Author's Note: I am so sorry that I have taken so long. This past year has been extremely busy and it seems that 2011 will be too. I know most of you have probably given up hope of receiving new chapters, and I'm sorry for that also. One of my friends has been in the hospital for a while (but all better now :D), and I've started a new school, so sorry for the delay again. So Happy New Year and I hope you like this chapter.

~Macyn Cullen~

You're aching, you're breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody's changing
And I don't know why

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same


"How can we get her over to our side faster?" A man with deep black hair and scarlet eyes asked himself. He wore a black suit and the Volturi crest necklace. The other two men sat stoically, and a fourth man, just a boy, lounged in a chair.

"Hmm. We still need her to drink the human blood. Are you working on that?" The man asked irratibly.

The boy nodded, but said nothing else. They sat in silence for a moment, watching the shadows made from the sun and wind dance on the carpeted floor.

"I have it." The boy said simply. The men's faces rose to his, their faces going to empty to triumphant, "Make her lose everything."

The man sighed but nodded, "As you wish."


The next afternoon was sunny and beautiful, with only a tiny bit of winter still in the air. It was wonderful but it seemed like a cruel contradiction to my black mood.

I took a cold shower, and got dressed in my own clothes. Since today was an assembly, a rare thing that almost never happened, everyone was allowed to wear their own clothing.

Unfortunately for me, since the assembly was about the Volturi, I had been allowed to wear the color black. Boring but fine by me. I settled with black jeans, a tight black blouse, and a leather jacket. Black, of course.

When I went downstairs, I had expected no one to be there, like they had known about what I had done and they were giving me a cold shoulder. But I had walked in on completely normal circumstances.

Ayden was talking to Bella and Edward, but Violet and Francesca were nowhere to be seen. When I got a bottle of blood- it didn't really matter anymore which kind I got- Ayden smiled at me and waved me over. I planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey." He smiled, "You look good, very dark, but good."

I didn't say I had to wear this color but instead smiled and replied, "Thanks, you too. Uh, have you seen Violet of Francesca since yesterday?"

Alice piped up, "I saw them go to the assembly building early, probably wanted to get seats."

"Yeah. Probably." I said. I looked at Ayden again, and he nodded his head to the other room giving me a pleading look. I nodded back.

Ayden took my hand and steered me to the other room. We sat down on one of the red velvet loveseats.

"I wanted to talk to you about something Violet said to me yesterday." He stated softly. I swallowed my bottled blood thickly.

"She said that you had joined some kind of Volturi torture group or something. She said that you're a spy for them. She said that some guy had been assigned to be your partner." He sounded deeply upset.

I blanched.

"Ayden, I-"

Just then someone stepped into the room.

"Well, sorry to break up this,"-The intruder paused-"Sob fest, but I must take Morgan away from you."

Ayden stood up fast, his face turning emotionless and cool, "Go ahead, I've heard she's your anyway."

No. "It's not like that! He's just some stupid guy that-" I got cut off, which I found out that Matthew did best.

"It's alright, Morgan. Ayden can think whatever he wants of us. Ayden, I believe Morgan and you broke up just now, and I gallantly stole her from you. Got it?" Matthew said, his honey voice glazing over the truth, making us believe his lies. His power. That was it, why he was so important to the Volturi.

We stood still for minute, just looking at each other, Ayden and I. He closed his eyes, his face turning cold to me. I stared at him. No.

Matthew leaned over me, meeting my horror-stricken eyes, "Let's go before this get's uglier, okay?"

I nodded helplessly, numb. What had just happened? Did Matthew convince Ayden that we broke up? I was so confused.

Matthew steered me out of the Animal Drinker dorm. He was whispering things to me, but I was only half paying attention. All the while we were walking farther and farther from the dorm, closer to the assembly building. We had to go through a section of Didyme Gardens to do so. It was a beautiful part, where tall weeping willows covered the area, and taller pines made it almost secluded.

It was also the part where my anger broke through.

"Stop! Stop! What was that you did back there? Your power?" I had to hear the words from him.

"No, of course not." He replied icily.

"Liar! I'm not stupid and neither is Ayden. What you did back there was terrible, ghastly. That deal we made at Christmas Eve? It's off! I'm going to shock you whenever the fuck I want!" I yelled at him, furious. It seemed like my anger had no bounds. I could see my electricity looping through my skin; its tingling touch would not feel pleasant on his skin.

I lunged at him with an outraged growl, my hands making their intended damage. I had left thin lines of blood-blood? - on his neck and face, but I wasn't finished, he tried to stop me but it was futile.

I jumped on his abdomen, my hands locked around his neck, making his head hit the ground with a satisfying crack, crack, crack. I smiled in crazy delight. Matthew looked at me, his face pale and startled in the oncoming night.

"Morgan, you don't have to kill me yet. I can do something for you, and I know you'll want to hear it." He said. It shocked me so much that I stopped for a second.

"If this is what happens when something happens to someone you want to-to protect, then let's find a way to keep them safe, while still being diplomatic." Matthew suggested. He smiled painfully at me while I stared at him. I remembered the way Ayden looked, eyes closed, face cold, and I nodded shortly.

"Okay, but you have to get off me." He said softly. I realized he was talking to me like a scared animal, a child, but then maybe I was.

I disentangled with him, my electricity sputtering out bit by bit. He stood slowly, looking to see if I was still feeling a little psycho. I couldn't meet his eyes.

"I know that there are things you want to protect, things that you feel are slipping through your fingers like sand." Matthew started. He sounded oddly…vulnerable, no, not that, but compassionate, like he could relate to my human feelings.

"But losing control is not the correct way. What I did with your Ayden was for you, no matter how it made you feel. This deal you made with the Volturi has consequences, and I know that you don't want your loved ones to feel the cost of your decision as well. Let me help you and everyone might make it out alive." Said Matthew, his voice hypnotic, creating a vivid picture in mind of what could be and what could happen. If I went with this unknown deal, I could see myself, living, with Ayden, Violet, and Francesca; and even the Cullen's smiling at me with golden eyes.

The next picture though, shone a dark light on that happy image. I could see them dead, in a fire with curling black smoke, with me looking down at the destruction of my own hands. I shook my head to clear it.

"What do you suppose I do?" I asked.

"Cooperate. Be a spy for them, suggest the idea you'll look out for this Humanity's members, and then report them. Strike a deal to leave your friends alone. They need you, and you both know that. You're special, Morgan, and could have a real chance of making everything in this game to your favor."

I stood still for a second, contemplating the pros and cons of this illogical plan of safety. After a while, I had my answer.

"Fine. I'll do it."

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~Macyn Cullen~