A/N: Thanks so much for the 3 reviews already! You guys are awesome, and the reviews are really what keeps me writing. :) Now, onto the story!
A screamed rippled through the air, tearing through the thick blanket of silence like a thousand knives. Suddenly, everyone else was screaming as the vampires made quick work of the group. Somewhere in the struggle, Alec released the red haired girl, knowing that he had to feed in order to keep himself in check around her. If he hadn't fed, he knew that he'd end up killing her.
He'd kill himself if he ever caused her death.
It was strange, becoming so worried about a mere human. It was almost sickening to Alec, but part of him knew not to deny the ties that were binding him to her. The ties that bound him to the woman before him were ties that were all too familiar to him. He'd witnessed them first hand when he encountered Edward and Bella, his blood singer, his La Tua Cantante.
Soon, blood littered the expensive marble flooring of the Throne Room. The vampires in said room looked beyond satisfied. Aro sat back in his seat, folding one leg over the other as he looked around. Suddenly, his milky red eyes landd on a woman who was cowering in the corner, one with long waves of scarlett hair. "Alec, please do bring her here. I wish to meet her."
Alec obliged, walking to the woman. He looked down at her, noticing that she was visibly shaking, obviously frightened by the scene before her. Someone came from behind him and began to clean up the mess. He didn't turn, only kept his gaze on her. She slowly looked up, fear evident in her eyes.
"Get away from me." She hissed, tears growing in the corners of her eyes. "You... You monster!" She spat, breaking down into sobs that shook her body.
Alec immediately kneeled down beside her, taking her face in his hands. "Do you want to die?" He demanded in a harsh whisper.
She was frozen in fear, her tears temporarily forgotten. She nodded her head, unable to form coherent sentences. Alec took in her scent; a mixture of lilacs, honey, and roses. It was completely irresistable, and although he'd just fed, his mouth watered at the prospect of tasting her blood. He focused, knowing that there were more important matters at hand. "Then I'd suggest that you stop your crying already. If Aro sees that you're too weak, he'll dispose of you immediately. If you value your life, calm down, take my hand, and remain strong."
His voice was like honey to her, giving her a soothing effect with each word that came out of his pink, perfect lips. She nodded numbly, the tears having long ago subsided. She looked down at his outstretched hand and set hers in his slowly, feeling how cold he was. But it wasn't a bad type of cold. No, it was a good feeling. It calmed her, putting out an aching heat that she didn't know had been laying dormant underneath her skin. She allowed him to pull her to her feet, looking at the awe on his face as he looked down at their hands. So he must have felt it too, she decided. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
Alec took her to Aro, who watched the both of them, excitement clear on his face by the way his eyes crinkled in the corners with delight, his lips spreading into a full on grin. "Hello, my dear. Welcome to Volterra. My name is Aro. These two are Caius and Marcus, and those three over there are Demetri, Felix, and Jane." Aro paused. "Now, what is your name, my sweet?"
Stormy grey eyes looked up at him through long dark lashes, fear evident in her eyes. But Aro saw something else that made him curious, something that he didn't even think she knew about yet.
He saw affection. Bedgrudging affection, of course, but it was affection nonetheless, and he had more than a hunch about who it was aimed towards.
"June." She replied, her voice hesitant and shaky. Who could blame her? She was in a room filled with people she just saw drinking the blood of the humans she'd entered with. Who was to say that they weren't going to do the same thing to her next? "June Carter." She added. In retrospect, she realized that they most likely didn't care what her last name was. They most likely just wanted a name to call her to get her attention, and chances were slim that they'd be using her entire name to address her each and every time that they spoke to her.
"Well, June," Aro was peppy and happy, sickly so, as his milky red eyes gazed at her, showing that he was clearly excited by something. "We've got some wonderful plans for you. We're not going to kill you, I promise, my dear. In fact, we're going to give you something precious. We're going to be giving you a family."
June frowned, not liking the direction in which this was currently heading. "I-I already have a family." She replied, her body visibly shaking in fear. She took a step back. "I d-don't need another one."
"No, I don't mean parents and grandparents and all of those other useless things that you humans seem to be concerned with." Aro replied, waving his hand dismissively, as if the mere notion of him handing her parents was idiotic to him. June didn't doubt that was the case. "I'll be giving you a mate, my dear, and a child."
Her blood ran cold. Aro couldn't mean what she thought that he meant. "A-Adoption?" She squeaked, though she knew that it wasn't the case. Why would they keep her around, just to help her adopt a child? That wouldn't make any sense.
Aro laughed, though the sound had to be anything but that. Laughs were warm and indicated happiness. His laugh made her stomach churn uncomfortably. "No, no, my dear. You'll be impregnated with a child. Our dear, dear Alec has volunteered himself to do the honors. After all, he is going to be your mate."
There was only one word in her mind at the moment, but it was echoing over and over again, reverberating off of the walls of her mind. 'No.' She stepped back once more, but she stepped back right into a man. Turning sharply to face him, she recognized him as Felix, one of the men that Aro had introduced earlier. June turned around, looking at Aro, who grinned at her. "Alec," He spoke, though he didn't take his eyes off of her. "You may take your mate with you up to your room. I expect for the proper progress to be made by tomorrow morning."
Alec didn't reply, he only crossed the room and held out his hand for June to take. Surprising himself and herself, June automatically took his hand, stepping as close as possible to Alec to get away from everyone else in the room. She didn't trust them. Maybe it was the look in their eyes compared to Alec's, but maybe it was the fact that they gave her the vibe that they didn't care what happened to her, while Alec was already acting protective over her.
When they entered his room, June was struck by how extravagant it was. The room wasn't as large as the throne room, but it was pretty large, fitting several bookshelves, a table, a desk, plush armchairs, and large four poster king-sized bed. The whole room was done up in red and black, with little hints of gold around the room.
The sight of the bed made her blood run cold once more, and tears escaped her eyes, though she'd been trying so hard not to allow them to. "I-I don't want to do this." She sobbed, hugging herself. "I-I'm not ready to do this, Alec. P-Please, make them change their minds."
If Alec's heart hadn't stopped beating centuries ago, he could have sworn it had broken into pieces right then and there. His mate was crying, and he couldn't do anything to help her. "I can't change their minds." Alec replied. "Once they've set their minds on something, it's impossible to reason with them."
"So I'm just supposed to be okay with this!?" She demanded. "I'm supposed to be okay with being used to make some demon child because Aro thinks it's entertaining? God, Alec, it's not right!"
"I never said that it was right." Alec answered, the perfect picture of calm, while June was sobbing right before his eyes. "But it's what we have to do, unless you want to die."
June shook her head, whimpering as more tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "I don't want to die." She whispered. "But I don't want this."
"Well, you have to want this." Alec replied simply. "Because, like it or not, this is how things are going to work. You can either go down there and tell them that you don't want to and then get executed, or you can accept your fate and just deal with it."
There was silence after that, with the only sound being the faint whimpering of June as she continued to cry. Alec released a sigh, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Leave it to him to get the most emotional mate out there. He drew her into his arms, and at first, June tensed. But soon she relaxed into him, crying into his shirt.
And although the sound of her whimpering had made his heart clench uncomfortably, the feeling of her in his arms almost made up for it. It was then that he realized he'd do anything for her. He just had to make her as comfortable as possible, and to make her realize that this life wasn't as bad as she thought it was.