Chapter Thirteen

-Volterra, Italy-

My paws thundered against the ground as I gave chase. He weaved easily in and out of the trees, sliding gracefully under a low hanging branch. I slipped through the space just as easily. He was just ahead of me now. I pushed myself to the max, almost close enough to grab his cloak. Suddenly, he took a sharp right, nearly causing me to run head first into a tree. Almost. Rather than stop and lose momentum, I pushed off of the trunk with all four paws, arching my path out further.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw I wasn't there. His steps faltered for only a moment as he decided what to do. The man sprinted onward with a burst of renewed speed. Good on him for making the smart decision. Usually they stopped or slowed considerably in an attempt to relocate their pursuer. I continued to give him a wide berth, watching. Once I could predict his path, I would cut him off.

He nimbly leaped across a river. I bounded across smoothly. My claws bit the earth as I pressed ahead. This man had to be stopped before he made it to town. It seemed he was traveling a relatively straight line now, save for dancing around trees and other obstacles. How predictable. I lunged. He changed directions. I crashed into a tree, snapping it in half and it fell to the ground loudly. I rolled, using the momentum to get back to my feet and continue forward.

Easily, I caught up to him and lunged again. And again, he switched trajectory, but not quickly enough. My teeth snagged his sleeve. I didn't keep a hold of him, but the action slowed him down and, when I leaped again, I took him with me to the ground. We rolled once, then he was pinned on his back, my heavy paws on his shoulders. I snarled directly in his face.

He smiled, "Well done, my dear."

Just to be an asshole, I licked his face, leaving a visible trail of slobber. For a moment he was frozen in a cringe. I yipped before backing off him. Aro quickly got to his feet, taking the sleeve of his cloak to dry his cheek, "The sun will begin to rise soon. Shall we?"

He turned around to find me flopping in a patch of dirt. He shook his head, "Come, my dear."

I scrambled to my feet, trotting after him. Oddly, he was walking rather leisurely. He reached out to pet my head as I arrived at his side, "I do wish Caius would be more accepting of you. You show such promise."

I groaned, rolling my head. Aro continued with a sigh, "He isn't too pleased with either of us at the moment."

Not surprising. Considering his hatred of me and my kind I'm sure the douchebag was outright livid that Aro and I were fucking each other. Next time I'd make a little extra noise, just for him. Aro smiled, "We have been monitoring suspicious activities. Demetri has been tracking a member of the coven we believe to be involved, and we will be confronting him soon. You will be coming with me, whether Caius approves or not."

Oh boy, a road trip with dumb and dumber. That should be exciting. I huffed through my nose. We walked in silence after that. Occasionally he would look down at me, that creepy smile still firmly on his face. I tried to ignore him. His attitude toward me continued to shift and it was starting to worry me. What was worse, every time I was around him, every time I slept with him, my own feelings of dislike slipped a little further. I found I didn't hate him nearly as much as I wanted to. I wasn't even sure I wanted to attempt an escape anymore... Wait, what the fuck?

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when we arrived back at Volterra. Aro held me close, an arm around my waist to support me, though I wasn't feeling as drained as usual. The excessive amount of protein he'd been providing me seemed to help more than I had expected. Now I was mostly just tired from being up for over twenty-four hours. Once we were inside his private quarters, I dropped on one of the couches and was out in moments.


Aro leaned back in his chair as he considered the information he had been presented with. There had been no other surge in disappearances since the original ones in Russia. Which was the event that incited the investigation. But, there had still been missing persons reported in other countries, close to the Russian boarder, that were suspicious. Demetri had been able to link them all to a group of four vampires, two of which seemingly up and vanished. But he had managed to track one, a young woman named Daniela, to the northern part of France.

"We should leave this evening. She shouldn't be allowed the opportunity to escape," Caius argued. Aro hummed, tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair, "Agreed. Demetri, inform Felix of our planned departure. The five of us and Lorna will-"

"No," Caius spat, "That dog is not coming."

Aro narrowed his eyes, "She is. This is exactly what she is here for, brother."

"I'd beg to differ," the blond snipped. Aro smiled, but inside he was fuming, "As I told you before, brother, it is my personal affair and it is irrelevant to the situation. She will be accompanying us."

