Eliza jumped, though she was happy the video call had disconnected just before she reacted, heart racing as her palm flew to her chest instinctively. "Fucking fuck!" The words slipped from her mouth before she had a chance to restrain herself and she scowled at the vampire.
"Who. Was. That." Aro repeated himself, clearly displeased. For the first time, Eliza saw him in a state other than complete perfection: his hair was slightly mussed, as if he had been running his hand through it in frustration, his cloak even seemed slightly rumbled, eyes fading from red into a dull black.
"My friend." She replied, mimicking his tone. Eliza shut the laptop with a soft click and stood, ignoring him in favor of rummaging through her luggage looking for a hairbrush and a fresh set of clothes. She had wanted to take a shower but would settle for a new set of underwear and some fuzzy slippers.
"Did you lie to her?" Aro questioned. He crossed his arms and watched her, lips pursed.
"About?" All she seemed to do as of late was argue with someone, perhaps that was why she was so combative in that moment. The temporary peace she had found in her chat with Fiona was being picked apart and she had no patience for it.
"You aren't finding your own apartment. That's ridiculous." His tone was flippant, as if he were explaining simple logic to a preschooler. It made her blood boil.
"What am I supposed to do? Like in Dracula's castle?" She hissed, throwing down the pair of warm socks she had just found and instead dug for a pair of sneakers, only to see them on the floor. When she reached for them, Aro struck like a snake, gripping her wrist a touch too firmly.
"In the Volturi Castle." He snapped back, she had clearly hit a nerve. "With your mates, where you belong."
"I don't belong anywhere!" Eliza replied coldly, opening a wound she had long tried to bury, the fact that she had no solid ground to stand on. She was the only Keyire she knew of, the only one who could not trace back maternal and paternal ancestry to a tribe. She was the outlier, the one who wanted a life off of the reservation simply because she would never truly be a part of her own people and she hated herself for it. And now here she was, confronted with someone saying they wanted her to be a part of them, yet she was the lone mortal in what was a coven of people who lived forever. And did she really want to live forever? To feel the crippling sense of loneliness that had shrouded her for her entire life….forever? A part of her reasoned she would not be alone, she would have the three kings with her forever, but that in and of itself set her apart more than her paternity ever did. She loved the Greek myth of the creation of man, that Zeus was jealous of the harmony of the creatures he had made so he ripped them in two, forever searching for their other half. She had thought Sam could fill that void, but for her it was Lora and now Eliza was left adrift.
"Yes, you do. You feel the pull of the mate bond, one that's partially settled." He frowned, envy in his eyes and he continued, "Settled with Marcus at least."
Eliza scoffed, pulling herself away from him and sliding on her sneakers, not bothering to untie and redo the laces. "Is this your way of trying to get me to sleep with you? Or perhaps you want a four person sex session, is that it? You, me and your brothers?"
He sighed, clearly frustrated with her, though she was with him as well, or rather, the situation she found herself in. "I want you, in any way you will have me. You are young, I concede to that, but I have been yearning for a mate for years and now here you are so...delicate, so fragile, so…" Aro trailed off again, a hint of unease in his eyes.
"So human? Sorry I haven't allowed myself to be killed yet." Eliza bit back and she saw his expression change as he remembered what she had shown him, Lora tearing out her throat mercilessly, Jane doing the same to her sister.
"No!" His arms enveloped her before she could protest, causing her to quickly realize that all three kings were taller than her, Caius the most and Aro the least; her nose tucked right into his shoulder, causing her to inhale the scent of him, which calmed her more than she would like to admit. The sleeves of his cloak dripped back as he threaded his fingers in her hair, running the digits through the strands, she could have melted into his arms after she placed her face into his neck and she heard a soft rumbling, a purr of contentment she had only recently learned vampires could do. "I want you here...with me...with us...because you make me feel complete in ways I did not know I could feel." His words were honey, but too sweet, too perfect and with a start she remembered his gift, his ability to see into someone's mind with skin to skin contact. He had read her thoughts when he gripped her hand earlier.
The room grew cold as her face grew hot, rage drowning her. She shoved him away and startled herself when he stumbled almost half way across the room, vampires were solid as stone yet she had sent him a good distance. Eliza looked down at her hands: ice blue fingertips. Scared and unsure, she ran. Though she had gotten lost easily before, she went right to where she knew her sister would be, as if she could sense her. Eliza threw open the door and found Tory with Jacob, Renesmee, Bella and Edward, in the middle of a story by the laughter of the group and Jacob's wild hand gestures. "So there I was, naked, clothes shredded from wolfing out and-"
"Jacob." Edward interrupted him, staring with concern at Elizabeth, who immediately tried to clear her mind, not wishing for another mental invasion.
"Tory." Her voice was not as strong as she wished it to be, but continued nonetheless, "Would you like to explore the city with me for a bit? Maybe look into apartments?"
"Um...sure, Liza. Whatever you want to do, I'm here for you." The group seated on the couch all exchanged wary glances before looking over Eliza's shoulder, where in the doorway stood all three kings.
Tory scurried to her sister's side and took her hand as a show of support and solidarity, looking at the tree vampires who blocked their path. "Move." Eliza said coldly, causing Caius to grin as if it were a challenge.
"Elizabeth, let's talk about this-" Aro beseeched, only to be met with a snarl from his mate.
"I said: move!" She took a step forward, half dragging Tory with her, "Or I swear to whatever god you believe in, I will make you!" Tory took a shaking breath, only to exhale and see it fog up in front of her nose, the entire room had a chill that was only growing.
"E-Elizabeth?" Perhaps it was because Tory had used her full name, perhaps it was the fear in her voice that caused her to stutter, but she snapped out of her rage to look at her sister, just to find she was staring at their linked hands. From her wrist down was ice blue. 'Is this how Loki felt when he found out he was a Frost Giant?' It was a stupid thought, she knew, but it was all she could think as she realized how warm her sister's hand had become, or rather, how cold hers was. 'Oh god, oh fuck.' She barreled forward, not sure if the men had moved or she had shoved them. Tunnel vision kept her from doing anything but leaving that damn castle, she followed the path Demetri had taken them before and did not stop until she was standing in direct sunlight, Tory heaving air into her lungs next to her, causing her to realize she had ran the whole way.
"It's okay...you're okay….here." Tory dug into her pocket and pulled out the white salmon their mother had made and thrust it into Eliza's palm, the blue faded in an instant.
How many times had she been crying the past few days? She had lost count as she clutched the piece of carved wood and wept. Too much had happened, werewolves, vampires, and how whatever was happening to her? It was too much, far too much.
"I'm scared Tor."
"It's okay, I am too."
A/N:
I can't remember if the vampire purring thing is cannon to Twilight or from another series, either way, I love the concept as a showing of contentment reserved only for a mate (although I could see the Cullens doing it for baby Nessie).