Summary: "His eyes were red, wild and feral, the blood dripping down my neck from Edwards abrasions to my skin flowed softly to the forest floor. He snarled. I froze. Edward looked at me in a state of terror as the vampire lunged at what I thought was, me."
Rating: Mature audiences only for... well I am not sure. Just a precaution. The second chapter contains attempted rape YOU'VE BEEN WARNED If it makes you feel uncomfortable, please don't read it and skip to the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for the storyline! Most of the facts I've got about each characters gift came from twilight wiki.
CHAPTER 5: New Missions, Meeting Soulmates and Rage:
(Marcus POV)
The sounds of heels bouncing off the marble flooring pulled me from my emotional slumber. Heidi... I thought. She was bringing in new tourists from the gates and the memory of fresh blood used to bring me such excitement, but now when I look ahead of my own future all I can feel is nothing but being numb. Like all the colour that was once in the world was slowly being sucked away from me and all that remained was embedded in black and white. Or at least that is what my brother Aro thinks. I can't help but think it was for the loss of my wife that has left me without the real vision of the world around me. Before I had even noticed centuries had passed and the times were moving on but my albeit dead heart had not been moved at all, as if I were stuck in time.
I sat on this throne daily and nothing brought joy to my life. Aro and Cauis had taken over our proceedings completely leaving little room for me to attend to anything, just how I liked it if i was honest. Aro only used my gift to determine who was an ally and who was a potential ally. My gift is actually quite valuable in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. For example, imagine if I were on the battle field. I'll see the binding ties between the enemy the guard faces. I can tell who the leader is just by watching the way the others are tied to him or her. I can see how to destroy the resistance simply by picking off a few key people. I don't just see romantic relationships, but also ties of family and friends, loyalty and devotion. I can tell if any given person would die for another. Off the field of battle my gift is valuable politically.. It's an amazing gift in a diplomatic situation. Plus, when you're sitting on an empire, it's nice to be able to see when someone's loyalty starts wavering. Or if anyone is getting too fond of anyone else. Aro saw my potential thousands of years ago and I believe that is why he has had Chelsea bind me to him after the death of Didyme the silver hue of that bond was a dead give away and I was too weak to break it. Sweet, happy Didyme. I thought.
Didyme had the power to release an aura of happiness, which could bring joy to herself and everyone around her, freeing people from sadness and making them adore her. She never had to do that with me as our bond was a genuine soul mate bond. I tried my hardest in our life together to give her everything she dreamed of and more. We deeply fell in love with each other. We were so happy being together that Aro's ambition for domination of the vampire world became increasingly less important to us. Soon enough we began talking about leaving the Volturi to lead a life together. Needless to say, Aro was well aware of these plans. During a battle with another coven Aro took the opportunity and secretly killed Didyme in order to keep me in the Volturi and he thinks that I do not know of his betrayal. For years I have waited to get my revenge. Didyme was the younger sister of Aro and they had a very close bond. Aro changed her into a vampire about one decade after himself. Because Aro developed a strong gift as a vampire, he hoped that by changing Didyme, she would develop another to his advantage. To his disappointment, her gift wasn't as useful as he had wanted and when was was going to take me away he had lost it. My heart ached thinking of her, I spent most of my days in a haze just to get through them.
I spent most of my days locked away in this castle, never going on outings with the guard or to fetch my own meals. I had not hunted properly in a long time, the drive to hunt had been lessened with the grief I had felt, almost as if my body knew each day that I was not meant to be alive. The warrior in me had ceased to exist that day and I yearned for his return. Instead of instilling fear within those around me, all they felt for me now was pity and I did no blame them. I was a shell of the man they had known, yet none of them knew how it was since they had not met their mate or had lost them like I did.
The clock in the quarter had chimed meaning it was close to midday oddly it was enough to startle me from my inner musings.
The quarter was full of life as it was every other day, a living and breathing heartbeat glued to the Sanctuary we now call home, The Volterra. Aro, Caius and I, plus their significant others, Sulpicia and Athendora have been a coven for over 1000 years now and had turned this once dreary piece of land into a home fit for 3 Kings. In the early days, we had formed our own coven, we are now known as the Volturi. We are the largest and most powerful coven of vampires and our existence is to enforce the laws of the vampire world. For centuries Aro and Caius have been obsessed with 'collecting,' so to speak to ensure that we hold our positions within this world and by doing so they have created one of the most dangerous guards in all of existence. Aside from us being head members, our guard also consists of a collection of powerfully imposing vampires, the twin's Jane and Alec for example were two of the most lethal ones to possess potent powers.
