Chapter Nineteen
-Washington, United States-
Her scent was barely detectable, but there all the same. Demetri flipped the mattress aside. It thudded into the wall, causing the smell to intensify. Or, perhaps he was only picking up on her from that. It was difficult to tell, as much as he hated to admit. She was being masked by one much stronger, one that still held a slight similarity. The missing pack member. He snorted. How stupid were these wolves? Coming back to their den, such an obvious place?
Hands grabbed the back of his cloak, whipping him around and launching him through the wall. He crashed onto the table in the main living space. It crumpled under his weight. Felix sauntered from the bedroom with the perpetrator's neck locked in his arm, though Stuart wasn't struggling. Demetri hopped to his feet, straightening his coat, "You've got some nerve, dog."
"What do you goons want?" Stuart asked calmly. The smaller vampire got right in his face, "Your Beta. Where is she?"
Stuart, to the best of his ability, shrugged, "Haven't seen her in months. Assumed she was dead, like the others."
Demetri was tempted to backhand him but knew it would be pointless. Besides, he couldn't be certain the man wasn't lying. The only place he'd been able to locate her scent was inside the shack. There was no trace of it anywhere outside. So, he settled for taunting him instead, "Such a selfish, cowardly thing. Turning your back on them to save your own skin. How proud you must be."
The wolf didn't even blink, "Not proud, but not guilty either. Lorna and I wanted nothing to do with the pack. Unfortunately, she was stronger bound to the Alpha than I was."
"So you left her to die with them? What a friend you are."
Stuart shook his head, "No. I looked back and she was already gone. I thought she'd already run for it. I did the same."
Demetri chuckled, it was a very patronizing sound. He pulled the cellphone from his pocket, dialed, and held it to his ear; smirking the entire time.
-Volterra, Italy-
Aro picked up the phone from the desk, hoping there was finally good news, "Have you found her?"
No, they still hadn't. His grip tightened on the handset; it made a slight cracking sound. Demetri proceeded to inform him, though, that they had come across the pack member that had managed to escape them, and wanted to know what was to be done. Aro tapped his fingers against the wooden surface. Stuart, was the wolf's name. Lorna had mentioned a Stuart once. And had previously stated she had only one true friend, who had been in her pack. He put two and two together. But now, what was he to do? Caius would demand he be killed. Aro was inclined to order the same. However…
Would Lorna be able to forgive him if she were to ever find out?
He massaged the bridge of his nose. With a glance over his shoulder, he relayed his decision, "Release him. Inform him he'd do well to make himself scarce."
Aro slammed the phone back onto the receiver with a heavy sigh. Where was she? And then he had an idea. He picked the handset back up and dialed. "Demetri, I have a proposition for our dear wolf friend."
-Washington, United States-
"So," Stuart spoke slowly to make sure he was understanding correctly, "I help you find Lorna, and I'll never have to worry about the Volturi killing me again?"
"Precisely," Demetri sounded less than thrilled.
"But, what about the moons? When I shift I'll kill you."
Both vampires barked laughter. Then, very seriously, Demetri said, "Then you'd better hurry up."
The werewolf thought for a moment. Demetri added, "She won't be brought to harm. Is this really so much worse than abandoning her in a moment of need?"
Stuart narrowed his eyes, "Fine. I'll do it."
"Wonderful. Our Master will be greatly appreciative of your help. Now, let's get started."
Stuart hesitated for a moment, trying to decide if he should bring anything. Ultimately, he decided it was pointless and exited the shack, the two vampires in tow. He lifted his face to the breeze and inhaled. Then began sprinting South, "This way!"
Demetri and Felix were right behind him.
I decided to head North, toward the Canadian border. I did my best to avoid any towns and highways, opting to run straight through the forests. Almost immediately after crossing the Hoh River, I picked up on the most revolting scent I'd ever been unfortunate enough to smell. There were definitely bloodsuckers nearby, but something wasn't right with them. Their smell didn't trigger that overwhelming prey drive like the others did. Aside from Sir Gilbert's coven. It did, however, pique my interest.
I sprinted Northeast, dodging around the thick trees. The smell grew stronger. There almost had to be more than one. Two, maybe? I leaped over a boulder and about landed on them. Gracefully, I rolled across the forest floor. I scrambled to my feet as they rose to look at me. The dark haired woman spoke, "Are you alright?"
"Peachy." I quickly brushed dirt from my tank top. When I met her stare, I was a bit shocked to see her eyes were gold instead of crimson, "Whoa, what the hell is wrong with you guys?"
