as it could have been, Jasper drove us towards an airport, and I recognized two of the Vampires waiting next to the plane.
It was Jane and Alec.
"Jane, call Aro. Let him know we are coming home. But don't let him know anything else as yet." Jasper said, smiling. The moment Jane saw me, she almost looked like she would cry; she seemed happy to see me.
"Everyone has been looking for you, Bella. Look before we get on the plane; go easy on him when we get back to Volterra. Go easy on Caius. Please." Jasper asked me. I nodded.
"I'll try my best; it's all I can offer right now," I told him
The flight only took a little over an hour and a half; we landed on the Volturi's private runway. Once Jane and Alec left the plane, Jasper stopped me.
"I am very sorry, Bella, about everything that happened," Jasper said before hugging me, telling me he was sorry once again. After that, making our way through the Castle was somewhat calming. A feeling I had not realized I had been missing.
The doors opened, and Jane and Alec walked through.
"Again, nothing. Felix and Demetri have met long returned; go be with your Mates." I heard Aro say.
"No, Master. I think we need to get Master Caius. We have news." Jane said, her voice sad. Jane and Jasper had come up with a plan on the plane; this was all an act. Once Caius came to the Throne Room, I would come in with Jasper.
"Very well. You have my permission," Aro sighed. Once I heard the secondary doors open and close, Jasper chuckled and pushed me through the doors to the throne room.
"I thought this way might be better." Jasper just shrugged.
I heard a series of gasps then from around the room. And before I knew it, I was being engulfed in hugs.
"Where did they find you," Aro asked before he was rudely pulled away and replaced with a more feminine figure.
"Bella, oh my, You're here, thank the Gods, you have come home. Major. I demand to know where my sister was." Sulpicia said.
"She was in America, Peter and Charlotte found her there, then lost her again, and we just found her a few days ago in a Mountain Cave in Bulgaria. It took some convincing, but here we are," Jasper smiled at me.
"Thank you. Thank your Coven also." Sulpicia said, not giving Aro a second to do any talking.
What surprised me was when Marcus came over to hug me and told me he was glad I decided to come home. Now Caius can come back to them. We all stopped, then hearing shouting and items breaking. Jane came out then. "Master Caius refuses to leave his quarters," Jane said to us all.
"We should take you to Caius," Aro said; there sounded like there was a sadness in his voice, the way he said his brother's name.
Sulpicia placed her arms around my shoulders and led the way. Once we arrived at my Sires quarters. I was shocked. He was sitting on the floor, blankets, sheets, and clothes surrounding him. The clothes were all mine. I walked over to him and started to pick everything up. I didn't think he would notice until I pulled at a piece of clothing that I didn't realize he was sitting on; he proceeded to growl at me, and I have no idea why but I slapped him across the back of the head and told him to stop it.
"This mess needs cleaning up," I said as I carried on. I heard everyone gasp but heard Jaspers sigh, followed by a curse towards charlotte.
I carried on cleaning up, not paying attention to my surroundings when I heard Caius growl once again. He sounded angry. I looked towards the door, just to see the back of Aro as he left; nobody else was there. So I was standing here alone with my Sire.
"Leave, put everything you hold down and leave," Caius growled. I shook my head and carried on cleaning up. Before I knew it, Caius had grabbed me, turning me around and poised for an attack, he looked at me, and I watched as his eyes widened.
"ARO!" Caius shouted.
"Yes, brother," Aro answered. Caius holds out his hand, not once taking
his eyes off me.
"Yes, it is; Major Whitlock and his Coven found her; she only just arrived home, brother. Isabella is home. Truly" Aro said, smiling. Before he walked out, closing the door behind him.
Caius charged at me then, his hands roaming all over my body, probably trying to determine if he had told the truth or not. Once he had established that I was real, he just stood there staring at me. I went back to cleaning up the room. It was a mess.
"Why? Why now? Why come back now?" Caius asked me.
"I don't know. I thought I would take a page out of Jasper's book and try and trust again." I told him honestly.
"I heard the Queen died. I'm sorry for your loss." I said to him. I was sorry that he had lost his wife.
