The burning, scalding heat continued to blaze through my already weak body, but my mind was forcing a distraction as images flashed through my mind, as if my life was on replay.

"Do you wanna be friends?" I asked Bella, hoping for a better answer than crying and running.

"Of course!" Bella responded excitedly before pulling a colouring book out from her backpack and offering to share her coloured pencils.

…

Alice placed a hand over mine, which was oddly ice-cold. "Eli, we're vampires."

I scoffed a laugh. "Funny, and I'm a mermaid."

"We are being serious, Eli," Carlisle spoke gravely.

"Okay I may be gullible, but I'm not that gullible," I said, earning an eye roll from the entire Cullen clan plus Bella.

…

"Hold on tight," Alice squealed with me on her back in the woods beside the Cullens' house.

I didn't even get a chance to finish my sentence before Alice went flying into the distance with me, my eyes burning from the air rushing past. "Hold onto wha-"

…

"I'm so sorry, El," Alice repeated for the fifteenth time as I sat in Carlisle's office, reapplying the eye drops for my raw eyeballs, thanks to her running demonstration.

"She says 'hold on tight', but what she doesn't say is 'close your eyes'," I struggled out and winced while Carlisle took over in applying the drops to the corners of my eyes.

…

"Can someone please just explain to me where it is we're going?" I asked while Alice drove us down the road at a speed higher than the speed limit.

Bella glanced at Alice, before turning to me. "Italy,"

"Italy? W-why?" I asked in a frenzied shock, still gripping onto the leather seat.

"To save Edward."

…

"Although, it appears you have brought another human companion along with you, how delightful," Aro added with a sense of false joy, his footsteps echoing through the hall as he edged closer to where I was stood.

"She does not concern you, she has nothing to do with this," Edward stepped forward to defend me, only to be held back by a much taller man in a light grey cloak.

Aro chose to ignore Edward's comment, tilting his head slightly as he peered around Alice to where I was stood with my face hidden in her shoulder.

"Do not fear us, young one," he stepped back with a menacing appearance, his pale hand extended out in front of him.

…

"So…" I murmured, "you guys are, like, my…"

"True mates, yes," Caius finished my sentence.

…

Aro glanced over his shoulder before gazing back at me, a smile playing on his lips as he chuckled lightly and slipped under the duvet beside me. His cool hands rested on my back while I pressed the side of my face against his chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry Aro," I whispered, my voice still raspy as I blinked back another tear.

He shushed me quietly, pressing kisses to the top of my head, "Stop apologising, cara mia."

…

Caius' lips met back up with mine, much gentler than before but still with equal passion.

"I love you, carissima."

"I-I love you too Caius, so much."

…

Marcus instantly erupted with laughter, his cool breath sending shivers down my spine. He tugged me backwards onto his lap and held me as humanly close to him as possible.

"You, tesoro, are one of the silliest people I will ever meet," he chuckled, planting a kiss on my neck.

Instead of responding, my face only became redder as I ducked my head down to hide myself with my hair.

"There is no need to hide your face, you look beautiful when you blush, carissima," Caius placed two fingers under my chin and lifted my face up to his.

…

Marcus hummed lightly and tightened his hold on me while we laid cuddled together on his sofa. "When I first saw your true mate bonds with us, I was incredibly reluctant to meet you. I did not want to become attached, afraid of losing you and being left heartbroken, but I am now glad Aro and Caius persuaded me into forming a relationship with you. You are the most brilliant, extraordinary, beautiful person I have ever met, bellissima, and the saddest part is you do not see that in yourself," he spoke.

…

"It is the only reason why I am reluctant to…" Aro trailed off, "…with you. I have to use an incredible amount of self-control as it is to surround myself with you, cara mia. There is a very small difference in force between me stroking your hair and snapping your neck. I would never forgive myself if I hurt you in that way."

"You only have to wait, what, three more years?" I laughed.

He chuckled lightly, pressing a kiss to my nose. "If I managed to cope for three thousand years, I am certain I will make it through three more."

…

I sighed and dropped my head. "When you decide to talk about it, I'm here babe," I smiled reassuringly, threading my fingers in Marcus' hair.

He faintly smiled back, lightly kissing my lips. "I love you, tesoro."

"I love you so much."

…

"We will ask the questions here, girl. You truly dared to run away from us on a whim, just like that?" Aro seethed, almost trembling in anger. His piercing gaze alone made me want to cower away in fear, but I somehow managed to stand my ground. And 'girl'? When had my title been demoted to 'girl'? What memo did I miss?

I stood there confused. Didn't the Gucci shopping bags in my hands explain where I was? "W-what? I was just-"

"After everything we have done for you!" Caius piped up with open aggression. "We provided you with a castle, wealth, respect, and you dare to leave us, you ungrateful, spoilt, childish brat?!"

