Dearest cousin

Oh, but Bella, you should know that I have far more freedom then you'll ever have. That was all due to a little disagreement me and Caius had centuries ago now. He locked me in a tower for a decade, and I paid him back by ripping his head off once I got out. Corin nearly lost her life that day, she's lucky I like her.

It was only temporary.

Maybe you should be more worried about the fact that your real mate is still after you. I think you might have pissed him off a bit too much this time. Oops. Maybe showing off your family to him as a threat to stay away wasn't the best decision you've ever made.

He is a very powerful vampire after all. And you know he'll stop at nothing to get you

Lucian

" I have decided to remain loyal to your coven, but only until after this year, when I will then become a member of my mates' coven. That means that you have until then to turn Bella while under my protection, so I hope you plan to do it soon. I can only hold her turning back until then." Of course, Lucian knew when they would turn Bella, but he of this world wasn't privy to that information, so he asked for appearance purposes.

" We've decided to turn Bella after her graduation so that her father can see her graduate. Do you also plan to finish this year of school before you head off to Volterra?" Carlisle questioned him, genuinely curious about what he would do. And, he also wanted to keep a tab on his whereabouts. The revelation that he was going to be the vampire world's newest leader was a fact that he was still trying to wrap his head around.

The Volturi was going to get a majorly powerful addition to their coven, in the form of this male witch, and that was a worrying thought. They already instilled fear in their kind with only a mere mention, imagine how much worse it would be once Lucian had joined.

The Volturi would be unstoppable. And this teenager was going to be the cause of their power surge, the kings' mate.

He just hoped that Bella being a future member to their coven would save them from their wrath. Lucian seemed to care for his cousin, after all.

" Yes, I wanted to stay until at least Bella's graduation, but if anything comes up that's important after then, I'm not sure if I'd be able to linger for it. Could I go back to Volterra for a while and then come back to Forks?" Lucian asked his guards, who nodded in confirmation.

" The masters would be delighted if you did that," Mykola answered honestly, staring at him new master with reverence.

So young and not yet even a vampire, but he was already possibly the most valuable person in the vampire world. He was going to make their coven flourish. It had been so long since they'd gotten a powerful new member.

" Yes, then I'll stay until she is turned, which should be around June time? Three months seems acceptable. After that, I'll head back to Volterra, unless, of course, you have any plans that'll end with Bella in danger after that time? It wouldn't do to leave my cousin in your care if she'll only get injured, after all." He questioned sarcastically, knowing that the newborn army attack would be happening around then, so he'd be forced to stay.#

It seemed that he wouldn't be seeing his mates anytime soon. This information wouldn't go down well with any of them, so he would have to try his hardest to delay their imminent arrival in Forks until this was all over, at least.

Which was not going to be an easy task whatsoever. Especially with Caius and his overprotective tendencies.

" Don't you dare touch him!" Caius snarled, taking a threatening step forward at a trembling vampire, who was wearing a lower-ranked guards robe. The unfamiliar vampire had been walking down the corridor when Caius had suddenly cornered him, accusing him of being too close to his mate.

" I-I di-didn't! I-I s-swear!" The vampire cried out, shuddering in immense fear as he was threatened by the multi-millennia old vampire.

Caius really was a sight to see, like a vengeful Greek god setting his rage upon his enemies, silver hair shining like a heavenly halo and his red eyes gleaming with burning fury.

Lucian cleared that thought from his mind straight away, not wanting to be distracted in this moment of time. Fantasies about his hot mate could wait for a more appropriate time, not for when an innocent vampire was seconds away from being ripped to shreds.

" Liar!" Caius retorted, ready to lunge. He stopped as a hand grabbed the back of his neck, a familiar and comforting one, so he allowed it to pull him down and place his head in the crook of their neck. " My darling, let me put this impudent wretch in their place. He touched you!"

" Hush, Caius. He really didn't touch me. Calm down, there is no reason to get so worked up about such an insignificant thing." Lucian soothed, allowing the vampire to rest his head where he had placed it. He let out a slight chuckle as the vampire began to purr contently, eyeing the other vampire who was sat on the floor with a serious expression. " Leave us." He ordered and was obeyed instantly, the younger vampire disappearing into another room with a grateful nod. " Are you alright now?" Lucian questioned, hesitant to lift the other's head. He received a hum, but Caius made no move to leave anytime soon.

