Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight
Chapter Fifteen
*Masen's POV*
"Grace Martin! A Lux Lamia?" Carolyn Sanders spat the word out so bitterly. Her eyebrows narrowed at my girlfriend. "How? Why!?"
I had just walked Grace home from the camping trip to open her door to this. Grace's grandmother is here a little early and obviously knows everything. And I can tell, she doesn't approve. What so ever.
"It's true, Nonna. The Lux Lamia, they exist if that's what you mean," Grace answered, holding on tightly to my hand.
"Well I'm not so surprised about the Lux Lamia. It's more so the fact you're with one," She said, looking at Grace with disapproval and then back at me with even more fury. "Why?"
"Why? You're asking me why I fell in love?" Grace remarked angrily, raising my eyebrows. "Because I did. Because I love him. Because he's my mate. My soul mate."
"A child of two monsters is your soul mate!?" Her grandmother accused, jerking her finger at me. I looked at this woman with wide eyes. "How could you betray your clan like this? After everything they've done to us!?"
"Oh so you're going to disown your own granddaughter? Are you serious?" Ava cried out, rubbing her temples. "Because she fell in love? You really truly are ignorant!"
"Ava, may I remind you I raised you to be a certain way. We are witches. They are our enemies and for her to socialize with them is absolute insanity! Then again, you fell in love with one!" Carolyn spat. "You should know what it's like to be disapproved of!"
"You don't know anything about, Zach!" Ava seethed, jerking her finger at her mother.
"I know enough!" Carolyn hissed, eyeing her son in-law down. Zach just stood still besides Ava, trying to keep a straight face. I could tell this was making him uncomfortable just like me. His hand brushing against his wife's as an act to reassure her everything's okay.
"No you don't! You judge him on what he is, but you never got the chance to know him," Ava yelled. "Ever. You just looked at him, saw he was a vampire and dismissed him. There is so much more to Zach."
"Ava, I swear...I know plenty." Carolyn breathed, eyeing her daughter.
"No...No you don't," Ava replied, angry hot tears welding up in her eyes. "You don't know how he treats me. He treats me with love and respect. He is the best damned husband ever and the greatest father to our children! Two of your grandchildren you don't care to even get to know! I love Zach so much and I will stand by his side for the rest of my life, even if that means going against you and this entire family!"
"How could I get to know them when you mixed the species. That's absolutely absurd! That's something on the Volturi does for experiments!" Carolyn seethed. "Look what they did to your sister!"
"Mother! That's enough!" Elaine shouted, causing everyone to look at her now. She looked clearly pissed, probably more so than when she found out I was dating Grace. "Now you're calling out my son-"
"Elaine, these children-"
"Robert is my son. And I love him very much," Elaine retorted, her voice stone hard. "And he's just as apart of this family as Grace. He may not be my biological child with Tyler, but he was and still is everything to both of us. Even if Tyler's not on this earth anymore. Wherever the hell he is- Robert is and always will be ours. Grace and Robert are my children and you have no right to disrespect them. You're just angry with me because I had the son of a man you hate!"
"Marcus raped you for god sake!" Carolyn hissed, throwing her hands up in the air. "And your daughter in law is the daughter of Aro Volturi himself! The same man who orchestrated to death of your father and your rape!"
I saw Cordelia's eyes falter. There was just pure sadness and embarrassment radiating from her. I felt awful for her.
Robert then wrapped his arm around his wife and looked at his grandmother with a bit of anger. Cordelia was such a good person. To single her out for her father is absolute stupidity.
"I know what they did! You don't need to remind me!" Elaine cried out furiously, tears welding up in her eyes. "I hated that they did that to me! They did it against my own will! And yes, I wish I were dead after it. I wish I didn't exist! I wish the child inside of me at the time didn't either. I wanted an abortion. But then Robert was born and I couldn't help but fall in love with him. He was and still is my son. He was innocent in it all. Just because his father was a evil rapist...He's apart of me. I wish Marcus wasn't the father. I truly do, but I can't change that. And if you thought I would leave that innocent little baby with the Volturi, you're so dead wrong because he didn't ask for any of that. He's so pure...And I love him unconditionally because that's what mothers do. Tyler understood all of that, of all people- A human! Someone who was forced into this world because of me and by god, we loved Robert. We both would do anything for that boy, including laying our lives on the line for him! So don't you dare come into my home and insult me when I listened to you. I listened to your stupidity about all vampires being evil. I had a reason to. I mean, look how I kept getting screwed over by them- But at the same time it made it worse. Having a closed mind doesn't help. I learned that. I almost lost my sister and my daughter because I refused to trust anymore vampires. Yet, Zach, Cordelia, and Masen are very much apart of this family. Cordelia is such a good woman. She is kindhearted and nothing like her father. She is pure and I couldn't picture a better woman for my son to love or a better mother to raise my granddaughter. And Zach, he loves his family tremendously. He treats Ava like a goddess and is such a good father to his children. In fact...And Masen. That boy loves my daughter more than his own life. So how could I not love them for that? For loving my family?"
