Chapter 11

(Demetri's POV)

I could've escorted Chloe out of Aro's wing before I left to report to him, but I found that I didn't want her to leave. When she told me why she ran away a strange overwhelming feeling of protectiveness came over me. I wanted to keep her in my room where she would be safe and away from the world. I pulled my eyebrows together as I walked to Aro's office, I didn't understand why I felt like this. Something keeps drawing me towards her and I feel completely at ease when she's around. Then there's the part where she makes my throat burn as if I were a newborn all over again. I let out a long sigh as I fixed my shirt which was still wrinkled from Chloe's grip. Normally it would annoy me, but I found that I didn't really care because it was caused by her.

"Ah there you are Demetri," Aro smiled up from his paperwork when I entered his office, "how unusual it is for you to not repot to me right away." He stood up and walked over to me, taking my already out stretched hand.

"Ahh," he pulled away with a smile and what looked like amusement in his eyes.

"Well I won't keep you any longer," he said as he sat back down, "you may leave now." I bowed and as I left the room, I thought I heard him chuckle a little, but dismissed the thought. Before I returned to my room, I stopped by Heidi's room just as she was leaving to go get us dinner.

"Hay," she smiled, and I pressed my lips knowing right away I would regret this.

"I need to borrow one of your shirts." I said and she raised an eyebrow while I sighed.

"Chloe ripped hers." I muttered and inwardly cringed as her eyes light up and a wide smile appeared on her face.

"And how did that happen?" she asked with a little too much excitement.

"It's not what you think Heidi," I sighed, "I was simply talking to her and she ripped her shirt because she was upset and forgot her strength."

"Oh my gosh!" Heidi gasped, "she's in your room, isn't she?!" Damn this woman's intuition…

"Heidi," I let out a small groan while running my hand through my hair. She gave a bright smile before disappearing and returning with a shirt in her hand.

"She can give it back whenever she wants," Heidi smiled, "unless you rip it off her first." She winked at me before running down the hall and I rolled my eyes before walking back to the staircase that led to my floor. I was stopped on the winding stairwell by Marcus.

"Sir," I bowed a little and moved out of his way while he gave a rare warm smile.

"I see you've finally found your mate Demetri." He said and my head snapped up to meet his eyes while I looked at him in confusion.

"Pardon?" I asked and he gave another smile before walking away while I watched. Was he referring to Chloe? No, there was no way she was my mate. Sure, I may find her attractive…

I didn't realize I had continued walking until I was staring at my bedroom door.

Although, it would explain my behavior towards her and why my throat burned every time I was near her. It would also explain why every time she bit her lower lip, I would be overwhelmed with the sudden urge to kiss her. I walked into my room then and watched as she sat up from the couch and accepted Heidi's shirt. After she changed, I walked her out of my room and down the opposite direction we came. I needed more time near her to gather my thoughts; so, I chose the long way back to the lower guard wing. Not many take these halls, the castle was built like a maze in case there were intruders, or a human escaped from us or Heidi's tour group. It would be impossible for a human to get out of these winding halls without being caught.

"Where are we going?" Chloe asked, bringing me from my thoughts about Marcus and her.

"Long way," was all I said to her and I glanced down at her just in time to see her biting that lower lip. Damn, was she doing that on purpose? Did she know how much it affected me? I stopped walked, taking a second to rein in my emotions.

"Don't do that," I said, and her confused eyes locked with my black ones.

"What?"

"Bit your lip," I said after taking a step closer to her, using my long years of practicing to keep my emotions from showing; but I couldn't stop my eyes from briefly flashing to her lips.

"Why?" She asked and I didn't answer her, instead I continued to walk and heard her follow a couple seconds later. Her lilac scent was driving me crazy, yet it relaxed me at the same time. If this young girl truly is my mate as Marcus believes (and let's face it he's usually right about this stuff), I didn't know what to do. I clearly wasn't her favorite person right now and she always seem so tense when I'm near her. And then there's her past and her current issues that have caused her to panic and run off. What if I did something that scared her off? What would I do then?

I pressed my lips together as I led her down some winding stairs. Although I wasn't completely sure she's who Marcus was referring to. Who else could it be? It clearly wasn't Heidi and I haven't come across other woman recently, at least none that had captured my interest. I suppose I could kiss her to see what happens, but that seamed like a very bold move for such an inexperienced girl and one who hasn't had the best memories of men…

A gust of wind blew into the castle from some open windows and carried down the stairs causing Chloe's scent to surround me and make me stop dead on the stairs. I should keep walking, I needed to ignore these feelings that threatened to overcome me. I didn't even budge when she ran into my back and her brief contact pushed me to a breaking point.

