Very little was different about that day compared to any other day. The only particularly noticeable change was the fact that she planned to head straight back home immediately after class rather than study at the library. Besides, it wasn't as though she'd be able to get much done with the thought of finally getting back to spending her time with the three vampires that were currently in her house.

That was why she almost sprinted out of the lecture hall the moment her professor had stopped talking. If she'd checked correctly, there was a train that she would only just be able to catch if she were to speed-walk her way towards the station and-

"Eli! Wait up!"

With one foot outside of the door to the building, Eliana sighed and turned around, her binder clutched to her chest with a few random notes inside. The girl who'd grabbed her coat sleeve — she didn't remember her name, only that she was in the same math class as her — had an oddly serious expression with a slight pout to it. She wasn't entirely sure if a pout was even the right term for it.

What Eliana only found more odd, however, was the fact that she was even speaking to her in the first place.

"I heard what happened," the girl said slowly. "And, you know, I know you don't, like, have many friends and all that, but still, that must've been hard for you. You guys were close for a whole year, after all."

Eliana winced and nodded. That little dig she'd made at her and her introvertedness during that felt unnecessary. "Yeah . . . I'm really sort of, um, struggling with that a little. Mhm."

"I'm so sorry." She shook her head sympathetically. "If there's anything I can do, because I know it's all been so sudden and probably hard to process, you have my Snapchat. Okay?"

"Um, yes, I most definitely do and remember exactly what it is," Eliana replied. She almost forced a smile but quickly remembered she had to act morose and forced herself to frown. "Thanks."

The girl smiled broadly, that kind of self-congratulatory smile. "You're so welcome."

Eliana watched as she left before walking towards the train station, finally alone again. She knew she'd missed her train by that point, so she figured there was no use in rushing her way back anyway.

She slid her phone out of her pocket and opened Snapchat quickly, scrolling through her friends. "Oh, Emilie," she whispered to herself in realisation.

She paused, recalling back to what Emilie had said. Sure, it was painfully obvious that she'd only acted like she cared to make herself feel like a saint, but something about what she'd said still didn't sit right with her.

Eliana googled "noah henderson" quickly and pressed enter.

Two articles immediately came up. She recognised the face on the cover of them instantly. She then read the headline on the first article.

'LOCAL TEEN (19) FOUND DEAD IN FOREST
AUTHORITIES RULE OUT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY - FAMILY DISTRAUGHT'

Eliana stared at the article for a long time. Her feet had stopped moving entirely. She stood completely motionless. She didn't even tremble.

After a moment, she threw her phone at the ground, watching carelessly as it shattered into countless pieces of scrap metal.

Still not knowing what to do with herself anymore, she continued to stare at the remains of it. She didn't stop staring at it for longer than she could even tell. Her mind was empty, her thoughts completely silent.

Once she did leave the remains of her phone behind and immediately got onto her train, glad to find it empty, she sat herself in a seat tucked into the corner and placed her binder down on the seat beside her.

She made no noise the entire train journey back. She didn't so much as flinch as people walked back and forth through the aisle, or each time the train stopped at little village stations.

Part of her wanted to isolate herself from every remaining person on the planet for the next month.

And another part of her wanted to get her hands on those three conniving, lying bastar-


As she just slightly predicted, her initial shock had turned almost entirely to rage by the time she'd reached the front door of her house. She was glad she'd unlocked the door, for if not she couldn't have completely ruled out the possibility of her smashing open a window instead. Maybe she'd consider doing that anyway . . .

As she stood near her front door and kicked her shoes off, she felt a pair of cold hands assist her in removing her coat. "Good afternoon, tesoro," Marcus said warmly. He then went quiet as he hung her coat up on a hook. "Is something the matter?"

"Is something the matter?!" She turned around to face him, nothing but unadulterated rage in her eyes. "Did you just ask me if something is the fucking matter?!"

"What's all this commotion about?" Aro stepped out of the kitchen with a smile. "Ah, cara mia!"

"Don't "cara mia" me!" she snapped. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! All three of you?!"

She didn't have a chance to take in any of their expressions before Caius appeared in front of her almost immediately, his appearance seething. "Excuse me?" he murmured warningly.

"Oh, don't act like you don't know what I mean!" Despite her height difference, she stood up in front of Caius and scowled at him like she'd never scowled at anyone before. "You killed Noah, you fucking asshole! And after I specifically instructed you to leave him alone!"

"You instructed Caius to let him go," Aro interjected calmly, "not to leave the boy alone."

"Oh, so you're finding loopholes in every little thing I say now, is that it?! That's your grand excuse?! At least have the decency to say you don't give two flying fucks about my opinion!"