…

Marcus pulled me over from Caius' lap onto his and surrounded his arms around me tightly. "I am so sorry, tesoro, please forgive me, forgive us, I love you so much."

"Please say something, carissima," Caius murmured, pressing his cold nose into the soft skin of my neck.

I sighed a quivered breath. "Why should I? You refused to say a single word for over a week."

…

Caius kissed my injured knee and curled up beside me with his head rested on my shoulder as he gazed into my eyes. "Maybe learning to skateboard is not such a good idea."

"Give me a break, I tried," I giggled.

Marcus laid himself down on my other side, staring up at the clouds with his hands placed over his torso. "You did, you did."

"Some day, I will miss your constant clumsiness. Some day, you will be so coordinated that you will never need me to catch you before you fall to the ground on your face," Aro mused.

I hummed in agreement, tracing my finger along the markings on my Volturi crest. "Some day, maybe," I shrugged, "but we still have today."

…

"I'll be back before you know it, aren't you lucky?" I laughed.

Caius captured my lips with his and growled into the kiss as he gripped my waist tightly. "The luckiest man alive. Take care of yourself, my love."

"I always do, I love you!" I called as I left Caius' quarters

…

"What do you want from me?" I hissed.

"What do we want?" the blonde repeated the question to himself as if I humoured him, "We want revenge. Your pathetic scum have been ruling our world for millennia, it is time someone challenged them," he spat at me consistently during every sentence.

"So you're such tiny pussies that you're going to try and get to them through me rather than face them yourselves?" I narrowed my eyes at them.

After a quick flash of movement, he had grabbed me by my jaw so that my face was millimetres from his. "You dare disrespect me, little whore?" his grip tightened, painfully so.

The same memories replayed in my head a few times, yet each time I watched those disgusting vampires, my hate and anger increased by a degree. I wanted them dead. I'd never hated anyone so much in my life, but I truly wanted them dead.

The memories suddenly ceased and disappeared from view entirely. I could faintly hear voices in the distance discussing the guard's movie night…wait, guard's movie night?

My eyelids suddenly flew open and I peered around at my surroundings; everything was so clear, like some kind of HD movie. Apparently I was on a bed, my bed, wearing a light pink floral dress that went down to my mid-thigh. Before I had the chance to properly sit up, a voice caught my attention.

A pair of arms flew around me, and by the scent I was easily able to identify him as Aro. "Il mio amore, I thought I lost you," he cooed.

Somehow I couldn't feel his usual cold temperature through his clothes, his entire body in fact was a normal, cosy temperature unlike what I was used to. I leant into him just as two more pairs of arms surrounded me.

"Um, hey-" I stopped with my eyebrows drawn together.

"What is the matter, carissima?" Caius tilted his head with concern and it looked like he was studying my eyes.

"Why do I sound so weird?" I asked hesitantly.

I heard Marcus chuckle under his breath as he darted over to my bathroom, returning to sit on the edge of my bed with a mirror. He handed it to me and, confused at why it was so damn lightweight, I carefully held it up in front of me.

The sight that met my eyes was not the sight I was expecting. I looked…gorgeous. My skin, though it was already pale before, was now completely paper-white, and my hair was brunette although it somehow had a silver, metallic hint to it, probably from the hair toner Heidi had used on me, but what really stood out were my eyes.

My irises were a bright ruby red colour, every trace of my blue eyes gone. I brought the mirror closer to my face to check if maybe it was just some kind of optical illusion or something, but Aro simply laughed at me and shook his head.

"Moving the mirror will not change your eye colour, I can assure you."

I gasped. "Holy shit, I drink blood now."

"Mind your language," Marcus warned.

I looked to him, unimpressed. "Fine, holy-moly I drink blood now. Happy, cinnamon roll?"

"And here I was hoping your attitude would disappear," Caius sighed, sat on my bed while he ran his fingers through my hair.

"Just think about how boring I'd be if I was remotely civil," I giggled before pausing again.

"What is the matter this time?" Aro asked.

My face lit up into a wide smile. "I don't sound like a dying whale when I laugh anymore!" I rejoiced.

"You never did," Caius argued.

"Uh-huh, sure blondie, you tell yourself that," I teased.

"Tesoro," Marcus caught my attention and I turned my head back around to face him, "do you really not remember the beginning of your transformation?"

I paused, trying to recall anything I could. It didn't take long for the memories of that room, those two men, to come crashing back into my head. Caius was instantly by my side, purring into my neck, but I wasn't anxious, angry maybe.