"Sorry." I faintly heard her mutter and the picture of her biting her lip flashed through my mind. The urge to kiss her was so strong I wondered if it was worth fighting anymore.

"Screw it." I muttered to myself before turning around, gently cupping her face in my hands, and placing my lips against hers. Time seemed to stop as my lips connected with hers and I felt her freeze under my hands. I needed to pull away, this was inappropriate for me to do. But just as I started to gather up my strength to pull away, I felt her lean in and timidly respond to the kiss. My body relaxed as a smile ghosted my lips before I wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer while moving my free hand into her silk like hair. Her inexperience showed as her lips shyly moved with mine, but I found that I enjoyed it more. She was perfect and nothing could make me change my mind on that. A part of me in this moment wanted to take her back to my room and hide her from the world, keeping her only for myself. Ah, but that was vampire instinct of mine. Her sassy nature would probably be kicking and screaming the whole way there anyways. I smiled against her lips at the thought.

"This way please. And stay together." Heidi's voice rang from the main floor at the bottom of the stairs. Even though Chloe and I were out of sight from the humans, I could hear their many heartbeats and breaths along with the clicking of cameras. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Chloe who kept her hands on my chest that I didn't even notice were there.

"My apologies," I finally whispered, "I couldn't stop myself." Chloe tilted her head and her blonde hair followed the movement. Damn she needed to stop being so alluring or I really will lock her up in my room until the end of time.

"We're almost there," I heard Heidi's voice grow closer and I pulled Chloe closer to me as I glanced behind my shoulder and just barley saw Heidi and the humans walk by the stairs case, knowing the humans couldn't see us in the darkness.

"Um," Chloe finally whispered, "I-I can find my way back now if you're thirsty." I didn't want to separate from her yet, but her scent made my throat burn and the smell of human blood seemed to cloud my judgement. I'm usually very controlled even when thirsty. My arms wrapped around Chloe and that was the only thing preventing me from attacking the humans before they entered the throne room.

"Wait until they get into the throne room." I muttered while burring my nose in her hair to further block out the scent of the humans. Chloe must have realized why I asked and did this because she didn't say anything as we stood on the steps in silence. After what seemed like an eternity, I could hear the doors close as the screams started. Chloe moved away then and I watched her walk down the stairs then vanish out of the hall. Pressing my lips together, I quickly turned on my heel and ran to the throne room before all the dinner was gone.

(Chloe's POV)

Demetri kissed me! And I kissed him back! I didn't understand why I kissed him back because all I could think about was that he freaking kissed me! It took all my will power to run off and not got back to him. I didn't understand why I wanted to be around him or why he made me feel so relaxed…

I ran a hand through my long hair and let out a sigh as I shut my room door and leaned against it, thanking God Jamie isn't around right now. She would instantly see pick up on that something happened, and I don't think I'm in the state to come up with a good lie right now. I brushed my fingers against my lips, recalling his lips against mine. I quickly shook my head to clear my thought and walked into the small bathroom to take a long hot shower.

The next day I sat half way up on a large tree in the garden, my secret spot I discovered a few weeks ago. The leaves were thick on the tree, so unless someone was looking hard, they wouldn't be able to see me. I didn't bring a book with me today because I couldn't seam to focus on anything. My mind kept going back to that kiss and Demetri. I sighed while hooking my leg on the branch and holding onto it before moving to hang off upside-down. I remember watching kids when I was little do this and have fun, it was probably fun because of the blood that rushed to the brain, which I no longer have. But I found this to still be a good way to think even if it looked childish. I closed my eyes and let out a breath as the wind blew threw the trees and moved my dangling hair around my face.

"What on Earth are you doing?" My eyes snapped open to meet Demetri's confused bright red eyes. He was standing on the same branch looking down at me with his hands behind his back. I panicked internally; I was not ready to see him again. I was still trying to wrap my brain around the kiss and why I kissed him back.

"Um," I finally said, "thinking." I swore I felt my dead heart flutter when he raised an eyebrow and leaned down a little to get a better look at me, his hands still behind his back. I also noticed he was wearing that old styled grey suit that he always seems to wear especially on missions, I wondered if it was his favorite outfit or something.

