I need to mention this now. I am almost a hundred percent positive this story will be shorter than the other two. I could be wrong but from where it's currently headed it won't be much longer. This is going to be the end of the series, right? I might do a collection of shorts but I doubt I will. This universe is coming to a close. Don't forget about that idea I had. I won't.
Collin was worried. Mary hadn't spoken a single word since they'd gotten back to the motel. She had sat down on the floor next to the front door and hadn't moved since. All she had done was stared off into space. Unsure how to handle the situation he'd ended up calling Brady who had agreed to come over with Lila. While they waited Collin had bitterly updated Alec on what had happened. Alec had no idea who the child werewolf had been though. Apparently he'd never seen him.
After that Collin had sat down on the foot of the bed where Emma was curled in a ball asleep and spent a few hours reliving his mother's memories. There was a deep rooted temptation to dive into Leah's but something stopped him.
"Bella, don't mention my name." Rosalie said before taking off towards one of the back doors.
You should definitely mention her name, find out more about her.
"Oh yeah." Alice pulled a small bag off her shoulder I hadn't noticed before, she pulled a pair of black glasses out of it and handed them to me. "Carlisle mentioned your eyesight is sensitive because of the amount of time you were underground. We use electricity here so…" She left the sentence there.
Because the Volturi won't get out of medieval times here's something to keep your eyes from hurting. Jane said Victoria was the respectable one. You have to remember that.
Maybe Jane was wrong.
There you go, letting me in again.
"Who was responsible for Rosalie getting away from here?"
Alice stared at me for a second, "it wasn't her father." She stood up as I put the glasses on. "I am going to take you to my brother then I have to return to work. She called you Bella. May I call you that?" I hesitated then nodded. "Well, Bella. I feel I should tell you, that voice you hear. She is important."
Holy shit she knows about me, interrogate her. Now. I ignored her. It was easier that way.
Alice smiled lightly at me before heading towards another door. "Bella, come on." I got up and went after her.
"You will be part of menu three days per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You will be my brother's personal servant on Thursday and Saturday. Sundays and Tuesdays you will be with me or one of the other workers. "
I already miss sitting in front of Aro's throne. I had to agree with that.
We'll get used to this.
Like we have a choice. We walked quietly down the hall, the glasses were helping my eyes but I knew that eventually I would have to learn to get rid of them. If Rosalie escaped before it's possible we could do so as well.
And what? Go into the daylight?
They can't go into sunlight.
I haven't lived with humans in years. I realized I was letting her in again, I had to stop that. I vaguely was aware she'd been in my head before. I wasn't sure why but I knew that. I just didn't know where she came from this time.
I shook my head. "When I'm his personal servant will he feed on me?"
"As you are probably aware, you need to recover between being fed on, on your spare days you will do your share of work." We paused at a door, she hesitated then knocked on it. "Emmett!"
There was a bit of noise on the other side of the door before it opened. On the other side is a large vampire with dark brown hair, hair so brown it was almost black. His eyes were crystal blue, he whispered something after glancing at me. Alice nodded. "So you're the new girl who sent Victoria over the edge?" He laughed and looked at me again, shaking his head. "You better be worth it. So tell me, what's your name?"
Collin jerked out of his mother's memory. Emmett. How had he not noticed? How had he not pieced it together?
When Dol had been reborn she had been reborn to look like something that meant a lot to her predecessor. Mary had explained this to him. It was why Dol hadn't looked like her mother. But Brady had only one predecessor. He didn't have a huge impact on his own appearance. Which meant that if this Old Soul only had a few predecessors she probably would've taken on her parent's appearance.
Except that wasn't the case. She-he had taken on their own appearance. Or aspects of it. "Emmett."
He turned in his seat to see Emma sitting up and staring wide eyed at him. The name she-he'd chosen should have been a dead giveaway. What she-he had known. It added up.
When Emma opened her-his mouth Collin shook his head and she-he closed it. It was awkward, uncomfortable even. The girl he'd been traveling with…Rose's mate…he'd been reincarnated as a female. Why had Emmett been reincarnated? Where had he gotten that kind of power? More importantly…he'd seen his uncle naked…even if the situation wasn't normal it really bothered him.
"Emmett?" Alec sounded confused, his voice coming from where he was seated next to the bathroom door.
"I'm right, right?" Emma swallowed and nodded, looking away with guilt. "I guess I can understand why you didn't want people to know."
"I'm not really who I was before. Being a female…it's changed me a lot. Call me Emma. Not Emmett. Emmett's dead. Has been for years."