She closed her eyes and sighed heavily as she threw her bag down at the floor. "You know what? Just forget it. I'm going upstairs."

". . . Tes-"

"Don't," she cut in. "Just don't."


What followed was the most abrupt shower she could ever remember taking. She just needed to wash every single thought and memory of everything over the last 24 hours off of her, not that any amount of water could clean away the murder that was on her hands. The only perk of crying in the shower was that she couldn't tell the difference between the tears running down her face and the warm running water.

Once she had dried off and dressed fully, the ends of her hair still damp, she left the bathroom but immediately turned left up the stairs into the attic her parents had converted into a study. From there, she swiped a pillow from one of the chairs and climbed up the ladder that led to the roof.

It was childish of her, admittedly, but climbing up onto the roof was something she'd done for years, whenever she needed to get away from whatever was happening inside her house. The angle her roof had been built at meant that it was fairly easy for her to simply place a pillow down and sit on it quite comfortably as she looked over her neighbourhood. Sometimes it was better that than arguments and family gatherings.

She rarely saw anyone walk past, especially during that time of day, but that was mostly due to the fact that her neighbourhood was so small. Occasionally someone would stroll past walking their dog, but she remained virtually unnoticed to them anyway. As far as she could remember, she'd only ever been spotted once.

She folded her arms over herself and drew her legs in, leaning forward against her knees. Something about being at that height made her problems feel so much smaller and so much less significant, a feeling that was very much welcomed.

She picked up a small piece of dirt beside her and threw it at the ground, watching it shatter against the pavement.

While she didn't hear the usual creaking of the ladder that indicated that someone was climbing it, she still had an uncanny feeling that she was no longer alone. It was dumb of her to expect herself to be left alone in the first place anyway. That always seemed to be too much to ask.

It was once he easily sat down beside her, one leg bent with the other stretched out in front of him and his weight resting on his arms behind him that she knew it was Caius. He didn't say anything for a few minutes, nor did he particularly acknowledge that she was there at all.

"You have every right to be upset, carina."

"I know," she said absently. "I'm exercising that right currently."

Caius made a noise that was obviously him stifling a laugh. "Your sense of humour never relents."

She blinked at the tiles on the roof by her feet. "Why did you come up here? It's not like you're even sorry, are you?"

He went quiet. Accepting that as her answer, she rested her chin against her knees and blinked back any tears before they could even form.

"I am."

Eliana scoffed. "You're not."

"I am," he insisted. "Eliana, I did listen to you. Despite the impression I gave you, I give much more than two flying fucks about your opinion."

"Sure you do," she muttered.

"But after what that boy wanted to do to you . . . I couldn't just let him walk free and give him the chance to hurt you," he explained. "I couldn't risk anything like that happening to you by his hands, when I'm not here to protect you from scum like him. I'll always put your safety before your opinion of me."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Caius shook his head. "You were never meant to find out in the first place. The fact that you did, and so soon, was . . . admittedly unexpected. I only did what I did to keep you safe, never with the intention of distressing you."

She sighed and nodded. "I don't want to stay mad at you."

Caius furrowed his eyebrows together.

Eliana continued while keeping her gaze ahead. "Needless to say, I don't like that you killed Noah, but it's not just that. You went behind my back, you pretended you'd done nothing wrong, you meant to keep it all a secret from me. I had this conversation with Aro a while back, but I don't like being left in the dark, Caius. I really don't.

"But, with all that said, I still don't want to stay mad at you. I enjoy winding you up and us arguing, as dumb as it sounds, but I don't like it so . . . serious. But what you did, it's just hard to forgive."

"And I don't demand forgiveness from you," he responded.

Eliana almost smiled. "I don't take back calling you a fucking asshole though," she added. "You are one, after all."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "If I am a fucking asshole, you're a . . ."

She raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Yes?"

"You're nothing but a pain in the ass, more so than Marcus," he concluded.

"Huh? Jeez," She frowned, "don't hold back, I guess."

"You didn't let me finish," Caius continued with what resembled a smile as he wrapped an arm around her waist and easily pulled her onto his lap. "You're nothing but a pain in the ass, but if you weren't, you wouldn't be my true mate."

Eliana laughed under her breath. It was hollow, empty, but it still held a little humour. "I guess this is what true love looks like." She held his hand and began to mindlessly play with his fingers. "I'm guessing you're still after an apology from two months ago."

"I've long since lowered my expectations of someone as stubborn as you," he grumbled bitterly.

"You know me so well," she quipped. Then she did something she grudgingly knew had to be done sooner or later if she was ever to be left alone about it. ". . . I'm sorry-"

His mouth was on hers faster than she could register. Her stomach flipped slightly at a sudden motion before she felt him lay her down horizontally on her back. Something soft was beneath her, much softer than the roof, and the change in air temperature around her indicated that they'd moved inside. Not that she could see much since Caius was completely on top of her.

