Authors Note: There is sexual activity between two consenting adults in this chapter, remember this story is rated MA 18+, so if you don't like it don't read!


Chapter 15 – Battle Plans

She didn't know how she got here, the last really clear thing in her memory being when she vomit all over the floor, but Castiel gripped the toilet bowl in a kind of desperation as she retched, her whole body heaving with discomfort as she attempted to fight the bile that was trying to come up.

"Easy now little one, just let it out. It'll only feel worse to suppress it." Marcus soothed from behind her, dutifully holding her hair back out of her face as she vomited again into the clean white porcelain.

They were both crammed in the small but completely pristine half bathroom connected to Aro's office, and Castiel's knees were protesting as she knelt on the hard tile. Marcus was bowed over her as she gasped for air through the retching, making sure she felt safe while she was at the most vulnerable he had yet to see her due to her sudden illness.

"Master Marcus? I'm here."

The voice of the good doctor came from somewhere just outside the door, and Castiel groaned in disdain at the idea of someone else getting so close to her when she felt so disgusting.

"Castiel are you alright?" Arkos' voice was professional as Marcus adjusted his body, so he was no longer bending over her, but instead standing to her right in front of the sink as he tried to give the doctor room to enter.

Arkos knelt on the floor beside her as she leaned back on her heels. After she spat the saliva that held the bad taste in her mouth back into the toilet bowl, she felt the doctor touch her forehead before rummaging into the black leather bag he had bought with him.

"No go away," She said childishly as she was forced to lean over the toilet bowl again. Nothing came up this time though, even the last couple times all her body regurgitated was small amounts of bile.

"Not likely." Arkos scoffed as she leaned back again, holding something small, white, and round between his thumb and forefinger – easily visible due to his blue latex gloves. "Open your mouth so I can place this under your tongue and let it dissolve there. It will help you stop vomiting so we can get some fluids in you."

He had said the magic words, Castiel knew she would have gladly sold her soul for the little white pill in that moment, anything to get out of the tiny cramped bathroom and to have them stop fussing over her.

Obediently she did as she was told, and within minutes Marcus was helping support her as she stood on shaky legs. He helped her keep steady as she ducked her head under the faucet to rinse out her mouth with water, and the three of them traveled back into the office with Arkos checking her temperature by sticking something in her ear as they moved.

The device beeped, and the doctor commented that her temperature came back normal.

"Oh Cassy how are you feeling?" Dora fussed as she was led over to the couch. It probably wasn't the right question to ask, as seconds later Castiel felt another wave of nausea hit her, but thankfully she didn't start dry heaving.

Afton reentered the office at that moment, holding a couple bottles of water and dutifully passing one to her, which she took gratefully while trying to ignore the smell of artificial lemon coming from behind the couch in front of the desk. A maid must have been in to clean the floor when she was vomiting.

Castiel didn't answer her fair-haired sister as Marcus and Arkos both leaned over her; Marcus smoothing the hair out of her clammy face and cradling her head as she pressed her face into his palm when he cupped her cheek.

"It's fear and shock." Marcus explained quietly to the doctor but did not elaborate as Veronica and Daphne glided into the office, Raphael and Nikita both hurrying along in their wake.

A couple of their guard hovered near the office door, their red cloaks standing out against the dark hallway, but they did not enter because Aro barked for the two of them to stay outside and shut the door. He really didn't want a bunch of unfamiliar vampires around Castiel while she was ill, knowing that Marcus wouldn't take it well.

He was very fond of his office and didn't want it demolished. The section of the library Marcus had destroyed when their friends arrived was still undergoing repairs.

Raphael gave a tiny, concerned glance in the direction of Marcus and Castiel, the latter of which had her eyes closed as she took some deep breaths through her nose, before he turned his attention to Aro.

And without further ado, Aro launched into fervent Italian, recounting the events he had seen along with Marcus when Castiel pulled their consciousness's into her vision with her. Athenadora and Arkos both gasped in shock at the recollection. It was pretty obvious as to why Castiel was so shaken.

"We must act right away." Aro continued in English after he finished recounting what they saw, it was clear he told them all in Italian so Castiel wouldn't have to listen to the story telling again. He hadn't left out what happened to the little girl as he felt this was probably a prime reason Castiel was so upset. "Caius can you-,"

But he didn't need to finish his question. Caius slowly edged toward the couch to place a gentle kiss on Athenadora's forehead before sweeping regally from the room to assemble the guard. The attack that was coming would be immense, and they needed to make sure they had some of their best fighters ready if they were to be able to stop this massacre.

"The festival will be held in nine days." Aro said grimly, turning to Daphne and Veronica "Are your guard ready-,"

"Our guard is ready and at your disposal Aro," Veronica said with the same tone as Aro, not giving him time to finish his question, "Newborns might be unskilled fighters, but they are not to be tread around lightly."

With this their allies swept from the room, Raphael boldly reaching over to ruffle Castiel's hair as they passed, and headed to the assembly hall while shouting for their guard to meet them.

"Marcus," Aro said softly, "You need to attend the assembly. Castiel and Arkos may wait here for us-,"

"No!" Castiel gasped, her eyes springing open as she interrupted Aro; now the third person to do so in the hour. "No, Marcus please. Don't leave."

The despair in her voice was pitiful even to her own ears, and Marcus shushed her as he pulled her to her feet again and embraced her. His chest rumbled softly as he purred and Castiel rest her ear against his pectoral muscle as she tried to take a deep breath.

"It's okay." He whispered, "I promise I will keep you safe, I'm not going to go anywhere."

He couldn't leave her. She was so weak and shaky and scared after vomiting countless times. He could feel the bond burning between them; it was choosing the absolute worst time to flare up and demand action. He would have to do something to make it settle soon or Castiel would only become more distraught.

"She'll attend with us." Marcus sighed, unsure if it was wise to bring her into a room full of vampires in her current state but having no other option, "She may sit in my chair."


The assembly hall was like a massive auditorium, the dais in this room upon which the thrones sat looked more like a stage than anything else. To Castiel, this room looked as if it were suitable for a grand opera with the plush red seats rising up multiple levels and balconies to the left and right. There wasn't a spot in this room that didn't have a clear view of the stage.

The room was packed when they arrived and Castiel could see red cloaks dotted amongst the sea of black as the Ushakov coven's guards sat amongst their distant friends.

