SORRY EVERYBODY FOR THE LATE UPDATE. I HAD A TEMPORARY FULLTIME JOB WHICH TOOK A LOT OF MY TIME AND ENERGY. Now that it's finished, I'm back to my story.

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Music:

Cruel man – Intwine (Dutch group)

Sympathy for the devil – Rolling Stones

U better fear me – The Deleted

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Chapter 28: Aro – Plans

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April 2008

I couldn't believe it happened again, the Cullens humiliating us. Because that's what it feels like. And Caius, his stupid actions had cost us dearly. I was furious when we realised Chelsea was gone. How could he have sent her out, behind my back! Fortunately he stayed away from me, because I couldn't stand to be near him right now. And it would be a long time before he'd redeemed himself.

Pacing up and down the throne room I was thinking things over, while waiting for Heidi to bring in dinner. I had plans, which were now harder to accomplish. Without Chelsea here, how would we bond new recruits to us? Actively searching for gifted vampires, and humans, was something I was doing now. Building up our strength.

Marcus and Caius slipped in and sat on their chairs. I remained standing and acted out our play of welcoming the walking blood-sacks. Oh how I loved their screams of terror. Being number one, I fed first, of course. Marcus came in second. Our disgrace of a brother waited for his turn with the others.

Just after we were finished and everything was cleared out, Donna, our new human servant came in with a message. I touched her fingers briefly and learned she was still as professional and clearheaded as ever. A big improvement over Giana. Though underneath she was quite passionate. Here, with us, she never showed it however. Her strong physic and personality would make an excellent vampire someday.

I read the message silently first and then out loud. "One of our informants has seen Joham and two of his hybrid daughters." He's in the Ukraine, near Kharkiv." There was a silence, as Caius hesitated to respond. "Why is that of interest to us?" Marcus sighed in his low, tired voice. I often wondered what to do with him. He needed an interest, some passion or maybe a new wife.

I answered his question; "Joham needs to be punished, he put us at risk of exposure." His daughters, well, they can be useful." His mind drifted for a few seconds. "Hmm, yes, he said, now that he's close, I guess we could deal with this." As always, he didn't really care. He'd have to soon though, with what I had in mind. Caius was next to give his opinion, as I acknowledged him.

"I agree with you on this, Joham character, needing to be punished," he said. "But what do you want with those girls?" The look he gave me was cold and criticising. "Well, I replied, from touching young Edward, I've learned a lot." But, I want to study hybrids myself, test how strong they are." In fact, I want to round them all up." See if there are more differences between males and females than just the venom for example." Caius nodded, but the frown marring his face told me he had concerns of course.

"You're always curious, he stated, but what about their beating hearts and blood?" Many here will be tempted to 'take a bite'." I grinned a little. "Yes, I have thought of that, I answered, and maybe I'll let someone try, to see what'll happen." Though for now, they're off limits, not to be harmed." Any person doing so without our consent, will be dealt with accordingly." I eyed some of the guards in the room to emphasize my point.

There was a comfortable silence after this. A good moment to think over something else. Because I had another reason, far more important than the one I just mentioned, for getting hybrids into our midst. Should I tell my brothers about how they were going to block us from the Cullens view? Ah, Alice, was she looking in right now and seeing this? I hoped not, though they couldn't stop us getting the first two anymore.

Hmm, no, I decided not to share my main motivation yet. Let's get them here first. Who to send to collect? The usual group would do fine. An idea popped up in my head. Here's his chance to redeem himself somewhat. "Caius, I said firmly, I'd like for you to join Jane and the others and go to Kharkiv to deal with the matter at hand."

My brothers and several others stared at me in surprise. Never before had I requested such a thing. "Why?!" Caius exclaimed. I looked him straight in the eye. "This is an important mission, I told him, it would be good for one of us to be there." You could contact more assets we have in the region." Also, I might forget about the 'subject' we disagreed on." He clearly knew what I meant. His eyes narrowed however, his face showing some anger.