Elaine then looked at me and a small grateful smile made it's way on my face. I nod my head in thanks at her. Suddenly I felt a stronger kindship with Elaine. Even after Grace and her mother made up, sometimes I felt as if she still was wary of me. But this proved that she did care. A lot. Elaine is a woman who was hurt way too many times in her life. She just wants her and her family happy and safe.
Meanwhile Carolyn looked at me with an unsettling glance. "But these Cullen's...How can you trust them? I know all about them...They're the reason for that crazed vampire to create a newborn army. Half of them used to be killers," This woman retorted, raising her eyebrows skeptically.
"My family aren't killers," I spoke up, getting annoying that she was now singling out on my family. "We respect human life. Yes, there are members who made mistakes. Then again, we all do. They're good people. They only want normal lives."
"Mistakes? What about your member who rebelled? The one that went killing all those people back in the 20s?" She spat back at me.
"Who are you talking about?" I questioned, my eyebrows furrowed together. "And how do you know all of this?"
"I'm a witch. I know these things. I know very well about your coven. The coven that stood up to the Volturi. It was well known all over the supernatural world. Might as well as the fact the same one who rebelled married a human and had a daughter! A hybrid daughter."
"My father?" I questioned. My father murdered people? I know he did things he regretted, but I never heard that one.
"And what was that human thinking? She must be absolutely stupid! Giving birth to a child of a vampire! Stupidity is what I tell you!" Carolyn cried out.
"Don't you dare call my mother stupid!" I hissed, narrowing my eyes at her.
"Bella and Edward are kind people. Masen's sister, Renesmee, the hybrid is my best friend. Don't you dare speak of his family ill because they are my family as well!" Grace snapped, eyeing her grandmother. "They take care of me and they love me! They are doing everything in their power right now to prevent the Volturi from harming anyone else and to do that they need your god awful help! I wish they didn't, but in order to understand Aro's motives it's needed! So you either help or you don't. Your choice. You may not approve of everything going on. Our life choices, but it's not your life. You either accept it or you don't. Just don't insult anyone else because no one here has done anything wrong. So your choice is either leave now and let Aro cause more pain to people or just help us. Then you can leave and never have to talk to any of us again. Remember this, Nonna. This is not our life. This is my life. This is Ava's life. This is our family's life. Whether you like it or not, we're going to make our own choices. You don't know everything. So please, instead of being selfish...Help us. Help us figure out what Aro is going to do or someone else is going to die."
Carolyn's lips formed into a straight line. She looked carefully at Grace and then at her daughters. Biting her lip she finally had the urge to say something. "I need to think about it...I'll be in the hotel across the street if you need me. I'll give you my answer tomorrow."
With that, Carolyn walked out of the door. Everyone in the apartment were silent after that. Elaine had tears streaming down her cheeks. Ava looked pretty distraught as well as she approached her sister, wrapping an arm around her.
"It's okay, Ellie. You did good," Ava whispered, giving the older woman a squeeze.
"Mom," Grace breathed, rushing forward to hug the woman. Robert got up as well to head over to his mother, sister, and aunt; wrapping his arms around the three women.
I looked to Zach and Cordelia, who were in the same boat as I. Slowly, Zach and I met Cordelia in the middle.
"This was the first time meeting the in-law and I have to say...Not a fan," Zach muttered to us, trying to lighten the mood.
Cordelia and I half chuckled. Lexie looked at us with inquisitive eyes while she played with Tommy and Lucia. She's grown a bit since I first met her. Instead of seven she looked around maybe nine. Possibly ten. Her big blue eyes unsure of what to make of this all.