Caius was already there when they entered, standing on the platform in front of the right-hand throne. Marcus led her to the throne on the far left and had her sit, saying nothing to her as he removed his suit jacket to drape it over her shoulders comfortingly before leaning down and kissing her temple, then gliding away to stand with Aro in front of the center throne.

Castiel wanted to call out to him, to ask him to stay with her, but she refrained. The naked feeling she had… the natural human response to being so vulnerably placed in this huge room and being the only edible thing among a group of nearly two hundred vampires (and nearly fifty regular guards were still absent for they could not skive off patrolling the city), dissipated almost immediately as Felix came to stand behind her chair. Both of his massive hands gripped the back of it and Demetri followed him to stand on her right. Arkos stood to her left, resting a hand against her forehead as if checking her temperature, when Afton and Chelsea came to sit on the floor together only a mere foot in front of her.

There was also a tiny girl around her size not far from her; with wavy black hair standing behind Aro quietly as he spoke to Marcus. Castiel noticed Aro raise his hand slightly, nonverbally asking Marcus to pause in his hushed rant, before he turned to the small girl and said something quietly into her ear. Upon Aro's words the girl turned – her turn looking more like a pirouette – before she came to stand next to Arkos as an extra guard to her.

The raven-haired girl couldn't have been any older than 18 when she was changed, and her almond shaped eyes were kind as she smiled at Castiel.

"I'm Renata, Aro's personal bodyguard. It's so nice to finally meet you." Renata spoke quietly as Aro began to call everyone to order, the chatter in the room dying down instantly. Renata looked as if she wanted to say more to her, but she only gave her another small smile before she turned to watch the proceedings.

"Thank you," Aro said once the room had fallen completely silent. He did not need to raise his voice any higher than his normal conversational tone to be heard. "I'm sure you all wonder why you are here, because you know that we do not convene in this room for anything less than a matter of dire importance."

"Our family's youngest-," Castiel shifted uncomfortably in her seat as over a hundred sets of piercing red eyes fell upon her while others stayed focused on Aro, "Has foreseen an attack that will take place in Mexico in no less than 9 days. A newborn army larger than any we have dealt with in recent years and created by what is currently an unknown source will attack a small town there and kill hundreds of humans. It is possible the army will eradicate the entire town and put the death toll in the thousands. This will take place during a festival and in broad daylight, so we must plan a means of attack that will keep the army far from the town and destroy them away from human eyes."

"So, the first thing we must do is-,"

But suddenly, Aro was interrupted by a cool scathing voice that echoed around the vast room as if it was spoken into a megaphone.

"And why should we believe any of that?"

Castiel could hear as the bodies in the room turned to face the source of the scathing remark and cloaks stirred, whispers were breaking out amongst the guards and some who were seated above began to lean over the balcony rails to stare down into the center of the room.

Suddenly a figure in the center of the room stood on his chair carelessly, opening his arms wide and turning from side to side to draw attention to himself.

All Castiel could see other than that was that he was wearing a heather grey cloak and had dark hair. He was too far away, and her nearsightedness made his figure out of focus.

She really had to ask for some glasses. Needing them but not wearing them for months was beginning to make her feel as if her eyesight was getting worse.

"Ah," Aro's glare was deadly but his tone was polite. Marcus and Caius had both gone still in their shock and anger at the interruption, "You have something you'd wish to share Raymond?"

And while she couldn't see it clearly, Castiel knew that the vampire was staring at Aro with a defiant and scornful expression.

"Yeah I do!" He snapped, his honey voice dripping with disbelief, "So… what? You just expect us all to jump at whatever this little mortal says because she's fucking our boss? I didn't realize that now any of Master Marcus' concubines were to be treated as one of our superiors."

Castiel flinched as if she'd been struck and she felt Demetri's hand move to her shoulder to give it a light squeeze.

"She's human. I've heard the rumors of her gift but surely, it's not that powerful. How can you be sure that she's not just lying and sending us all on a goose hunt to make us look like fools? She has other immortal friends, does she not? How can we know where her loyalties lie?"

And around the room Castiel was surprised to see some guards glaring at Raymond, while others where quite literally face-palming at his words. She wasn't sure if all the guards were responding like this though, since she couldn't see the faces of those at the far back.

"How can we know?" Aro breathed, his voice taking and undoubtedly deadly edge, "Tell me Raymond, how do you think she has lied about her gift? How do you think she has managed to lie to me?"

And now giggles began to erupt from some of the female guard around the room and if it were possible Raymond would have flushed in embarrassment.

"Perhaps," The sound of Caius' voice made all the giggling stop abruptly, "You had your head too far up your own ass to hear any of us during the meeting we held months ago in which we announced my brother's imprinting on Castiel."

There was a sudden loud snarling that cut Caius off, and it came from Marcus, who it seemed had been so stunned by the guard's blatant disrespect he was momentarily speechless.

"How you could dare to call her a concubine-," Marcus' anger was burning through him like fire, radiating off him until it was burning inside Castiel too.

She could feel it. It was setting her nerves on fire and numbing her of all thought that wasn't of painful retribution. Like adrenalin it coursed through her veins, and she felt her hands clench into fists as she stood, unconsciously shaking Demetri's hand and Marcus' jacket off her shoulders.

She no longer felt the hurtful sting of Raymond's words. She only felt the nearly uncontrollable desire to hit something – to hit him. To make him hurt.

"Enough," She spoke in a voice that was completely unfamiliar to her. Her word was course with fury as she stepped forward, intending to come to the end of the stage as to clearly see the man slandering her in a room full of people.

She wasn't quite at the edge when she felt two large hands grab her upper arms in a restraining kind of way. She knew it was probably Felix behind her, but she didn't bother turning around to check.

"My loyalties?" She whispered, sure the room could hear her anyway, "My loyalties lie with my friend's and with my family. Both my human family and immortal friends are just as important to me as this coven. My coven."

"But let me ask you Raymond." She dragged his name out as if it was a joke the same way Aro had moments before, "Why. The. Fuck, would I lie about something like that? You think that's where I get my kicks? You might get off on watching children get slaughtered but I sure as hell don't."

At her words the faces of the little girl and boy swam to the front of her mind and she desperately thought the images away so she wouldn't lose her edge.