"Well that's a strange way to think." He muttered while tilting his head. Was he always so attractive? I guess I was always too busy being annoyed or trying to avoid him to notice.

"No," I replied while looking away from him, needing to get my thoughts together, "being upside down helps give a different perspective of the world, so maybe it can give a different perspective of thoughts."

"An unusual thought." I heard him mutter and there was silence for a while, although I could tell he was still standing there. I quickly pulled myself up to be sitting on the branch again and looked up at him.

"Did you want something?" I asked while standing and he shrugged. He opened his mouth to say something, but then tensed as his head snapped to the castle wall.

"What's wrong?" I asked and he placed a hand on my mouth as his eyes scanned the area.

"Someone outside the castle walls," he said quietly, and his tense posture made me realize this someone was an uninvited vampire. I blinked at him as his eyes continued to scan the garden wondering how he knew this so quickly. I couldn't even pick up on someone's scent or noise outside the wall. I blinked again, was there more to his gift than just tracking? I always thought he had to meet someone to track them and that's how he made it sound when he told me; but was there maybe something more to his gift that he doesn't tell people? My tense shoulders relaxed when Demetri relaxed as well, but with a confused look on his face.

"Strange." He muttered more to himself than to me. It was then he noticed his hand was still over my mouth and he pulled away.

"Go to your room Chloe," he said, more like ordered, "I need to report this." I nodded and waited for him to leave, but he didn't move as he watched me. I sighed, realizing he wanted me to leave first; as if making sure I would do as he said. Which I probably wouldn't have if he left first. Damn man knows me more than I'd like…

Demetri followed me all the way back to my room where we crossed paths with Afton. Demetri told him to order all the other lower guards back into the castle until there was more information on the intruder. However, for some annoying reason, I was the only one ordered to stay in their room while the others just had to be in the castle. I couldn't help but stick my tongue out at Demetri's back as he walked away.

"That's childish." I heard him say with what sounded like amusement in his tone and I quickly pulled my tongue back in before huffing and closing my room door.

After several hours, Afton told us we could leave the castle again. I heard that Demetri and Felix had left a while ago and was thankful that I could get a breather from Demetri to get my thoughts together. The second I stepped out of the castle, Jamie bounced up to me with Riley and Jason right behind her.

"Hay we're going to the mall in Venice, want to come?" she smiled brightly at me. A shopping trip would be a great way to keep my thoughts busy.

"Sure." I replied and ran back to my room to grab my purse and wallet before meeting the three at the main gate.

"Last one there pays the first expenses!" Jamie shouted as she got a head start with Riley right on her heels. Jason and I shared an eye roll before following them.

Jamie stopped at almost every store in the mall and I was surprised she hasn't spent all her money yet. I didn't really want to buy anything today, but I kept my eye open and mostly talked with Jason and Riley.

"She's unbelievable," Riley said in shock as we watch Jamie carry a pile of cloths in her arms to the check out counter at the store we were in.

"I am not carrying her bags back," Jason huffed but I think we all knew Jamie would find a way to convince both boys to carry her things. I let out a small chuckle at the thought before turning around to look at a rack of cloths. It was then my eyes landed on two humans not too far away and I felt my whole body freeze up as my eyes widened. It was them, my last foster parents. Why were they here? My hands shook a little as my eyes landed on the man. Of all the people to run across, why did it have to be him?

"You ok Chloe?" I heard Jason whisper as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I backed away before quickly turning on my heel and running out of the store at human pace.

"Hay!" I hear Jason and Riley call after me, but I ignored them. The second I was out of human sight; I ran as fast as I could. I didn't know where to, I just knew I had to run.

(Demetri's POV)

I absently listened to Felix complain about our failed attempt at tracking whoever was outside the castle walls. Because I never saw them directly, I didn't get a good link to track them very far. It was strange though, I wondered why a vampire would be sneaking around the castle in the first place.

"I'm going to report to Aro." Felix said before taking off just as Afton came around the corner.

"Demetri," Chelsea's mate smiled at me in greeting, "any luck?"

"No," I replied, "it was unusual though." Afton nodded and was about to speak, but three lower guards ran up to him looking worried. I recognized the girl; Chloe spent a lot of time with her.

"Afton something happened!" she said in panic.