Witch-Vampire hybrids tended to age slower because of the magic they possess. Takes them about twelve years, a little longer than Lizzy. Then again, lately my sister seems to have had a growth spurt. Grandpa says hers is normal. She's looking around twelve or thirteen even though she's turning six this fall. He predicts by the time she's about seven or eight she'll look about fifteen or sixteen- stop for the next two years and then sprout up to be around eighteen or nineteen. That happened to me and Ethan confirms this as well. It even happened to Nessie. It depends on how old your parents were and how your body is.
"Does Nonna Carolyn hate us?" Lexie asked quietly.
Zach swallowed, trying to think of what to say to his daughter. He slowly then knelt down so he was eye level with his little girl. "No...I'm sure she doesn't. She just doesn't know you yet. If she knew how amazing you are, I'm sure she wouldn't be this way right now." Lexie nodded before wrapping her arms around her father's neck. Zach sighed and picked the young girl up in his arms, stroking her hair gently. Ava approached her husband and children, picking up Tommy as well who was unsure of this all too.
"Nonna has just been hurt a bunch of times...Too many. She's scared," Ava explained her daughter soothingly, kissing Lexie's forehead. "Don't worry, she'll turn around..."
"I hope," Elaine added softly, dabbing her eyes. "Look, it's been a long day. I think it's best if we all turn in for the night..."
"Cordelia and I are staying here with Lucia. We don't want you to be alone tonight, Mom," Robert spoke up. Cordelia nodded in agreement, scooping their daughter in her arms.
"Thank you," Elaine replied, blinking the tears away. She smiled at Cordelia and then smiled fondly at her grandchild.
"Cordelia, you are nothing like a Volturi. I just want to make myself clear...Whatever my mother says, you are anything but that," Elaine announced, causing Cordelia to nod with tears welding up in her eyes. "You've become like a second daughter to me. You are loved here."
"Thank you," Cordelia whispered. Elaine half smiled as she and Cordelia hugged tightly.
One the two pulled apart, Elaine looked at me and Zach. I bit my lip, unsure of what she would say. "The same goes for the boys. Zach, Masen...You're good men. I trust you both with my girls," Elaine told us through her tears. "Zach...You've always stood by my sister's side no matter what and Masen, you and your family are the reason we're all here today. I can't thank you three enough. For loving and putting my family back together."
I smiled a little. "Well, everyone here is apart of the Cullen coven as well now. You have our protection and our loyalty. As well as the Quileute Pack and even our extended family, the Denali's. We can't thank you all enough for what you've done for our family," I said, speaking on behalf of mine.
Elaine nodded her head at me before Cordelia placed Lucia in her arms, letting Elaine cuddle her granddaughter.
"Even if we don't get Carolyn's help...We'll figure out what the Volturi are up to," Zach declared. "With the people in this family...We're all powerful. We all have our own gifts. I don't think the Volturi will stop us."
"They won't. They can hurt us, but they will never win this war," Elaine spoke up icily. "I will make sure of it. They've caused enough pain and I know Aro's looking for Meredith's help."
"He's trying to find the magia piscina...He won't stop until he's found it," Cordelia muttered grimly. "My father...He is a very evil man. Right now, he's probably forcing Meredith to try to figure out where it is. The original twins are our only hope to finding it before he does."
"What if it's too late?" I asked quietly. "What if those children are born? What if Aro has control of them?"
"He won't have control over the Lux Lamia," Ava told me. "Only Meredith does. You are all connected to the pool, but at the same time it's not a very strong connection because Meredith's been dead for almost a century. I don't know if you'll know."
"I've been having dreams," I confessed. "Or I should say dream..."
"What are you talking about?" Grace asked me in a whisper.
"It started on the camping trip. Our second night. Lizzy and Ethan experienced them as well. I don't know if Lucas did, but we saw something. We're not sure what," I explained.
It was the middle of the night. I had just gotten out of my tent with Grace to get a breath of fresh air. Everything in the dark was still, but my mind was racing.
What did I just see? I thought to myself. I replayed the events in my head:
I was sleeping. Grace was in my arms. I was peaceful. Happy...Then I had the dream.
I was standing in a pool. The water was about three feet deep. It glowed, just like moon did...Shinning down on the water. I took a better look around to see I was in a cave. I felt like I've been here before. There was one opening where the moon shined down on me.
I could see someone I didn't know. A woman with long, curly dirty blonde hair. She was chanting something in the midst of it all.