"So how about you ask your little Napoleon complex to wait for another time to act up with the 'my dick is bigger than your dick' shit so you don't get deluded into thinking that anyone cares about your opinion."

Jaws dropped all around the room. This was the only time some of them had ever heard her speak, and her vicious tone and rude language seemed to have made the masters speechless.

And to Castiel's surprise, she noticed for the first time the appearance of the vampire she was giving a telling off to and realized that Napoleon was precisely the right description for him. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, with dark hair and thick eyebrows… he was probably only a couple inches taller than she was.

Raymond looked mortified, and she had a little spike of vindictive pleasure as his next words rushed from his mouth with an almost almost nervous edge.

"Plenty of people value my opinion-,"

She cut him off, "Yeah, yeah I'm sure you're very popular." And as she said "very popular" she made her left hand into a loose fist and mimed the action of sucking a dick at him.

This was a very common miming she and Trent would do to one another whenever they felt the other was kissing ass.

There was total silence. It was so quiet she was sure she'd be able to hear a pin drop across the room, before Caius broke it by letting out a loud laugh that made her jump. Within seconds peals of laughter rang out around the room; some male voices catcalled and Castiel heard a female voice yell "Drag him honey!" in a tone of approval.

Caius was sure that he might have been irritated at his youngest sister's outburst and language if the whole situation hadn't been so… hilarious. He didn't even bother to try to stifle his laughter before the guard had joined in obviously feeling that if their most volatile king was laughing, they were free to have a laugh at Raymond's expense as well.

And while most of the room was oblivious to what was going on onstage because they were too busy laughing at their colleague, Aro flashed back a few steps until he was at Marcus' side. His brother still stared toward Raymond with outward hostility.

"Brother!" Aro hissed lowly, gripping Marcus' arm so tightly that miniscule cracks begun to form, "You need to reel in your emotions. Look at your mate! She cannot handle the intensity of what you are feeling."

So, for the first time since the fool had dared to speak, Marcus' eyes flashed to where his mate was standing, and he could see what Aro had meant.

Felix was restraining Castiel by his hold on her arms, her tiny shoulders were trembling with anger and her face was twisted into an expression of undiluted rage. He watched in astonishment as she clenched and unclenched her fists as if she were itching to hit something.

For the briefest moment he switched to his bond sight to watch what was happening with Castiel, and observed, as the bond seemed to hum on his end and reverberate though hers.

She was not accustomed to feeling his emotions, and while he could feel hers all the time it seemed as if she could only feel his when he was feeling very strongly about something or highly agitated.

"Felix." Marcus murmured softly, "Please take Castiel back to my rooms. Have her drink some water and lie down. I will be with her shortly. Take Demetri with you."


"Here," Felix's voice was softer than she expected it to be, and she felt him lightly nudge her shoulder with the bottom of the glass he was holding.

She was currently sitting on Marcus' bed, wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and one of her mate's shirts. She was thankful Demetri had thought to stop at her rooms so she could grab her some more comfortable clothes and brush her teeth since she had spent the last twenty minutes sitting with her head between her knees and gripping her hair.

She really didn't need to flash the guards (as she would have if she were still in her dress) while she was mentally coming to pieces.

"Castiel," Demetri sighed from where he was seated at the edge of the bed "It's seriously alright."

"No it's not." She said dejectedly, removing her fingers from her hair and grabbing the glass from Felix as she uncurled from her stiff ball, "As if the fact that I really truly wanted to hurt someone for the first time in my life wasn't enough of an issue without me making a fool of myself in front of the entire coven-,"

"Making a fool of yourself?" Felix's tone was shocked, and his voice was a little too loud now, "Jesus kid what you said in there was awesome. Let me tell you, most of the guard didn't really take you all that seriously before, but you just earned some mad respect. You should be proud of that!"

"Proud? Why should I be proud? What I said was hurtful… I didn't mean to say it." If she wasn't so upset, she might have been surprised at just how modern Felix sounded. He sounded like a total dude-bro.

"Sam was right," Demetri said with a small laugh, thinking of his conversation with the guard Marcus had all but mauled weeks before, "You are too nice for your own good. It's a good thing Master Marcus is your mate."

She didn't have the chance to retort, for a light knock sounded at the door and after a moment's pause Renata glided into the room.

"So, what did we me miss?" Demetri inquired as Renata seemed to dance her way to over to the couch. Felix followed her and took a seat against the opposite end, leaning his head back and shutting his eyes.

"Oh, you know," She shrugged, removing both of her heels so she could tuck her feet underneath her and smoothing out her dress. "Master Marcus challenged Ray to an honor duel and utterly obliterated him. I left as Afton and Chelsea took the pieces away to be burned." Her steady gaze flashed to Castiel, "I hope you didn't take anything he said personally. He was a total asshole and most of the coven has been waiting for him to get fired for years."

And Castiel, who had felt suddenly parched and was chugging her water, choked slightly as it went down the wrong way due to her surprise.

Demetri patted her back dutifully until she stopped coughing long enough to speak.

"Well," She gasped, dabbing at her eyes which had begun to water slightly with the end of her sleeve, "No I wasn't upset about what he said; just that I made a total ass of myself in front of the entire-,"

Renata let out a girly laugh, "Oh no one is upset with you for that! You just said what everyone has wanted to say for years but couldn't because he was a supervisor in our surveillance department and outranked a lot of other guards. I, for one, am very thankful Marcus' anger got you to totally drag him. I hate people who get off on acting like they're the greatest thing that ever walked this earth."

"What?" Castiel knew her expression was stunned as she stared at Renata, "What do you mean Marcus' anger got me to-,"

"Oh, come on!" She sounded exasperated, "It was pretty obvious his testosterone rush was throwing your mood off the charts. I'm sure you'll both calm down soon enough. Once he's done debriefing the guards and you guys can get a little quality time in together, you'll both feel fine again."

Renata wiggled her eyebrows at her when she said, "quality time", and Castiel could feel here ears get rather warm in response.

"But-,"

"No buts!" Renata argued back sternly, pointing a finger at her, "You care way too much about other people's feelings. Listen to me when I tell you Ray deserved what he got. You're so concerned that you said something hurtful that you haven't even considered that while you might care about everyone else's feelings there are people out there who don't give a damn about yours."