Of course he was displeased with my subtle insinuation of him being beneath me. 'Ranking lower'. I didn't care. He changed his attention to Marcus, to see his reaction. My gifted brother sighed and shrugged a bit. "It might be a good idea," he breathed softly. Caius rolled his eyes and gave in with a grunt. Good, it made my day.

Four days later they returned with the two sisters and an unexpected guest. The girls looked frightened and the man, a vampire, was calmly observing the room. Jane walked up to me right away and I took her hand. In her memory I saw Joham barely put up a fight, he was killed quickly. Serena and Maysun, as his daughters were called, tried to run, but didn't get far. Several times during the trip back to Volterra they resisted.

Jane and Alec took turns to subdue them. Now they were nervous wrecks, looking tired. As I moved towards them, they wrapped their arms around themselves, unsure what to do. "Now my dears, don't be afraid, I said, no one will hurt you unless you make us." Serena scowled at me, not believing a word. Maysun kept her eyes on the ground.

"Both of you look tired and hungry, I continued, you can go to one of our guestrooms to rest." Or maybe you'd like to feed first." Should I send Heidi out to bring a human or would they prefer some bread and jam? They remained silent, so I touched Maysun's hand. She thought of sleep first, but wasn't sure if she could, in fear of her life. Second she envisioned feeding off a human, a real criminal, she always picked those when possible.

Well, to decide for them and offer a compromise, I told them to sit on a bench against the wall and wait. Heidi would fetch them each some dinner. This way they could rest a bit and I had them close. Using them to block the seer right away.

Next the vampire that came too. His name was Argus and he was gifted. Joham had asked him to join his experiment and father some children. He agreed, but told Caius he wasn't really that committed. He followed our group here easily and voluntary.

When I approached him, I saw he was wearing some leather gloves. Argus had warned Caius and the others not to touch his skin because of his gift. But nothing more, so that left me curious of course. "Welcome Argus, I said, shaking his gloved hand, tell me about yourself and your gift." He gave a faint smile before answering.

"I was born in the seventies with an illness which interfered with normal brain-functions." Doctors did extensive testing, he explained, but couldn't find a cure." I was turned when I was somewhere in my twenties." My ability works on someone's mind through touch." I've learned to control it pretty well, but can not stop it completely." He sighed, his eyes sad. "No one can touch my bare skin without being affected." I feel it's a curse, but maybe you can help me use it constructively."

Hmm, interesting, but also worrying. I would surely refrain from coming into contact with his skin. "Well, I said in response to his story, that's very interesting." What happens exactly when a person touches you?" Argus stayed silent and shook his head. His eyes went around the room, checking several guard members and my brothers. "I don't want everyone to know, he stated, because it'll make me an outcast right away."

These words made me even more intrigued. I ordered everybody to clear the room and leave us alone. Except for the two sisters. Caius was last to go. Obviously he didn't agree being out of the loop. "Remember, I spat at him, you've kept things from me too, brother." He huffed. "And if this is something worth sharing, I added, I will come to you." After giving me an hard, freezing stare, he finally gave in and left.

Argus was comfortable with the sisters staying. I told the girls I wanted at least one of them near me at all times. Serena stood up and edged towards me slowly, until I said she could stop. Then the new member of our coven started to explain. His ability was quite special and very useful to me. Soon, I made a list of things I wanted him to do.

In addition I added a mental note to myself to cover up. Argus was the opposite of me, gift wise, so our skin could never touch, under any circumstance. He in fact, posed a threat to me, if he wanted to control things. Luckily he seemed to be the submissive type. Still I would have him closely watched.

Once we were done talking, I opened up the room again. Letting all that resided here move around freely. Well, most of them. Jane and Alec escorted Argus to his quarters. Somebody else got me gloves. Caius noticed this, but said nothing. And neither did I. Keeping what I've learned for myself. Setting things in motion. Let the games begin.