Then, I saw two boys emerge from the pool. They both had brown eyes and black hair. There were distinguishable facial features, but there were differences. Their face's were molded different because I could see the resemblance.
"Come forth, my children. Come," I heard an eery voice call out. I turn around to see Aro, waving at them. "Come to me..."
Then right after that, I woke up in a jolt. Heart racing and mind all over the place. Fogged even. Grace was sound asleep, so carefully I maneuvered her out of my arms and that's how I ended up outside. On a log in front of the dead fire.
"Hey," I heard a whisper. I look to see Lizzy's form in the dark. My sister rubbed her eyes as she crawled out of her tent and walked towards me.
"Hey," I replied as she sat next to me. "Why are you up?"
"I could ask you the same thing," My sister remarked, looking up at me with her bright green eyes.
"I...I had a bad dream," I confessed. I then told her about everything about Aro and the pool.
Lizzy paused for a moment and bit her lip. Her eyes fixated at the ground. Something was bothering her about what I just said. "Was he calling out to a bunch of children?" She asked after a few seconds of silence.
I froze the moment those words left her mouth. "Yeah...But they were teenagers. Two boys."
"I had the same dream," Lizzy whispered, looking up at me fearfully. "Could...Could that mean something? Does that mean Aro is going to have two Lux Lamia sons?"
"I don't know, Liz. I don't know," I muttered quietly. She sighed, leaning against my shoulder while I wrapped my arm tightly around her body.
"I had the same dream." My sister and I spin around to see Ethan now making his way over. I could see there was deep concern on his face as he approached us.
"This means something. It has too...I think Aro used the magia piscina," Ethan told us. His voice hard.
I felt a chill run down my spine. If Aro conceived two children, then we're in trouble. Lux Lamia are powerful. God knows what he would use them for...
"Why didn't you tell me this?" Grace gasped, a bit of shock in her eyes.
"I didn't want to worry you. I was going to wait until tonight, but then Carolyn happened," I explained, reaching out to grab her hand.
"Oh god." Elaine groaned, rubbing her temples. "Then what's the point to finding these originals now?"
"The originals will at least know how to get to Meredith. They have to. I don't know, they can help us, Ellie," Ava spoke up confidently, comforting her sister. "We need to find them. Aro can't find them either. He might be using Meredith to try to find them as well. The twins are extremely powerful. Possibly the most powerful beings on this planet. If Aro has them...Our chances of surviving the Volturi are very slim. Whatever we do, we need to get to the twins first. They're our only chance of defeating the Volturi and if not...We're going to have a very bloody war on our hands."
"So you think this is going to come to war no matter what?" Cordelia asked quietly.
Ava nodded her head grimly, "Maybe not today. We have time. Maybe a few years...But it's going to come soon. Very soon. One day, a final battle is going to happen. Whether we like it or not. So it's time we start getting prepared."
"Alright...I need to inform my family what just happened," I muttered, rubbing the bridge of my nose.
"You do that, dear. We'll keep in touch," Elaine said, coming over to give me a hug.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Grace told me, grabbing both of my hands in hers.
"See ya," I whispered, reaching down to give her a quick peck on the lips. I could see a hint of fear and sadness in her eyes before I left. I really didn't want to leave her right now or the rest of the Sanders-Williams-Martin family...But my family needed to know what was going on.
I got there in no time. I ran for the living room first of my grandparent's house. After telling everyone what happened, there was a heavy silence in the air.
"What are we going to do now?" Uncle Emmett questioned, looking around for answers.
"We're going to have to fight. That's what's going to happen," Uncle Jasper said. Our militant man.
"We need to think strategically about this. I'm not one for violence. Truly, I wish the Volturi were not doing this...But I think Ava is right. A war is coming and we need to prepare," My grandfather declared grimly. "It's time to end this once and for all. This has gone on enough."
"What'll happen if the Volturi are destroyed?" Lizzy asked inquisitively. "Who's going to be in charge then?"
"Something will be figured out," My grandfather replied. "But, that's not important now. What's important is stopping a power crazed man from hurting anyone else. Knowing Aro and the behavior he's displayed the past couple of years...It's best if we end this for good as soon as possible."
"Alright. Guess we should start getting prepared," Ethan muttered, placing his hands on Lily's shoulders. My cousin nodded in agreement.
I sighed as everyone began to scatter. This was truly an unsettling change of events.