"It sounds like you're speaking from experience" Castiel commented, and even with her weak human eyesight, she didn't miss the saddened look in Renata's eyes that disappeared after a split second.

She wanted to ask Renata more about the reasons behind that look, but Castiel didn't speak in favor of respecting her privacy. She had a feeling she and Renata could become very close as Renata seemed to be the kind of brutally honest girlfriend she never had.

She could see that she was gaining another friend, and probably one she needed. She needed a person who would tell her everything as it was and not sugar coat it, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to try mending the damaged relationship she had with Demetri and Felix from the start.

These were the times she should focus on making more friends than enemies, because if she were being honest with herself, not everyone was going to like her. She could do her best to be a good person and live everyday with kindness, but it wouldn't change the fact that there would always be people out there who disliked her. Whether because of her age, her appearance, her demeanor, or her overall personality, she couldn't exactly hold out for universal popularity.

They were all silent now and it wasn't an awkward silence, but rather a thoughtful one.

It could have been only a couple minutes or even half an hour by the time the door opened and pulled everyone from their respective trains of thought. Demetri and Felix both hopped up from their seats so quickly you'd think they had been shocked before sinking into bows, and Renata scrambled into her heels before curtsying politely.

Marcus had entered, and Castiel could see Afton and Chelsea standing in his shadow and watching her with looks of polite concern. But there was nothing to really worry about now as Castiel felt completely calm and more at ease than she was used to feeling.

Marcus had one perfect brow raised at the sight of his guards getting cozy in his quarters, but he couldn't say it bothered him since Castiel seemed perfectly relaxed by the arrangement. He didn't need to say anything; he needed only to incline his head toward the open door behind him for the guards to leave him and his mate to their privacy.

Once the door was shut, Marcus smiled softly for a second before uttering a quiet, "We need to talk."

Castiel only nodded slowly as Marcus approached the bed with almost exaggerated slowness before taking a seat with his legs stretched out and his shoulders against the headboard. With his long arms he was able to reach for her in the center of the bed and drag her to rest against his side, tucking his arm around her and leaning over to bury his nose in her hair.

They didn't say anything for a few moments, and Castiel was the first to speak.

"Are you angry with me?"

He seemed surprised by the question and leaned back to see her face more clearly.

"Of course I'm not, why would I be?"

"Because-," she was stumped by his reaction. His confusion as to why he would be angry wasn't what she had been expecting at all, "Because I got all snippy in front of the whole guard. I-,"

But he was shaking his head at her, and she was surprised to see that he was smiling in a lighthearted way, "While I won't deny that I would have preferred you to have used less crude language – though I can't really begrudge you for your rather American tendencies –," he ignored her lighthearted protest of "hey!", but his grin did broaden in response. "You were completely in your right to speak up for yourself."

Castiel felt as though her brain was struggling to keep up with what he was saying, "But – but you had me escorted out of the room."

"Of course I did," he looked down at her, and see could see… sadness there now, "I feel as though you've had more than enough violence to last you awhile. I do not want to upset you and I dislike knowing how much I frighten you when I fight."

"You don't frighten me." She denied softly, looking down at her hands.

"Yes I do." He sighed, "When I fought Nikita, when Sam frightened you … the hysteria I could hear in your voice as you pleaded with me to stop..."

He shook his head sadly "I always want to shield you from what I am – from what we all are here." He waved one hand out in front of him, indicating his home. "But alas, it is not so simple."

"When I say we need to talk I do not mean about you speaking your mind to a man who had been horribly rude to you, because you had every right in the world to stand up for yourself. I want to talk about the fight we had earlier and the shame I could feel coming from you before your vision."

Her skin flushed a delicate pink at his words, and she felt very warm at the minor increase in her blood pressure.

Marcus was silent, waiting to see if she would speak up first before it became obvious that she wouldn't, and he would have to start a conversation about what he knew made her very shy.

"You were ashamed and too embarrassed to look me in the eyes because what happened in these rooms earlier today aroused you."

Castiel really felt like she could have expired right then and there. She stared resolutely across the room at the bookcases as she tried to think of the best way to explain her feelings. She hadn't expected him to hit the nail on the head – to understand exactly why she felt the way she did without asking – but he was her mate, and she supposed such understanding was to be expected.

"I was just…" She paused, "I am… very confused."

Marcus continued to wait patiently for her to collect her thoughts. Sitting still made her feel a little stir crazy as she tried to categorize her emotions, so she crawled over his legs to get off the bed and stumbled toward the fireplace where there was the residue of a charred solitary log among the dying embers.

He silently followed her from the bed and grabbed a dry long and some kindling from the rack next to the fireplace for her as she opened the grate, obviously wishing to tend to the fire.

Giving her something to do with her hands seemed to help. Marcus watched as she carefully placed the dry log he handed her into the hearth and tried to light the kindling in some of the embers by blowing softly at them and making the coals glow bright orange as she knelt by the logs.

"I shouldn't have felt that way." She shook her head "I don't know why I felt g-,"

He could smell the spike in her scent as she blushed and stopped speaking; knowing the word she meant to say was good.

"Shouldn't have felt that way?" He asked, but to him it was more of a statement than a question, "Dearest there is no shame in sexual gratification. Everyone has something they enjoy that might not be the norm." he made air quotes at the word. "It's okay that you have a kink."

Castiel gasped, letting out a nervous laugh as she turned to look at him, her blue eyes bright with shock, "Holy – you did not just say that!"

He reached down to grab her hand and pulled her to her feet before gently cupping her face between his hands so that he could see her eyes and she wouldn't be able to turn away from him.

"I'm serious. I know that the young women you knew growing up gave you some very twisted insight onto what sex is like, but you are such a bright girl. Self pleasure is a natural part of life and there is no shame in finding pleasure with me." His thumbs gently stroked her cheeks for a moment, his red eyes boring into hers, "You at least know of the physical things you enjoy correct? You know you are safe with me and that I will not take advantage of you? I want to make sure you feel comfortable and cared for in our physical relationship as well as our emotional one-,"

"Stop! Stop," She sighed deeply, doing her best to maintain eye contact and failing as she contemplated what she was about to say. She ended up settling for looking at the collar of his shirt when she next spoke.