Jane possesses a formidable gift, which has been shown to frighten even the strongest of vampires; for this reason, she is feared and shown the utmost respect among both the Volturi guard and the rest of the vampire world. Her gift is to create an illusion of burning pain: it deceives the mind of her target into believing that the body is truly being burned alive, and thus the tormenting pain is experienced throughout the whole body. A person on whom she uses her gift immediately feels excruciating pain of fire, collapses on the floor, and writhes in pain. Though merely an illusion, it has enough strength to incapacitate any individual and turn them into a helpless target, which is why this power frightens many vampires. Jane can control the level of pain she delivers to her victims. In contrast to her brother's gift which takes some time to take effect, Jane's works very quickly. However, though her brother's gift is capable of working on multiple targets at once, Jane's can only work on one object of her focus. I almost smiled then remembering seeing Alec's gift for the first time.
Alec's gift is to numb the senses (sight, taste, hearing, feeling and smell) of any individual he focuses on. The manifestation of both gifts boils down to their attempted execution at the stake: Whilst burning alive, Jane focused on the pain and anger the humans caused her, thus manifested her ability to create the illusion of burning pain in any one individual she focuses on. Conversely, while being burned, Alec focused on escaping the pain, and his ability manifested into cutting off the senses of any human or vampire. Alec can selectively or completely block the senses of several people at the same time, which allows the Guard to easily execute their opponents. When he uses this ability, it manifests into the form of a shimmering hazy mist that slowly moves toward his target, and it cannot be affected by the physical materials, such as wind or gravity. Unlike Jane, Alec can affect multiple targets at a time, therefore making him more dangerous than she is. For this reason, he is the Volturi's strongest weapon in combat.
Demetri's gift is tracking; he catches the "tenor" or "flavour" of a person's thoughts or from anyone he met in the past and uses it to follow his targets until he finds them. No matter where his targets escape to, he can find them anywhere because he can track people from all across the world. He is considered to be the greatest tracker in the world. That is why Aro recruited him because he does not surround himself with second-bests. We had a tracker before him, but when we had heard of his superior tracking power, we replaced the tracker immediately, after dissolving Demetri's bonds with Amun with Chelsea.
Chelsea is gifted with the supernatural talent of influencing the emotional ties between people, either by weakening or strengthening them. Due to the importance of her gift, Aro thinks of her as one of the high-ranking members of our Guard and uses her as a secret weapon to disband their enemies and binding wanted people to the coven. Chelsea's main occupation is to distance the innocent emotionally from the guilty by severing the bonds that are shared. Also when a vampire Aro is interested in appears, she secures the ties of that vampire to the Volturi, prompting them to serve willingly. Aro has been using her power to make the Volturi guard co-exist easier, as well as strengthening their willingness to obey us as their leaders. However, her power has few limits, she cannot as easily influence the emotional ties of people that are stronger than friends or acquaintances, and in a normal case, even those who think of each other as family. When she is not around those whose bonds are tied by her power, her influence will not fade immediately; rather, it wears off over a matter of time depending on how long a person has been exposed to her power before separating from her.
Although Felix did not have a particular gift himself he possesses talent in his fighting abilities and physical strength, relying on the latter mostly, being the physically strongest vampire in our Guard. No matter how good anyone else is in physical combat, Felix will always remain one, or most likely, several steps ahead of them. He can also anticipate his opponent's moves to counterattack them. Coupled with his large size and muscular build, Felix is known as the most physically powerful vampire that we have ever discovered. I almost smiled remembering our first encounter all those years ago when he was human, he had tried to take on Cauis with such gusto that even Aro was impressed, hence why he was added to our guard.
Heidi was known for her beauty being exceptional, mesmerizing and unforgettable, and supported by her power to physically appeal to people, human or vampire; man or woman. Though resisting her attraction is possible, it's hard to succeed, especially if she is trying hard to attract someone. However, she is harder to crack into so to speak when up against newly mated Vampires. Aro found her power useful in fishing for "food", as anyone who comes near her finds her overwhelmingly appealing, and so bound to her to the Volturi with Chelsea's gift they have no choice but to follow. As the Volturi though we have many rules in place so were not suspected of what we truly are, we don't officially kill our victims, we feed off of them the amount we need and then compel them with Chelsea to leave as if they have had a tour of our facilities. Heidi had tried relentlessly for years to make me succumb to her gift but just on the basis of her allure alone, she is not nearly attractive enough for me, let alone an intellectual enough to hold a conversation that didn't involve materialistic things. She was sure she could replace my wife, when a real woman wouldn't try to do that, she would try to make her own identity with me... I huffed and continued to think about the rest of the guard.
Then we have four others who are apart of the guard: Afton, Santiago, Renata and Corin. Afton's gift is to make himself mentally invisible to his pursuers. Someone who hides behind him will also be invisible. However, his power is much more limited than most of our other guard's gifts; any person with enough focus can easily see through his "shield" and he can only make himself invisible. He was brilliant if you ever needed an escape plan to get away from the castle. I had used his technique more than once just to escape from Caius's wrath.
