DPOV

When I heard the other line pick up four rings after the number was dialed, I knew I was about to be entertained and I wasn't disappointed. This man had been gone and 'retired' for a very long time. However, once a Volturi, you never really quit. You simply move to the back ground but you are always expected to be there when called upon.

I doubted very much that Eleazar knew exactly who it was calling, but he knew it was one of us. His voice was resigned, flat when he answered the phone. He knew that this was probably going to happen due to 'guilt by association'. He was far too close to Carlisle for us not to assume he also had knowledge of a human within our world. However, that wasn't what I was calling about. There might be a time in the future that changes, but for the moment, he was safe.

From me at least.

I smirked at his greeting. It was as proper as I figured it would be. I just chuckled. "Relax old man. No need to stand on protocol now. You're already fucked."

There was a female's gasp followed by a sigh and the click of a closing door. There was a moment of silence before he returned. "Master Demetri. You are not who I was expecting to hear from."

I snorted. "Come now, Eleazar. You never thought to hear from any of us. That aside, I believe you know why I'm calling." When he sighed again I grinned. I loved mind games.

He cleared his throat. "Yes, I have an idea."

Tisking lightly with a shake of my head, I sighed in mock disappointment. "Really, Eleazar? A human? You of all people should know better. The term disappointed doesn't even come close. Master Aro wants your head for this as well, though I have no doubt you already knew that."

There was yet another sigh, though this one held a little heat in it. Seems the retired guard still had a little life left in him after all. "Gloating does not become a gentleman, Demetri."

I snorted a little harder that time. "Says the vampire stupid enough to willingly step into condemnation for someone else's larger capacity for stupidity. Besides, I'm only a gentleman to females. I take great pleasure in destroying vampires like you. What is more, you know it. However, if you choose to call my upbringing into question, perhaps a gentleman's wager will lull you back into your disillusion of our race and our nonexistent capacity for compassion. You have something I want. I have something you need. A fair exchange and you'll never see me personally darken your door."

I heard him choke on his surprise at that. "What could I possibly have that you need? You don't need confirmation of the human or anything that involves her."

I grunted. "You right, you don't have anything I need. I said you have something I want. It was I that has something YOU need. I have absolutely no desire to hunt your ass down and bring you before the Masters simply because you're an idiot that forgot himself over the years. You need me to not change my mind."

He was silent for a moment before he came back on, curiosity in his voice. "What is it you want, Demetri?"

Before I was able to say anything, my stereo kicked on. It wouldn't have been a big deal had it not been so fucking loud. Through the phone I heard a startled cry from Eleazar, probably as he ripped the phone from his ear, and I jumped an inch off my seat. With a shake of my head, I picked up the remote that was on the table next to me and looked over my shoulder, cocking a brow at my mate that stood there with her ears covered and wide eyes.

After I hit the power button on the remote to turn it off, I gave Isabella a flat look. "Really?"

She bit into her lip again, giving me the same sheepish look that I have seen now more times than I cared to count. "Sorry, but big red button, beckon in the night that begs to be pushed. No one can resist the call of the big red button."

I snorted. "Silly little thing tonight, aren't you?" Then I pointed to the bed. "Sit."

She gave one sharp nod of her head. "Yeah, I'll just go sit. Sorry."

Once she was sitting down, choosing to sit on her hands for whatever reason, I shook my head with a little chuckle. "You really need to stop apologizing, Gatáki. Nothing you have done thus far has warranted such a thing. Massacres, bloody messes, curiosity; it's all normal and to be expected." When she nodded, I returned to my call. "Apologies, Eleazar. Newborns and all that. Now, back to what I was calling about. The nomad you took in a year ago…"

Eleazar cut in at that point. "If you're looking for him, you will not find him here. He was destroyed a few months back."

"I'm aware of that. I am not looking for his whereabouts. I am looking for information on his former coven leader. I want you to tell me anything he told you about the tracker. More specifically, what he told you of his gift."

His voice was now defensive. "What makes you think he told me anything at all?"

Even though he couldn't see it, my brow cocked. "Because I am not a fool. You wouldn't have allowed him to stay with yours had he not divulged anything about what it was you would have been facing had Carlisle and his little band of misfits failed in taking the tracker out. You seem to think that I am calling without prior knowledge of what I am requesting. What you fail to remember, Eleazar, is we know everything. What little we do not, we have way of obtaining. Now, you can either answer me and tell me what I want to know, or you call tell Aro. The choice is yours. However, my patience is a lot thinner than it used to be so were I you, I would make my choice very soon."

