Warning: This chapter is rated MA 18+ and contains sexual activity between two consenting adults. If you're not comfortable with this, feel free to skip to the next chapter, but hey, you do you.

For the next few days, to say I was bored would be an understatement. There'd been an issue with the dungeons overcrowding a little, so there was to be four days of back-to-back trials, releases, and executions. So, not only did I not have my mates around, but the entire guard was needed due to the sheer volume of vampires being brought through for trial.

The first day wasn't too bad, mind you. It gave me a chance to properly settle into my room, sort through my clothes and makeup, and nose around to see all of the little perks the room came with, such as the lights in my bathroom mirror which I accidentally discovered while poking around at the tiled walls.

It was on the second day of boring isolation that I received a phone call from the Cullens, Alice's familiar excited voice squealing on the other end of the line.

"Eli! You picked up!" she yelled.

"Why wouldn't I? There's nothing to do around here," I groaned into the phone.

"We have news, really exciting news, you'll love this news, it's really-"

"Cut to the chase, pixie," I snapped.

"Wow, you really are bored over there," she snorted with laughter, "actually, I'll get Bella to tell you the news."

I silently facepalmed during the muffled rustling while she handed the phone to Bella. "Eli?"

"Yeah, hey Bells, so what's the news then?" I asked.

"Okay, so…Edward and I got engaged," I could almost hear her smile through the phone. Aw, she adored that boy.

"Seriously?!" I leapt onto my bed, "Holy-moly, congratulations Bella!"

"Thank you, the invitations to the wedding are going out soon. I'm telling you earlier because I was wondering if…you…," she hesitated.

"Spill bitch," I joked.

"Hey, let me finish," she laughed under her breath, "I was hoping you'd want to be a bridesmaid?"

"Are you crazy? Of course I would! This is the best news I've heard all day, I'm so happy for you!" I squealed excitedly in a similar fashion to Alice.

"You are going to come to the wedding, right?" she asked.

"As if I would miss out on that, seriously, come on Bella. When will it be roughly, then?"

"During August I think, the date still hasn't been set in stone yet," she responded, "Will you bring your mates?"

"I mean, yeah, unless you don't want them to come, then I can talk them into staying behind. Either way, wherever I am, there will be Volturi guard nearby."

"No, no, they can come if they want. This is gonna be fun!" she seemed slightly put off with the thought of the Volturi being there.

"Bells, this is your wedding, so if you really don't want them to come, I can always-"

"No it's fine, I'm looking forward to it," she assured half-heartedly, "so how are things in Italy?"

"Great, yeah. The Volturi guard are really sweet when you get to know them actually, except maybe Jane, my mates and I have become much closer, and I'm moving in permanently very soon."

"Oh my gosh, why didn't you tell me this?"

I paused. "Are you…annoyed at me? Or…"

"Don't be silly, I'm happy for you! That's really great, you're going to be an Italian vampire now," she responded happily.

"I still have three years left as a human though, soooo…" I bragged.

"Huh, how's that fair?" she questioned.

"Well, firstly I'm under constant supervision so there's no way I can remotely be considered a liability, and secondly, unlike you, I'm in love with the people who make the rules, HA!"

"Can you talk them into giving me longer then?" she asked hopefully.

"Sorry, you're already officially marked down as 'delayed' in the paperwork, so there's nothing I can do about it. Oh yeah, and there's literally a form for everything at this point. You should see the sheer volume of paperwork stacked up on their desks, it hurts to look at," I shrugged.

"Does Caius still hate me?"

"…less…he hates you less…" I answered awkwardly.

"Eli, you said you'd explain we're better now!" she groaned.

"I did! He's stubborn, you should know this by now. Don't worry about it, he won't do anything as long as I'm best friends with you," I reassured her.

"You're the best, El."

The rest of the second day I spent fantasising over the wedding. Ugh, I love weddings. From Alice's description, the dress was beyond stunning, and I couldn't wait to see it for myself. Apparently, she was taking her role as maid of honour very seriously, honestly Bella couldn't have made a better choice.