Santiago, is very similar to Felix, he is not supernaturally gifted but rather possesses tremendous physical strength and combat skills that surpass regular vampires. Though he is not quite as skilled as Felix, he is not to be underestimated. Sparring with both of them ensured the loss of one limb or two but back in the day I had quite liked the challenge.
Renata's gift is the ability to divert physical attacks. If someone were to approach her or Aro, as she is always close beside him in hostile situations, she repels them by implanting a thought in their minds to make them want to go in another direction, with a confused memory as to why they wanted to go there in the first place. Her repelling power is powerful but almost unnoticeable. Renata is also able to project her shield several meters out from herself to protect others. Because of her powerful gift, she is known as a shield against a physical attack and is one of the permanent members of the Volturi, her main priority being Aro's personal bodyguard. If I or Caius are in danger, she is also responsible for protecting us however her own 'crush,' that she had on Aro, seemed highly unlikely she would do so without his direction.
And finally, we have Corin. Corin is gifted with the supernatural talent of inducing in others feelings of contentment for his or her situation. Her talent can be comparable to that of my late wife, Didyme's "happiness induction" although rather than bringing out the positive feelings of happiness and joy, Corin instead brings out feelings of contentment and ease in a person, regardless of his or her situation. People exposed to it too often or for too long, show withdrawal symptoms as if they had been taking a drug. Many of the tourists that pass through here, just experience enough to get past the fear that they have running through their veins, it also helps us to not be noticed as such if someone were to wander to close to our home.
Heidi's hushed tone outside the door, arguing with someone brought my attention away from thinking of the guard. What was she arguing about? Felix had burst through the door as Cauis and Aro's seats were left unattended, he ushered through at a fast pace, obviously what he had to say was urgent.
"Master Marcus. I've been trying to get a hold of Master Aro and Caius, but they are not answering their phones." Felix bowed and continued with a hushed tone. "Irina Denali is here of an urgent matter regarding the Cullen's." I turned in my chair now as hearing the word Cullen was of interest to Aro. Aro would want to be informed immediately as he has been trying for years to find a way to bring a few of their coven into ours. Especially Alice and Edward. I shifted my gaze to him wondering why he had not gone to their chambers instead?
"Heidi, send word immediately for Aro and Cauis to appear, we have urgent matters to discuss." Heidi hesitated for a moment and bowed her dark black heels clicking together, her violet eyes sent daggers into Felix, I take it she was more hungry than she had let on and she was never one to waste meal time. However she could wait.
"Send her in Felix. They should be here shortly." I muttered, my tone not holding an ounce of interest in this particular debacle.
The stone antechamber that we held most meetings in was not large. It opened quickly into a brighter, cavernous room, perfectly round like a huge castle turret… which was probably exactly what it was. Two stories up, long window slits threw thin rectangles of bright sunlight onto the stone floor below. There were no artificial lights. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. In the very center of the circle, in a slight depression, was another drain, if we needed to quickly dispose of an accident. The room was not empty. Chelsea, Afton and Santiago where nowhere to be found, the others however were standing off to the side of me. They were convened in seemingly relaxed conversation. The murmur of low, smooth voices was a gentle hum in the air.
As I watched the mahogany doors open with ease, the golden hues of their hair paused in a patch of light, and, like prisms, their skin threw the light in rainbow sparkles against the sienna walls. Athendora and Sulpicia had entered the room then dressed as if royalty were present as Aro and Cauis were not to far behind, no doubt to protect the 'virtue,' of their mates seeing as a Succubus had entered the building. I wanted to laugh because Irina's beauty and appeal would pale in comparison to them. The exquisite faces all turned toward our party as Irina entered the room. Most of the immortals were dressed in inconspicuous pants and shirts, things that wouldn't stick out at all on the streets below so it surprised me that she would dress the same. My musings were cut short again as Aro appeared walking towards Irina, Cauis took Athendora's waist and held her in his lap, kissing her slightly on the neck, lingering on his mark. All knowing he was staking his claim in his wife. Sulpicia sat in Aro's seat amusement filling her eyes as she took in Irina. She grabbed my hand as if to show that I was off limits as well.
"Irina, dear one, you've returned!" he cried in evident delight. His voice was just a soft sighing. I watched as Aro drifted forward, and the movement flowed with such surreal grace. Irina's hair was a pale, pale blonde, almost silver. This was the gleam that had caught my eye. It hung straight as a ruler to a blunt edge at her chin, parted evenly down the center. She was standing 5'2" and had golden eyes, her heart shaped face were skewed by her full red lips. Her eyebrows were thin and brown, in contrast with her hair I could see how she would allure most men, like Heidi. She was wearing beige heels paired with dark jeans, a white blouse and a long brown over coat, made from real fur. A real change form when we had met her centuries ago. I tried my hardest to remain nonchalant but knowing that she was riling up my sisters was comical.
