According the the leech with the long hair, it's been eighteen months since they took me from my apartment. Eighteen months since Bella ran away, creating the perfect diversion for them as they snagged me. Aro. That's his name.

He takes immense pleasure in seeing a werewolf at the mercy of a vampire. He's been proving that for a year and a half.

Today's though he's setting me free. Or, so he says. I think his exact words were that my freedom would find me. Part of me prayed that death was my freedom and that I was going to finally be granted it/

This morning, two humans came into my cell and unlocked the padlocks that held my chains together. Silver chains. I slumped to the floor with a pained whimper. I wasn't allowed to speak. Words were what angered Aro and Caius. That's what made them get the extra silver out.

For a year and a half I've been put through utter agony, but I have vowed to not speak a word of it to anyone until everyone that hurt me is dead. If I get my wish then I'll die a silent wolf. If I'm set free and not freed as I had otherwise hoped then I'll remain a silent wolf, hunting down those who wronged me until my journey comes to close.

Everyday I feel the effects of my bond to Jacob. I feel his pain, his sorry, his grief. But worst of all is when I'm forced to feel his joy. I feel it every night when he sleeps, but then it's crushed in the morning. I pray that he doesn't dream of me, that I'm not the one inadvertently causing his pain, but I know I am because it's exactly the same for me.

The human workers slowly pulled the chains roughly away from my body, unaffected by my muted sobs. The last chain to go was the one that hung, coiled around my throat. My tormentors liked to pull that one while they defiled me. And they had the audacity to claim that I was the animal.

My scorched flesh stung, but as my wolf's senses slowly flooded me it was the smell that had me sobbing, a crying wreck. Naked. Alone. I cried in the middle of the floor, hardly noticing the chill of the harsh, stone floor against my marred, marked skin. There was a simple balance between marks that I'd inflicted myself with the help of others prisoners, a needle and ink and the ones that had been set into my skin with blades and other objects of Aro's choosing.

Two hours later I stand on shaky legs beside Aro and his two hundred witnesses as they all finally stop running. "We're here." Aro announces, grinning like a cat. I open my senses as fully as my exhausted body allows, allowing the scents from the woods embrace me until his scent is just too much. Jacob. My Jacob.

We're in Forks.

I'm tugged away from the particularly heavily scented area before my mind can fully comprehend what we're all doing here.

I vomit when my nose finds the next scent though. Aro holds my hair gently and rubs my back in a soothing motion. I vomit more. I've long since learned not to flinch when a vampire touches me, but that doesn't mean that I don't still feel the initial repulsion. "Come, my child." He whispers, his voice thick and warm like fresh honey. I hate him. I know the only reason he touches me is so that he can read me, so he knows I'm not plotting anything.

Obediently, I walk the last few steps away from the cover of the trees, my gut clenching at the sight before me. My Jacob.

He's stood as clear as day beside Bella, surrounded by other wolves and many other vampires.

I almost sob as I take him in, but there's no time for that.

His eyes widen from the other end of the clearing as he sees me, and I beg him not to think that I'm helping them. The more I think about it, the more I realise that I look like one of them now. I'm wearing black skinny jeans and a long-sleeved black t-shirt, both of which are to cover my cuts and bruises, and a Volturi's very own cape to keep the bite of the chill out. My eyes are black, and I realise that the best thing I can do for Jacob is to just end what I can.

Stone-faced, I stand silently as Aro and a bleach blonde vamp speak calmly across the clearing. Something flashes over the faces of everyone on the other side of the field as tiny little Jane gives her death glare to a blond leech, and I find myself closing my eyes and breathing deeply as she screams. Aro's firm hand on my shoulder squeezes and I find myself opening my eyes to his silent command, watching as the vampire in question falls to the floor, gasping despite not needing the oxygen. "Take care of her, my child." Aro says, his voice carrying majestically for all to hear as he gives me a small push in the direction of the vampire that I know to be named Irana.

While a prisoner of the Volturi, Aro and Caius wanted to know every detail of my life. They found my work with Tori rather interesting and even went as far as to explain to me how she'd died. Bella had known all along about the vampires and had even knowingly chosen one. The one who killed Tori's mate. Apparently Tori's name was really Victoria. I hadn't cared. I wanted to go home. I wanted Jacob.

All eyes fall to me as Jane keeps her glare set upon the pathetic excuse for the undead. Aro wants me to kill her. I have to kill her. I've never killed a vampire. Not knowingly. "Werewolves are remarkable creatures." He states as I step out of his grasp. From across the field, I manage to catch Bella's eyes. Blood red. Only, they're not the eyes of a murderer, they're still the eyes of my cousin. She doesn't want this, and I can tell that she doesn't want me to kill Irana. I don't have the freedom right now to do as she pleases. "Such complex creatures. So impulsive. Instinct is a thing of beauty when shaped." Aro adds as I fix my gaze on Irana before taking the first of twenty three steps towards her. We lock eyes and hers plead with me. I shoot her down with a malicious smirk.