"I know I am safe with you, and I know you won't take advantage of me." She smiled a small smile. "Earlier when you asked for my permission before we did anything, that… that meant a lot to me. It helped to know that I have control over these things because these things make me nervous. Sex is very unfamiliar territory to me."

Her mouth was starting to feel incredibly dry, so she rushed through her next words. "And I – I don't touch myself Marcus. I don't masturbate. I tried once and it never really did anything for me so I just… didn't do it again. I don't know what to expect from sex at all so… today was kind of the first time I ever really felt aroused. Well, at least it was the first time I noticed I mean."

Her heart was thundering when she stopped speaking, and she felt as if a large weight had lifted off her shoulders. She chanced a glance at Marcus and felt nothing but relief at the understanding on his face.

"I see." His tone was gentle. "Thank you for telling me this – I know this is not easy for you to talk about."

She laughed and stepped out of his grasp so she could continue to try to light the fire, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the hearth.

Marcus sat next to her, mimicking her posture as he watched her work. "I also wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. I didn't mean to yell at you."

Castiel could feel his eyes on her as she paused momentarily, letting his words sink in. "I wasn't very nice to you either." She mumbled, absentmindedly prodding a log with her piece of kindling. "I just… I just wish you would have talked to me about your issue with motorcycles earlier and-,"

She broke off and Marcus had to prod her for more information, "And?"

"And I wish you didn't call me naïve. You're not my father. You're my mate. I don't like that you talked to me like I'm a child." She turned her head to look at him, her eyes brimming with emotion, "I don't care that your thousands of years old, or a vampire, or royalty. I refuse to be spoken to like I'm anything less than your equal."

Suddenly, it happened so quickly she didn't have time to see him moving, Marcus had her pulled onto his lap. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, and he was kissing every inch of her face he could reach.

Unable to help herself in light of the sudden unexpected affection, she began to giggle. "Marcus" she laughed as he kissed her nose, "Marcus cut it out!"

"Oh little one," he breathed; his cool sweet-smelling breath wafting across her face as she felt his lips lightly touch hers. "You make me feel so many things I haven't felt for thousands of years. Joy and jealousy, excitement and peace, anxiety and worry... The idea of you being on a motorcycle and bared to the elements with nothing to protect you if you were to loose control of the bike or if someone was to hit you… Imagining you getting thrown off a motorcycle and being hurt. God, it makes me so worried that the only reasonable solution to me is to ban you from riding one."

"When I saw you on the motorcycle it was the equivalent of you willingly putting yourself in danger, which you know is the only thing I will ever get mad at you for besides if you intentionally betrayed our coven – which I know you wouldn't do so don't give me that look – so I hope that one day you can forgive my overreaction. But when I called you naïve, I didn't mean it to come out the way it did."

"For you are not naïve in the true definition of the word. You are naïve in the terms of your innocence. You wish to see the very best in people even when they do not deserve it and there is no goodness to be seen. You are human, you are kind, and these things make my world a much harsher place for you. It is my responsibility to be sure that people don't take advantage of you and hurt you. Next to you Castiel I look like the cruelest man-,"

"If you're the cruelest man in the world Caius must be Satan in the flesh next to me." Castiel interrupted him with her joke, causing Marcus to sigh in exasperation.

"I'm serious." He said solemnly before she cut him off again, her tone teasing now.

"You are very serious tonight."

He glared at her in a playful manner before rolling his eyes. "Your innocence Castiel; it absolutely beguiles me. If you were to know of the atrocities I have committed in full detail… I do not kid myself into believing that you would still care for me after seeing such things."

Silence captivated the room for a few moments after his words and was only broken when Castiel gently cupped his cheek in her hand.

"You're a vampire," She said softly, her expression only softening further when he placed his hand over hers and turned his head to kiss her palm, "I don't begrudge you for your past… for your nature. I know you kill humans like me all the time. But that's only because nature made you that way. If you were human like me it's not like you'd be a serial killer."

"No," He smiled half-heartedly, "No I don't think I would be either, but to your kind I am exactly that. My whole family is. And for you to still accept us… the gods have truly blessed me when they made you my mate."

"So really-," Castiel's throat felt thick with emotion at his sweet words, "I just want to ask you for something."

"Anything." He said without hesitation, his rich wine-colored eyes fixated on hers. "I'll give you anything, you know this."

"What I want," She paused as she mentally searched for the right words, "What I need, is patience Marcus. I know you are one of the only people in this coven with even an ounce of patience, and I know you are prepared to wait for me to…" She paused, not willing to say the words love you, because she did love him… but she just wasn't in love with him yet and she didn't want to hurt him by stating that. "I know how much older you are than me, and I know we won't agree on the motorcycle thing, but I still need you to try and see the era we are in. I grew up sheltered and protected by my father, I'm not going to deny that, but even he left me free to make my own mistakes."

"And honestly if he didn't think motorcycles were going to kill me neither should you-,"

"Alright." Marcus murmured, stopping her before she began ranting with a finger to her lips, "I will do my very best to see things from your point of view before I get so-," he paused

"Overprotective?" She volunteered and he shook his head.

"Before I get so strict. Because I will never stop being overprotective of you dearest, and I will give you patience."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"But no motorcycles?" It was more of a statement than a question, and Castiel didn't mean for her voice to come out so petulantly.

The corners of his mouth twitched as he tried not to smile, "No motorcycles" He agreed.

"I won't let your pigheadedness stop me. I'm going to ride the motorcycles here." She said it with conviction, standing up once the fire finally took and began to throw embers in their direction.

"Then I'll just have to stop you."

His tone was slightly teasing, but completely serious all the same as she shut the grate. She could sense that this was nearly going to become a game of cat and mouse between the two of them.

It was a good thing she had her visions on her side. Staying a step ahead of him would undoubtedly bode well in her favor.

The grin on her face must have tipped him off, because he chuckled lightly before taking her hand and pulling her toward the door.

"Alright you little turd," he teased, and Castiel laughed at loud at his words, "Let's go get you some food before bed. You can't have anything left in your stomach after earlier."


Castiel hadn't realized how famished she was until she was seated at the counter in the kitchen and Marcus was placing some reheated pasta in a light tomato sauce in front of her. While he had no idea how to cook Marcus seemed adept at using a microwave at the very least.

It was very late – or should she say early? – for the clocks on the stainless appliances all read 03:12.