Eleazar was quiet for a moment before he started talking again, getting right to the point. "He didn't tell me anything about him that I didn't personally ask about. All I know about the tracker was that his ability was based off of scent. However, he was able to pick up scents that no one else was able too. From the way it was described to me, he would have even been able to find your scent."

I scoffed loud at the insult. No one's nose is that sensitive. I said nothing, however, letting him finish what he knew.

"Other than that, the only thing Laurent said, and said repeatedly, was that James was rather on the sadistic side. However, I doubt that would be anything to be concerned about since he too was destroyed."

My lips pursed a little as I once again glanced back at my mate, her first feeding flashing through my mind. Yeah, that shouldn't be an issue at all. I nodded slowly once, "I see. Anything else?"

I heard a slight hum. "No, that's it. Our bargain?"

I shrugged. "I have far more important things to deal with than you, Eleazar. Nothing you have said confirms or denies knowledge of you being as stupid as Cullen. You took in a nomad and there is no law against that, so I see no reason to hunt your ass down as of now."

His voice was pensive. "And that's what you'll relate to Aro?"

I smirked. "Are you again calling my upbringing into question, Eleazar? I said a fair exchange. You gave me what I asked for so I will see to it that you stay off Aro's radar for the time being. Should I find out, however, you have not told me everything, I will reconsider my decision. Are we clear?"

"Perfectly, Master Demetri. Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

I thought about it for a moment before I cocked my head. "Yes, actually, there is one thing. Do not tell anyone that I called and do not allow your mate to either. You wouldn't want it to get out that I have done you such a favor as I have. If it does, I will be forced to renege on my end of things and I will be less than thrilled. While we know it to be a favor to a former guard, others might see it as favoritism and you know well we do not show such things. You do see where I am going with this, yes?"

There was a slight smirk in his voice. "Of course. Wouldn't want to tarnish the Volturi name, would we?" There was a little pause before his voice came back, colored in amusement. "Now, please satisfy my horrid curiosity and tell me who you keep calling 'Kitten'."

Now I grinned. I suppose I forgot he knew Greek. Sighing slightly, "My mate of course."

I wasn't surprised that he sounded surprised. "Mate? I hadn't heard you even had a perspective one."

I shrugged. "It's a newer development. She woke up about three hours ago or so."

I chuckled when he let out a light gasp. "Does she have anything to do with your curiosity of the dead tracker?"

I snorted. "Why the fuck else would I care? Now, we have come full circle back to my telling you that this call never happened. You're a smart guy, I have no doubt you'll figure out how to keep it to yourself."

When he groaned, I knew he connected the dots. "So that's what Carlisle was going on about the other day."

My brow cocked. "Care to explain that?"

His voice lowered slightly. "He had called me before the altercation with the newborns, asking for help in the endeavor. However, Irina refused because of the death of Laurent so we decided to stay out of it for her sake since she is still grieving his loss. He called again the day before yesterday in the late afternoon talking in circles about 'they took her'. I assumed he was talking about the ones that were after the girl and Edward had once again done something foolish. I had expected you to be Aro and things to end far differently at the end of the call since there were clear links to my family's knowledge after that. I was assured though that it had been dealt with and that you were aware of the young lady's change date."

I hummed. "Well, you are not the only one that was lead to believe such things. Isabella was as well. However, it seems to me that you have plausible deniability as to her mortality, dissolving you of any wrong doing anyways, something that I will have no problems standing by should it become necessary. You and your coven are in the clear. If he contacts you again, or if any of them do, you are to call myself or Felix immediately if you cannot reach me."

There was another groan. "I would prefer to not get in the middle of this, Master Demetri."

I snickered. "But don't you see, Eleazar? You already are. Besides, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out why he would be calling you. I simply want to know the level of idiocy that I am actually dealing with and not simply the assumed level."

He was silent for a moment, his voice level when he spoke again. "You'll see to Aro?"

I nodded once. "I have to see to something involving Isabella first, but as soon as that is done, I will see to this."

Eleazar sighed, his voice now resigned. "Deal, Demetri."

A very dark smirk came to my lips at his response. "Marvelous. How does it feel, Eleazar, to know you haven't changed as much as you thought you did?"

"Haven't I? Just because the life of my mate and daughters are more of a priority to me than lives that were thrown away doesn't mean that I am not different than I was when we served together."

I chuckled. "Oh, but it does. You left because you couldn't deal with what you deemed senseless violence. Yet here you are, aiding the enemy for personal gain. I personally see no difference. However, how you choose to justify your actions is not my concern. You will do as you have always done and see to the safety of your mate, as any vampire would do. I don't hold your decision against you and you shouldn't either."

