Previous chapter: Demetri – DPOV

"You're quite right there, cara mia. We will induce a gas explosion in the kitchen. The fire that follows will burn down the house and take your life. There will be nothing left to find. Your dad will have to start over, but it will be easier for him to move on if he isn't living in the house he shared with you. I know it sounds excessive, but it is a better solution for everyone in the long run."

Bella - BPOV

I listen quietly to Demetri's plan to leave Forks and fake my death. He sure as hell thought it all through. But then again, this is not the first time he has to do something like this. I'm sure of that. I like that he asks for my opinion. Not that I know a thing of faking someone's death, but he cares enough to consider my thoughts. Edward never did that.

Demetri is right, Charlie will be devastated, but with no other ties that bind him to me than the memories in his head, he should be able to move on faster. It isn't an easy decision. I love my dad and will miss him terribly, but I know staying here is no longer an option. I must follow Demetri to Volterra. There I will die to be reborn as a vampire. Today Bella Swan will die in a raging fire, and a new Bella shall rise from the ashes. I will finally be a vampire. It's time to get this show on the road. I squeeze his hand and smile as I stand up and say, "You're right. Let's do it."

Demetri - DPOV

This girl won't stop surprising me. She's not lying; she is ready to do this. She looks like a true warrior that is ready to face the inevitable. I'm so proud of her right now. I smile as I nod and say, "Okay, tesoro, why don't you take a shower and get ready to leave while I get the car? Also, look around your room and check if I missed something you want to take along. I'll be back before you know it."

I kiss her forehead and make my way out of the house. I can hear Bella turning on the shower, and I fight the urge to go back and help Bella wash her gorgeous body. While I run to the car, countless images of my mate in the shower flood my mind. Fuck, I can't wait to feel her body close to mine, loving her, making love to her, and claiming her over and over again. It will be magical, and it will be like nothing I experienced before. I'm sure of that.

The car is still standing at the end of Cullen's driveway. I smell the air. Nobody has been here since I left the car behind. Good, I don't need somebody messing up my plan. I quickly track the Cullens and conclude that they're all in Alaska. Idiotic vampires! No vampire with his sanity intact would move from the wettest place in the US to the coldest… I turn the car around and speed back to Bella.

I hear her humming a song when I get out of the car. It sounds familiar, but I can't put a name to it. I walk up to her room and freeze the moment I enter. I watch my Bella as she's standing in the middle of her room, dressed in only her sexy underwear, while looking through her bag for something to wear. She is a true vision of beauty, my goddess.

I watch her while she puts on jeans that hug her curves perfectly and find myself jealous of a piece of clothing. And don't get me started about how her shirt flows over those gorgeous breasts. I desperately need a few sparring sessions with Felix and Alec to get all this tension out of my system. By the time I get Bella to Volterra, I'll be so tense that they will not know what hit them.

Bella turns around and sees me standing in the doorway; she musters a little smile and turns back to zip up her bag. Her shoulders are hanging low, and I can sense she is having a little trouble with the situation which is understandable. I sigh. I do not want to be the asshole right now, but we need to start moving if we want to leave without raising suspicion. I take a step inside the door as I say, "Are you all set, cara mia? Can I put your stuff in the car?"

Bella turns to me so quickly that she loses her balance. I pull her into my arms to steady her and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear as I say, "Did I startle you? We need to get going, Bella. Time is of the essence. If we waste any more time, the plan could fail."

Bella shakes her head as she says, "I know, I was trying to say goodbye to this life, but I don't know how to do that. There are so many memories in this room. Edward… Never mind, I'm fine. You're right. It's time to go."

I scowl a bit when she mentions Edward Cullen. I understand that her feelings for him are still there, but it annoys me. I'm the jealous type when it comes to Bella. He is a moron and an asshole, he wouldn't know a kind, gorgeous and loving woman when she was staring him in the face, and he caused Bella pain. I'm going to make sure he never sets foot near her again. When she finally understands how much I love her, she will see him for what he is, a waste of her affection.

I pick up the boxes and her bag and rush them to the car. I find Bella standing in the living room, looking at photographs on the wall, and smile as I say, "Do you want to take some of them with you for your scrapbook?"

Bella nods and takes most of the pictures out of their frames. She hugs them to her chest, and she lets out a sob. I pick her up, knowing there is no way to make the next phase of our plan easier for her, and I carry her to the waiting car. I put her in the passenger seat and gently strap her in. The vehicle is already out in the street, facing away from the house in perfect getaway style.

I gently caress her cheek as I say, "I know this is hard, Bella. You may think of me as a heartless monster for destroying your home so easily and without remorse, but someday you'll understand I did it all for you. Sit tight. I'm going to set up the explosion. We'll be out of here in two minutes."

I go into the small kitchen and disconnect the gas supply behind the stove. I can hear the gas flowing into the room. When the gas smell gets concentrated enough, I speed out of the kitchen right after throwing a small firestone into the air. It will take the stone around three seconds to reach the floor, and the tiny spark it will generate will be enough to cause the explosion I'm aiming for. I'm already in the car and driving out of the street when the explosion goes off.