They exchanged a look. My eyes traveled down to the deer carcasses at their feet, "Are you guys drinking animal blood? That must be why you smell like a vampire that rolled in a dead animal that had been rotting in the sun for a week."
The taller, blond man, who happened to be quite attractive, by the way, spoke next, "Are you a friend of Jacob's?"
My nose wrinkled, "Who?"
The woman whispered to her partner, "She knows about us. What should we do, Carlisle?"
I waved my hand to get their attention, "Yeah, I can hear you. You bloodsuckers aren't the only ones with supernatural abilities."
The man called Carlisle looked at me curiously, "I'm sorry, if you're not a shifter, what are you?"
I put my hands on my hips, "I'm a werewolf, thought it was obvious to your kind."
"But, didn't you just say-" the woman began to ask so I answered before she could finish, "No, no. You misunderstand. I'm not one of those fake, wanna-be ones. I'm a Child of the Moon."
"Oh," the dark haired vampire sounded surprised, "We didn't think there were any around here."
I snorted, "Lady, there was an entire pack of us living in the Southern part of the state for the last month and a half."
There was an awkward silence before I spoke again, "So… You guys gonna finish those? Because I'm starving."
They glanced at each other again.
-Volterra, Italy-
"Still no sign of your little pet, hmm?"
Caius' words stung, like a hot iron shoving through his chest. But Aro kept his face and tone smooth, "Not yet. But they will. I'm sure of it."
He wasn't about to tell him what he had just done that made him so confident. He rejoined his brothers at the large table. The blond shook his head, "You realize you are breaking your own law by carrying on with her, correct?"
Aro answered without looking at him, "A law that only exists due to your unfortunate run-it with one of her kind."
"Because they are a threat to our existence, brother," Caius emphasized each word. Aro took a book and began flipping through it, "Yes, but she is different."
Caius snorted, and that's when Marcus spoke up, "I agree, this one clearly is special."
Again, Caius shook his head and scoffed, "I don't understand the two of you."
He walked across the room. Marcus turned to his remaining brother, "Your suspicion is correct, Aro."
The man froze. Surely, he didn't mean… Aro turned to his companion, who nodded his head. His breathing hitched as pain tore through him anew. But he was not allowed a chance to truly process it. The large doors burst open, and two vampires he had been hoping would visit stormed in. A familiar head was thrown at his feet.
"What is the meaning for this?" Vladimir snarled. At the sound, two rather burly men, one blond and one a shorter redhead, appeared on either side of Aro, their teeth bared and prepared to fight. Aro held up his hand in a gesture to stop, "Wayland, Nicolaus."
The two were rather new to the Guard and, admittedly, a bit over-eager. Aro smiled, taking a few steps forward. Vladimir wasn't particularly intimidating. Quite short, white hair, rather fragile in appearance. The Volturi had already defeated him once. "I had thought the reasoning would be obvious, my friend."
Stefan spat. Aro pretended to ignore it, but mentally made a note to have the human clean the floor. Vladimir spoke, tone still dripping with venom, "What do you want from us, Aro?"
Aro didn't blame the man for being upset, of course. Had a disembodied head of a coven member shown up at his door, Aro wouldn't be too happy either. Depending on who it was. His response was curt, "Answers."
Stefan scoffed, "For what?"
Aro hummed as his smile shifted to one of annoyance, "It would see there has been a suspiciously large number of disappearances from your country."
"And you did this because you believe we are involved?" Vladimir accused, adding an exaggerated laugh. The Volturi leader held out his hand, "If you truly are innocent, then proving it should be no issue."
The white haired man scowled now, "We should not have to prove our innocence."
"When I have evidence suggesting your guilt, you certainly do if you wish to continue your existence," Aro wiggled his fingers, another attempt to retrieve what he was after. Never dropping his gaze, Vladimir finally gave his hand. Aro focused. He was seeing so much, yet none of it was what he had been hoping to see. He dropped the other man's hand and folded his own together. Aro gave a smile that closely resembled a smirk, "See to it the activity ceases. You may show yourselves out."
Aro turned, walking back toward the table. While he was actually incapable of feeling one, all this was giving him a headache. On top of Lorna fleeing and the search for her, he now was bombarded by information that made little sense. He clearly saw the Russian Coven leaders in the mind of the woman they had confronted in France. He did not, however, see any sign of her in Vladimir's. Obviously, one of them was somehow tricking him. And he was inclined to believe it was the coven leader. But how was it possible? Did they have a shield, protecting his mind to hide certain decisions? Or perhaps one that could alter memories?
Aro's shoulders fell as he sighed heavily. He could really use Lorna's company right now.