There was a self-loathing sounding growl. "He is a friend."

I snorted. "He nearly sentenced you and yours to death. What friend does that? Even I, a self-proclaimed monster, would at least try to keep those that carried some sort of meaning to me safe from my own actions. I stand by my mistakes and don't attempt to take others with me when I go down for them. If he is a friend, then you really don't need any enemies, do you?"

This time his growl was for me. However, there was a knock on the door so I cut off what he was about to say. "Were I you, I would think about that. You used to work for the Devil. You should know what it feels like to make deals with him. Now, I must go. Remember to keep this conversation to yourself for the time being. I will pass on Aro's decision once I speak with him."

With that, I simply closed my phone, leaving him to consider my words as I got up from my seat to answer the door. Not sure if it was Caius or Felix, I took a sniff by the seal of the door before looking over at my mate, who was looking back at me with curiosity.

Smiling at her, I pointed to the chair I just vacated. "I do not know if you caught his scent before or not. To avoid any mishaps, hold your breath. It will be slightly uncomfortable, but it will keep your head from hurting of you didn't smell Felix in the hall."

Isabella lightly bit the corner of her lip, her eyes moving back and forth between me and the door a few times before she nodded and moved to the chair I was pointing to. Once she was sitting down, she curled her legs under her, folded her arms on the arm of the chair and put her nose into the crease of her arms.

Once her red eyes were looking at me again and she nodded that she was ready, I opened the door and stepped to the side to allow Felix to enter, closing the door once he did. It was a little awkward for a moment or two before Isabella cocked a brow at Felix in question as to why he was just staring at her. When she growled at him because he was making her uncomfortable, I smacked him in the back of the head. "Knock it off, Felix."

He cleared his throat and gave his head a little shake. "Sorry. I didn't realize just how much different she looked the last time I saw her."

My lip curled. "You can only see half of her face. How the hell can you tell?" When he shrugged I rolled my eyes before walking over to stand behind the back of the chair Isabella was in. Folding my arms over the back, I cocked my head. "Did you and Alec figure something out for the time being?"

He grunted and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, we came up with an idea, but I don't think she is going to like it much."

She spoke up then, her voice muffled by her arms. "Will it stop what happened before from happening again?"

He nodded and his face pinched up a little. "Yeah, I can promise you that, Stella."

Isabella looked up at me and shrugged. Looking back at her a moment, I turned to Felix. "Well, what's your idea?"

He clicked his tongue once and nodded to my mate. "May I?" When I nodded, he looked at her, moving slowly until he was crouched in front of her. He looked her dead in the eyes and clicked his tongue. "It isn't the most stylish thing for the moment and Alec is still working on a more permanent solution for your nose. This is just something temporary so that you're not confined to Demetri's rooms until your sense of smell levels out some, alright?"

When she nodded once, he reached into his cloak and pulled out a modified version of what looked like a gas mask. When I saw it, the first thing that came to mind was Mortal Kombat and the masks that some of the characters wore.

Isabella grunted at the sight but didn't say anything, so Felix continued. Holding the mask up so she could see it, "What this is going to do is completely neutralize scents in the air, effectively cutting off your sense of smell."

Isabella jolted and I held up a hand. "Okay, you and Alec's idea is to completely cut off a newborn's sense of smell?"

Felix looked up at me and nodded. "For now, yeah. It's the only thing that we could think of on short notice that would allow her to leave this room for any length of time and not end up on the ground because of it. There is literally no place she can go within the palace besides the sublevels and not be bombarded with multiple scents. This is just temporary until we figure out exactly how her gift works and can work with it instead of against it. Besides, I said she wasn't going to like it."

Truth be told, I really wasn't a fan of this either. However, with it being the only option currently on the table to assist her in not having a migraine that ripped her skull apart for now, it was just going to have to be dealt with.

When neither I nor Isabella said anything to him, he rolled his head on his shoulders and looked back at her. "Alright, Stella, don't breathe until I say so."

When she nodded, Felix stretched the wide elastic band and pulled it down over the top of her head, Isabella pulling her ponytail out from under it. Once it was on, he set to work setting it in place over her nose and mouth, tilting her head back to set the fabric in place under her chin and then around the sides of her head.

She was tense, but she didn't put up a fight against him, just sitting there and allowing him to do pretty much whatever he wanted.

After a couple of minutes, Felix turned her head from side to side, making a couple of adjustments before he leaned back and draped his arms over his thighs. He let out a little sigh before looking her in the eyes again. "Okay, couple things. You're not going to like this and it is probably going to freak you the fuck out. However, you need to keep two things in mind. The first is," he pointed to me, "Demetri is right there so nothing is going to happen to you. The other is I'm not going to hurt you. Are you ready?"