"Now," He says as I reach step seven. "A werewolf's venom is so much more agonising that our own when it enters a blood stream. So, now I ask you to imagine what it would feel like for someone with nothing pumping through their veins. A stationary bane." Step twelve.

Step thirteen meets screetches of "NO!" from someone at the other end of the clearing. I don't recognise the voice.

Steps fourteen and fifteen are chased up by a distant scuffle, but the rest are awaited with bated breath.

When I reach the writhing, blonde mess, she looks up at me and mouths a single word. "Please." Who am I to deny her the final freedom in her life? After all, I too wished for the same mercy. I can't deny her what I too have been denied.

I clamp my hand roughly over her shoulder before forcing her to her feet and nodding to Jane. The glare of doom stops and the vampire slumps against my chest, dry sobs ripping through her.

Unforgiving, I thrust my hand into her hair and twist it around my first, tilting her neck. I don't have time to be gentle, nor do I have the will power to kill her if I give myself time to think about it. The neck will make her fate quicker. "I'm sorry." I mutter through barely parted lips as I place my head beside her own. She has her forearms running up my chest so that her hands fall limp either side of my head. She's lost all the fight that was in her. "It'll only last a minute." I say, trying to reassure her before I finally close the gap, barely holding in a groan as my fangs push through. I haven't had the freedom of phasing for eighteen months. I feel genuine pleasure at the old pain of the half-phase, and then I bite.

Her marble skin crunches like ice under my powerful jaw and I can't find it in me to feel sorrow as Irana screams bloody murder, using the last of her strength to force me away from her and ten feet in the air. My back smacks the ground with a thud and I use my second of momental paralysis to think through what's about to happen. Am I really ready to let them tear someone apart? I mean, yes I hate her for what she's done, but do I hate her that much? No, I decide. No, I don't hate her enough to watch as this happens. I have to though. For Nate.

I solidify my decision by getting straight back to my feet and watching with a relentless eye as she crumples and writhes in pain.

"Now," Aro booms, his voice carrying over Irana's screams. "Irana has been punished for her insolence, so, we must resolve a new issue. May I ask to meet with the young child?"

There are murmurs and grumbles of protest from the other side, but soon enough Bella and a tall male with red hair are walking towards us with a child, followed closely by two wolves and another two vampires. "Come, my child." Aro orders as I recognise one of the wolves as Jacob. My Jacob.

No.

He's not my Jacob anymore. I'm not the same River.

I follow him obediently, refusing to meet the eyes of my cousin. The song, Monster, by Imagine Dragons springs to mind. A monster. A monster. I've turned into a monster. Oh yes I have.

Brief words are exchanged, but I don't take any of them in, feeling my wolf slowly beginning to rowse from deep within me. She stirs and roars to life, telling me that Jacob must be protected. I remind her that we have someone else to protect, but she doesn't care for anyone but him. "Remarkable." Aro breathers, dragging me from my thoughts. And suddenly I find myself glancing up, my eyes meeting those of the enormous russet wolf in front of me. Something in his eyes softens, his posture loosening for just a second before he regains himself.

My muscles tense impossibly uncomfortably as Aro shakes Bella's hand before repeating the motion with the male and the child. He proceeds to mutter that he thought he'd taught me manners, a look of anger being thrown my way. I rectify my mistake, extending my hand and stepping forwards into their range.

"Edward Cullen." The male states, pride ringing from his tone. Edward. The same Edward that left Bella a couple of years ago. "This is my wife and daughter. Bella and Renesmee."

I nod, letting him know I heard before offering my hand to Bella. She doesn't shake it so I offer it to the child. Bella steps forwards, blocking my access to her as I crouch.

Sighing, I look up with a raised brow. "I'm not comfortable with you touching my daughter." She states, her eyes unforgiving and stony.

"Oh, I assure you that she'll behave." Aro states proudly as I rise to stand tall again.

Edward flinches, obviously seeing something within Aro's head. How he ensures that I behave, perhaps. "Your methods are somewhat-"

"Efficient." Caius finishes, suddenly beside me.

"Cruel." Edward counters, watching me intently. "I would not wish what you've been through on my worst enemy." He tells me, our eyes meeting. Gold.

I say nothing. Aro's told me about his family. He's a mind reader, so he'll know what I'm thinking as I mentally thank him. He nods in confirmation. "So, I assume that now that we have proven that there is no threat-"

"We have in no way proven that there is no threat." Aro states, his false smile slipping. "The young one is in control now, but what shall happen if she has a moment of anger? A child cannot be expected to control-"

"What do you propose?" Edward asks, his posture still somehow relaxed.

I all but feel Aro smirk. "To ensure that she grows to control her gift and nature fully, I think that it would be wise for her to stay in Volterra. She would be raised as one of us, and naturally you would also be welcome to stay there. Your family doesn't need to be broken, Edward."

