Chapter 13

(Chloe's POV)

Jamie stayed with me the rest of the night when I returned to my room. She had no clue I had been in Aro's wing. Jamie had just assumed I went back to my cover, and I didn't tell her otherwise. While I know she's good at keeping secrets, I think me being in Demetri's room for the past day would be too big of a secret for her to keep. And I'd rather not be the latest scandal of castle gossip. One thing I learned very quickly when I got here, is there was some unspoken thing about lower guards not mixing with the elite guards. Apparently, the elite guards are like celebrities in our world.

A couple days later I was out in the main garden with Jason and Riley. Jamie had gone home to visit her cover for a few weeks, so it was just me and the boys. We were currently sitting in a circle on the grass playing phase 10 and enjoying the warm cloudy day.

"Again Chloe!" Riley complained as I finished up another phase before the two could. I smiled at him while Jason collected the cards and shuffled them.

"You're not good at this game," I teased, and Riley pushed me a little, making me fall onto my back into the grass with a giggle. A shadow appeared above me and I looked up to see Demetri looking down. He held the same casual look he usually wears, but I thought I saw something like annoyance in his eyes.

"Am I interrupting something?" Demetri asked as I sat up a little while Riley and Jason quickly stood up.

"We were just playing games sir," Jason said, and I stood up.

"I see," Demetri muttered, "The ancients need more patrols of the city, can you two do that?" He asked looking at the two boys and I pulled my eyebrows together in confusion. I don't remember Afton saying anything about that.

"Will do," Riley said and looked at me, "Sorry Chloe, we'll play later."

"Alright." I smiled and watched them take off before bending down and picking up the cards.

"Who are they?" I heard Demetri ask and I thought I heard a hint of annoyance in his voice. I looked up at him while putting the cards back in the holder.

"Riley and Jason?" I asked in confusion, "they're my friends." I closed the card holder and started to walk back into the castle, but Demetri grabbed my wrist.

"You owe me a shopping day." Demetri said and I pressed my lips together.

"You were serious about that?" I muttered and he smirked. Ugh, that smirk always puts butterflies in my stomach.

"Of course," he said, "now come on." I held back a groan as he pulled me to the garage and opened the door of his car for me.

"I really don't need anything." I complained as we put on contacts and walked into the large mall a couple cities away from Volterra.

"Then buy what you want," Demetri said and I rolled my eyes. I stared at my feet as we walked through the food court and tried not to cringe at the smell of the food.

"I don't want anything." I muttered and heard him sigh a little.

"I doubt that," he replied quietly, and I bit my lip. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a packed clothing store.

"I believe this store has cloths your generation prefers." He said while walking into the store and over to the women section. I looked around the store and my eyes landed on a cute shirt. I pulled my hand out of his and walked over to examine it. I could tell he was standing close behind me as I looked at the shirt and nibbled my lip. Suddenly, Demetri's hand reached up and took the shirt off the wall hanger and I looked over at him.

"You want it right?" he simply said, "you can have it." He handed me the shirt and I took it after a minute of hesitation.

"You don't have to buy things because you just need it," he said, "it's ok to buy things you want every now and then. So please, treat yourself."

"With your money?" I muttered and he smiled while I let out a sigh. Well since he brought me all the way out here, I might as well do some damage to his credit card. Although I'm pretty sure I could buy everything in this mall, and it wouldn't make a dent in his account.

I stared at Demetri's credit card in my hand that he gave me while he took all the bags back to the car. He handed me the card and told me to continue shopping. I already bought so much stuff though because of his pestering…

Sighing, I leaned against the wall and looked up at the store across from me. My eyes landed on a stuffed animal and I looked up at the sigh of the store that read 'Disney.' I've never seen one of their stores and before I realized it, my feet had walked me into the store.