"Calm down Jamie." Afton said, his full attention on the three. I was about to walk away, but her next words made me freeze.

"Chloe ran away! We couldn't catch up to her or find her anywhere!"

"What happened?" Afton asked and I looked over my shoulder at the three.

"I'm not sure," on of the boys said, "she looked at this human couple, panicked, then ran off."

"She looked really scared too," the other boy said, "but I don't get it, it was just a male human with his wife; yet he seemed to freak her out. Jason and I tried to run after her but couldn't catch up under the eyes of human. She had taken off by the time we could use our speed." Afton eyes briefly locked with mine and I looked away while walking off, making sure I looked uninterested in this.

"You three just stay here," I heard Afton say, "I'll go report this and I'm sure she'll come back soon." His last words barely reached my ears as I walked outside and ran off. I could tell Chloe was somewhere at the edge of Italy. I tracked her over the border and into France where I could tell she had finally stopped in the Mercantour National Park. I slowed down in the thick woods of the park and walked off the road.

She was close and remembering where I found her this morning, I looked up into the trees until I finally spotted her. She was half way up on a large tree that easily hid her from human view. Although I doubted there were any human this far into the forest. My eyes moved to the heavy storm clouds moving closer before jumping up into the tree. She was leaning against the trunk hugging her knees to her chest and burring her face in her knees.

"Chloe." I breathed as I looked down at her and her head snapped up. Her glazed over eyes met my red ones. I expected her to look away or tell me to leave her alone. What I didn't expect was her to fly forward and hug me while burring her face in my chest, trembling. My suspicions had to be right. She must have seen her last foster parents, the ones that she ran from. My teeth clenched as I wrapped my arms around her, and I decided then that I would go kill him; no, I would kill both of them. But I need to be able to track one of them first and what many people didn't know about my gift is that if someone thinks about a person, I can get a link to their essence as well. While it may not be as strong as it is when I see them, it is still enough to hunt them down. I needed this man's name though so I can track him.

"What happened?" I asked, stroking her head and feeling her hands fist into the back of my jacket under my cloak.

"H-He was there." She whispered into my chest.

"Who?" I pressed a little.

"George," she said, "t-that man-" I patted her head to stop her while a smirk formed on my lips as I tracked the human's essence to Venice. He will die, but right now I need to focus on Chloe.

So, I picked her up and sat down on the branch and rested my back against the tree while pulling her onto my lap. Her arms wrapped around my neck as she rested her head against my shoulder. I kept one arm secure around her while my free hand stroked her head. It was then I felt a small rain drop land on my cheek and I looked up at the clouds. The thick branches of the tree would stop most of the rain, but I sill removed my large cloak and flung it over us, putting the hood on my hand to keep it in place making it act like a tent around me and Chloe. Not long after I did that, the rain started to pour down. The tree did block most of the heavy rain and my cloak blocked the rest. A loud crack of thunder rumbled through the forest and my heightened hearing picked up on the animals of the forest running off to find shelter.

"How are you?" I asked moving my hand to her neck and watched her open her eyes a little.

"Better," she whispered, and I looked at her still shaking hand that was fisted in my jacket. I placed my hand over hers and it was then she looked up at me.

"What do you love about Athens?" I asked, knowing if I could get her to talk, she would calm down more. Chloe gave me a confused look before answering.

"The temples." She said while looking away.

"They were far more magnificent when they were fully built." I pointed out remembering the times.

"You lived in Athens?" she asked, and I smiled a little.

"I was born there," I said before pressing my lips together not really being able to recall much of my human memories. Although I didn't really care about those memoires much anyways.

"Jamie told me you were from the Egyptian Coven." She said and I smiled a little thinking about my maker and friend, Amun and his wife. Thoughts of them made me realize it's been a while since I visited so I made a mental note to do that soon.

"Amun found me when I traveled to Egypt for an arranged marriage." I said, "he is a good friend." Chloe shifted a little and I looked down at her to meet her dark red eyes.

"You were going to get married?" she asked, and I sighed while moving my hand from hers and wrapping that arm around her as well.

"It was for money," I said, "which was something I could care less for, even today I don't really care about that stuff."

"I bet you have plenty of that." She muttered and I smirked a little.

"More than I'll ever spend," I said, "my car is the only luxury I spend it on. Nothing else interests me."

"Not even these overly priced looking suits." She said while flicking the button on my vest and I laughed.

