ONE MONTH LATER

Daphne's tongue tastes like cinnamon. Her kiss is sweet and lovely, but there is just something.. I don't know how to describe it. Sometimes it just doesn't feel right kissing her. Something's missing. Something in life is missing. I feel almost...empty. And so lonely. I spend every minute surrounded by people; people that train me to fight and to use my power (which is awesome, I must say), people that try to be my friend to get on my good side, my masters, my closest friend here Jane, and Daphne, who is practically my girlfriend. But for some reason, I just feel alone and numb. As if I'm watching my life being played out from behind a thick wall of glass.

"Daph, stop." I tell her, pulling back. Her large eyes outlined in charcoal-colored make up stare at me in confusion, her bottom lip jutting out slightly. Her puppy dog look kills me. "Don't look at me like that, babe." I groan, adjusting our weight so I can slip from beneath her and out of Caius's throne. He gets so pissed when he catches us sitting in it.

"What did I do wrong?" She asks in a tone that almost makes it seem like she knows the answer.

"Nothing, nothing. It's not you, it's me. Oh, c'mon, don't roll your eyes at me like that. You know what I mean. I'm just feeling a little...off. I feel weird. Like I'm missing something." I frown, scratching the back of my head.

Daphne bites her blood-red lipstick covered bottom lip, averting her gaze to the marble floor. "Because I'm not what you want. Or I guess I should say who you want. And I'll never be." She sighs.

"That's not true. You're amazing, Daphie. I've only been in this life for a month. It's all still new and confusing. I'm going to be weird sometimes. Just give me a little time." I grin, joining her on the throne again. She squeezes her eyes shut, releasing one shaky breath, and then nods.

"Ah, the two love birds!" Aro crows as he comes sweeping into the throne room. Caius, floating at his side, hisses at Daphne and I. We laugh and get out of his throne.

"Good evening, Master." I bow to him. Daphne shows no such courtesy or respect, just stares at them with those huge, intimidating eyes of hers.

"Lovely to see you, Alec, Daphne." Aro nods at us. "When can I be expecting to throw a wedding?" He jokes, making both Daphne and I uncomfortable. I force out a laugh, she stares at him, not willing to humor him, and he bellows at his own joke.

Marcus, the most remote and distant of the three, brushes his hand against Aro's. He is telling him something. From the frown that crosses Aro's face, it isn't good.

ARO POV

Marcus's hand lightly touches mine, sending a swirl of images through my head. I manage to pick out the most recent messages in his head which is of his thoughts on the magnitude of Daphne and Alec's relationship. His power is marvelous, showing every angle of the connection between the two.

Today, however, it is disappointing. It shows how much more infatuated Daphne is with Alec than Alec is with Daphne. Of course there are strong feelings on both sides, but it is undeniable that Alec just isn't in to their relationship.

Daphne might have been able to repress Alec's memories, but they are still there, deeply buried in the confines of his brain. Something is telling him things aren't right and something is missing, but his brain hits a roadblock whenever he tries to search for what it is that is missing.

Renesmee Cullen, that is what is missing. How odd it is that Isabella and Edward, famous for their vampire and mortal relationship, would give birth to a hybrid that would follow down the same road.

The Cullens have always been friends. But seven years ago I realized how much of a threat they pose. Their coven contains many, they're powerful and skilled, their diet makes them think of themselves as being superior to others, and they bend the rules. We should have rid the world of them before Isabella became immortal and her power now cancels out many of the powers of my coven, maiming our battle tactics greatly.

But we have Alec now. His power is useless against the Cullens, but if they had changed him first, they could have wiped us out. He has the potential to cut off the senses of other vampires, leaving them deaf and blind.

Lucas found him. He is a new addition to the Volturi. He can sense the powers humans would have if they became immortal. At every feeding session, he picks out the most valuable and then discusses it with me and I choose the ones I want. I felt I had struck gold when I found Alec. Coincidental circumstances have brought us together.

And then Daphne repressed his memories of the Cullens, Chelsea strengthened his ties to us, and everyone tried to bond quickly to him to give him roots here. He thinks we rescued him from the Cullens.

And all this scheming and tactical work is leading up to my final plan: destroying the Cullens.

RENESMEE POV

My stomach looks as if two basketballs have been stuffed into it. Everyone knows something about the baby, be it they saw the future or read its mind, but I want to know nothing until I hold that baby in my arms.

I can feel kicking and pushing. It's painful sometimes, but I try not to let on. Dad is so edgy about me going through with the pregnancy. I think he's pretty surprised I've even lasted this long. We all had thoughts that maybe the vampire genes would kill the fetus off.

But the change into a vampire is going slower than predicted. I'm faster and stronger, but not yet at immortal strength. Thankfully, I seem a bit more durable, which helps with the baby. No broken bones yet.

My hair is longer and a bit darker, more of a rusted brown than a golden-red. My eyes are larger and the eyelashes are thicker. My lips are darkening and my teeth whitening. My family watches the familiar features slip away sadly. The only reason I mind is because it reminds me of something Alec once told me. Something like that he loved Alec's Carlie and Renesmee was a stranger. I feel like, even though I am in fact becoming more beautiful, I'm losing the pretty teenage girl that belonged to Alec and turning into some monstrous creature he would cringe away from.

As long as my blood keeps pumping through my veins and my skin doesn't become too hard, I'll be okay though. Those wouldn't be good for the baby. Human food repulses me, partially because of the change and partially because of the baby. I stick to animal blood, but I don't hunt for it. My family retrieves it for me. They wanted me to start on human blood, but I don't want to risk becoming addicted as I change into a vampire. I want to have as clean of a record as I possibly can.

I spend most my time laying in my bed, writing in my journal. I'm writing everything of Alec and my relationship, from day one until now. I want to be able to tell my baby everything about his or her father and what we went through. I want them to know their dad was a wonderful man who would have loved them very much. I want them to see why I had to leave him.