Caius shook his head and left the room. Aro watched him leave with his mouth pressed into a line. He turned back to the tracker and his remaining co-leader, "As I was saying, we will leave at nightfall. Plan to be away for at least two days, assuming the weather cooperates. We will acquire accommodations as necessary."

He stood then, and had considered confronting Caius. The man was acting like a child. Aro understood his brother's passionate hatred of them, he did. Caius had almost been mauled by one and lost his second life. They were vile beasts and needed to be put down. Most of them. Lorna was completely unlike the rest. She'd been living among thirty vampires for months. She hadn't harmed any of them. And for Caius to always be trying to use his relationship with her against him was repugnant. Disdain for the species aside, what did it matter if she suffered from lycanthropy? What did it matter if they were involved? Besides, it wasn't as though the pair had a real relationship anyway. They had both agreed it was strictly sexual in nature, and that there wasn't, and wouldn't, be anything more to it.

Correct?

Something about that didn't sit well with him, but that was a concern for a different day.


I had slept maybe an hour or two. During that time, I had dreams of him and things I didn't ever want to consider. And one thing that I knew to be impossible. Which, in turn, made me sad-slash-angry and unable to fall back asleep. All I could say was thank Artemis my bloodsucking lover was incapable of using his "gift" on me.

Since I hadn't attempted to dismember anyone, the leech gave me permission to roam the building. So that's what I did now. And my, wasn't I just tickled to encounter who I did.

"Well, well. If it isn't Aro's pet. I see you've managed to get off your leash," the blond douchebag said as we approached one another. I pouted, "Oh no, do I detect jealousy?"

He scoffed, "What would I possibly be envious of?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, you tell me. You're the one acting like the butt hurt ex-girlfriend."

The way he stared at me radiated disgust, "What could my brother even possibly see in you?"

"You know," I looked thoughtful, "I've been asking myself that same question. Then I realized, he just loves my ass."

His expression was unreadable now. Somewhere between "what the hell is wrong with you?" and "this is so nasty I want to barf". Was that even possible for a vampire to do? "Hey, if you're gonna hurl, can I watch? I'm curious to know how that works. Is it just blood? What if you hadn't fed in awhile? Do you just heave up dust?"

The prick attempted to look intimidating, "You do well to mind your tongue, dog."

I choked back a laugh, "You really think I'm scared of you?"

"I could snap your neck before you blink."

"Please do try," I egged him on with a smirk.

It seemed he was about to make a move, but then Aro was suddenly between us. Caius stepped back, practically hissing, "How do you feel anything for this-"

"With his hands," I interrupted, pushing up my boobs and wiggling my eyebrows. Caius stared with nose wrinkled and mouth open like an idiot. Aro did that thing where he held the bridge of his nose. Did I manage to break them both at once? Aw, they really were good entertainment. After a moment, Caius just turned and walked away.

"Bye, Felicia!" I called after him, but he ignored me. I turned to Aro, "He's fun, we should spend more time together."

"My brother is upset enough about this as it is," Aro tried to reason with me. I snorted, raising my voice so the departed asshole could hear me, "He'd be a lot happier if he'd just butt the fuck out!"

No response. I turned back to Aro, who had narrowed his eyes, "He doesn't get laid much, does he?"

"He has a wife, my dear."

"And that changes what I just said how, exactly?"

His jaw tightened and he appeared pensive for a moment, "His private matters aside-"

"I don't care about them. I don't know why he cares about yours, and I don't know why you let what he thinks about it get you worked up. You're a big boy, aren't you? You really need his permission?"

The man said nothing. Because he knew I was right. Didn't stop him from looking like he wanted to slap the smug smile off my face, though. I moved closer to him, taking his tie and running it through my fingers, "You know who else obviously isn't getting enough?"

He tried to remain stern, "Do not say it's me."

"I was talking about myself, actually, but now that you mention it-"

"My dear-"

"Fine," I rolled my eyes, "I'll try not to get him too pissed off. I make no guarantees, though."

Aro seemed to relax just a bit, lifting his hand to brush his fingers down my cheek. Until I took one in my mouth.