Chapter 17

Olivia had been checking in with Peter on a regular basis as discreetly as possible. Most of the time she waited for him to contact her, based on their latest agreement. The Denali family witnessed her evil and she did not want to risk all of Peter's work being compromised on an untimely mistake, like her calling at the wrong moment.

Peter had been extremely successful in his mission to befriend their coven. He fit in nicely, winning over both Garrett and Kate. Nearly three quarters of a year had passed since their first meeting, and he was fully in within their trust and good graces. For the sake of it, he even temporarily began feeding on animals to prove his loyalty to their family. It was something that seemed to impress eveyone, and Peter enjoyed the challenge, though greatly missed the hunt of human prey. The blood, too, he missed, but the hunt leading up to the blood was just as satisfying.

He had decided to hunt on his own, after regularly hunting with Tanya or Garrett, and punched in Olivia's phone number to give her the latest information he'd received from his new 'friends'.

The phone rang twice before she picked up, voice sounding callous as ever. "Yes, Peter?"

"I've made some important discoveries about the Cullens," he explained.

She waited for him to continue and sighed when he didn't meet her immediate deadline.

"Edward, he can read people's minds. And Alice, she can tell the future... see visions."

Peter could tell Olivia was thinking on the other end of the line, "Interesting... how will you get around that? Edward will be able to tell what you're thinking... and Alice.."

"Olivia darling," his voice came out arrogantly, "I have a rare, manipulative talent. And don't think I won't be able to manipulate Edward Cullen. If Alice doesn't know you exist, or at least isn't aware of you... oh, or if those wolves are involved, it messes up the whole future seeing thing."

"Get me more concrete details," Olivia demanded, "Aside from that... good work. When will you see the Cullens?"

"Well, Garrett and Kate's daughter Maddy is involved with one of the Cullen boys. William. Kate made an impromtu trip to meet with them after the two of them were hauled in by Aro."

"Aro? Aro was there?" Her voice sounded angry, concerned and eager.

"Yes. I decided I'd rather not take that trip with them. I'm going to wait it out. He was visiting his daughter."

"Have you come up with a plan yet to grab her?"

"I have several angles in mind. Not sure which to play yet, but phase one is complete. I'm in deep with the Denali coven. They completely trust me."

"Well, let's get a move on phase two. I'm ready for you with my half of the plan. Is Aro still around?"

"I don't know," Peter admitted, "But I'm going to wait it out and play it safe. I'll ask Carmen and Eleazar if he's still here."

"Okay. Good work. Call me when you can, and find out more about them. Make your move soon."

"Yes ma'am," he joked and hung up the phone. From the corner of his eye, he saw a large moose through the trees. As much as his senses were telling him to track down a human and drain them completely of their blood, he crouched and sprinted full speed at the animal, taking it to the gound before feeding feriously.

Out in the desolate woods of Maine, Olivia made a temporary, permanent residence. She was prepared for Luciana's stay and had the perfect plan to keep her hidden from the world until she was ready to unleash her fury on the Volturi. She was sure that the Cullens would be collateral damage in regards to Peter stealing Luciana from them. He had made her aware that Aro holds Carlisle responsible for her safety, so the tensions would surely rise and be deadly. What Olivia secretly hoped was that most of them could take out each other in a dispute, making her job fairly easy at the end. She just hoped that Aro would be left standing so she could at least destroy his heart and soul, if not his physical being all together.

Part of her plan was simple. She and Peter would manipulate Luciana into thinking they already had people lined up at that exact moment to kill her father, and Seth. When they had her under their control, the rest of the plan would fall into place. Although Olivia didn't know the girl from the next vampire, she was looking forward to making her her personal puppet, watching her starve and seeing the looks on her face when she feared for the lives of those she loved.

Olivia felt she had to get more information about Alice's ability to see the future. She didn't want them to see her coming, or for something to foil her plans. Peter seemed to think that she would have already seen him coming and warned the Denalis, so she wasn't as worried as she felt she should be. Besides, she had someone else doing her dirty work, so as far as Alice was concerned, she was just sitting around in rural Maine feeling sorry for herself.

The sting of the loss of all of her hard trained combat men struck a nerve and she pictured Aro's smug, pale face. She hated him; hated his face, his voice... Olivia hated everything about him. The only thing better than seeing him burn would be to see the look on his face as the only thing he loved dissipated in front of him.

Soon, she thought, as soon as Peter comes to terms with his plan, this time they won't have a chance. Luciana, she knew, was their achilles heel. It was the only thing Aro would not sacrifice for his own sake. She was the piece of the puzzle that was missing in Olivia's latest plan, though thanks to Peter's destructive talents, she wouldn't be the missing piece for long.