"There were…two men…a dark room…pain, so much pain…" I trailed off as everything agonisingly replayed itself in my head.

Aro sat beside me and reached out to touch my hand, probably to witness it for himself, but I withdrew my arm away from his reach. "I don't want you to see me like that, I don't want to upset you," I murmured.

"Do not worry about me, il mio amore," he held his hand out for me to take.

Cautiously, I placed my hand in his. It was a bit of an adjustment, getting used to the normal temperature and feel of his skin as it was no longer as cold and hard as it was before.

His eyes soon darkened and a haunting snarl escaped his lips. In an effort to reassure him, I squeezed his hand lightly and nuzzled into his neck. A soft purring sound began to come from my throat and I panicked, pulling myself away.

"I just purred," my eyes widened in disbelief.

"You are a vampire now, and we are your true mates as much as you are ours, meaning that you can use your purr to reassure us as well," Marcus reminded me.

Seeing as Aro was still tense and on the verge of destroying the contents of my room, I cautiously nuzzled back into his neck behind his black hair and inhaled his scent while the purring vibrations continued to roll through my chest up to my throat. I could feel him relaxing with every passing moment as he eventually wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me backwards with him so that I was lying on top of him on the bed.

I continued to send reassuring thoughts through my mind, hoping they would calm him. I'm okay, I'm here now, I'm safe, I love you, I won't let them hurt me again.

"What happened, brother?" Caius asked Aro.

This definitely was far from a good idea as a discussion point. "Maybe we shouldn't-"

"It is okay, cara mia," Aro sat up with me still on his lap, although he seemed a little less comfortable probably due to my sudden increase in weight.

Aro retold everything that happened in Greek so as to not stir up any more painful memories for me. He often paused midsentence and I would have to purr in his ear reassuringly before he could bear to continue. By the end of the explanation, all three of them looked like they'd be in tears if it wasn't for their immortality.

They quickly curled around me protectively and pressed kisses to every part of my body they could reach. It was sweet really, but a little overwhelming considering everything that I'd just been through.

"What happened to the guards?" I asked Marcus while he was pressed up to my back snugly with his arms around my waist.

"Those sent to Denali?" I nodded in confirmation. "I am so sorry, tesoro, we found their crests molten into the remains of an old bonfire."

I glanced down sadly into my lap, tears threatening to fall though I knew nothing would come out regardless. They were so sweet, and Steve even took the time to warn me about types of snow. I felt goddamn awful, not only that they died, but that they died protecting me. "Oh."

"We are currently searching for the final two scumbags, no one harms my guard, let alone my perfect mate," Aro hissed.

I ran a hand through his hair and he seemed to calm down and purr lightly at the contact. Instantly, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled his body flush against mine which seemed to restrict his breathing completely.

"You are much stronger than me now, bellissima, please be careful," he choked out.

"Oh, sorry babe, my bad," I smoothed out his suit jacket and moved away a little so that I wouldn't accidentally pop his head off his shoulders in an attempt to hug him.

There was a burning sensation in my throat that began to appear without warning, increasing rapidly to the point where my throat felt like it was on fire. I needed food. I needed blood.

Aro placed a hand on mine and nodded in understanding. "I am aware that you do not wish to pursue the Cullens 'vegetarian'," he drew quote marks in the air, "diet, so we had Heidi bring in a catch, arriving in just a few minutes."

"Say no more," I grinned and leapt gracefully off my bed, surprising myself with how much less clumsy I was. I stopped quickly, "but there is no way I will harm a child."

"No?" Caius raised an eyebrow.

I shook my head and took Marcus hand as he began to lead us down the corridor. "That would just be pushing things a little too far for me, you know, morally."

Only a few metres in, the scent of humans, of their sweet blood, hit my nose. I felt the venom pool in my mouth as an animalistic side of me began to show through.

Before I could dart forward, Marcus quickly surrounded his arms around my waist and managed to hold me back with the assistance of Aro and Caius. I hissed at him as my jaw twitched at the thought of giving my burning throat what it so much needed and desired.

"Control yourself, Eliana, reel in your instincts," Marcus urged.

"My throat, blood, I need blood," I mumbled with a raspy tone and began thrashing to get out of his grip.

"You will control your bloodlust, is that understood?" he ordered sternly, and I'd never seen him that terrifyingly serious before.

I let out one final growl as the feral side of me began to recede. With a few calming breaths, I was able to stand up straight and calm my instincts down again.

I sighed. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"Do not apologise, I am sorry if I lost my temper," Marcus pressed a kiss to my forehead, "You are a newborn, and the most important lesson to teach a newborn is discipline and control. We have all been in your position, and it is undeniably a challenging time," Marcus sympathised, taking my hand and continuing down the corridor with Aro and Caius in tow.