(Demetri's POV)

I closed the trunk of my car and walked back into the mall, secretly happy that Chloe finally bought things. I looked down at my phone to ensure I wasn't needed back at the castle before putting it away and tracking Chole. I was about to walk into the store she was in, when loud tiny squeals caught my attention and I froze in place outside the Disney Store. Little kids were running around the store picking up toys while some whined while their parents drug them out. Clenching my teeth, I spotted Chole and walked over to her as she looked at a huge stack of stuffed animals, I assumed were characters from Disney movies.

"Demetri look at this Dumbo stuffed animal!" Chloe smiled brightly at me as she held an elephant with huge ears in her hands. I opened my mouth to say something but something behind me caught her attention.

"Oh my gosh they have Winnie the Pooh too!" She bounced around me and hurried over to another large display of stuffed animals while I stiffened as a couple kids ran passed me. I really hate kids…

"Oh what should I get?" I heard Chloe mutter to herself, too lowly for humans to hear.

"Get whatever you want." I said, wanting to leave this store.

Little did I know that would end up with a huge bag of stuffed animals to carry around. But Chloe was bouncing with happiness as she held a yellow bear in her arms that was name Pooh. She clutched the bear to her chest as she turned on her heel to look at me, her hair flying all around her.

"Thank you, Demetri!" I stood froze as she smiled up at me, her eyes shining brightly under the fading blue contacts.

She is so beautiful…

My phone buzzed in my pocket then, making me jump a little. Thankfully Chloe didn't notice as she had continued to walk on. I swallowed the venom in my mouth before answering it.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Hay the ancients want you back soon," Felix said on the other line, "when will you be here?"

"I'll leave now." I said and hung up. I walked up to Chloe who was looking into a dress store, her eyes glued to all the high-end dresses. My eyes followed her and landed on a long purple dress.

"We need to leave," I said looking back to her and she nodded then followed me out of the mall. The drive back to the castle was spent in silence and I occasionally glanced over at her as she hugged the bear to her and stared out the window.

"I can take my things back," she said when we got to the castle and I watched her pull all the bags out of the car.

"Um Demetri?" she said as I closed the trunk.

"Yes?" Chloe glanced up at me and smiled a little.

"Thank you, for today." With that she turned on her heel and sprinted off to her room. A small smile touched my lips as I walked into the castle.

"YOU!" I jumped at the yell and took a step back as Heidi stood in front of me with her hands on her hips.

"Alright old man!" she growled, "you fess up now!"

"What?" I asked while regaining my emotions and putting on my uninterested look.

"Oh don't you do that!" Heidi grabbed a fist full of my jacket and pulled me closer to her, her red eyes almost glowing.

"You tell me where you were and what's going on with that girl or so help me Demetri!"

"Oh man what did you do?" Felix's amused voice came from behind me as I stepped away from Heidi.

"He went on another date and didn't tell us!" Heidi said as she pointed at me and Felix raised his eyebrow at me.

"Another date?" he asked, and Heidi turned back to me.

"You tell me what's going on now Demetri!" she demanded while I placed my hands behind my back, wondering if I could get around them both.

"Oh my gosh!" Heidi gasped and I stepped away when she zipped up to me and stared into my eyes.

"You fed this morning, but your eyes are black!" I tensed and prayed for someone to intervene. Heidi let out a squeal making me, and Felix jump as she took a step back and pointed at me again.

"She's your mate!" Heidi yelled so loud I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in Aro's wing heard her.

"Who?!" Felix asked looking between the two of us while I glanced at the open door. Chloe essence was in the garden, alone. I glanced at Heidi as she opened her mouth and bolted out of the castle.

"Don't let him escape Felix!" Heidi shouted.

(Chloe's POV)

Thanks to vampire speed, I was able to put away all my new things in minutes and decorate my room with all the stuffed animals. After looking over the newly decorated room, I grabbed my book and walked out to the garden to wait for Jason and Riley to return. I was about to sit down on the bench when someone suddenly picked me up and I was being held bridal style. I yelped a little and looked up to see Demetri who started running to lord knows where.

"U-Um," I tried to say, and he shushed me.