His grandmother had never mentioned that having a mate was so exhausting. Obviously, she'd glossed over the part where mates wanted nothing more than to decapitate everyone who so much as looked at their mate wrong.

Although, that could have just been Caius.

Lucian sighed, resigning himself to the fate of standing in the corridor until his vampire had finished soothing.

" No, you don't need to worry. I believe that the danger is now over for Bella." He smiled optimistically, wary at Lucian's mocking expression that he failed to hide. " Unless you know of something that will happen?"

" Oh, a lot of things will happen, but they are inevitable. I don't want to interfere, otherwise, things may not turn out how they are set to. The outcome of the trouble will be a bright one." That meant they were important to the storyline. Carlisle looked inquiring but quickly changed the subject, realising that Lucian wasn't going to reveal anything else on the matter.

" So, did you enjoy your time in Volterra?"

" Yes, It was pleasant. I especially enjoyed the library Marcus has, it's stocked with all kinds of books. Speaking of my wholly unexpected stay in Volterra, I'd like to have a little chat with Edward later, you know, for abandoning me there without a glance backwards after I saved his useless arse from being ripped to shreds." Lucian spat out the last bit of the sentence, relishing in the way Carlisle winced slightly, obviously having assumed that he'd let that go. The other coven members looked ready to voice their own opinions, but with a look from Carlisle, they calmed down.

" I will tell him that, but please, try not to be too harsh on him, he was just worried about Bella being near the kings-"

" I do not care for his or your excuses. If I was not their mate, I would have surely died that day, Carlisle! I may admire you and the rest of your family, reciprocated it may not be, but Edward disregarded my safety after I cared for his. So, I will exact my revenge however I see fit. Don't worry, your precious little boy will be returned unharmed, seeing as It ended happily for myself. Have a nice day."

With that, he stood to signal the end of the conversation, walking confidently towards the door, looking undisturbed by the glares being sent his way. In reality, his threat sense was going haywire, telling him that he was in dire danger, but that was mostly because they were vampires.

Exiting the tension-filled house, he waited until he was whisked away to breathe out a sigh of relief, not wanting to give the Cullen's any pleasure at his sign of weakness. His guard was looking worriedly at him, but he flashed them a grin to ease their worries.

He was fine, a coven of vampires like them would never worry him.

What he did worry about, however, was the fact that due to their close relationship with the main character of the book, they got an immense boost in stats.

That's what scared him.

They almost always sided with the main character against anyone they didn't like, such as his mates. Which also meant him.

Lucian stared into the forest with clear eyes, slightly bowing his head in greeting. As he walked away, he smiled serenely as the wind ruffled his hair in response.

"-He's one of them now, we can't trust him! Not even when he's Bella's cousin." He heard shouted from the sitting area, taking a sip of his tea.

" What if he's only here to spy on us for the Volturi? You know that they're looking for a reason to annihilate our coven!" Another voice joined in, noticeably feminine in tone. Rosalie, he deduced.

" Master, are you really going to allow them to talk about you like that? They know that you can hear them, they are shouting like that on purpose. Should I dispose of them?" Micah snarled, looking furiously at the door that separated the two rooms. How dare they talk about one of their king's like that, and within hearing distance of the mentioned as well! It was as if they were asking to be executed. Caius would have surely ordered them to do so by now, but their newest leader seemed to have more control in that aspect.

" No, It doesn't matter what they think or say. They need me, without me- my precious older cousin would be in even more constant danger. Honestly, before she met them, nothing strange had ever happened around her." He sighed, smirking slightly at the deafening silence in the next room. They had obviously stopped their argument to listen in on their conversation. " But, that does not mean I need to be all that nice to them, after all, they owe me now. Wasn't it me who stopped Edward from death? Honestly, you'd think the bastard would be a little more grateful, Caius still wants him dead and Marcus honestly doesn't care all that much. It is only me and Aro who are stopping him from being eradicated, with Aro's ties to Carlisle. Although, he has been growing less inclined to let go of all their misdeeds by the day." Lucian could almost taste the fear of those in the room over, finally realising their precarious position with the Volturi at the moment. His message was clear, ' I'm keeping you from death, watch what you say.'