She frowned at this once she finished eating but was distracted as Marcus placed more food in front of her; this time it was a tray of cold cuts and cheeses.

"I totally lose my grasp on time living here." She sighed, picking at the foods on the plate, "I'm always forgetting to sleep or eat. It's surprising how easy it is to forget when living with people who do neither."

She didn't miss the frown on Marcus' face as he considered her words. He was playing with a loose strand of her hair as she ate.

"So earlier-," Castiel tone was unsure as she thought back to the conversation they were having when they had just arrived at the kitchen and Marcus insisted she sat while he searched for something for her to eat, which she had originally found weird because he was being a little pushy about it, "You said my mini freak out was because you were angry and that I was just feeling your emotions again?"

"Correct," he affirmed, his eyes now switching to watch her expression.

"And I was taken to your room not because you were angry with me, but because you were worried about me?"

He only nodded, restating his shame that Aro was the one to notice her distress first and not himself.

"Hmm," Castiel couldn't think of a better response after his confirmation. It was so strange that all the panic and anger she had been feeling hours ago felt silly to think about now. The fear she had felt earlier was because of how vulnerable she was when she was ill, and the bond made her afraid so that Marcus would be aware she was vulnerable. And then the anger… that was the bond trying to tell her to bring him comfort, but she was only human, so she didn't have the same capacity for emotion a vampire did. Castiel had no spare room in her head to separate her feelings from his and figure out how to help him.

She felt bad that she didn't try to help him, and Marcus had to assure her that no one was expecting her to understand what was happening. Humans shouldn't feel vampire bonds at all… that's why they were called vampire bonds.

At this point she was merely poking the food around on her plate sleepily – not really up for much more conversation after the craziness of the day.

Marcus removed the plate from in front of her and went to clean up as she set her head on her arms and shut her eyes.

She was dozing after only a couple minutes and groaned in annoyance when Marcus lifted her into his arms. He shushed her with a chuckle and told her she could sleep now, and that everything else could wait until morning.

Marcus didn't even make it down the hall before she was fast asleep.


When Castiel woke up she was groggy, and her body was stiff. It was obvious she mustn't have moved much at all while she was asleep because of how nice it felt to stretch when she sat up.

When the comforter fell off her she blinked sleepily in surprise to see that it wasn't the same blanket she was accustomed to using the few nights she had stayed in Marcus' room. This duvet was thicker, and the duvet cover was made of a thick but soft fleece with a red and tan flannel pattern. The sheets were also made of a light tan fleece, so this was a whole new set of bed coverings.

The cover matched the color scheme in Marcus' room, but he didn't really seem like a flannel kind of guy.

But of course, she thought, slightly annoyed that it took her so long to realize. The comforter wasn't for him, he must have replaced it for her so that she would be warmer in his rooms at night.

She knew something was off about the bed when she had sat on it after the meeting, but she had been too distracted to really put her finger on it. It was touching really because she didn't stay in Marcus' rooms very much. She only slept in here a couple times recently, and the fact that he was making sure she would be warm just in case was very sweet.

Stumbling from the bed because her foot had gotten caught up in the sheets and nearly made her trip, Castiel head toward the bathroom intending to solve the pressing need being presented to her by her bladder, when she stopped short at the sight of Marcus emerging from his dressing room.

He was only partially dressed, wearing a pair of the darkest blue dress pants and what looked to be expensive Italian lather shoes in a matte black. The leather of his belt matched the color of his shoes precisely, but these weren't the things that had caused her to stop at the sight of him.

He had his head bent down and was using a smaller white hand towel to dry his hair while his chest was gloriously bare in the absence of his shirt.

She had never seen Marcus shirtless before, and the sight was truly one to behold. Every muscle on his chest from his abdomen to pectoral muscles were finely sculpted, and she could see the V of his waist and the straight matting of hair that was his 'happy trail'. She didn't know what she had done to be so lucky to have someone as attractive as Marcus as a partner, and found she couldn't stop staring at the fine muscles of his arms and shoulders… not to mention that she couldn't help the hopeful feeling that he would turn so she could see his back.

If she were to see the undoubtedly sculpted muscles of his back, she was sure she would start drooling.

Marcus seemed to notice the sudden increase in her heart rate before she did, and he looked up in surprise, as if he wasn't expecting her.

"My apologies dearest, I thought you were still asleep." He said, pulling the towel off of his head and balling it up in his hands.

She said nothing, unable to articulate words when her brain was currently short-circuiting at the sight of him.

Meanwhile Marcus' expression went from one of politeness to concern when she didn't move or speak, and as he moved forward to embrace her, he realized how her eyes followed his chest rather than his face and that her ears had gone pink.

He tested her emotions for a moment, and what he found there helped prepare him for the sudden scent of her arousal.

With careful grace he drifted closer to her, dropping the towel to the floor where he heard a light thump, before reaching out and grabbing her by the waist. His big hands were gentle as his fingers splayed across her back and pulled her closer, his lips coaxing as they found hers.

Castiel felt as if her blood had begun to boil under her skin, and with nervous hands she ran the tips of her fingers up his bare chest. And in an action that surprised even her, she firmly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling her body flush against his with a small gasp.

In response to the excited sound, Marcus wrapped one of his arms firmly around her back and bent slightly to rest his forearm under her ass so he could lift her against him, and she would not have to reach. A small growl sounded from somewhere deep in his throat as she parted her lips against his, allowing his tongue to press forward and roam her mouth and causing her to shiver and cling even tighter to him.

Castiel hardly felt Marcus move as he walked them toward the bed, and when she felt the back of her legs hit the footboard she adjusted so that she could lay her on her back and he could crawl over her – they never once broke the kiss and she parted her legs so he could rest between them.

One of Marcus' hands came up to lace his fingers through her hair, her lips parting with his for a moment so she could breathe, and he groaned deeply as she began to kiss along his jaw and nipped at the area near his neck with her blunt mortal teeth.

His free hand lifted the back of her shirt – his shirt which was much too long on her – so that he could slide his hand beneath it and feel the skin of her lower back. She was warmer than usual, her skin flushed with heat as her heart raced in the excitement of the moment, and he couldn't help rocking his hips forward into hers, his erection rubbing against her core and causing her to cry out.