The next evening, I was sat boredly watching some German game show on TV from my bed. I kept the volume down to prevent it interrupting the trials, but it wasn't like I was missing much from not being able to hear it. A hesitant knock sounded from my door which caught me off-guard. I was told that no one would be around and everyone would be down in the throne room, at least for one more day.

Before I had the chance to get up, Marcus opened the door and walked in. As soon as I spotted him, I jumped to my feet from the bed and ran at him, hugging him as tightly as possible, to the point where, if he was human, I would've knocked him over. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Damn it, I've missed you so much. It's so boring around here, you have no idea," I giggled.

He hummed quietly in agreement, still holding me protectively in his arms while staring off into the distance. Something felt off about him and the bond, but I didn't have a clue as to what it was.

"I thought you weren't going to be finished until tomorrow," I questioned.

"I simply missed you, tesoro," he murmured in the same deep, grave tone he had a week before during Aro's little back-story.

He took my hand, leading me back out of my room and into the dim corridor without any explanation. "Marcus, where are we going?" I asked him.

"Back to my quarters for a while," he responded, snaking his right arm around my waist possessively.

We strolled along in silence for a few moments. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?"

"Sorry," I blushed and looked down at the ground, "I was just checking if you were okay, that's all."

He sighed. "I am fine, Eliana, there is nothing to concern yourself about," he assured.

I wasn't completely convinced but decided to take his word for it in anyway, continuing down the corridor and into his quarters in silence. The guards must've all been preoccupied with the trials, as I couldn't remember ever seeing the castle that empty before. Once we got in to his quarters, I settled down on the sofa on Marcus' lap, my head rested against his chest.

"How did the trials go then?"

"They were fine," he answered simply.

"Seriously, babe, are you okay?" I asked sincerely.

"I'm…" he hesitated for a moment, "fine."

I sat up straight and locked eyes with his. "Please talk to me. I know something's up, what happened in that trial?"

"Do not worry about me, il mio amore."

"I love you, I'll always worry about you no matter what," I placed my hand on the back of his neck and softly kissed him. Looking over on the side table, I noticed a small hardback book. "What's this?"

"Jane Eyre, translated into Italian," he replied.

"They made us study that book in English three years ago, and it's ruined it for me ever since," I shook my head.

"You will find it sounds much more beautiful in Italian," he responded, picking up the book and holding it in his right hand while his left arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

I listened to him read the book to me for the next hour or so peacefully, enjoying the sound of his smooth, deep voice. He was right; Jane Eyre does sound much more beautiful in Italian. After a few moments, I cut him off with a kiss, pressing my lips to his. He seemed taken aback at first, but then placed the book down beside us and pulled my right leg over so that I was straddled on his lap.

I forced myself away for air. "Please, what's the matter Marcus?"

"It is not of importance, tesoro," he shook his head, running one cold hand down just below the waistband of my jeans.

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

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

"I love you so much."

His lips crashed against mine while he lifted me and propped me up against the wall in one swift movement. My legs wrapped themselves around his torso and my fingers entangled themselves in his hair. He growled deeply, sending shivers down my spine as he began to work my top off me, our lips only separating so he could pull the fabric over my head. Within an instant, he'd moved me to his bed on my back with my head on his pillows so that he was knelt between my legs, hovering above me. It was then that I realised how dark his irises had become, his gaze full of lust as he pulled off my bra.

He gently rubbed my breasts with his right hand, which caused me to let out a soft moan. His lips trailed down from my neck down to below my stomach, paying extra attention to my nipples. Once he made his way down to between my thighs, he easily ripped off my jeans and underwear, and began rubbing circles around my bundle of nerves with the pad of his thumb as I barely mumbled his name.

"M-Marcus…p-p-please…"

I noticed that he quickly bent down so his thumb was replaced by his tongue, which completely took me by surprise as I let out a sharp gasp. His tongue moved at an unfathomable speed, his right hand firmly gripping my waist so I couldn't buck my hips at all.

I hit my climax with a loud cry, all the muscles in my body clenching as I rode out my high. He swiped his tongue across my entrance one last time before he leant up so that his lips crashed against mine, pushing me back into the pillows. I could taste myself on him, which was…bizarre to say the least.