"Yes sir," she bowed in respect but her whole face and body were screaming that she was cautious.
"You have some news to share?" Sulpicia came behind Aro, removing his cloak shedding him and Irina gulped nervously. "Thank you dear," He kissed his wife's hand endearingly. Sulpicia was also staking her claim on Aro. I had no doubt what this would lead to when Irina would leave.
"Yes," she held her hand out to Aro. Aro grabbed her hand eagerly and was in a trance for several minutes. Aro possesses the gift of "tactile telepathy", an ability to read people's minds; he can reach far more deeply into a person's mind than Edward Cullen, because he is capable of reading every thought, feeling and memory a person has ever had in the past. This power works very effectively in gathering information and looking into thoughts that his subjects may want to hide. It is, however, limited by his need to touch the subject in order for him to access that mind. Because of this power, he can learn any visitor's past and intentions of their visit. When interrogating a criminal, he uses his power to examine the guilty party's mind and see the proof they present. So when Felix had arrived and mentioned the news about the Cullen's he was no doubt intrigued. Renata and Jane stepped closer to him and Sulpicia hissed in warning.
"Ahhhh. It seems little Edward Cullen has been very busy. Carlisle has allowed him to keep a human pet, under the guise that she is his soulmate. Seeing Irina's memories she is his La tua Catante. His Blood Singer instead." Aro grinned giddy. I lifted my eyebrows at this as it had not been heard of often. Aro continued explaining what it really meant.
"The smell of each human is different, and certain humans smell more appetizing than is usual to vampires. The more appealing any human's scent and taste is to a vampire, the more difficult it will be for that vampire to leave the human alive. Infrequently, a specific human will smell nearly irresistible to a specific vampire. "Singers" are individual phenomena; a person whose blood sings for one specific vampire will not have the same effect on all vampires, though they may still find the human mouthwatering. While there are some humans whose scents are more appealing to vampires in general, that appeal does not reach the level of a singer. Singers are considered by most vampires to be a great find, the drinking of whose blood is an experience to be savored..." Aro removed his hand from Irina's and she stepped back from him which made Sulpicia happier.
"So he's got a liability in his hands does he Aro?" Cauis said harshly, no doubt wanting to punish all of those involved. I turned my head to him and noticed Athendora smiling softly at me. I nodded in her direction as acknowledgement.
"It appears so, Brother." Aro sneered his feet were bouncing off the floor now, no doubt taking in the thought of ending the Cullen Clan. I turned to Irina however as I was curious to know how she had known about this.
"How did you find out Irina?" I rose from my chair slowly, Aro Caius and the wives were shocked. I had barely spoken let alone moved in this room for centuries. My voice was huskier than I remembered, from the lack of use I suspected.
"U-h." She stuttered. "A nomad came to visit us, last September, wanting to change his diet so to speak. He had informed us that Isabella was still human and that Edward had no intention of making her one of us." She spoke hushed. She raised her chin though and continued. "Laurent was my mate, his pet took him from me." She said through gritted teeth. I was watching her anxiously now assessing her bonds. She recently had a torn bond tethered to herself, I could see a golden glow that had turned silver. Gold indicated the strength and it was a true genuine bond. My eyes softened as I could definitely relate to her loss.
"I'm sorry for you loss," I offered my hand to her and Sulpicia gasped. "How did she take him from you?" I asked gently. She blinked hard at my question.
"She sent rabid dogs to finish the job... He was going back into Forks to see an old friend when he was taken down. She must have informed them..." The way she said it made me believe she did not know the full story of what had happened but for the sake of the Cullen's having a human that was turned was a beach of our rules as it were.
"Dogs?!" Cried out Caius in a fit of fury. He had his fair share with Werewolves this last Century and it was no doubt going to spiral him again.
"Aro." Caius started. Aro cut him off with a wave of his hand. Renata stepped forward now to protect Aro and put her hand on his back and Sulpicia snarled. She knew Renata's job was to protect him but she was possessive by nature of what was hers.
"Brother, we will sort this out as best as we can. Jane, Alec, Demetri and Felix you are to go to Forks to assess this situation." Aro had a glazed look in his eye and I couldn't help but be intrigue by the human that had set the Vampire Community in a rage. I let go of Irina's hand and turned to Aro and I held out my own. Aro grabbed it and smiled bright then.
"Ahh. So you'll keep a close eye on our guard will you? Call me when you can I need answers as soon as possible." Aro grinned and turned to Irina, knowing full to well her welcome was outstayed but since she will be a witness to the Cullen's betrayal she needed to stay close.
