Chapter 4

Marcus's long legs carried him gracefully through the dusky streets of Milan. It was invigorating to be free from the castle for a few days, free from responsibilities. His business in the city had concluded days ago, but he stayed just for some respite. Marcus had grown tired of the mundane duty of being a king, but the overwhelming sadness that enveloped him when he thought about leaving his family made him stay. They had such an unbreakable bond. Marcus reminisced silently over his brothers and sisters, but he felt the tinge of longing eating away. He wanted his mate, his mate that he waited over three thousand years for. Watching the love between his brothers and their mates lovingly interact was almost suffocating as it was sweet. The loss of his companion Didyme all those centuries ago only worsened the pain. Marcus had been stuck in a fog since her death, only occasionally acting like his old self for his family's sake. He knew they worried about him. The guard thought of him as a shell of his former self, always staring off to space. Most in the coven had never witnessed him as the true warrior he was; he seemed soft and out of touch. Little did they know he was constantly using his bond sight, cataloging changes within the coven. They underestimated him, but it was better that way. Pushing aside his troubles, he took a deep breath and searched the air for his next meal. The novelty of Milan had already started to wear off and he was ready to unite with his family once again.

Back in Volterra, Isabella flopped onto her plush bed. Her bones popping and cracking as she stretched out her tired muscles. Who knew reading books all day could be such a workout? Looking to the painted ceiling, Isabella counted the cherubs flying above her bed. The workmanship was of the highest quality and she felt like she was staring at the ceiling of her own private Sistine Chapel. Even her possible death in two short days didn't dampen her spirits. She absolutely loved it here. The library. Oh, the library. She felt like she had fallen into Beauty and the Beast. Okay, technically she wasn't exactly the beauty here and the beauties were really the beasts… and there was no supporting love interest. Maybe the library was the love interest. Yes, that's it, she mused. Everything about the castle was picturesque, and the history was long and rich. Isabella really wanted a tour guide that she could follow around for days. Sometimes her brain almost shut down at the magnitude of knowledge that was at her fingertips. She was feeling utterly spoiled. For the most part, everyone treated her politely. Some remained standoffish, but being treated with disinterest is better than being a meal. Isabella rolled onto her stomach staring around her room. It was spacious, much more than she ever really needed. A large bathroom and closet, the latter of which remained bare since all her belongings were safely at Giulia's house. The room's furnishings were more modern in style, neutral in creams and grays, juxtaposing beautifully with the ornate ceiling and molding. She glanced at her nightstand stacked with books from the library. Some were old favorites other just random works. She knew she couldn't read them all before her week was up, but she brought them into her room regardless. Secretly at night, she'd spread them out beside her in the large bed, clutching one of her favorites to her chest as she slept. A knock at her door startled her out of her thoughts.

"Little swan," a melodious, deep voice sang through the door. Felix. Isabella faked a groan.

"Go away, Felix." If she was honest with herself, she liked Felix. He reminded her of Emmett, well the Italian version. He was boisterous and funny, possibly her closest friend thus far in the coven. Felix could dish it as well as he took it. And being friends with Felix automatically meant being friends with Demetri. Demetri was the more refined friend in the pair. Isabella knew past his aristocratic disposition that Demetri was just as much of a trouble maker as Felix. Felix was the outlandish flirt and Demetri the suave seducer, both dangerous in their own ways. Oh, and how they loved to shamelessly tease her; it was fun to watch the blood rush to her cheeks. She was just so human, a novelty really. Isabella knew it was all in good fun, and they enjoyed her blunt dismissals. No matter how handsome they were, she was distinctly uninterested. She had been down that road before and was not interested in recreating it. There were too many books and too little time.

Felix ignored her dismissal and pushed open her door. Did she mention Felix picked her room for her…right between his and Demetri's? His whole frame dominated the doorway. Isabella rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled while walking into her room uninvited. Demetri followed behind him. Felix indulgently stretched out on her couch, Demetri choosing to prop himself against the wall. They were both still formally dressed in suits, but Felix had already discarded his suit jacket along the way. Neither had their charcoal cloaks. This was pretty much as informal as they got. They must have just gotten out of court.