Collin frowned at those words. Emmett. After all these years…Emmett. Rose's mate…the man she'd never stopped mourning the loss of. If Rose had still been alive…however…there was something gnawing at the back of his mind, something about this that didn't add up…he couldn't place it though. What was it?
His thought process was cut off by the sound of a car pulling up in the motel parking lot. Rather than dwelling on Emmett…Emma. Collin glanced at Mary who was still sitting by the door then jumped off the bed before he made his way towards the opening door.
.-~**~-.
Brady had spent most of his later adult life avoiding Vegas. It was the lively point of America but it was also filled to this brim with vampires. Though the rule was clear, they weren't allowed to touch him or any of Mary's family, in times like this he was overly aware of the danger she put him in.
Why was he stepping through the door to an old abandoned motel room then? It wasn't because of Bur who was pushing at the back of his mind, not bothering to hide it. It wasn't because his cousin had called. It wasn't even the pushing from Daula and Lila that he should go. No. It was the simple fact that he owed his sister. She had helped him kill his grandfather, the man that had basically been the root cause to everything that had happened to their family.
Brady barely acknowledged Alec, who didn't deserve death in his mind. His immediate focus ran around the room until he spotted Mary sitting down next to where he was standing.
His heart broke and Bur pushed forward as he slumped down next to his sister. Bur was basically riding beside him in his head as he lifted the small statue of a girl into his arms and slumped back, pulling her into his lap.
"Mary." He muttered. "Mer." It wasn't him talking, except maybe it was? Where was that line, the barrier between the two of them? The line that made Brady Brady and Bur Bur. There had always been a distinct barrier but now, it wasn't there. While he felt the pain of seeing his sister, what he knew was his own, there was more. Another batch of emotions, more potent, more ancient. Fear, agony, a million things. Bur's emotions. His emotions. Both in the same place. At the moment, he was Brady, but he was also Bur. It might have worried him, it should have. It didn't. Not at the current moment. Almost all his focus was on the girl in his arms.
His sister.
Their sister.
What had paralyzed her like this?
"What exactly happened?" Bur. That was Bur. Or was it him? He wasn't sure. He'd felt the need to speak but hadn't placed the words, until he had and they'd left his mouth. Was it his own question or Bur asking the question?
"A werewolf." Collin's words didn't really click in his brain, Mary went limp in his arms and stared up at him, with a thousand things running through her expression.
"Brady. Bur." Her voice was soft, he could see it, if she could cry, she would be. "Go home. Don't get pulled into this."
He wouldn't do that. He couldn't. Pulling his sister closer against him, again, he was almost certain that wasn't his choice though he felt it was.
"Both so close." Mer muttered quietly, burying her face in him. "I saw him. He couldn't be there though. It isn't possible."
"Who?" The voice came from further away, he didn't acknowledge it, focused on his sister with the most potent concern he had ever felt.
"Vasilii. I killed him. He can't be alive. I held his broken corpse in my hands. I begged The Ancients to resurrect him. I screamed for them." Her voice was a choke, a struggle to let the words out.
He didn't know that name, something in him told him he needed to find out but he didn't pry. He listened. Mer's words pouring over him like an ocean.
"Bur, you need to step back. It's damaging him. Both of you." Mer's voice was so quieter when she said this, different from when she'd told them of Vasilii, like she didn't want him to hear. Maybe she didn't. If Bur left, he wouldn't be able to comfort her. The idea hurt. "Back off."
This time her tone was more authoritative and he felt a terrible sensation as something pulled away from his consciousness, he knew what it was, it was Bur. Bur pulling back. He tried to grab onto that piece, the other half of him, then he was alone and…
"The first immortal child. Vasilii. Not like us. No. He was three when he was turned. I bit him. I wanted a child. I longed for it. Being the mother of a race was never enough. My sister had had one years before. I also wanted to fulfil that empty place that every vampire has with something. The need for a child. I wanted a child."
