FELIX'S POV

Holy. Hell.

As our three guests left the room I could do nothing but be flabbergasted. And I was not the only one.

Damn. Bella had quite a story. She was impressive. She had elaborated a plan to escape a tracker, succeeded, and then confronted him and survived. Granted, she had had help and she suffered a lot of injuries, but she lived nonetheless. She had been bitten for Christ's sake!

When she had showed her bitemark, I had felt a feral growl rise from my chest. It took all my willpower to suppress it. I had felt so enraged.

"Damn, dude. The tiny girl is really a warrior." I felt a hand grasp my shoulder and I was ripped out of my mind. I turned to find both Demetri and Santiago staring at me. they, too, looked very much surprised.

I nodded, "It would seem so" I said.

"You didn't tell us she was that hot" Santiago complained, glaring at me and Dem. Afton and Chelsea joined our conversation "Such a pretty human" she said, and her mate nodded. She shot a glare at him, ever the jealous type, and Afton kissed her reassuringly "She will never beat you in my eyes, my love."

We laughed. Looking around, I noticed that everyone was bundled in several groups, talking about Bella and her sisters. Even the masters were quietly talking, not caring about us.

"All of them seem nice" Afton declared, albeit a bit unsurely.

"Though the scene was amusing: three women, two of which vampire and one human, and the one who talked was the human. The lesser one" Jane speculated, having joined us, too, along with her twin Alec.

Demetri barked a laugh, "Trust me, our Little Swan might be human, and physically weaker than any of us, but her spirit and mind are stronger than most."

I nodded, "She didn't show an ounce of fear when meeting us. She even stared at us, without looking away! Man, she even confronted the Cullen boy! Her supposed mate."

Alec frowned, "Supposed?"

"They are not really mates, and I think even she knows that, along with her sisters—they seem really close—but I bet that Cullen still hasn't figured out" Dem said excitedly.

"Dude, you are worse than a human busybody" I joked and elbowed him. He grunted, shoving me in turn.

"How can you be sure?" Santiago asked, ignoring our small banter. Dem sighed, "She wouldn't have been able to leave him and, before then, he wouldn't have left her. Plus, she stood up to him, completely ignoring him and disregarding his opinion."

Chelsea snickered and leaned back in her mate's chest, "Are you aware of the fact that the concept of the female mate being submissive has been long passed?"

He glared at her, "Yes, Chelsy" he said, using the nickname she hated most, earning a hiss, "But you didn't see how she disrespected him. You weren't there."

"So, you are saying she is a cad?" Jane arched a brow.

I had the sudden urge to defend her. What is going on with me? "She's not. He presumed—erroneously—that he could choose everything in her place, and she simply put him in his place. Which, for the record, is under her feet" I grinned.

Everyone cackled, "She and I will get along beautifully, then" Jane smiled, and for a second she looked like the young teenager she was—excited and eager to make new friends. Chelsea and the others nodded, expressing their agreement.

"We all will, I think" Heidi said, entering in the room and making her way to our group. She had a faint smile on her face.

"Why?" Alec inquired curiously. "Did you talk with her?" Afton asked at the same time.

"No, I didn't, but I can tell that she is one to respect. Her eyes might be beautiful—as the rest of her—but they are also wise and sincere. But I also feel that, as little and harmless as she seems, she is not one to be trifled with" she added, grinning.

All of us thought about her words. Before we could start talking again the voice of our master interrupted. "Ahem. My dear ones, please attention!" Master Aro called, clapping his hands once.

Immediately we all focused on our Masters. "Well, it seems our dear Bella succeeded in capturing our attention" he smiled dreamily, "Even my brothers and I were amazed by such an unusual human. We couldn't help but overhear your conversation, young Felix, Demetri, Chelsea, Afton, Jane, Alec and Heidi" he called each of our names, looking at us as he spoke them.

"I would be beyond happy if you could help with our guests' setting. Heidi has already guided them to their quarters. Felix and Demetri have already met them, but the rest of you hasn't. I would be delighted if you could spare some time to get acquainted with them" he said, smiling.

Master Aro was a pro at masking orders for requests. Obviously, we all nodded. He smiled even brightly, "Very well. Moving on to the next matter" he said, seating back in his throne, "I am sure you are all aware that tomorrow evening we'll hold the first of five balls in honour of our lovely guests, yes? Unfortunately, dear Bella and her sisters' beauty and charm prevented me from giving them their invitations" he looked defeated, "Jane, Alec. Would you please be two dears and go to their quarters and invite them to a stroll in the gardens this late afternoon?" he asked.

The twins nodded and bowed their heads.

"Marvellous!" Aro exclaimed.

Then happened something I never thought would occur ever. Marcus stood up and addressed us directly, "Under no circumstances is Miss Isabella to be harmed. If one of you transgress this order, death is the punishment."

His voice wasn't frail and wavering like it thought it would be—as it was the last time I heard him speak, decades ago—but instead it was strong and powerful. The voice of a leader.

Marcus was never a shell. He was only dormant, and now he arose.

He was still waiting for a response from us. Seeing that everyone else was still admiring this renewed Master Marcus, I stepped forward and bowed deeply. "We understand, Master Marcus. Now harm will come to Miss Isabella Swan, we swear."

He seemed satisfied by my answer, as he retreated back in his throne. Even Master Caius and Master Aro looked mildly surprised by his bizarre behaviour.

Hell, since Bella had arrived strange shit had started to happen.

"Jane, Alec, go talk with our guests. Tell them what we decided earlier" Caius ordered, not bothering to sound polite.

He rarely wasn't grumpy, but with Bella he did act way politer than I thought he would. And that was a point in favour of my bet.

As the twins rushed to obey orders, and the rest of us was dismissed. Before we left the room we were all told that our presence in tonight's meeting in the garden wasn't optional. We all nodded before leaving.

Well, today was surely interesting. That girl in a few minutes had already caused a great change in the castle, and even in one of our Kings. Master Marcus seemed, impossibly, more alive. Unluckily I was unaware of the reason why, but I suspected that Little Swan had something to do with that.

Strange shit indeed happens when she's around, I thought smiling as I made my way to my room, And I can't wait to discover what the tiny warrior will bring into our lives.