"She is not dead," Caius told me. I felt my heart sink.
"I told you at one point that you were my Queen, and you are. She was never a Queen. Just my wife." Caius said to me.
"Yeah, cos that makes sense," I said under my breath.
"Only our Mates were ever going to be Queen's that even though I know, you don't like that title, you are mine. So you are Queen." He said, coming closer to me.
"I'm sorry for what she did; I had no idea that she tried to kill you before you were even born just to keep her station. I did not know of your importance back then," Caius said to me.
"Oh well, I guess what's done is done now. I'm still here. I'm going to try and trust you, even if that's all I do; I'm sorry I left. I don't know what I was thinking. I got told I was having a little pity party going on and should have got over myself." I said to Caius.
"No, I don't like that title; it was grossly misused when I was human. Can we use something else?" I asked Caius.
"Of course. I'm partial to my Queen. Holder of my existence. But whatever it is, you would like." He said a slight smile was coming out on his face.
"Maybe we work on it, Sire," I told him.
"Isabella, please don't leave again," Caius asked me quietly.
"If I do, then I'll stay in the Castle. But, of course, I can't guarantee that I will not freak out and take off, but I will try and stay close to you, Sire." But, I said to him, the smile that was previously coming out was slowly leaving, and I wasn't sure as to why.
"Why is it you cannot say my name?" he asked me as he came closer once again.
"You are my Sire; I was trying to be respectful," I said, hanging my head; maybe I was wrong, perhaps I was disrespectful instead.
"Isabella, please, yes, I am the one who Sired you. But you are so much more than that to me. Please use my name; I would love to hear the way it sounds falling from your lips." He said as he lifted my face to meet his gaze.
"Caius," I whispered; I watched as his tongue darted out and moved across his lips; just then, I wanted more than anything to discover what they felt like moving against my own. His hands came up and framed my face, going into my hair, watching as he came slowly towards me; I don't know what came over me.
"You're taking too long," I told him before crashing my lips to his, my hands going in his hair; I jumped up and wrapped myself around him. I could not believe how good it felt to do this simple thing, how good it felt just to kiss him. He pulled me closer, and I felt him return the kiss. I felt it when my back hit the wall, and Caius leaned into me. I heard his growl when he listened to me moan.
"Mark me. I want you to mark me." So I said, but it came out laboured.
"Are you sure?" Caius asked me. He looked hopeful; I just nodded.
"Yeah, I'm sure." I had no idea what made me tell him to mark me; just it was like I desperately needed it; I needed to know that he wanted me enough to mark me.
"Tell me why," he asked me.
"I need to know that you want me enough to mark me," I said to him; I needed to be honest with him if this whole trust thing was going to work out for us.
"I have wanted to mark you since the moment that I laid my eyes on you. But if that is what this will take to prove that you are my forever, I will do so. But please, know, this is not something that can get revoked; this is permanent. Once I mark you as my Mate, we will die if one of us leaves the other. I cannot lose you, Isabella. Do you understand this?" Caius asked me, pressing just how big of a decision this is. I thought for a while before realizing, letting it sink in, the enormity of this.
"Yes, I understand. I want us to mark each other." I told him, honestly. The smile that graced his face was instant.
He pulled my shirt aside, looked at me, but then; he let my shirt go.
"What's wrong?" I asked him. I had to wonder if he had changed his mind.
"Isabella, I don't want to hurt you. It will hurt, and I want to do everything that I can to lessen that for you. Will you let me do that?" he asked me.
"How can you lessen the pain?" I asked him.
"Usually, sex, if you're already within the throws of passion, are you going to notice if I bite you?" Caius asked with his eyebrow raised.
"Then take me to bed, Caius," I told him as I claimed his lips once more. I could feel the smile on his lips, felt the vibrations of the laugh that came forth.
"Are you sure you want that? I will wait for you to be ready." He told me. Did I want this? Was I ready for this? Ready to start a new life?
"I was ready the day my new eyes saw you," I said honestly. That was all it took for him to take me over to the bed and lay me down.