"Irina, you are to stay with Santiago for the time being, his quarters are on the outskirts of town, you should find everything you need and if I hear that you have left, I will consider it a personal betrayal." He smiled but his eyes sent shivers down her spine. She took that as her cue to leave and Santiago followed suit.
"Marcus." Athendora called out. I turned back to look at her. I was curious as to see what she wanted.
"Yes, dear?" I frowned confused.
"You can't leave looking like that..." Her tone was soft so I knew she wasn't being rude but she was concerned. I look down and realised she was right. The clothes I was wearing were old and had considerable wear. My hair was greasy and I was genuinely not in good shape at all. I shuddered and nodded to her. She took the robe off of me and escorted me to my rooms. Sulpicia had taken Aro away immediately and Chelsea had followed them.
"Felix, Jane, Alec and Demetri, get the plan ready and pack some bags, I'm not sure how long we are going stay." They bowed and did as I requested albeit Felix did it with attitude. Something was off about that boy, he had not been himself lately.
Athendora pulled Caius and kissed his face, his gaze softened so he followed us with haste. We entered my quarters and Athendora almost screamed as there wasn't a surface that wasn't covered with dust or grime. Her eyes spoke volumes at me and I hung my head feeling ashamed. She wrapped me up in her arms then and looked me in the eye.
"Please don't feel ashamed. I never want to imagine what you have been through but Marcus this isn't healthy..." She whispered.
"That's why I am leaving for a bit, I think I need the fresh air." I almost joked but I was serious. It was time for a change. Caius snapped his fingers and a new bag appeared in his hands, he had a set of fresh robes as well as a new suit, all black. Just how I liked it.
"Come on, let's see if the shower is running and no I do no wish to help you with that." She joked and went into the bathroom turning on everything and started pulling out toiletries from the bathroom sink. She found what she had wanted to though and that was a pair of clippers. I shuddered and took a step back. She smiled softly with pity in her eyes and that was enough to convince me to do it. Caius stood behind me now in the bathroom and took them from her hands.
"Thanks honey, we've got it from here." He ran a hand along her face and she stepped out of the bathroom, she was probably beginning to clean my rooms up as we sorted myself out. He started by parting the top half of my hair and began shaving the back and sides into a fade, something that was considered beyond modern than I was used to. He could sense that I was panicking so he got the hair cut over as quick as he could, the top half of hair he cut shorter but it was at least 2 inches longer than the sides.
"It'll feel better once you've had a shower." Caius said.
I looked at myself in the mirror and was shocked at who I saw. The cut had made my cheeks and jaw a lot sharper which I did admit looked hell of a lot better than I had thought. Caius had done a wonderful job at styling my hair. He had hung the outfit he had summoned on the door and the water was running hot now.
"I'll leave you to get ready, Brother. Welcome back." He patted me on the back on the shoulder and I knew what he had meant. I felt like a new person now. Albeit the grief was still flooding me but I felt more alert and alive than I had in a long time. Something was brewing and driving me closer to Forks and ever since I had read Irina's bonds I need to know what this was. I stood under the shower head letting it wash away all of the loose hair. I washed my body immensely, letting the hot water cleanse me. I turned off the water within minutes and stood stark naked in front of the mirror. I stood taller and let my eyes gaze over me. The body I had was strong, immensely strong, hell even stronger than Felix and Santiago combined but I had let the years deteriorate me. I decided then and there things were going to change for the better.
I dried off my body and the suit that Caius had summoned fit like a glove, amplifying all of my best features, standing in front of the mirror again I realised there were a few things missing, like my robe and my necklace. I sprayed an after shave in the air and walked through it, the scent of sandalwood and an earthy tone soothed my nerves. I was nervous for Athendora's reaction to how I looked.
I cleared my throat and entered my main room now and Athendora had done a quick job considering I was only in the shower for a mere 10 minutes, my rooms windows were open and the room was filled with heaps of light now. The dust was nearly gone from every surface and she was busy running around matching colour tones on each wall. I knew I should have let her do this years ago. She had moved all of Didyme's things into her room, I figured that was something she was going to let me deal with and I was grateful for that. Athendora turned and her jaw dropped along with the papers she was holding. Caius smirked at me knowing full to well I was a changed man.
"Damn Marcus... You're hot." Athendora fanned herself and Caius snarled lightly at her, it was all in jest. I smiled then dazzling her. Her eyes widened.
"Honey, you did amazing." She brought out a handkerchief and placed it in my pocket. Caius stood up then and kissed her head. He clapped me on the shoulder again and that was all I needed from him to hear I looked good.
