A/N: The long awaited chapter 18! Everyone has been waiting for this chapter! I must have done a great job with the last one, becasue the whole day every few minutes I would get a new email saying somone favorited or reveiwed! I got 32 emails today from fanfiction! I absolutely loved it! I really appreciate all of the comments and everything! You guys are the best! For the next chapter we are going to jump ahead 2 years and Casey will be 11. I probobly can't have that up until after easter, but I don't have school Monday so I'm gonig to spend some tlc with It's War and Loving an Angel! If any one has any Prank suggestions for it's war message me!

Loving an Angel

Chapter 18: Unwelcome Visitors

Esme POV

We were all pacing quietly in the front room of our house waiting for Casey and Jasper. Alice had seen the Volturi coming and everyone that was hunting drove home as quickly as possible. But why were the Volturi coming? Well, we knew why they were coming. We had broken the rules in telling Casey about vampires and welcoming her into our family. The real question was how did they find out about her? Nobody knew, but we were hoping Jasper knew more.

We all ran to the door when we heard their approach. They walked in and Casey ran to my side and hugged me tears forming in her eyes. She understood everything that was going on. She might not know to the full extent what we were talking about, but she knew we were in serious trouble.

"Jasper what happened?" Carlisle asked him.

"We were in the treetops when out of no where this wild female was there and she was threatening us. She saw the relationship between the two of us and decided to try to get me to kill her. I defended her and she said she was going to run off to Italy." He explained. I looked down at Casey. She was so brave. She had been through so much in the past couple of years and only after a wild vampire threatened to kill her did she let her guard down.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"We can run," Edward suggested.

"That won't work. Demetri can track me, they'll just follow us." Carlisle responded glumly. Even if we ran we would be running forever and that would do us no good.

"We can fight!" Emmett said punching the air. Emmett was always ready for a war.

"That won't work we already are outnumbered, and they have Alec and Jane it's no use." Rosalie said.

"I think the only thing we can do is to stay and explain to them what happened and have Casey swear she will never tell anyone. It's a long shot, but it's the only way," Alice said sighing gently and taking Casey in her thin arms.

"That's it then." Carlisle responded.

It wasn't a long wait for the Volturi to get here. They had been waiting for years to invade our family. We were the largest coven in the world compared to the Volturi, a fact that made them uneasy. We were large and powerful, but no match for the Volturi in any way.

We led them into the baseball clearing. Everyone fanned out in a shield as I stood with Casey in the back behind everyone. Carlisle was at the head Jasper and Emmett the strongest fighters at his side. Edward stood next to Emmett and Alice and Rosalie made up the two ends ready to run to me and Casey in the event of a fight to run us out if here as fast as possible. I prayed silently that it wouldn't go that far.

"Aro, Caius, Marcus nice to see you again." Carlisle greeted the three ancient vampires. I had never met the Volturi in person, but I had seen the picture in Carlisle's study. As I looked at them a snarl was building in my chest. But I refused to scare Casey and let it out.

"Yes Carlisle, it's been so many years!" Aro cried out to him. "I see you are just as strong as ever and have found a lovely coven to call your own!"

"We prefer to not specify a leader here; we survive by working everything out. It's not as much a coven as it is a family." He replied and I smiled I had always called us a family, we were so much more than a coven; there was real love and understanding, you would never find that in a coven of vampires.

"My apologies. I see you have a new member here with you today," he said his eyes zooming onto Casey who clutched my hand. "What is your name child?"

"My name is Casey Elizabeth Cullen," she said with pride standing up straighter and smiling at him with that smile that made everyone around her melt.

"Well miss Casey; I hear you are in on our little secret."

"Yes I am."

"Are you aware that you knowing about vampires is against the rules that all vampires have to follow?"

"Actually, no I didn't. I was not even aware that there were any rules." She said looking up at me in support.

"When it became impossible to hide the secret any longer we explained the rules she must follow, not the ones we had already broken." Carlisle explained."

"Casey what rules did the Cullens tell you about?"

"They told me that I could not tell anyone about vampires, never ever ever. They also told me about their hunting and that's why they were always leaving me. They told me everything, but the most important part was that I always had to keep the secret." She responded cooking her head to the side as she spoke. That's when it hit me. She was trying to be cute. Trying to win them over. I couldn't tell if it was working or not, but I hoped.

"That's very good, but your family here has failed to keep the secret and will be punished severely including you." Caius said looking her straight in the eye. He walked over to Aro extending his hand out to the other ancient vampire, who read his thoughts.

"I am not sure if that level of chastisement is needed here, brother," Aro said.

"This is standard punishment; we can not simply over look this transgression, just because she is a little girl. She needs to be destroyed!" Caius yelled causing Rosalie to growl fiercely and Casey to cling to me even tighter.

"I think before we make any decisions you will allow me to read the girl and then if she has ever showed any hint of falling to keep the secret if she has she will be destroyed right here right now, but if not we counsel and find middle ground on the situation. Casey will you come here please?" Aro called to her and she looked at me worried and scared.

"Come here Casey I'll go with you," Alice called walking over to where we stood and extending her hand. Casey hesitantly took it and they walked forward toward the ancient vampire.

"It's all right I promise not to hurt you," Aro said in encouragement. Casey extended her hand like Caius and Aro bent down and touched it closing his eyes. The whole minute of silence might as well have been an hour. As Aro opened his eyes Alice and Edward sighed and my spirits began to brighten. She must have been innocent.

"You are a very good girl and I know you love your family here very much. I see no reason for you to be destroyed. But I as a keeper of our rules I must give you some form of punishment. You will have the choice here okay. As you know our secret your heart will have to stop beating one of two possible ways. One is death and the other is that you in the future join your family here as a vampire when you are much older."

"I want to be a vampire; actually I have for quite some time. I am willing to cope with the pain that the transformation involves." She replied as if she was a much older and mature adult. As I heard her speak I knew that the childishness we heard from her not minutes ago was only a game. She was an adorable smart little girl.

"Very well, when you reach maturity we will return and if you are not changed by then you will not get a second chance." Caius confirmed.

"I would also like to add that just by hearing her thoughts, I can tell you do not underestimate her power. Her gifts will be strong. It is still undiscovered to her, but not to your family as a whole. Good bye friends!" Aro said upon departure as the ancients followed by the guard left the clearing.

We all celebrated leaving the fact that Casey now would have to face a sleepless and endless vampire life in her future. That was not a problem now and we were safe for many years to come. We all had hoped that Casey would grow up as normal as possible and go ff to college and lead a normal life, but I could tell that everyone was secretly happy we would get to keep her for an eternity.

Later after Casey had gone to sleep resting after her hard long day, we all sat in the living and discussed the one thing that had been driving us insane since Aro had spoke his departing works. What was Casey's power? Alice and Edward both admitted that they had known right from the beginning, but also refused to tell anyone. We would just have to be patient and wait.

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