I heard Isabella gulp, but she nodded just the same. So, he told her to go ahead and take a breath through her nose. Her reaction was instant and completely expected. She freaked. However, it proved the mask did what it was designed to do.

It was a lot like watching a caged and cornered animal as Isabella scrambled to put distance between herself and the big mother fucker she could see but not smell. When she fell over the arm of the chair, I told Felix not to move and got between them as she pushed herself into the corner made by the wall and the fireplace. Since she was crouched in the corner and Felix was still in his previous position in front of the chair, from her current perspective, I was bigger than he was.

Holding my hands out to the side, standing in a way that she could still see Felix but also knew that he wasn't going to get through me, I looked over at Felix. "Eyes on me, don't stand up, keep your hands visible and back away slowly. You'll scare her even more if she sees how much bigger you are than I am. When you get to the wall, get into the least threatening position you possibly can." Once he started to move back, I refocused on my terrified mate, lowering my voice to a softer tenor than I used with Felix. "Calm down, Gatáki. See, he isn't going to do anything. You're alright, just calm down."

When working with newborns, you can nearly always predict how they will react, respond and behave in nearly every situation. The key is to show them who is in charge at any given moment as soon as you possibly can. In this instance, since I wasn't focused on Felix that showed her I didn't see him as a threat, but since he was backing away from me, he saw me as one. Newborns associate new people through scent and it looks like I was right when I assumed she hadn't caught his before. This is the first time she saw him as a vampire so there was no connection, in her mind, that she had met him before.

I can work with fact that she has always been afraid of him since she didn't know that.

What currently scared her more than anything else was that she was trying to scent the air and getting nowhere with that endeavor. She could clearly see there were two males in the room with her and she couldn't smell either of us. However, if I was right about her gaining my ability to retain and recall, she should be able to pull my scent that she caught when she first woke up and make a connection as to who I was that way since she was far too focused on Felix right now to actually listen to me if I were to just tell her.

Glancing over at Felix and seeing him sitting cross legged on the floor with his hands on his knees, I kicked up the scene of protection and growled at him, warning him to stay put. When he lowered his eyes to the floor in response, I turned my back completely on him and crouched down to Isabella's eyes level, this time cutting Felix out of her line of view. With newborns, it really is out of sight, out of mind.

Locking my eyes on hers when she looked at me, I purred in my chest to try and settle her a little more before I spoke, lowering my voice even more. "Relax, Gatáki. Don't worry about Felix. He isn't going to move an inch until I say he can. Now, you know who I am. Think back to when you first opened your eyes, your very first intake of breath. Think about the different things that made up the first scent you caught."

She was nearly trembling in her terror at the moment, but since I was calm, she settled a little. It was a little odd, but I was able to tell the moment she started to do as I said because her eyes started to glow that really weird pink color again. Her eyes weren't in focus either, the pupils dilating a bit as they shifted around the room. However, when they landed on me again, even though they stayed pink, there was undiluted relief shining in the depths.

She went from being pressed to the wall to curled against my chest in no time flat, my name coming from her in a quiet whimper. I set a hand on the back of her head and the other on the small of her back and nuzzled my nose in her hair a little. "There now, you see? You're alright." Standing and pulling her with me, I continued to hold her tight against my chest and turned to Felix. "You can get up now. Just keep your distance for a few minutes until she gets used to this."

He stood slowly and didn't move off the wall when Isabella whimpered again. I just tightened my hold and looked down at her. "He's not going to do anything, Gatáki. He's big, but that's about it. Besides, you've seen him before. He's been there almost every time I have."

She looked up at me, her eyes confused, before she looked back over to Felix. You could see her limited memories flash before her eyes. Her brow drew down a little and I would bet anything she was biting her lip as she tried to place him in her past. She was quiet when she spoke again, her uncertainty showing in her slow recount of what she thought had happened. "You beat the absolute shit out of that guy that took me away. You helped rescue me."

Felix's confusion was nearly a separate entity in the room. His eyes snapped to me and I flashed him a sinister smirk in response. After a moment, he nodded once while he was still looking at me. "Yeah," moving his eyes to her, "that's right. That was me."

There was a very quiet 'thank you' on the air before Isabella turned her face back into my chest. Felix leaned a little to the side to see if she could see him before he looked back at me, his nose wrinkled and lip curled. There was no sound when his lips moved. "What the fuck?"

I just grinned at him, a small chuckle making my shoulders shake a bit before I shrugged. It wasn't important. What was, was that there was zero doubt left that the manipulation of her memories was successful.