"I'd been alive for a very long time. I caved. I needed to experience it. Motherhood. True, real motherhood. A young child. I thought he would learn. I tried to teach him. He was my creation. A direct creation. So damned strong. So damned demanding. I loved him. With every ounce of my being. I knew he couldn't stay immortal. I wanted him immortal but I couldn't keep him like that. It was too much damage to the world. So I…did what I had to and…making him human… He screamed at me, screamed like I was killing him. Maybe I did. He was never the same after it…"
"After that…I kept close to him. Raised him for a few years…he…he didn't forgive me for it. For making him human. Barely spoke to me, barely took care of himself…then…one night…when he was around seven physically…he…attacked me. Came after me with a sharp rock. Of course it wouldn't do anything to me. When he gave up on that…he started going to the nearby town. Said he would kill them all. I tried to stop him…and…"
Mary broke down, sobbing without tears as she curled into Brady's arms. She'd already said it. Brady, who was still dazed about what had just happened to him, held her closer. Taking her story in with pure sadness and aching. Brady had kids. He knew what it meant. He understood it. The prospect of losing one of his children…of being the one to kill them, he couldn't comprehend it. Maybe it was because he was killed by his mother…no, Bur was killed by his mother…but he could still see it. Clear as day.
"I screamed to them. I begged them. The Ancients had brought me back; they'd brought Ak back. There was no reason they couldn't do the same for him. I begged them. I begged for my son's return. I'd lost my brother. I couldn't kill my sister and that was where we were headed. I wanted him. I needed him. They didn't give him back though. He can't be alive. That werewolf was an imposter. Vasilii is dead." Mary growled the last word with conviction. Brady felt it, he wasn't sure if it was actually him or Bur pushing the information to him. He knew though. Angry. She was angry. It became abundantly clear when his sister jumped up, "Someone is going to pay for this."
"Mer-" Brady was gone, buried beneath the surface, he could see everything, hear it all, but he was gone. Watching the world through Bur's eyes, completely out of control. The experience terrified him, normally Bur put him to sleep. Not this time. This time he was wide awake. Seeing it all. Bur hadn't done this, it felt like he was possessed. It was horrifying. "It might be. The Ancients have always worked in strange ways. You know that better than any of us."
"It isn't him." Mary growled as Bur grabbed her shoulder as she made towards the door.
"It may be." Bur turned her and forced her to face them, the heartbroken, terrified expression on Mary's face broke him down. Bur was confident though. That emitted through the both of them. Bur wasn't showing weakness to her. "Ever since you saw I was alive you've done everything he's asked except things that compromised the balance. I'm here now. I haven't asked you for anything, Mer. Not one thing. Now I'm asking this of you though. Don't act rashly. You know he might be. That lack of knowledge will kill you." Bur took their sister's hand, her gaze dropped to the ground. It was painful to watch, the torture in his sister's expression, the debate, the reluctant slumping of her shoulders.
"I hate you, Bur." The words held no conviction as she slumped to the floor, Bur following, never releasing her hand. "So damned much."
"You only wish you could." Bur moved his attention to the rest of the room, Brady was content to see the Old Soul sitting on the bed while talking to his mother's only love and his own mate. It hurt him more than he'd ever admit that he hadn't known Dol, that he hadn't gotten to truly meet her. They had met once and he'd been too young to truly care. The only other time he'd seen her was when she was trying to kill Mary. When she'd been possessed by Ak.
Had she been aware like he was now? Had she seen it all and been completely incapable of doing anything about it? Something about that made it all worse. Ak had been psychotic, he'd seen some of Bur's memories of his mother. Power hungry and insane. The only thing she wanted more than that was her sister all to herself. Being killed by your own mother because your aunt loved you more than her…
His thought process was interrupted as something clicked inside him and he was buried, sucked deep into blackness. Brady was well aware it was Bur locking him away and he wasn't sure what scared him more, that it was happening or that it had been without warning.
.-~**~-.
"What do you mean you aren't giving him control back?" Lila growled angrily at Bur as he held up his hands, glaring at the other half of her mate's soul angrily. Collin wasn't completely sure whether stepping in between them was necessary or whose side he would take. Did they really need Bur right now? Not really. Brady was as capable as Bur, they'd only needed him to track down Mary.
Mary was the first to move, stepping between them and baring her teeth at Lila. "We need Bur. Not Brady. I'm sorry, Lila."
"You don't need him." Mary growled at Lila's words but the older woman continued on, "No, Mary. This is crap. You haven't needed Bur in a million years. Not to fight your fights. You are an ancient being with more strength running through you than any of us. Especially with that stolen power you have beneath the surface."
Stolen power?
Mary opened her mouth to talk, looking furious, but Lila kept on, if she didn't stop Collin wasn't certain what his sister would do. "Yes, I've noticed. I'm not stupid, Mary. That is the same power all shapeshifters of my generation were taught to watch for. You stole her power from her grave and now you're acting out. You can take the world; I don't give a shit. This is the line though. That is my mate. My husband. I was told that Bur was only taking control temporarily. Bur." Collin watched as Lila's attention moved to Bur. "Remember what you told me? And I quote, 'Lila, we are the same. Me and him. I feel what he does. I won't let you lose him. I swear on the life of my family. I won't let you lose him.' What is this then? You letting me keep him?" Lila's voice cracked as she recited Bur's words like she'd known them her whole life. It clicked with Collin almost immediately why she knew them so well. She'd held onto the words. A promise.