"Do you two have thirty identical suits or do you just wear the same one every day?" Isabella teased.

"Do you desire to come to my room and discovery for yourself, little swan?" He asked, his very slight Greek accent showing.

"Why so I can be disappointed? It's okay if you have only one suit, Demetri." Felix chuckled at Isabella's barbed reply. Demetri flitted over to the side of Isabella's bed and snatched her up bridal style. She was getting used to their theatrics; they were just like Giulia in that they didn't have any personal boundaries. Damn Europeans, Isabella thought. Demetri, much to Isabella's dismay, flitted to his room and straight into his closet. He pinned her up against the wall of his massive closet. She feigned an unimpressed yawn. A deep chuckle escaped his throat before he shoved some folded clothes into her arms.

"Get changed were going out," He said before starting to unbutton his shirt. She turned her back on him and slipped on the moto pants under her dress. Tossing her dress to the floor, she fumbled quickly with the plain black t-shirt. Isabella turned back around to a bemused Demetri who was already completely dressed watching her.

"Should I even ask where you got those clothes?"

"It is best not to," Demetri laughed. "Now let's go, Felix borrowed shoes and jacket from Heidi for you," he mentioned, opening his door for me to walk through. Demetri led me down the guard wing and down another maze of hallways. The castle was a maze, it was designed that way from the beginning to make attacks difficult. Only the kings and their wives knew every pathway and secret entrance.

"Are you taking me on a wild goose chase just to kill me in the end?" Demetri smiled down at the human; she was entertaining to keep around.

"Why would I waste time and an outfit if I wanted to kill you, little swan?"

"That seems like just thing you are into Demetri," Isabella sassed. Demetri blinked before he laughed; she had his card; he did like to play games with his food occasionally. Perhaps it was the tracker in him.

"I promise you will live until your trial."

Down another dark corridor, Isabella walked with Demetri until they reached a modern metal door. He pushed it open to reveal an underground parking lot filled to the brim with expensive cars. As usual, the Volturi didn't do anything by halves. She spotted Felix sitting on a motorcycle. Excited Isabella ran the short distance to Felix.

"Are we going out on these?" She pointed to the two sleek black motorcycles. Isabella had never seen such beautiful bikes before and she was excited to try them out. Sensing her excitement, Felix handed over a pair of boots, jacket, and helmet. In her excitement, she plopped on to the ground and yanked her boots on. Shrugging on the leather jacket, her riding attire was complete. She sat on the other bike near Felix.

"Do you think you get to ride by yourself?" Felix chuckled. She pursed her lips in disappointment. "You'll ride with Demetri if we let you drive it will take forever to get anywhere."

"Fine, but where are we going?"

"To run a few errands for Master Aro," Felix answered slinging on his leather jacket and gloves. With their helmets on there wasn't an inch of their skin showing, not that was a problem since the day had been overcast. Edward had always made vampirism seem so limiting, but here were the guards of the ruling coven going out in daylight, not to mention they lived among humans in sunny Italy. Humans were so oblivious to their surroundings.

Demetri started the bike suddenly and Isabella latched onto his waist with everything she had. The vibrations coming from Demetri told her that he was laughing at her.

"Hold on, little swan," was the only warning she got before he flew from the garage at a speed no human could safely go without wiping out. Perhaps this wasn't a great idea, Isabella chided to herself. Her stomach was in knots as Demetri and Felix took the curves of the ancient town at alarming speeds. She remembered this sensation, she felt it the first time she sat on her newly rebuilt bike, the one Jacob and she worked on. The bike was a mere dirt bike compared to the one she sat on now, but she had so much fun working on it with Jake. His support and ability to distract her was instrumental in finding a new normal after the Cullens had left. Edward leaving was hard but being abandoned by his family hurt worse. Isabella's mom had been a friend, an unreliable friend at most. And she barely knew Charlie when she moved to Forks, and then she was drawn into the glamour and perfection that was the Cullen family. By idolizing the Cullens, she had missed how perfectly imperfect her family was. She missed almost of year of getting to know Charlie and that was something she couldn't forgive herself for. She remembered when Charlie first caught them riding bikes and how adamantly he disapproved. She laughed to herself thinking about how red his face got as sputtered obscenities and statistics about motorcycle-related deaths. It was the most he had spoken since she had known him. She also remembers the package left on her bed, filled with the best protective riding gear. Charlie didn't always agree but he was always supportive of Isabella. Always. She hugged Demetri a little tighter leaning her head against his back, just for some comfort; she had almost forgotten what that was like. In her pursuit in her education, Isabella had subconsciously pushed people away. She maintained some friendships, but everything was surface level; she was afraid of loss. She let people into the courtyard, but never into the castle. She blinked furiously trying to dispel the threat of tears and looked into the distance. The world was blurring by her and it was hard to see. Bending around Demetri gently she looked ahead of them. It was beautiful countryside from the little she could see, but she didn't know the area well enough to know where they were headed. Her arms loosened as her emotions settled and she started to enjoy the journey.