A few months later

Several coven leaders in south USA owed me a favour. I let them live, while they attracted attention with their newborn armies. They caught and delivered the third hybrid sister. Unfortunately she managed to warn the boy about us. Some were punished for that of course. Now my plans for this Nahuel needed rethinking. I could send Demetri after him, but wasn't sure. The Amazon coven lived there too and I wouldn't underestimate them.

No, I've learned from Caius' mistakes. We've also located a replacement for Santiago. In Austria we visited a strongest man competition. The ways humans entertained themselves, it always amused me. Ulrich was positively a giant. Six foot eight just like his pre-assayer. But with much more muscle and a big temper to match. Jane and Alec had their hands full containing him.

He roared coming into the castle and managed to send Felix flying. On site, just after his change, he crushed two of our lesser guards' skulls easily with his hands. When he was trained and under control, he'd be a force to be reckoned with. A real weapon. Ah, yes, I liked this little war I was planning. So much better, less boring, than just upholding the laws.

Things livened up around here. Though we needed some new house-rules. Ulrich for example, wasn't aloud in the same room as Serena anymore. The moment he saw her, he eyed her as prey and became totally distracted. Feral even. The three sisters were terrified of him. Also, after Argus had done the tasks I wanted, I ordered everyone to wear gloves.

Finding more gifted vampires or humans effectively was another thing. I thought of how Carlisle found his ones. The hospitals and mental wards seemed good places to scout. In one of them I found Rain, a petite African girl with the darkest skin I've ever seen. She was wild and very guarded of everything new. Crouched in a small corner of her room. Eyes darting around in fear.

She immediately knew we were dangerous, holding out a self made knife in front of her. I moved towards her swiftly and disarmed her. She trembled at first, but when I touched her she realised I wasn't going to hurt her right now. That eased her nerves a bit. The poor thing, only sixteen and her life's been nothing but hell. Sold as a child, abused and abandoned she hid away on trucks and a ship brought her to Europe.

The authorities found her and brought her here some months ago. She spoke basic French and an African tribal language. I saw her potential, she could have a gift like Eleazar. So asking her if she wanted to have a good home, be powerful and strong was the next step. Naturally she said 'yes'. That dear child, she clung to me as if I was her father. I didn't mind and liked to teach her things.

Her talent wasn't exactly like I expected, but useful non the less. Rain could indentify a gifted vampire if she saw one, but not explain what kind of gift it was. However, if it was a danger to her, she would tense up and hiss. Jane was the first to get that kind of reaction from her. It amused her. Both girls were small, around four foot eight, but other than that they looked nothing alike.

Strangely enough, Ulrich didn't get a response like that. Sure, he wasn't gifted, but very dangerous regardless. Maybe it was his behaviour when they met. The giant and the midget, separated by two feet. Him a straight blonde and pale, she a curly black and dark skinned (like coffee, even as a vampire). Yes, the big guy relaxed in her presence.

He looked at her as if she was an adorable kitten. And she seemed to know this, letting him pat her on the head. Got her accepted even faster by everyone. Felix and Demetri grinned whenever the odd couple's backs were turned. Guess it was an amusing sight. Together with Corin and Argus we managed to have harmony again. We needed that to be forceful.

End November I've gotten to know all new additions better. And some surprised me by showing another side of themselves. Jane and Rain became friends. The latter enjoyed to watch the pain the first inflicted on others. She envisioned it to be the tormentors of her past. Argus knew quite a bit about my plans now because of the tasks I made him do.

That didn't make him a threat I discovered. No, he was enthusiastic about going to war. Manipulating people didn't seem to bother him either. He found that a lot of times it made them happier and it stopped fights. The gleam in his eyes spoke volumes. He offered a lot of good ideas too.

Soon I would squash those Cullens and all associated with them. Watch me!

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What do you think? Will our good Group find what danger is lurking?

And what exactly is Argus' gift?

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