Bur was shaking and Collin had to step between the two as Mary went to lunge at Lila. She was pissed, hissing and fighting as Collin pinned her to the ground.
"Mary." They all froze in place at Mary's name leaving Bur's mouth. The way it was said told him everything but he had to jerk his gaze up to clarify. Brown eyes. Those same brown eyes. Not the ever-changing eyes of Brady but the brown eyes of Bur. Bur had called her Mary. Mary was still beneath him but Collin knew that she had pushed her head up away from the floor and was staring her brother. Her nephew. "I can't go with you, Mary. I'm sorry. She is right. I promised her. I can't." Mary pushed Collin off with more strength than she should've had, sending him flying back.
"Out. All of you. I need a minute with my brother." Mary's voice was venomous.
"No. Mary, no. Not going to do this dance. I'm done. I promised her. You and Collin can handle your son. But we're done." He put a hand out, palm out towards his sister. "I love you, Sister. But I'm done. It's done."
Mary blinked and looked so broken, "Bur, please." He didn't move his hand though it shook a bit. What did that mean? "Don't."
"I have to leave you to eternity, Mary. If I don't do it now, I never will. I promised. Don't make me a liar. It's time for me to go. Please."
Mary stepped forward reluctantly, looking up at her brother as she pressed the palm of her hand to his. A bright light like a rope appeared between their hearts, when they pulled their hands apart the rope snapped between them, retracting into their chests and tears filled Bur's eyes.
"Goodbye, Mer." Bur shut his eyes and when they opened again Brady stumbled back, ever-changing eyes clear as day. Lila was by his side in seconds and Collin was beyond confused by a lot of the things that had been said.
"I will be back." Then Mary vanished, the only sign of her presence remaining being the opening of the motel room door and the slamming of it behind her.
"Well that was fun."
"He…holy crap." They all looked at Brady who was staring at the door where Mary had left. "Bur…forsook her. They…forsook each other…that's what…broke off the connection…" Brady shuddered visibly. "Soul siblings can't do that. I can feel the connection…it's writhing in us…begging to reconnect…why…" Bur shook his head, growling angrily. "Mary!" He shouted.
"It was Bur. Bur did it. Not her. Brady, breathe." Lila put a hand on her mate's shoulder.
"Is that what that light was?" Collin couldn't help but ask, he needed to know.
"What light?" Lila sounded confused, and, for the moment, Brady looked confused as well, staring at Collin like he was insane.
"It was…like a rope of light between you and her…or Bur and her…it broke…why am I the only one that saw it?"
Brady was the first to speak, sounding really unsure. "They broke their soul sibling connection. I think you were…seeing that."
"I was seeing their soul?"
"Not their souls. Just that connection that ran between their souls…like our moms." So Collin had seen that, but why?
"Maybe because you see the memories of the dead you can see the soul connection when it's being affected." Lila suggested, sounding like she was just throwing something out there. It wasn't a terrible idea though.
"Well…I watched the bond break. Did they really break their soul sibling connection?"
"Yes. It hurts. A lot. The bond isn't meant to break but it's possible. With consent from both sides."
It was clear Brady didn't want to talk about it anymore so Collin moved onto something else that has been bothering him, his attention moving to Lila. "What about the…stolen power you were talking about?"
"Oh that," she looked uncomfortable. "Well when shifters are raised with big packs, normal packs that are heavily bound to the other ones. Not like the one Brady was raised in. They…we're taught to watch for a certain…power. It isn't really visible unless you're looking for it." Kind of like Mary when she uses her ability. "Yes, the eyes were always dead giveaways to the Spectrals but it was a precautionary measure, just in case a Spectral was born with normal eyes. Needless to say. That power, when I first met Mary and learned what she was, I wondered if it would be the same. If she would emit the same power. She didn't. But when I saw her today, she had it. I can almost guarantee you that Mary went to Dol's grave and stole that power. It's there now. It's skating around millimeters beneath the surface of her skin and it wasn't there the last time I saw her."
Collin gritted his teeth as he took in this information. Brady looked pissed. Even Emma and Alec who had been dead silent for the events made sounds. Emma's sounded very similar to a human growl while Alec's was a furious snarl.