Bella keeps her eyes fixed on the road before us. She doesn't look back at the house so she can remember it like it was when she lived there. Bella slumps down in her seat as the sound of the explosion is heard. And my dead heart breaks as she starts crying. Her whole body is shaking while she mourns for everything she just lost. I take hold of her hand and squeeze it lightly. She looks at me and forces a soft smile, but it never reaches her eyes. She lets go of my hand, leans against the window, and closes her eyes as she continues to cry quietly. After a while, her breathing evens out, and I realize she cried herself to sleep.

I push the throttle down and speed towards Seattle, covering the distance in just over two hours. Bella is still asleep in the seat next to me as we pull up next to the private jet. I signal the ground staff to take care of the luggage.

The pilot walks up to me and tells me we can have wheels up in thirty minutes. I nod at him and walk over to the passenger's side to get Bella out of the car. I slowly pick her up and take her onto the plane. I lay her down on the couch and slowly stroke the hair from her face. She stirs when my cold fingers touch her face, and I smile softly as she opens her eyes and says, "Where are we?"

Bella stifles a yawn as she looks around her, while I say, "We're in Seattle; we are on board the plane to Italy. I'm sorry I woke you, cara." Bella smiles as she shakes her head and says: "No problem. I'm grateful you let me sleep for a while. My brain needed the shutdown more than I suspected it would. Are we leaving any time soon?"

I nod as I say, "Yes, we are, cara mia, but I need to hunt first. I'll only be gone for a short while. I do not want to be thirsty while cooped up in a plane. It would make me the most unwelcome travel companion you can think off. Will you be okay on your own for a while? Maybe you can eat something? I had the staff fill the fridge on board with all sorts of human food."

I can see the panic in her eyes when I mention that I'm leaving her to go hunting. The leaving of the Cullens affected her on a much deeper level than they could have ever imagined. I can't think of a single reason why they did what they did, but I will make them pay, that's for sure. I gently squeeze her hand in a calming gesture as I say, "Please, tesoro, don't be frightened. I'll be back before you know it. I could never leave you for long now that I have finally found you. Please eat something; it will make you feel better."

I stand up and walk out of the plane. I keep myself from looking back, knowing that the sad look on Bella's face will make me want to stay here. I need to feed. I need to let out the ruthless monster inside me. Bella brings out a side of me that I didn't know existed, but I'm still Demetri Volturi, the best tracker in the world and a ruthless killer when needed.

Bella - BPOV

I take a deep breath as Demetri exits the plane to hunt and quickly look around the pantry while searching for the fridge. I smile as I find it filled to the brim with sandwiches and soda. I pick one of each and sit back down on the couch to eat. I start thinking about everything that has happened since he found me on the forest floor.

Edward broke my heart. He said he would love me forever, and he left me. I'm just a human. He is easily distracted, and it would be like he never existed. He took the whole family away from me as well, I thought they loved me like a daughter and a sister, but I was cast aside like a used pair of shoes. They don't deserve my tears, but I still miss them.

Demetri is so different from the Cullens. Those bright red eyes should have terrified me, but when he looked into my eyes on the forest floor, I felt a connection that removed all fear. Demetri didn't look at me like I was dinner. And he said that he was going to love me forever.

I didn't believe him when he said that. Edward had said the same thing, and he just packed up and left. Edward made me think that you can't trust a vampire. Demetri, however, listened to my story and took care of me, taking me in his arms and wrapping his cloak around me. He told me that Edward could never have been my mate. He would have never left me if he was.

Demetri took me home to get me dinner and to warm up again. He didn't dazzle me as Edward did. Demetri didn't need to. There was something so enticing about Demetri Volturi that he had me hooked without doing a damn thing.

He keeps calling me 'cara mia' and 'tesoro'. I wonder what that means. It sounds so lovely when he says it, so it can't be something terrible. It makes me want to learn Italian. Before I can finish the next thought, Demetri startles me while he is securing my seatbelt.

Demetri - DPOV (in the meanwhile)

I jump atop a random building on the outskirts of Seattle as I listen to the sounds of the city below. Amongst people living their everyday and boring lives are the muffled sounds of a girl begging and pleading for her life. I speed over the rooftops and jump down into the alley below. I take in the essence of the man whose ripping some poor girl's clothes to shreds and has his dirty paws all over her body. The girl is terrified out of her mind. His essence is dark. It looks as if he got marked by the very flames of hell. With perverts and monsters, it's always like that. It is a good thing I can't track my own essence. I don't need proof to confirm what kind of monster I am. Let's rid the planet of some trash. I stalk over and throw him off her. He flies into the wall and groans.