I then went back to my home. While walking in, I noticed my father sitting on the couch alone. He was running his hand through his hair. I could tell this was stressing him out. He never really showed us he was stressed out. The same goes for my mother.
"Hey dad," I greeted him. He looked up at me with surprise, which isn't really something that vampires get often. He must be very deep in thought right now or at least someone else's.
"Hey, son," He replied, giving me a half smile as I sat next to him on the couch.
"Where's mom?" I asked, looking around to see she was nowhere to be found.
"Upstairs with Lizzy," He told me, sighing. "So...Tonight was a ruff night?"
"You can say that." I snorted. "Carolyn completely bashed on our family. It made me furious."
"I'm sorry you had to hear that," He replied, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.
I nodded. I bit my lip though, "Dad...Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," My dad answered. "About what, son?"
"Carolyn knew a lot about our family. She said...She said you rebelled in the 20s'. What does she mean by that?" I asked quietly.
I watched my father's eyes turn black. His composure absolutely still, "I...I really hoped I never had to tell that to any of you kids...I didn't...I don't want you to think of me as a monster."
"Dad, I won't think you're a monster," I told him sincerely. "If you made a mistake, it's okay with me. Nothing can change how I feel about you right now. You're my father."
"Thank you, son...It's just. It happened when I was younger. It was 1927...I had a period where instead of animal blood I drank human. I just used my mind reading abilities to kill off society's worst. My first victim was your grandmother's ex-husband. Charles Platt. He abused Grandma Esme...After that I regretted it all. I killed, even if they were terrible people...I still killed," He confessed to me, shame laced in his voice. "I then returned home a few years later. Right before your Aunt Rose was changed. I felt like a monster yet your grandparents welcomed me back with open arms. I was such an embarrassment, but they still cared deeply for me. That's when I knew where I wanted to be, but it's not something I like to think back on. The only people who know are your grandparents, Aunt Alice, and your mother. Well now you, but it's just a part of my history I don't like to look back on."
"Dad, but those people were bad. They didn't even deserve to live," I mentioned.
My father sighed sadly at me, "The thing is, Masen...Everyone deserves a chance. Everyone."
"But they were terrible people," I pointed out to my father. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit sometimes."
He sighed, "Just like your mother."
"Really, Dad. You are an amazing father not just to me, but to Renesmee and Lizzy. You're a good man, and I'm proud of the way you and mom raised us. You did good," I told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He smiled, taking my hand tightly in his. "Thanks, son. That really means a lot."
"Good. Because it's true," I replied. He chuckled, giving me a light shake.
"And I want to talk to you too, because I'm going to admit...Your mother and I are nervous," He confessed to me.
"About what?" I asked, confused.
"About Grace. Son, we want you to just relax. You and Grace. I know how stressful it is. The position you're in is one I am familiar with. My relationship with your mother, maybe they're not completely the same, but there are similarities. I just want you to know, things will figure themselves out. Even if it seems absolutely bleak, they'll be figured out. Okay?" My dad said to me firmly. "I don't want to see your first graduation get ruined by your fear of loosing Grace. It's something that won't go away, but I just want you to take a deep breath and just think clearly. That's all."
I nodded stiffly. "I'll try...It's just, Dad...Grace is my whole world. I can't loose her."
"Son, I know. I know," He said, sighing. The two of us then hugged. I gripped tightly to my father, something I haven't done in a long time.
"Hey guys," My mom chirped, coming over to us. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," I answered once the two of us pulled apart. "Everything's going to be fine."
"Alright. Good," She said, taking a seat on my free side. My mother placed a kiss on my cheek. "We love you, Masen. Remember that."
"I will," I said, smiling gratefully at her.
"Good. Now you wanna hang out with your parents or are you too old for that now?" My mother remarked. I just chuckled and so did my father.
"Sure. I can't remember the last time the three of us hung out," I confessed. "Probably not since I got together with Grace."
"Probably, but that's okay. We have now," My mother announced. The three of just just smiled before turning on a movie.
I really did love my family. Carolyn would just have to see for herself how amazing my parents are. I couldn't picture a better family than the one we established. Even if we were made of a ton of vampire odd creatures, we all cared about one another more than anything. I think that's the greatest thing about us. Our strength.
A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that. Things are definitely getting tenser. Anyway thanks for reading and be on the lookout for the next update :)