Of course he was pissed.
Even if everyone looked down on him for what he did, he had loved Dol. Maybe not enough, but he had loved her.
"Mary!" Collin's shout was followed by an instinctual throwing open of the door to the motel room. Really, he wasn't actually sure when he got up from where he was to go to the door, but he was there now.
Surprisingly, Mary was standing on the other side, an ashamed look on her face. Just as he opened his mouth to yell at her she held up her hand, "I fucked up." The words were filled with sadness and guilt, her shoulders were slumped in defeat and if she could've cried it was clear she would've been. Carefully she inched past Collin into the room. "I plan on fixing that. After this we are going to return it to her grave. Brady, you and Lila are leaving. I do not want to see you because right now I am barely restraining the desire to relink the bond my brother made me break. Thank you for your help, Brady. Really. The both of you did. I cannot atone for this mistake. I have crossed a line I had no right to. Brady, I am sincerely sorry. Truly. I cannot handle you and him. I have to deal with Vasilii and whatever it is he may be doing." Collin felt like he couldn't breathe, not that he needed to. The way she spoke reminded him, clear as day, how old Mary truly was. How sometimes, she could be a hundred different people and still be the same girl who he loved enough to kill for. To die for. To risk the life of his cousin for. He had seen so many versions of her mentality but this one, it had never surfaced. It was close to the Mary that had spoken to his mom after killing their sisters but…still older.
"Mary." Brady sounded awestruck. Like a young child. Like he had when Dol met him. Collin was haunted by those memories. They broke him apart.
"Get over yourself, Brady boy. Out with the both of you." These words were slightly teasing, not as overwhelming as her previous statement.
Lila helped her still gawking mate to his feet.
"If you need me, Mary. Call. I'm not joking. I am still Imprinted on you, it's my job."
"As if you could protect me, mortal." Completely joking. Damn. That girl had to be bipolar. It threw him completely off as he went back over what she'd just told them.
Wait.
"…we are going to return it to her grave..." Those words rang through his skull again and he went rigid. They were going to Dol's grave. That was one of the last things he wanted to. When he was near the dead that he knew…family…or the dying…sometimes he couldn't keep the memories from flooding his head and the idea of going there…Dol's history was terrifying. The things that had happened to every incarnation of her, good or bad, was disturbing. He didn't want to go there. He didn't want to lose the light grip he had on his ability. But he also, wanted to see her, see where they'd buried her.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as Emma…no Holly jumped down on the floor, he could tell because she was back on all fours, it was weird, so weird, but he wouldn't push Emma…or Emmett, whichever, for information about why he lied for the time being. There was too much else going on. And…Brady and Lila were gone. They'd left?
"Alec."
"Fuck. You." Alec was standing in the far corner of the room, baring his teeth at Mary when she spoke. "You should have told me. You robbed her corpse!"
"I didn't-"
"No. I'm done being your little pet, Mary. You told me that you had the strength to take them down, they're still standing, you swore that you would free me if I helped you. I never would have agreed if I'd known."
"I'll free you." Mary's words were matter of fact. "No protection for you, but I'll free you. Let you finish off your life sentence. I promised that I'd free you if you helped. You did. We took them down. Now come here." Alec stared across the room with a look of pure distrust and longing on his face. "Before I change my mind."
Carefully Alec made his way across the room. "Alright. I'll call an ambulance. Goodbye, Alec." Mary took his wrist and bit into the skin. It took Collin longer than he'd admit to piece together what was happening. She was making human. Alec shuddered slightly and slumped to the ground in front of her as she pulled her hand away, his eyes sliding shut.
"Now that the drama's over, let's go visit your aunt's burial site." Her tone was sad, this was more than his aunt's burial site, this was where her sister was buried. The sister she'd been forced to kill. However, it wasn't going to affect her quite the way it would him.
Oh, God guys. I am so sorry it took so long to get this out. Life has been Hell. Understatement of the century. Next chapter will be a bit less intense, I hope. It should also have a very important flashback, assuming I put it in the chapter. I feel like you're stalling. I'm not stalling. I'm feeding important information. Sure you are. What isn't important? The soul connection being visible, the flashback that fed him the information of Emma being Emmett, Bur and Mary breaking a bond that can't be broken. How do you know it can't be broken? It can't. Did you try to break yours with Bella? No. I didn't. Ak did though. Wow. Even I didn't know that. Liar. Fine I did know. Read again, Dol. I explained. Consent from both sides…how did I miss that? You're sad. Literally. See everyone next update!