The ride to Rome was not as long as it should have been. They had covered the miles at inhuman speed, and by the end, Isabella was laughing at the stunts they pulled while driving. They parked in an alley surrounded by taller buildings where the bikes would remain in the shadows at all times.

"I have to go pick up something for Master Aro, but you and Felix have shopping to do."

"Shopping? What for?" Isabella groaned. While Isabella's style had improved from her awkward teenage years, she still wasn't a fan of shopping.

"You don't enjoy clothes shopping?" Felix raised a brow.

"Hell no. The only thing I spend my meager savings on is books… and food."

"Here's a deal for you: Let us buy you a dress of our choice and we will let you go to a bookstore," Felix bartered. He honestly couldn't believe he was negotiating with a human… a human woman that was almost half a meter shorter than him at that.

"Fine, but I want two books," Isabella smiled while placing her helmet on the bike. "Why do you even want to buy me a dress anyways? Isn't it a waste if Aro decides to not keep me?"

"Perhaps if you dress nicely for your trial, the Masters will be swayed in your favor," Demetri covered. They almost spilled that they knew she would live.

"If not, I will enjoy draining you more if you are in a beautiful dress," Felix smirked. They saw her flinch but when she turned to face them she rolled her eyes.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Isabella being forced into dressing rooms then being paraded in front of Demetri and Felix while they drank champagne. Alcohol apparently could be drunk by vampires much to the surprise of Isabella. She wondered what else she had been misinformed of. With more clothes than she agreed and two new books, they started their journey back to Volterra.

oOo

The dark sports car flew down the road destination set for Volterra, toward home. Marcus normally drove at a more human speed, but Aro's call had him rushing home. He replayed their earlier conversation.

"Brother, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?" Marcus rolled his eyes, Aro always loved his games.

"Cut the dramatics brother, tell me what you have to say," He huffed.

"You are no fun, Marcus. I shall tell you the bad news first..." Aro paused for dramatic effect. "The Cullens have exposed us to a human and left a loose end."

"Carlisle Cullen? Have you spoken to Caius yet?" Marcus surprise was palpable.

"Obviously not. I will inform him when he gets home; I would hate for him to destroy the Island home, it was terribly hard to coordinate construction."

"What you truly mean is that you want me to help plead your case for your friend Carlisle."

"Not necessarily," Aro murmured. That surprised Marcus, Aro did have a rather odd fascination with the animal drinker.

"What is the good news then?"

"Ah… I am glad you asked Marcus. The human actually stumbled right into the castle on her own. It is quite an amusing story. You see she was looking for…" Marcus cut him off not wanting to hear the story; humans were of little import to him.

"What is your plan for the girl?"

"Another great question," Aro's tone was clipped, annoyed that Marcus had interrupted him. "I want her on the guard; I believe she possesses a great shield." Marcus rolled his eyes, but a small smile played on his full lips. Aro and his damn guard.

"How would you know?" Marcus took Aro's bait.

"She blocked my gift and Jane's, you would know that if you did not interrupt me, brother," Aro chided. Marcus could hear him smiling through the phone. "Isabella is just a fascinating little creature. Very intelligent, very curious. She was in a romantic relationship with the Cullen boy, but they ended things and parted ways. After the initial shock of being captured, she is very comfortable around our kind. She's quite pretty too; Demetri and Felix have taken a liking to her."