It was a high-pitched feminine cry of pleasure, and he was pleased when she arched her back and her legs came to wrap around his waist. He could feel her left foot resting against the back of his calf as her arms unlocked and her hands moved so that she could grip his shoulders.

And as gently as he could as to not overwhelm her, Marcus began to rock his hips forward in a slow, steady motion.

Castiel had never felt anything like this before. The overwhelming passion that was so alien to her made her want Marcus in ways she had never wanted anyone before. She wanted to feel him, to feel more of his skin against her as he ground his hips into hers, the sudden upward motion as he pressed more insistently against her caused her to moan and her lips to break contact with his.

Their eyes met, and Marcus could see her sudden embarrassment after she vocalized her pleasure. In an effort to calm her, he purred gently while running his nose across her jaw before his lips found her neck. He began to lightly kiss and suck against the fragile skin at the base of her throat.

"Oohh," She couldn't seem to form a coherent word as he latched onto a spot at the bottom of her neck by her collarbone, sucking at the area and nipping the skin very carefully with his teeth.

She whimpered softly when he removed his hand from her back, mourning the loss of his skin, and he shushed her, softly running his fingers through her hair and brushing his nails along her scalp as he knew she enjoyed.

"Just relax dearest," He whispered tenderly, "Close your eyes and feel. I'll take care of you,"

His words made all of her lower muscles tighten in response for a moment, before she found herself acquiescing to his words, shutting her eyes obediently as she felt his hands run down her body as he knelt between her legs, lifting the shirt she was wearing to her navel and stroking the skin there before his body came to rest on hers again.

Marcus' tongue gently traced along her lower lip, causing her mouth to open slightly again so this tongues could twine together, and she let out a small shiver of delight when she ran her tongue against his lower lip and felt that the texture was smooth as glass and the taste as sweet as honey.

She felt as one of Marcus' hands slid gently down her stomach, over the waistband of her sweatpants and came to rest between her thighs, cupping her sex securely in his hand before gently pressing down with the heel of his palm and rubbing in a small circle.

The pleasure that came from the little button of nerves before her entrance was surprising, almost overwhelming in intensity regardless of the fact that Marcus' attentions were being focused through two layers of clothing. Her heart was hammering, and she couldn't help as another whimper escaped her when he began to rub in a steady rhythm – light pressure forward and back, forward and back – causing her hips to begin to rock with the movement of his hand.

Part of her wanted to be embarrassed by the sounds she was making, and the fact that Marcus could surely feel the dampness between her legs as he stroked her in a way that felt so good, she never wanted it to stop.

And she could feel a strange tightness in her lower abdomen, as if there was a coil waiting to snap as Marcus continued to drive her higher, the pleasure from his even rhythm against her clitoris feeling as if it were sending zaps of pleasure all through her body.

But she felt so frustrated, for as good as the motion felt she still wanted more. She needed something else to help the pressure building inside her.

"Marcus," she whimpered, "Marcus please-,"

"Shhhhh." He hushed, and she felt as his free hand came to grip her hair near her scalp, pulling her head back and baring her neck to him, "It's alright baby. I've got you."

His grip on her hair was tight, almost too tight, as his lips came to her neck. His tongue darted out to press against the area where her pulse was thrumming the hardest while his hand continued to torture her in the most sinful way.

She moaned more freely as his hand moved so he could use his fingers to press against her clitoris through the damp fabric of her pants. HE began to stroke her in tight circles that made it difficult to think coherently.

"Please," Castiel cried out as she came to the edge of an unknown height, and the aching need, a need she couldn't help but think would be best satisfied if he was thrusting inside her, became almost unbearable and brought tears to the corners of her eyes. "Please, please, pleas-,"

Her pleading was cut off as she cried out Marcus' name loudly. His teeth had latched onto that sensitive part of her neck – but not hard enough to break the skin – as his hand finally drove her to the completion she needed. Her orgasm sent a flush of heat through her body as he felt her sheath clenching below his fingers, and Marcus imagined how it would feel to have her tight, wet heat around his cock.

But he had to shake that thought away as the urge to mark her came back with an intensity he wasn't sure he could resist, and he heard her heart rate begin to slow as she came down from her high.

Castiel was sure her bones had turned to jelly, and she felt as if she could sleep again because her body was certainly relaxed enough. She felt Marcus turn her onto her side and lie behind her, pulling her back to his chest and draping an arm over her. Snuggling back thoughtlessly she was surprised to feel her ass move against what was unmistakably his erection, and a flush of color came to her cheeks as she realized what had just happened and the state Marcus was in because of it.

She wiggled nervously against him and felt as his arm flexed to hold her securely to his body as the fidgeting caused her to rub herself against his cock.

He groaned softly. "Please try to hold still dearest."

His voice was husky – the gravelly sound of it causing her lower body clench in response – but also strained with concentration as he was sure if he lost any amount of his focus to remain calm he wasn't sure he could stop himself from claiming her.

It was easier than she thought it would be to just shut her eyes and start to drift back off into sleep, she just felt so boneless that going back to bed felt like a completely reasonable thing to do.

But her bladder had other ideas, and she found herself struggling out of Marcus' arms.

She could tell he was concerned by the way he reached for her once she got out of bed, probably due to the fact he assumed she was upset over what happened or maybe because she almost fell due to a sudden head rush and had to grip the mattress. But she settled his fears immediately when she squeaked "bathroom" and rushed to the opposite end of the room.

His surprised laughter was all she heard when she shut the door.


It was dark in the little library where the elite guards were convened – this library was one of Master Caius' private studies. On both the left and right walls of this room there were bookcases covering every inch of space, as well as books occupying either side of the door one entered through. The far wall however was taken up by a massive bulletin board, with short filing cabinets set below the board that were filled with maps of countries, cities and roadways.

But all the attributes of this dark little library that was lit only by candles spaced around the room, were nothing in comparison to the massive circular table that took up the rooms center that could comfortably sit forty people

Felix was assisting Master Caius in connecting pushpins on the bulletin board, which now held a map of what was assumed to be the general area of Mexico they were visiting, with different colors of yarn when Demetri entered the room.

He was one of the last to arrive, and one of the first things his eyes took in were not the still figures of his fellow guard members, but the little frame of Castiel hunched over the table and staring directly forward with a faraway look in her eyes as her hand flew across multiple pieces of parchment in front of her.