"Well I suppose these as well," I replied and smiled down at her in time to see her roll her eyes.

"Do you even own a pair of jeans?" she asked.

"Nope." Chloe rolled her eyes again at my response before resting her head back on my chest. The rain had slowed to a drizzle as the thunder become more distant.

"What about you?" I asked, "what interests you?"

"Books." She replied with a small smile.

"Not shopping?" I asked, "what an unusual woman." A faint smile touched her lips as she messed with a button on my jacket.

"Stories offer an escape," she said, "beside I'm used to not getting very much, so I guess I never really thought about shopping as fun. Unlike some people, I have a budget." I chuckled at her sassy tone.

"Then I'll take you shopping." I said and frowned a little when she stiffened.

"I already owe you a lot of money," she muttered, "I don't need to add to the debt." I tilted my head a little. Is this why she was always so tense around me? Because she felt like she had to pay me back?

"You don't owe me anything," I said, and she glanced up at me.

"Yes I do," she said, "you spent a lot of money on me, I have to pay you back." I rolled my eyes.

"It didn't even make a dent in my private account." I said, "beside I never use my private money from before the Volturi, I barley even use their money I'm given. I already told you that I could care less about money; so, forget about it. You don't owe me anything." She bit her lip and I sighed.

"But if you want to pay back your debt," I said, "you can let me take you shopping, and we'll call it even."

"That makes no sense," she muttered, and I smirked.

"Fine," I said, "you'll let me take you shopping, and you'll accompany me to the ball Aro is putting on in a month."

"That ball isn't for lower guards." She argued.

"We can invite whoever we want," I said.

"I don't like balls."

"And I don't take no for an answer," I smirked, "besides, you can't really escape from me." Chloe rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, still resting her head against my shoulder.

"You're annoying." She puffed her cheeks out like a child and a small smile touched my lips. She was very beautiful…

The phone in my pocket buzzed then and I was shocked I got service out here, I think that's what people call it. I sighed as I pulled out the horrid thing hating that Aro forced us all to carry them with us. Unlike the others, I was finding it difficult to comprehend modern technology. It's not that I didn't understand how to use it, it was just that I didn't like it. I pulled up the text from Felix.

'Where are you?' I sighed as I responded that I was coming back now.

"We should go." I said to Chole and she gasped when I stood up with her still in my arms. She had caught my cloak that I forgot about and held tightly to her chest.

"I-I can walk." She stuttered while I shrugged.

"I'm a fast runner," I said not willing to let her go, "beside, can't risk you running off before the ball." Chloe glared then stuck her tongue out at me before quickly wrapping her arms around my neck and holding onto the cloak as I jumped out of the tree. She held onto my cloak and kept her head buried in my neck as I ran back to Volterra. She didn't say anything or complain about being carried the whole way back. When we reached the city, I took an underground passage only the elite guard knew of. The passage connected straight to Aro's wing, so we were able to avoid running into anyone from the lower guard. I figured Chloe didn't want to around people just yet based on her tense posture when we entered the city. So, I took her to my room and set her on the couch.

"I'll go get a change of cloths from Heidi," I said as she looked up at me, "You are free to take a bath or shower and read whatever you like from my book collection. I'll be gone for a while, so stay here until I get back." Chloe bit her lip and nodded while I resisted the urge to kiss her again. Instead I placed a hand on her head and lightly kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I said, "just relax in here." With that I left the room. My first stop was Heidi's room and she agreed to leave some cloths for Chloe on my bed. Naturally, she had heard about Chloe running off and was worried about her, so I was able to avoid her wild 'find Demetri a mate' antics. But that won't last long, and heaven forbid Marcus tells her what he said to me a day ago…

"Ah Demetri," Aro looked over to me when I entered the throne room. The only other people there were Jane and Alec, quietly talking in a corner.

"I have a request." I told Aro knowing I would have to get his permission before I took off to kill that human. Aro tilted his head because it was very rare for me to ask for something and I could tell it also captured the twin's attention. I placed my fingers on Aro's outstretched palm.

"My such violent thoughts from our normally calm tracker," Aro mused as he pulled away.

"Do what you want." He without hesitation and a small smirk ghosted my lips as I bowed and quickly left, feeling the twin's eyes on me the whole time. I could care less about their curious stares though as I tracked the two humans that made Chloe suffer and ran off.