"You can stop singing her praises, Aro. If you like her then I will vote in her favor. You know Caius will throw a fit about keeping a human."

"I believe she could thaw Caius's frigid heart," Aro laughed. "You will like her also. You have similar interests."

"I doubt that. I don't normally associate with the guard, but I will hurry home if you insist." And that is exactly what he did. He pushed the pedal closer to the floorboard.

Aro was waiting for him in the underground garage. Marcus could already see Aro was giddy, he always got this way when something truly fascinated him. Aro, in his over three thousand years, had not lost his hunger for life. Everything was a new adventure; every invention was something to explore. Aro, out of the three kings, was the most up-to-date with the modern world. Marcus stopped caring, only using the bare minimum: a cell phone and an occasional computer. They were the most useful inventions from the modern world; even Marcus couldn't deny that. Dora and Sulpicia kept Marcus's rooms updated as he didn't really care about domestic comforts anymore.

"Welcome home, brother. It is good to have you back." Aro held out a hand to Marcus, which Marcus obliged. There were no secrets among the family.

"Let me guess you want to show me the girl." A lower guard took Marcus's bag and handed him his black Volturi cloak without a word. They walked slowly through the halls to Marcus's quarters.

"She's not a girl, but a young woman of twenty-four." Marcus stopped suddenly. Someone had been in his personal library. He could smell the pleasant aroma of strawberry and freesia even if was days old.

"The human was in here?" Marcus questioned Aro with a raised brow. Aro took a quick huff.
"Perhaps to return your book that I lent her." Marcus was unimpressed. Aro did tend to overstep his boundaries in his excitement.

"Okay, I will meet your newest project," Marcus agreed. Aro clapped his approval with a soft laugh.

"Perfect, I believe she normally is in the library at this time."

"Normally?"

"Oh, yes she has been here for almost a week now. She spends her time in the library unless Felix and Demetri lure her out to do something." They walked together toward the library. Hearing soft Latin music and laughter, the kings quickened their pace toward the library.

"I believe Demetri had the intention to teach Isabella how to dance," Aro chuckled, pushing the large oak door to the library open.

Marcus watched as a tiny dark-haired woman was turned at an almost inhuman pace from Demetri to Felix. The occasional indignant squeal came from the woman as she was dipped and spun to the Latin beat. This little slip of a woman has excited the coven this much? he thought unimpressed. As the music ended, Aro held out a beckoning hand, and Felix twirled her directly to Aro. Isabella gripped Aro's hand for dear life, as the world around her was still spinning at her sudden stop. Marcus waited impatiently for Aro to do his dramatic introductions. Isabella finally focusing on the hand that held her gave a slight gasp when she realized that Aro held steadily to her hand. She had not even seen him enter the library.

"Master Aro," she greeted awkwardly.

"I see you are enjoying yourself, Isabella. I wanted to introduce my brother, Marcus," He motioned toward the other man in the room, the one she had not even noticed. Isabella turned with a nervous smile to the tall king. And when their eyes connected, everything in Marcus's world was torn apart, rearranged, and rebuilt.

There she was standing just in his arms' reach. Her mahogany hair fell down her back in soft waves, windblown from the dancing. The sapphire dress draped alluringly around her soft curves; it contrasted against her pale, milky skin. Her heart-shaped face flushed pink from exertion, a soft smile playing on her plush pink lips. She looked at him with her chocolate brown eyes not even understanding the magnitude of what was occurring between them, of what power she held over him. Marcus fell to his knees when he saw the thick gold cord leap from him and wrap around her small frame. She took his unneeded breath away. Everything he had suffered before this point was insignificant as he stared in open-mouthed shock at his mate.

His perfect mate.


A/N: Whoops, another cliffhanger. I wasn't planning on them meeting this chapter but I felt you all deserved to read it. I'll try to get the next chapter out asap.
Thanks again for the support and comments. Much love to: WPear, Tayjj44, teamwolfaltw, immortalblossom, earthlover, ForrestersWitch, traceybuie, Tulips at Twilight, , Moony's Black.