I growl 'run' to the girl and turn over to the man who is trying to get up. Behind me, the girl starts to run without looking back. I wait until she is out of the alley before taking the man by his neck; I snap it and drain him quickly. Normally, I would have made him suffer a bit, but I don't have time for that now. I need to get back to Bella. I feel instantly better now that my thirst is gone. The flight will be a lot more comfortable now.

I rush back to the plane and signal the pilot that we're ready for take-off. I plop down in the seat across from Bella, who got lost in her thoughts. I reach out to fasten her seatbelt, which startles her, and I can hear the relief in her voice as she says, "You're back!"

I give her a loving smile as I caress her cheek and say, "My sweet Bella, I look forward to the day when you'll believe me when I say I'm not ever going to leave you. I may be many things, but I'm not a liar. When I say something, you can be certain it is the truth."

A wonderful blush colors her cheeks due to my comment, and I mentally command myself to stay seated. I will miss that blush when she's changed. I take her hands in mine and look into her eyes as I say, "Are there more things you want to know, tesoro? We have over twelve hours to talk if you're not too tired."

A dozens question seems to pop up in her mind, and she's taking her time deciding which one to ask first. After a couple of minutes, she asks, "Tell me more about your coven. I might as well know what I'm getting myself into."

I laughed out loud at her comment. It was true, though. She doesn't know what it means to be a Volturi. I can only hope that she can accept being part of such a notorious coven and that she has was it takes to be a guard.

"Let me see. We are the Volturi, the largest and most powerful coven. We take it upon ourselves to enforce the laws of the vampire world. The coven is ran by three masters: Aro, Caius, and Marcus. The other covens refer to them as the three kings. Aro and Caius are mated; their mates are named Sulpicia and Athenodora. Marcus lost his mate Didyme quite some time ago.

Aro is gifted. He can read every thought you have ever had by touching you. It is annoying that your mind is not private when he is around. Aro is the unofficial leader; you don't want to cross him. Marcus has the power to identify relationships; he can see the bonds between people and can tell how strong they are. Caius isn't gifted but has great tactical insight, which we need in times of war.

The Volturi also have a lot of very powerful and imposing vampires, better known as the guard. Vampires fear us and will do everything to stay off our radar. The guard members that you will encounter first are probably Felix, Alec, Jane, and Chelsea. Felix is the physically strongest warrior we ever had; Alec has the power of sensory deprivation, which allows him to block all senses of those he points at, making them easy targets during slaughter and incapacitation.

His twin sister Jane is a real pain, literally. She has the power of illusionary pain, which works by implanting a thought into her target to make them think they are being burned alive. You don't want to cross her; believe me. Chelsea can manipulate relationships. It allows her to break the emotional ties of our enemies and make a wanted vampire willingly join us.

I'm also a part of the guard. I'm a powerful tracker; I can pick up the essence of someone's mind and then follow it over any distance to hunt them down. Once I've met a person, he can never escape me. I will always find him. You, however, are a bit of a mystery to me. Your essence is shrouded. I can tell where you are, but I can't pinpoint the exact location. You are my mystery, cara mia."

I lean back in my seat and give Bella time to process everything I just said. After a while, she asks, "So your coven is like the police of the vampire world?"

I chuckle as I say, "You could say that, but I must assure you: the things we deal with and what we have to do are way more dangerous than what a human police officer has to endure. I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you, Bella. We're vampires. We are driven by basic instincts: blood, selfishness, and mating. When we are on a mission, it is to kill the vampires that broke the law. Caius doesn't believe in second chances.

We are killers, Bella. We need to be. There has to be some order in the vampire world, or the human world would suffer due to the chaos. I'm not a nice person. Most of the time, I am a quiet observer. I lurk in the shadows. The essence of a vampire tells me more than words ever will. I live for the chase. I love the fact that they can't hide from me. I'm ruthless and deadly. I have been for 1000 years. Only you seem to bring out a side of me that I thought got lost long ago. The moment I found you, I felt whole for the first time in my life, but I don't deserve that."

I close my eyes for a second, knowing that it's true. I don't deserve her. Bella is the embodiment of compassion and love, she is an angel, and I'm the devil. If she chooses to spend the rest of eternity with me... If she accepts the bond of true mates... Then I swear to every power out there that I will prove to her every day of eternity that I'm worthy of her love.

Bella - BPOV

When Demetri tells me that he feels whole since he found me, he has this look in his eyes. I've seen it a dozen times before. He is looking at me like Carlisle looks at Esme. He looks like I'm the only light source in his dark world. I gasp for air as all the puzzle pieces finally come together.

Edward never was my true mate. Demetri is the one I'm supposed to be with. That's the reason why we feel complete ever since we met. That's why he cares for me. He truly meant the things he said since finding me in the forest. He loves me, and that strange feeling inside me is the mating pull. Why didn't he tell me? Do the Masters know? Is that why they are allowing me to come to Italy?

I take Demetri by surprise as I move to sit in his lap. I can see it as I look straight into his eyes when I say, "Did you tell the Masters that we're mates?"

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