Bella stands a little taller. Everyone understands Aro's tone just perfectly. "And if we decline?" She all but snarls. "She's only-"

"We would be forced to terminate the threat to our species." Caius' tone is steely.

The wolf that isn't Jacob snarls, deep and rough in his chest. Aro tutts. "Now, now. Edward, Bella, dears, I'm sure that we can come to some kind of arrangement in which no one else must die. Irana has paid for her sins, no more pain needs to be endured."

Everyone's silent for a long second. "Your werewolf," Edward says, his eyes briefly meeting my own. "She's the mate of Jacob here, and honestly, I don't think that he'll survive losing her again-"

"River is perfectly happy with us. He is not our concern. Tell him, my child."

All eyes fall on me. My wolf wants to scream. I want to scream. "Never better." I choke out, hating the bitter lie.

Just as Bella open her mouth in protest, Aro speaks again, this time using a tone that I've become far too accustomed to. "I'm not sure that you understand. Your child is a threat. If you decline my most generous offer, River here shall tear her limb from limb in front of your very eyes."

I want to vomit.

"I will kill anyone who threatens my daughter. Family or not." Bella snarls, forcing her child behind her. Her eyes snap onto mine, burning. Edward shuffles the child towards the silver wolf until she hides behind one of his front legs, clearly scared.

Aro turns to me, just enough that I can see the evil smirk playing on his lips. "My child, now you may prove your worth. Kill." He and Caius shoot to stand in front of their army, and suddenly it's a tense stand off between myself, two wolves, two vampires, and a hybrid.

Nate.

Aro had Nate.

Nate's been dead for three months.

Carly.

Carly's still alive.

She'll suffer far worse that I have.

I can't kill a child.

I can't let Carly die.

She's all I have left of him.

They won't kill her.

Her fate would be worse than death.

"We can help you." Edward says. His voice is soft. He's pleading. He knows damn well that I'm a death machine. He's pleading. Pleading for his child. My own flesh and blood. A child. I can't kill a child.

"No you can't." I tell him, shrugging. "But, I can help you."

I pull half a packet of cigarettes from the inside pocket to my cape.

Edward seems to be the only one who understands my decision, pulling a lighter from his pocket and holding it out to me. I hear Aro hiss as I reach out and take it, sparking it up as I place the stick between my slightly parted lips. "This is the part where you take the kid and sprint as fast as your furry ass can." I state, nodding to the silver wolf she's hiding behind.

I know what's coming, so I inhale as much smoke as I can before dodging the piece of silver thrown my way. My wolf rages as it flies past us and crashes straight into Jacob's shoulder.

He releases a high whine of utter agony before I allow my other side to take control.

There's a sick kind of serenity that comes with death.

I hardly even felt myself phase before I was ripping vampires limb from limb. The battle erupted around me, and I wasn't sure what side I was fighting for.

My decision bacame clear when I felt a tug in the back of my mind and turned to see Jacob crowded by about ten vamps. They were dead in a matter of seconds. My wolf was insane, taking down anything in our path. Anything that so much as looked at Jacob wrong was on our list.

Less than an hour later it's over. Only one vamp from the other side is left.

Caius.

Edward Cullen must have seen the things that he did to me in my head. I decide this as he drags him over to me. "He's yours." He states, dropping him in front of me.

My wolf knows what she wants to do. I want the fucker dead, but she wants her fun.

Snarling, I wander over to where I dropped my robe, thankful that it's in perfect condition as I phase back and slide it on. "You don't get to die just yet." I growl at him while I wander back in his direction. "Stand!" I bark, watching as he steps up onto shaky legs.

Edward seems to know exactly what's on my mind, taking a lighter from his pocket and throwing it to me. I nod my appreciation. "Come on, Caius, we're gonna have some fun. Now, tell my where my sister-in-law is." Anyone that didn't know me would think that we're friends by the way I'm speaking, and how soft my tone now is. Caius knows otherwise. "Every time you give me a wrong answer I'm going to light part of you up, okay?" His glare is steely as it ocks onto mine. This is going to be fun. "Now remember, you can't make a sound." I tell him, using the same words that he and Aro spoke to me with such joy so many times.

Half an hour later I have my answers. And they make me sick.

Death on both sides. We may have won, but what's the prize? A heavy conscience?

Pissed off, I run one of my claws over my canine, coating it in my venom before swinging my hand and slashing Caius across the face. He immediately begins to scream, convulsing as he falls to the floor with his face in his hands.

Guys, it's all coming to a close! I'm super sad since the next chapter is going to be the last but at the same time I'm super hyped because this will be the first multi-chapter fic that I've completed and posted so hopefully it was all alright and no one is ready to tear their eyes out.

Anyway, please review and if anyone has any questions or anything then feel free to shoot!