His loyal guards watched on smugly, collectively agreeing that they would allow no harm to come to their master. Not that they would have before, of course. But now, they were doing it for their own reasons, not just acting on an order from their kings.

Speaking of the Kings...

" Caius, my dear brother, I've never wanted to rip your head off so much before. Stop hovering by the phone, he isn't going to call just yet." Marcus eyes his fellow king with unamused eyes over his book, watching as he paced in front of the desk.

He wanted to hover by the phone to wait for his mate to call too but was too occupied absorbing the information in the book Lucian had gifted to him. It was fascinating, filled with stories of Lucian's childhood. Lucian himself hadn't thought so, but he'd given in to his demands and written some of them down so that he could read them continuously.

" I don't want to be a second late to the call. What if he calls us because he's in trouble? Every second counts." Caius retorted seriously, earning an entertained snort from Aro, who was also reading.

" We are extremely old vampires, Caius, you so more than us. It wouldn't even take us more than a fraction of a second to reach it even if we were on the other side of the castle."

" Still, I would like to be the first to answer." They nodded in acceptance at that, knowing that it would appease him. He had quite the temper when he didn't receive what he wanted.

The phone didn't have a chance to even fully chime once before Caius had picked it up and answered it, the other two hovering impatiently over his shoulders.

" My darling, how are you? I hope the Cullens are treating you well, if they are not, I will gladly come and set them straight for you. Tell me, it's that Edward fellow, isn't it?"

"...Hello to you too, Caius." Came their mate's amused reply, his smile tangible in his voice. " I am fine, the Cullens have been as cordial as could be expected. I talked to Edward earlier, he was rather put out but didn't retaliate, so all is well. How are you?" And with that, the king's relaxed their tense postures for the first time in what felt like centuries.

" I am well, Lucian." Caius let a soft smile slip on to his features, uncaring that the others were seeing it too. There was no doubt they had matching grins though.

" That's good. May I speak to Aro and Marcus too? They must be wanting to say hello as well." Reluctantly, Caius let go of the phone and handed it to Aro, who eagerly held it up to his ear.

" My dear, hello!"

" Hi, Aro."

" It has been so bleak here without you. Only a day has passed and yet I miss you with my whole being."

There was an awkward pause on the other end before they heard a snort. " Aro, tone down the romance a little. That was almost too much." He laughed, gaining smiles from the vampires.

" I apologise, I got carried away."

" It's fine, no harm done. I'll need to sleep soon, so can you pass me on to Marcus now?"

Marcus finally received the phone, eagerly beginning to speak with more emotion than the other two had seen from him in millennia. " Lucian, it is good to speak to you. I won't hold you up from your sleep, so I just wish to tell you that I miss you."

" I miss you too, Marcus. All of you. But, I'll be back soon. I just hope that the Cullen's don't cause another mess before that time." He sighed in resignation, clearing his throat. " Anyway, it was nice to speak to you, even if it was only a short amount of time. I'll keep you updated, yeah? Goodnight." They wished him well as he clicked end, and then the office descended into silence.

Caius was the first to break it.

" I'm going to go crazy before he comes back, a five-minute call isn't enough!" And the other two agreed.

" Masters?" Came a timid call from the door. They looked to it, spotting one of their human employee's standing at the entrance.

" What is it?" Caius growled impatiently, revelling in the squeak she let out.

" Um, you're needed in court. Demetri and Felix have caught the lawbreakers you sent them after." She shivered as their annoyed expressions became bloodthirsty, stumbling back as their briskly walked through the door.

" Finally, after all these years, Meliboa and Tiberius have been caught. Isn't this a sign of new tidings, my brothers?" Aro simpered, a devilish grin stretching his mouth.

" Quite." Came Marcus' clipped response, his usual bored expression no more.

They were doubling down on catching lawbreakers, all for the safety of their future king.

And the vampire world was in for a rude awakening. No more would they allow their laws to be trampled on.

It was time for a reformation.

Do you want to see more flashback scenes of Lucian in Volterra? If so, please comment some ideas.- Berry