"Here," Athendora turned away and grabbed a box. "I found these while you were showering." She sniffed as if she was crying. I opened the box and it was as if she could read my mine, in the box was a new black cloak with our V embedded on the front. There was little box within in and I frowned opening it. It was a gold chain, a new one. A Volturi V with our crest, as well as a ruby embedded in the middle. I hugged her so tight and she was more shocked. Caius laughed at our interaction and for once we felt like a family again.
"Thank you, Dora." She swooned then and had tears in her eyes.
"You're welcome Marcus. Now go on your adventure, we want to hear about everything, not just Aro you know." I kissed the back of her hand and dropped it turning back into the main foyer. The shocked expressions of the guard shouldn't have surprised me but it did. They were all murmuring when I slammed open the doors. I hardened my gaze and they all were quiet quickly. Jane and Alec were wide eyes and Demetri smirked at me. Felix was quiet but nodded at me I nodded back and made my way into the plane. We had about 12 hours until we arrived in Seattle and then an hour and a half drive to the Cullen resident.
"Come on. We need to get their as soon as possible." I commanded. I smirked back at them and they bowed. Felix was our pilot luckily so there was no need to pry away from human eyes. This was one perk that we had as vampire royalty. By the time we had reached Forks there was nothing we could do to avoid the weather, it was bucketing down. Jane had gotten the student details as Irina had mentioned an Isabella. There was only one that attended high school and she had just turned 18 years old. She lived just on the outskirts not far from the school and the grocery store. Before we met with the Cullen's I had a feeling I needed to see her for myself. A town car approached us and it was Felix, we all got in and waited the hour and a half ride there in silence. Jane and Alec were looking at me dumb founded. Clearly it was going to take a while for people to be used to my new look.
It wasn't long before the outskirts of the town to be seen, the constant greenery and rain was vastly different from the heat and sun in Volterra. I could see why the Cullen's had chosen this town to call home since there seemed to be rarely any sun. I spoke with the Guard on and off to formulate a plan since I knew taking the girl away from them was going to cause a lot of trouble.
"Demetri and Felix I need you two to scout the boundary once we arrive at her home, we will park a few streets away and walk, try to draw less attention to yourselves." They nodded and I took my phone out of my pocket and texted Aro, Caius and Athendora of our safe arrival. As we made it a block form her street the pull inside of me was making my chest ache now. Something seemed wrong. What? I wasn't sure. Isabella's house was quaint and the forest that resided in the back held a big interest to me. I decided to let the bond guide me, the cloak I was wearing let the water fall off without making any of my clothes wet. I could hear a small voice out in front of me begging.
"Please, Edward. Don't!" Her voice sent shivers down my spine and I could not contain my rage, I flew at her as fast as my legs could carry me and the sight I saw sent me into a rage. I slammed into him without touching her and pulled Edward off off her and snarled so loudly the birds flew from their nests above me. I couldn't speak but I showed him just what was going to happen to him. I ripped apart each of his limbs and I noticed Isabella was trying to crawl away from us but her injuries made her succumb and she fell limp.
"Jane and Alec, take him to the estate and put him in the cellar furthest from the house, below the sewers, you know the room, we utilised it in the Romanian War. Felix get the car ready we need to get her to the hospital or to Carlisle..." I snarled his name not wanting him to lay his hands on her. Alec gathered the arms and legs throwing them in separate bags as I slowly detached Edward's head from the rest of his body, taking pleasure in hearing him scream even for a brief moment. Felix threw the rest in separate bags, smirking, knowing all too well of the fate that awaited Edward as he had witnessed my rage before. I took a deep breath feeling the golden flair of my renewed bond, slowly threading tightly with Isabella's weak, slither of a silver thread, hopefully healing most of Edward's damage to their 'bond.' Gold meant mates. She was my mate? I wondered then what would have happened to her if I had not intervened and I shuddered.
I walked towards her, slowly pushing the hair out of her face, noticing the clot of blood at the back, tangled between large knots of her hair clumped together. I hissed as I saw the distinct hand print across her face. I took off my new cloak to hide her body and to keep her warm and I picked her up 'bridal' style all to worried for her injuries and the lack of colour in her cheeks. The rain that was pelting down began to slowly retreat, ironically symbolising the calm after a storm. Bella whimpered in her sleep, I imagined that she was envisioning the impending nightmare of the recent trauma she experienced, I began growling softly thinking of the boy's stupidity and callous actions he had done to my woman. I was overwhelmed with just how strong my emotions were for her already.
The built up rage hidden beneath a black hole of dark emotions rose to the surface, the real me, the warrior, emerged. The guard still flinch whenever I entered the room, as they all believed that I was the weakest link of the three Kings. I smirked remembering the blatant shock on everyone's face, especially Aro's. Cauis's smirked at my dramatic return as he had expected some event or person would trigger it with anger. I had torn down the mahogany stained doors as I had left, knowing full to well that was going to anger Aro.