"Trust me," he said looking over his shoulder, "I need to run right now." I blinked up at him as I held onto my book. I could faintly hear Heidi yelling in the distance, before Volterra faded from view and we slowly came to a stop in a valley with a waterfall. Demetri continued to hold me as he looked behind his shoulder before letting out a breath and setting me on my feet.

"That woman is a menace." I heard him breath out as I blinked up at him.

"Um why did you kidnap me…again?" I finally asked and he blinked at me, as if just now realizing I was here.

"I apologize," the calm Demetri was back as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Heidi and Felix started chasing me, you were in my path and for some reason I grabbed you." I blinked up at him.

"Um, you knew I was in the garden." I pointed out and he pressed his lips together.

"I did." He muttered after a minute then I watched him sit on a nearby bolder.

"Ok." I muttered, not knowing what else to say as I rocked on my heels. A light breeze blew around us and I heard Demetri inhale while I looked up at the sky.

"So why were Heidi and Felix chasing you?" I finally asked, looking back at him. He was staring out at the small lake with the waterfall.

"Heidi is too observant." He replied after a minute and I sighed, realizing he won't say anymore than that. I sat down in the grass and then laid on my back, looking up at the colorful sky with the setting sun. I saw Demetri lay on the grass next to me and felt the butterflies in my stomach again at his closeness.

"What is so entertaining about the sky?" he asked quietly, and I pulled my eyebrows together in thought.

"Don't know," I muttered, "I enjoy watching the clouds change shapes and naming what they look like."

"You find entertainment in the strangest things," he mused after a moment of silence and I sat up a little, resting my weight on my elbows and looked down at him.

Boredom. The thought hit me then, Demetri always seemed to be bored. If I remember from what Afton told me, he's been a vampire for over a thousand years; almost two thousand. I'm sure he's seen and done a lot in his long life.

"Why did you join the Volturi?" I blurted out and his darkening red eyes moved from the sky to my eyes. I watched him move to rest both hands behind his head and cross one leg over the other as he continued to lay in the grass. The movement almost looked like a lazy motion and something about his position seamed unreal. Whenever I've been around Demetri, he's always in a perfect posture, even for a vampire. Every movement he made seemed to be calculated. But this new position made him look more relaxed and almost human…almost.

"I didn't have much else to do," he finally replied, and I quickly looked away from him, realizing I had been staring. I looked back up at the now night sky and watched the blinking lights of satellites move across the sky.

"But you seem bored being here." I said quietly and his soft chuckle filled our quiet surrounding.

"No matter where I go, I'll be bored," he said; almost sounding sad or maybe tired.

"I guess things don't surprise you anymore." I muttered while moving to hug my knees to my chest and rested my chin on them. Through the curtain my hair created when it fell, I could see Demetri sit up.

"You surprise me." He said and I gave him a confused look then froze when he tucked my hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed along the tip of my ear and I swore it felt like someone shocked me.

"You never do what I expect." He continued while moving his hand away and I looked up at him through my lashes.

"Oh." Was all I could stupidly say, and I could see his smirk clear as day with the vampire night vision. I stared out at the small lake while trying to gather my thoughts.

"I just don't understand why you insist on taking care of me." I said after a long silence.

"You expect me to ask something of you in return." He stated and I nibbled on my lip and nodded a little.

"Is it so hard for you to trust Chloe?" he said quietly, and I looked at him while pressing my lips together.

"People always want something," I muttered, "they always lie, hurt you, and the good ones will always leave you. That's what I've learned."

"It must not have been easy," he said while resting a hand on my head, "to have lived through what you have." My shoulders slumped a little.

"Would it be so hard to trust that I have no other motives?" he whispered as he moved his hand from my head and cupped my face with both hands, making me look at him.

"People always leave. They will always hurt you." I replied and he frowned a little. He stood up then and pulled me with him. Before I could react, he had pulled me to him with my face buried in his chest as he held me close.

"I won't abandon you Chloe," he said and I blinked into his chest as my arms stayed at my side, "I will be on your side, even if it takes you decades; I hope that one day you will trust me."