"Magnifico," he murmured.

Breaking off the kiss so that I could breathe properly, I reached up and clumsily attempted to undo the buttons on his shirt. He smirked at my useless attempt and tore it off his body with little effort, tossing it into the growing pile of the remaining shreds of our clothes. He did the same with his dress pants and rolled over onto his back, pulling me so that I was straddled on his hips with his erection underneath me.

Hesitantly, I pulled my right leg over to join my left and took his length in my right hand. I was still trembling slightly from the high I was still coming down from, which he must've mistaken as fear despite the low growl that sounded from his chest.

"Tesoro, you do not have to do this," he groaned out as I ran my hand up and down him slowly. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

I ignored him, instead bringing my mouth to his tip and sucking in before trailing my tongue along his length. I took him in my mouth and began pumping him carefully, my tongue swirling around him. He groaned deeply and entangled his fingers into my hair, guiding my head gently to take in more of him. The pace of his thrusts increased and he growled my name loudly as he hit his climax and came into my mouth.

After swallowing, I glanced up at him sheepishly before averting my eyes downwards while a blush spread across my cheeks.

"You are adorable," I heard him chuckle lightly as he lifted my chin so our gazes met and tugged me over so that I was lying against him. He cradled me in his arms in silence, occasionally pressing kisses to the top of my head.

"Didyme," he stated after a few minutes once I had fully regained my breath.

"Pardon?" I asked curiously, shuffling further up so my head was in line with his.

"Her name was Didyme, my previous mate. Didyme was Aro's biological younger sister, with the ability to bring happiness to those around her. She was kind to every being she met, and I had never witnessed a hate bond extended from her. We were…wildly in love, with the dream of moving away from the coven, of starting a new life together. It was one night when I came back to our quarters, and she was not there as she usually was. None of the guard had seen her for hours. We searched for her relentlessly, to no avail, but the sudden disappearance of the thick mate bond I shared with her confirmed her fate.

"I never found her…her killer, I was never put at peace. I lost all faith in life, in hope, in love, until I met you, il mio amore. To this day, her…" he struggled to finish his sentence, understandably, "I have no lead on what happened, I could never bring justice to her, and only because I didn't fulfil my duty as her mate to protect her.

He paused. "It was in a trial today that a young vampire entered. He had lost his mate, they had only been married for a decade. He'd spent years searching for her, and became suicidal similarly to me. I just…" he trailed off.

I felt terrible for Marcus, absolutely terrible. Goddamn, I should never have pried, I should have just let him be. The sadness he was feeling reflected heavily in my bond, not helped by his depressing past, causing a tear to roll down my face. He wiped it away with the pad of his thumb, shushing me gently.

"I apologise, tesoro, I shouldn't have brought it up-"

"Stop apologising, are you crazy? If I'd known, I would've never gotten involved. If anything, I feel awful for what you went through, you have nothing at all to apologise about," I insisted, "I know sorry doesn't even come close, but I'm so incredibly sorry you had to go through that, Marcus, no one should have to see the love of their life suffer like that." I wrapped my arms around him tightly, holding onto him as if he was the only person left in existence.

"You are the true love of my life, tesoro. Are you not upset that I was in love before I met you?"

I shook my head. "You've been around for three thousand odd years, I knew you must've fallen in love at least once or twice. It's human…well, vampire nature."

"I will never allow myself to make the same mistake with you, cara. You mean more than the world to me, and I will always do everything in my power to make you feel safe," he pressed his lips to my forehead, rubbing gentle circles on my back, "I will never allow you to suffer like Didyme did. I love you, Eliana."

Tears were still running down my face as I spoke, a contented smile playing on my lips. "I love you too, Marcus."

Author's note: Baby Marcus nooooo, ugh I almost cried a little myself while writing this ha. By the way, this will probably be the last MA 18+ chapter in this story from what I have planned, so if you don't like that kinda thing, you're in luck. I've been working on rewrites for the first few chapters which I'll publish soon, but you won't need to reread it or anything because the plot will be exactly the same.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, be sure to leave some feedback because I love hearing your thoughts, stay safe, and ily lots!