I tuned back in to my mate breathing in her scent of freesia and honey, soothing the rage, as well as reminding me of the maze like garden of my youth where I spent most of my time. I began to take in her features noting just how small she really was against my frame, not just in height but her weight as well, she couldn't be more then 100 pounds, 110 at most, especially if her height was around 5'5. Her hair was long, close to her waist, I also noticed strands of auburn and honey in her chestnut coloured hair, highlighting her pale complexion, which rivaled mine. Holding her closer to my chest, I became aware that her figure was not as curvy as it should be, she was not at all lacking, she just needed to put more weight on to be considered healthy. As I began walking slowly to the car, she began to wake back up. What caught my attention more was her doe like eyes, the colour of a rich, dark chocolate, surrounded with black, long, lashes. As soon as I made eye contact with her, her desperate emotion of hope for ending her life, made me almost lose control completely, it tearing me up on the inside knowing that my mate wanted death. I could see it and it made her hide her eyes from me.
As soon as I made eye contact with her, our bond glowed and thrummed demanding to be completed, shining as bright and as golden as the Volturi Crest hanging on my chest, slowly intensifying as time passed. The sound of her wet, thudding heartbeat had venom flowing through my mouth, making my fangs ache, wishing to end her agony by making her mine for all of eternity.
I didn't know what she wanted especially from all that she experienced with our kind, so I didn't expect her to want to be turned as eagerly as before. I would never deny her anything but I would not take opportunities away from her, she deserved freedom. As she began to stir again, moaning in pain I began to walk faster hoping not to startle her.
(He then takes her back to her house like she requested)
(Edward's POV)
Marcus's slammed into me throwing all of his strength into removing me from my prey. I was enraged that Bella began to crawl away, but I reveled in her breathing coming out of her in ragged bursts. Felix appeared behind Marcus as he slammed me against the nearest rock, Marcus's thoughts wild with the need to protect his new mate. Marcus roared in a fit of rage seeing the bruises bloom across her skin from the corner of his eyes. Marcus fangs extended, making Edward shudder in fear for the first time as he read Marcus's mind. Marcus showed him of the closest torture chambers, wishing they were in Italy utilising Caius's chamber as it held all kind of tools made from other vampires, which held the ability to tear into vampire flesh without the body repairing itself immediately. Marcus's showed me what my future days would look like, encased in blood, guts and torment.
I shuddered at the memories of what Marcus did to the last man who murdered his late mate, Didyme, who was Aro's beloved sister. Marcus began tearing into my body, ripping off his arms first, then his legs, to keep him from escaping his wrath. I screamed in agony, writhing trying to escape from his clutches. I did not succeed and darkness invaded my vision, as my head was stuffed into a bag.
My senses were cloaked in a dark thick fog, my sight, sense of smell and hearing was slowly ripped from me from Alec, Jane was not too far behind him. The only thing that was keeping me in the loop was reading Alec's mind, Alec's gift could not block my own, bringing a whole new feeling to the amount of fear I had. My arms and legs were reattached earlier, only to be continually be ripped from me again, the healing process was being slowed down, I had heard Alec think about it earlier, pondering on the possibilities in which Marcus was going to use to torture me.
Marcus had bound me down to a steel table, the cuffs and chains were made from Adamantium, a virtually indestructible steel alloy, developed by an American metallurgist known as Dr Myron Maclain, during the Second World War. Caius had been orchestrating that development for months, forging weapons combined with vampire bones to penetrate vampire flesh, proving that vampires were not yet indestructible as they seemed. He left the original stone walls, embellished with the blood, skin and flesh of his victims, the scent was putrid and one of the foulest I had ever briefly smelt. I was thankful for Alec's gift even if it did burden the situation, however I had an inkling in Alec's thoughts that I wasn't going to escape the scent for too much longer. I shuddered, my torso arched, the restraints held me down and I was not used to my strength being thwarted before. Even if James was a tough fight in the ballet studio, I still held his own. Carlisle would save me, he always would save his beloved son. His first companion into this life. His compassion would not allow me to suffer like this.
My thoughts were brought short as Alec's thought's were alerted to a presence entering the borderline of their property. Jane and Alec were there to keep an eye on their Master's prisoner, to make sure I would not escape. Jane snickered to Alec as she eyed my pathetic attempt to remain calm. Alec heard other noises coming from the west side of the perimeter and was confused as to who it was as his phone had not alerted him to the whereabouts of the others. He turned to Jane and put an arm on her shoulder, to calm his twin down.
"Jane, my dear sister, take a walk around the perimeter, please keep an eye... out." He laughed with glee, knowing full to well that Jane's gift was magnifico. Their eyes shone a bright, crimson red, full of the live they had drained a day ago during one of Heidi's gatherings in their newest home. Hopefully they would not be in the area for much longer. Alec hated staying away from their home in Italy for too long. He turned his gaze back to me, offering his left hand to keep the smoke swirling around my face. He would not try anything for now.