Most people would have assumed that the darkness is what caused her pupils to dilate so, but everyone presently in this room knew better, and Demetri wasn't fooled into thinking she was looking at anything in the room at all.

Master Marcus was bowed over her, with one of his hands resting on the table to her right as she drew and the other on the left arm of her chair. He was watching what she drew with interest but his attentions were also focused on the sounds in the room – the slight shift of each guard member, the movements of Caius and Felix behind him, and Aro's "hmms" and "ahhs" from the seat to the right of Castiel.

Demetri couldn't help but sympathize with Marcus' protectiveness over Castiel. Especially considering everything that was happening currently. If he had been the one with a human imprint… well he couldn't say that he wouldn't be sick with worry most of the time.

He could hear Master Aro speaking lowly now, communicating something about an empty stretch of barren land Castiel could see them fighting in located many miles west of the city and a good area to intercept the newborns. Caius moved to search the map for the area and, once finding it, retrieved a black sharpie from his back pocket to circle it on the map.

At once everyone moved to take their seats, Marcus and Caius remained standing so there would be chairs available for Daphne and Veronica, and Demetri sat across the table from where Castiel was seated. Felix came to sit beside him, and Heidi and Renata sat on either side of them before the rest of the attending vampires could take up the table.

In total there were nine of the Ushakov guard present, as well as Daphne, Veronica, Raphael and Nikita, the latter sitting in the furthest chair from Castiel obviously not wishing to provoke Marcus' ire. Then there were the master's wives, Sulpicia and Athenadora, flanked on either side by Jane and Alec, while Afton, Chelsea, Corin, and Santiago sat across from them.

The other guards at the table were those Castiel didn't know the names of, but she did notice Sam was there when she glanced up to give both her head and her hand a break. He gave her a friendly smile before turning his attention to Caius, who had carried a large whiteboard over from where it was tucked behind a bookshelf and placed it on the table.

Caius began to take the drawings Castiel had made and display them around the table. Demetri was momentarily impressed by how good the drawing were as he observed some of the scenes, and recognized himself among the renderings.

Most of the guard was surprised when Castiel began to speak (Jane looking like she was in a right little snit) and started pointing to different areas on the blank whiteboard for Caius to draw lines to indicate different things such as obstacles, attack points, and groupings the guard would be in when the fight would start.

It was impressive really, to see Castiel taking charge of the meeting and discussing plans of attack. Most of the next thirty minutes were she and Caius going back and forth about when she saw, and attacks that Caius though was best. It was a fascinating thing to witness the dynamic between the two as Caius strategized and she gave they heresy or naysay. Once she even commented tonelessly that if the group led by Santiago that would be composed of 12 members of their own guard and two of the Ushakov's guard, were in fact to take on the group of newborns containing the most males, that four of their number would be killed and Santiago would be torn apart before Alec's mist would be able to stop the newborns so they could safely restore Santiago before he was burned.

Santiago winced at the causal mentioning of himself being ripped apart, but relaxed when Castiel leaned back in her chair and slipped back into her visions. Aro took the reins now and began telling Caius about the alternate option she was now seeing – a new method of attack that wouldn't require Alec to save the day or lose any of their guard.

Marcus was frowning as Aro and Caius continued to discus and the guard patiently listened to each plan of attack. This was by far the strangest strategy meeting any of them have ever attended; it was more like choreographing a play than anything else.

He had never considered how very useful the gift his little mate had could be. She was able to help them plan the exact method of attack that wouldn't only make them victorious but make it so that they suffered no losses from their number. He could see that as her brows pull together and her free hand, the one that wasn't being held by his brother, rubbed her temple that this planning was very strenuous on her.

She was unwilling to see even one of their members make the ultimate sacrifice. She was absolutely determined that everyone would return to Italy safely and, if she could manage it, it would be the first time the Volturi hadn't lost a member in a fight of this magnitude.

Hours passed. Hours and hours upon which Aro, Marcus, and Caius drew and erased the fight patterns on the board, sketched where the fires would be, and indicated where each elite guard would be stationed with their group of fighters.

Castiel's head was pounding, she felt as if her skull was going to split open by the time Aro had released her had.

They finally had it. They had the whole battle planned out.

For the first time the strategizing had been completely handled all in one night, and the guard only had to sit and listen to what they were told before they were dismissed from the room and sent to prepare for the next two days of endless training sessions.

Castiel was thinking about nothing but food, and how she wanted to go to the castle's big library and curl up in a chair to read. She wanted nothing more then to let her brain relax and stay in the present for a little while and lose herself in a good book while preferably curled up against Marcus.

She knew when she had come to Caius' library that she would spend hours watching her coven… her family, be ripped apart over and over again while she searched for the paths that would keep everyone safe, and was glad she hadn't gotten sick again. It would have been much more embarrassing to fall in a room full of guards than it was when she was with just her sisters and Marcus' brothers.

It was only Aro, Marcus, Caius, Dora, and Sulpicia in the room now with Castiel; and Sulpicia and Athenadora couldn't help but exchange a smug look when they noticed that by the collar of the black sweater Castiel was wearing, there was a rather noticeable purplish bruise blooming on her neck. A hickey.

Castiel obviously hadn't noticed it was there and Sulpicia was about to mention it to her when Marcus, noticing where she was staring, gave her an icy look.

It would undoubtedly embarrass her when she realized the whole guard had seen it, because while the room was dark to her human eyes it wasn't dark at all to any of them. It didn't really matter anyway since sex was not taboo to most vampires, and the Volturi as a whole were certainly not saints. It not mattering was precisely the reason no one even acknowledged it was there beforehand.

Marcus mentioned that Castiel needed dinner at that moment since she had sat right through lunch and helped her stand, eager to get her away from her sisters before they said anything about the hickey. Castiel barely had time to add that an ibuprofen would be nice as well when her focus was drawn into another vision and her fingers instinctively latched onto the edge of the table.

Marcus wasted no time in loosening her grip on the wood; coming behind her and pulling her back to his chest as he took her hand and smoothed out her fingers.

After a moment she came to, and they were all surprised by how sad her expression had suddenly become when she looked up at him.

"You're leaving."


Revised January 20th, 2021

(27 Pages, 11,597 Words)