Chapter 1

I usually didn't pay much attention to what the Volturi said in the throne room, but today I did.

They usually talked too fast for me to understand anyways, their vampire ears able to pick up their fast speech much faster than I could. Today, they were more relaxed. They talked softly, so I was just barely able to hear pieces of their conversation, but what I did hear piqued my interest.

"…talents could bolster the guard, if we were to change them," Elena was telling the masters.

Aro laughed, delighted. "Come, child. Let me see what you have seen."

Elena's heels clicked over the marble floor, walking over to Aro.

"Ah, how wonderful!" his shout was joyous. "Please, bring them to us."

"Alessia!" Elena shouted for me from the throne room.

I got up, walking quickly down the hallway that separated my reception desk from the large, open room. "Yes?"

I tried not to be intimidated, but it was hard. I felt myself tense up automatically, some base instinct warning me I was in trouble. I was in a room full of vampires that ranged from hundreds to thousands of years old. They were all looking at me, though I tried not to look too directly at them. It wasn't very often the human staff got to see the masters. Thousands of years old, all of them. They had the same papery, almost translucent pale skin. Aro had a look of excitement on his face – the excitement of immortal life had not yet faded for him. The others, Marcus and Caius, seemed to have a perpetually bored look etched into their faces.

"Hello, dear! So wonderful to have you here." Aro's grin widened as he beckoned for me to approach him. "Come, let us look at you."

I approached the high table cautiously, trying not to let my steps waver. He extended his hand, expecting me to place mine in his. I did, not sure what to expect. I knew Aro had a greater power than a regular vampire, as a lot of the Volturi did, but I wasn't quite sure what. He looked at our joined hands for a moment, concentrating hard, before snapping his head back up with another delighted exclamation. "Just wonderful. Such potential! Thank you, my dear."

They dismissed me. I bowed to the masters, as was custom, before leaving the room and heading back to reception.

I let my thoughts preoccupy me. Elena had been talking about changing, meaning changing some of us humans into vampires. They usually kept a small human staff around, and Elena's talent was to see who might make a gifted vampire, and who might not. Those who might not often found themselves serving another purpose to the Volturi eventually – as food. I'd known that when I'd taken a job with them, as a receptionist for the ancient castle. My job was just a front, of course – adding an air of legitimacy to whatever story Heidi had concocted to lure the large group of people to the castle. The large feasts happened rarely, only once or twice a year. Otherwise, individuals were lured in for the Volturi who did not leave the castle, or they went outside the walls of Volterra to hunt their own prey. The locals were never part of the 'feasts' that happened.

I knew the risk of becoming vampire food, and yet I did it anyways. Why? I didn't really have a specific reason for wanting to become a vampire, other than the thought of my own mortality absolutely terrified me. That was reason enough, I thought. My family was already gone – all of my grandparents were dead, my dad had split when I was a few months old, and my mom and brother died in a freak car accident about a year before I moved from London back to Italy – so I wouldn't really be missed. I guess all the death around me had made me acutely aware of my own pending death, and the very thought was enough to send me into a panic.

If there was a way to avoid that, I wanted in.

None of the residents of Volterra knew that the ancient ones were still here, of course, but instead believed them to be martyred thousands of years ago in a crusade against vampires. In truth, the Volturi had driven the old Romanian vampires from the country and took over their rule for themselves. They'd remained ever since, usually hidden in the unseen depths of the castle.

My musings were interrupted by the clear ringing of Heidi's voice. She was telling the group about the historic architecture of the building as she led them towards the throne room. "Good morning, Alessia," she greeted me, beaming a radiant smile my way.

"Ciao, Heidi. Welcome to Volterra, everyone!" I smiled at the group as they took in the castle, and promptly ignored their screams that began as soon as the doors shut behind Heidi. They didn't last long, in any case – the frenzied vampires did not waste any time in beginning their meal.

The rest of my day went by quite simply. Heidi had come up with another method to lure the next group in – she liked to have the big feasts planned well in advance. This time we would advertise as a tourist destination for large groups. She put me to work making up the ads, and I worked on them until it was time to go home for the night. I owned an apartment not too far from the city centre, and was able to easily walk to and from work every day. It was small, but that was fine by me – the rent was cheap, and I didn't have a whole lot of stuff anyways.

My evening routine was largely the same – get home, cook supper, and either read a book or watch tv before taking a shower and turning in for the night.

Nothing was out of the ordinary when I went to sleep that night. I woke up with a start, though, not able to immediately tell what time it was, nor what had woken me.

"Hello, Alessia."

I nearly jumped ten feet in the air. The high-pitched, clear voice had scared me. It was Jane – one of the Volturi guard. She had let herself in - through my now wide-open window, I supposed - and was now sitting at the edge of my bed.

"Come with me, please," she said in a way that made it obvious her request was not a suggestion. I got out of bed, trying to shake off the sleepiness. She left through my front door, pausing in the street for me to follow. "You might want to leave a note for your landlord that you won't be back. We can arrange to collect your things later," she said over her shoulder before I was out the door.

I walked back to my kitchen, grabbed a pen and ripped a piece of paper out of a nearby notebook, writing exactly what I had been told.

"Where are we going?" I asked, fear creeping into my voice.

Jane didn't look back at me, but I could feel her smirk. "Back to the castle. Where else?" She giggled to herself.

I resisted the urge to gulp. Was this it? Was I going to be vampire food? Or was I going to become one of them? Either way, I could tell my life was about to change dramatically.

She was quiet the whole way back to the castle, not giving anything away. We walked through the castle to the throne room, which looked ominous in the moonlight. The castle was eerily quiet. Another receptionist, a younger girl named Lucia, was waiting there too. She looked as terrified as I felt, her skin almost as pale as the vampires who we served. I noticed Alec, Jane's brother, lurking under one of the windows.

Jane turned to us, smirking. "Congratulations. You're two of the rare humans who actually might have what it takes to join us."

She was on me in a second. Before I could process what was happening, she cradled my head in her hands, almost caressing me. She tilted my head upwards, exposing my neck. Lucia screamed, and I was sure Alec was doing the same to her.

Jane sunk her teeth into my neck, and the pain began.