I shuddered again, my breathing being broken up into harsh quick bursts. The chill in my bones from Alec's gift had me quivering in fear but the chains did not allow much, if any, room for movement. I could not curl up to protect myself by any means. Alec's mind turned towards where I was, knowing full to well that I could not block him out of my head. He was purely disgusted by my behaviour, he thought I brought shame to the Vampire community. Alec brought his thoughts to Bella, knowing I would suffer mental torture as it was just as horrific, if not worse than physical torture. He showed me the state I had left Bella in. The bruises blooming across her body as they had found her crawling away from them in the flooded forest. She had chunks of blood, swirling down the back of her head and neck, all the way down her torso, her face full of pure terror. He knew I would not be able to bear with the thought of hurting the women I supposedly loved, however I did not react in the way Alec thought I was going to. I started laughing as the onslaught of images filtered through my head as I read Alec's mind. My work was on full display, and I was taking a thrill in it. I was killer after all.
(JANE'S POV)
I turned to hear the laughter as I exited the room, I shook it off, hearing the crackle of twigs ahead of me, someone was running away from the property, I caught a glimpse of fiery, red hair in the distance gliding along the trees, hiding. To a human she would be hiding in plain sight and they still would not see her. I pulled up my hood to hide my form, and started walking towards the woman, hiding in the shadows as well as my cloak hid my scent from the oncoming wind. My feet glided along the floor as if I was walking on air.
I followed the woman, and as I got closer, my gift was able to reach the feral redhead on the floor, she was screaming and writhing in pain. Her bones grinding against each other, it filled me with joy to protect my coven.
"Who are you?" My eyes darted across the woman, my British, childlike tone filled the redhead's eyes with terror. I stopped my gift after I pinned the woman down with the heel of my boot. Demetri had trained the whole Guard with precision, so the red head would not escape unscathed. She groaned and placed her hands on my foot. She did not respond to my question so I put more pressure on her throat, the porcelain skin cracking, her breathes were barely coming through, after all we didn't need to breathe to survive. I looked the red head up and down, her clothes we're tattered and her body was covered in dirt. She must have been a nomad for sure. However, I noticed a sliver of silver along the woman's wrist. I bent down and snatched it. Dog Tags? I thought that to be odd. The name read James. It was an old school version from the first World War. It seemed as if the Volturi's job to sort out their kinds issues we're never over, at least this one provided mystery. I flipped my phone open and snapped a photo of the woman and sent it to Afton. He was a tech specialist, close behind Around with their combined obsession. He would be able to trace and track this woman surely. I sent a photo of the dog tags, hoping he could find the serial code in the system. To me, it was all mumbo jumbo.
I awaited for a text but for the meantime I ripped the woman's head off as I made her writhe in pain to distract her from attacking. I pulled out a few cotton bags, throwing her matching body parts inside. I dragged the body back with ease, however I knew in my stomach something was not right about this woman. I unlocked the door and found Alec in the same position as before. The cloud of smoke simmering through the the air always had me in awe.
"Ah you've returned, I see. With a gift? " Alec clasped his hands together, his jet black suit matched his hair. I frowned.
"No, SHE'S more of a mystery." I walked to the right of the room opening up the second stall, I placed the woman's thriving body parts, venom was leaking out the bottom of the one with her head in it. Victoria was pissed and scared for the first time ever since she had been parted with her mate James.
"SHE?" Alec followed his sister and swirled his smoke around the venom soaked bag, guessing that was the head. He blocked her senses. I pulled the woman's body parts; torso, legs, arms and head and reattached her body. I put the shackles on her arms and legs, very much in a similar fashion to Edward. Edward gasped, he seemed to stop thrashing around on the table, his head turned towards the woman.
Alec looked at the women with fiery red hair, her ragged appearance made him feel as sick to his stomach as I felt.
"I figured she was either apart of a coven, or a nomad on the run." I shuddered. Alec noticed that when I only ever did that was when I had a bad feeling. Alec pulled me into a hug, to comfort me.
"Master Aro and Afton should be able to help us figure out who she is." Alec wasn't worried about that for a second but he knew deep down, a war was brewing, between which covers and species, he wasn't sure. If I had a bad feeling, I was usually right. Why was this woman trailing Bella's house? Seeing Master Marcus react like that she had to be his new mate. My heart warmed for him though I did no show it on my face, he deserved some sort of happiness after all...
"Text Marcus what you have found and he should be here, I'll stay and call in Heidi just in case he needs her, she'll take an express flight out, knowing that it is urgent." Alec gave me his phone as mine was crushed and I did what he asked me to do.
Let me know what you think.