They broke apart only to give her a moment to breathe, something that he'd almost let himself forget about. She panted heavily beneath him, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"You really get a high from being right, don't you?" she teased.

"Oh, carina," He grinned at her only briefly before his face disappeared from her view, which was met with a cold sensation on her neck. She gasped as his lips made contact with her warm skin, "you should know I'm always right," he murmured, the vibrations causing her to shiver.

It was as he sucked on a little area at the base of her neck that she inadvertently let out a surprisingly loud moan. Encouraged by how she was responding, he nudged her legs apart with his knee and began to reach for the hem of her top. However, he'd only lifted it by no more than three inches when she placed her hands over his to stop him.

"Not today," she said quietly. "I don't . . . not yet."

He lifted his head from her neck before nodding in understanding as he let go of her clothing once more. "Maybe another time," he responded, kissing her again only much gentler than before. It was no longer rushed nor filled with lust, purely affection. "Let's find you something to eat."


The rest of her afternoon and evening after that seemed to go by pretty swiftly. It also included purchasing a duplicate of her old phone, which Caius insisted on paying for with his own card before she could reach for hers. No amount of insisting that what she had saved was enough seemed to convince him.

She was still down about . . . everything, and no amount of ice cream could help that pang in her chest she felt each time she was remotely reminded of it.

Not to mention the fact that she hadn't seen Marcus or Aro around for hours, not since she'd first returned back. In hindsight, maybe she shouldn't have been so harsh with them. Caius kind of deserved it — it had been mostly his idea, and he was the one who had gone through with the plot — but, while Aro may have encouraged him, she knew that at least Marcus likely had little to do with it.

It was while she was in her kitchen pouring herself a glass of water to take her iron supplements and other random multivitamins her mother had given her that she felt another presence in the room, and she had the feeling it wasn't Caius again.

"Where did you go?" she asked, not even bothering to turn around.

She quickly felt Marcus' right arm wrap around her waist as he easily reached for a glass on a high shelf she'd been attempting to grab herself. "I wanted to give you space, as did Aro," he answered, placing the glass down in front of her so that she could fill it herself. "I'm so sorry, cara mia."

Eliana sighed and nodded. "No amount of "sorry" can bring him back though."

"Quite right," he agreed. "But what happened to Noah should never have happened, especially without consulting you beforehand."

"Caius won't even say his name," she noted.

Marcus only seemed mildly humoured at that. "You know what Caius is like. No one on this planet holds a grudge quite like that man does, no one at all. But he means well. He was just as concerned over your safety as Aro and I were."

"You know, if you were that concerned over my safety, why didn't you just drag me back to Italy instead?" she suggested. "That way no one would have to die."

"First of all, due to our laws, Noah Henderson had to be silenced in one way or another."

She hadn't even noticed that it was Aro who had spoken at first. He entered the room and approached her very hesitantly, still keeping his distance. "And second of all, I wouldn't let Caius hear that if I were you, amore mio, or he might just decide to take you up on that offer. Speaking of Caius . . ."

"He went up to London to feed," she answered his unspoken question. "I was wondering why he was so chill about it, but I guess you two showing up again made him more comfortable with leaving."

"And while we're on the topic of feeding . . ." Aro reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a chocolate bar which he placed down in front of her. "I know this is your favourite and it often sells out. It isn't close to enough to express my apologies, but chocolate is better than no chocolate."

She breathed a laugh and shook her head. "Thanks, Aro."

Eliana then turned in Marcus' arms enough to hold a hand out in front of him. He was all too eager to take it, encasing it in both of his stone cold hands, his gazing drifting over into the distance.

Since there wasn't much to catch up on, he was back in the present moment only seconds later. All she knew was that one moment he was staring almost through her eyes, and the next he had his arms around her as he held her as close as humanly possible.

"I'm so sorry, bellissima," he murmured. He'd seen more of her crying in her bathroom due to their own errors than he ever wanted to in his life. "I'm sorry."

She exhaled a shaky breath that almost turned into a sob and wrapped her arms around his torso, soon feeling Marcus hug her from behind with his arms around her waist and his nose against her neck.

The instant soothing effect that single embrace sent to her heart suddenly made it very clear to her why true mate bonds were so valued after all.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Author's note: Come on, it was unrealistic to expect Noah to somehow stay alive throughout this entire thing, and have Eliana be kindly told that they killed him. No, the angst is way more fun. Also, I figured it would be a little unreasonable for her to instantly forgive them, especially after a stunt like that, but I did want this to be a fluffy fic, so I wasn't going to keep things too angsty.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and ily lots!