"Are you aware of what happens at our scheduled feedings?" Aro asked me.

Struggling to distract myself from the scent of blood in the air, I held my breath and shook my head. Although, I did appreciate Aro's attempts at keeping my mind off my bloodlust.

"These feedings occur once every week, but anyone is free to leave the walls of Volterra to hunt further if necessary. We will stand at the front, the guards will be stationed at the perimeter, I will deliver the usual short speech, and once I have spoken the words 'bon appétit', the feasting will begin," Aro explained, "Typically, the distribution is two humans to an immortal, but since you are a newborn, you will need at least four. Fortunately, today's catch is rather large, so it should not be an issue, just be fast before another takes your helping," he chuckled.

"What if I don't know what to do?" I asked worriedly.

Caius pressed his lips to my temple. "Carissima, I think your brief control lesson a moment ago serves as proof that feeding will come as second nature to you."

We eventually stopped at a door and it opened to reveal the private entrance behind the thrones of what I assumed to be the feeding room. The three thrones in this room were wooden rather than marble, the walls were made of stone with a few flaming torches built into them, and in the middle of the large floor was a grate, presumably to drain any remaining blood.

Caius pulled me over by my arm and sat me across his lap on his throne. He groaned slightly as I sat down on him and I shuffled off a little warily.

"Did I hurt you?" I asked him with concern.

"It is okay, carissima," he pulled me back over to him and buried his face into my hair, "your new weight is simply just an adjustment."

"Told you I have the weight of a cow, but oh no, you don't listen," I snarked playfully.

"Please do not talk about yourself in that way, ever. You are absolutely perfect to me, you know this."

A familiar voice butted in from across the room. "Psst, El," Afton whispered.

"Sir Afton!" I hissed back excitedly.

He winked. "Good to have you back, vampire-y-ness suits you."

I opened my mouth to respond but I was quickly cut off when the smell of blood heightened. My entire body tensed as my newfound instincts took over.

"Don't breathe," Caius whispered.

"What?" I asked confusedly.

"It helps with bloodlust, it is how I managed to make it through my newborn years with fewest incidents, don't breathe," he instructed.

Doing as he said, I took in a deep breath and managed to sit completely still. Marcus looked over at me and gave me a sweet nod of approval as Aro stood up and made his way to the front of the dais.

"Thank you, dear ones, for taking the time to tour this ancient structure within our humble home of Volterra…"

I was trying to concentrate on his words but couldn't, not with the large crowd of humans in front of us. My eyes locked on a man in his late 60s, deciding that he would be my first target. He looked like an absolute pimp and I cringed as he itched his crotch. Caius cautiously tightened his grip around my waist and observed my every movement to ensure I didn't make any rash decisions.

"…the tour ends here, I am afraid. Bon appétit."

I didn't need any more confirmation. The animalistic side of me making a reappearance, I instantly had the man I'd been eyeing in my grip. Without any hesitation, I ripped into his throat and relished in the warm sensation of the blood pouring into my mouth and down my throat. I let a subconscious moan escape me while the burning in my throat began to ease, and I spotted Afton with another body on the other side of the room shaking his head at me light-heartedly.

Once I'd drained the man completely dry, I next came for a screaming woman who looked in her early 40s and drunk her warm blood down the same way. It had a slightly different taste to the other man, maybe it was something to do with blood types or age, but I was not in a place to be fussy.

After finishing two more humans off, I tossed the final body to the side and stood up straight. Aro glided over to me from across the room with a soft smile on his face which I couldn't help but reciprocate.

"Not bad at all for a newborn, piccola," he leant into my face and licked a thin trail of blood that ran from the corner of my mouth, his lips meeting up with mine, "not bad at all."

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Author's note: Eli's a bloodsucker, I repeat, Eli's a bloodsucker! I wanted to make it so that her control over bloodlust is absolutely bullshit but she manages to learn from her mistakes and control herself.

About Eli's hair colour now being a silver brunette colour, basically she had ashy blonde hair before and I know the bleaching process removes layers from the individual hairs. So, considering how the transformation process supposedly repairs the body including hair completely, it would make sense for the bleach to disappear. However, the silver colour was literally just dyed into it so there was no reason for that to disappear.

Also, I have been working on a few funny little bonus chapters which I want to potentially publish at the end of this book, but it's basically stuff I've always wanted to include in the story but never really got the chance to. I can't wait for you to read them eventually, they're a lot of fun hehe.

On a side note, I think I've developed an addiction to Pringles over lockdown, so now I'm just sitting here eating the fancy rice fusion ones while writing this haha.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love to hear your opinions, stay safe, and ily lots!