A/N Thank you for the love last chapter! I'm glad so many of you understood it, even as your heart bled for Emmett. Let's find out more about how our Edward came to be, shall we?

Fill Me with Your Poison Chapter 12

It was strange for Edward to be without both of his brothers. They'd been together for nearly as far back as he could remember. Jasper had been taken within a couple months of Edward, Emmett shortly thereafter. Other boys came and went over the years, but Edward had never bonded with them nearly as closely as he had the first two. At first, they'd come together out of fear of the unknown, and then as they grew older, it was fear of the known.

"Penny for your thoughts?" his mate asked, making him smile.

"Is that all they're worth to you?"

"Well, yeah, since I actually get them for free…" She broke off as he tackled her onto the bed.

They'd left the club behind for the weekend, going to a private cabin that Edward kept just across the Canadian border. He'd left the club in Felix's able hands, citing the need to feed and spend time with his soon-to-be bride, which was just one of the reasons they'd taken some time away.

"You may get them for free, but they're worth millions!" he told her, making her giggle as he nuzzled at her throat.

"Says you!" He sent her a particularly inventive thought that involved a lot less clothes and a lot more moaning, and she stopped laughing. "Okay, maybe that one is worth a little more…"

She shrieked as he tickled her, and then clothes were gone and bodies were joined, and he gave her the reality instead of just the image.

When they were spent, she sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "We needed this."

They had. The week since Emmett and Jasper had left had been hectic. Edward always knew he relied on the two of them for a lot, but he hadn't thought it was quite that much until he'd been forced to pick up their slack. Plus, he'd had to call Aro and tell him that the wedding was going to be delayed a bit, news that had been met with annoyance on Aro's part and relief on Sulpicia's, because she had more time to plan the ridiculous extravaganza she had in mind for her favored son's nuptials. And both of the mates worried over Emmett and his state of mind. Jasper had let them know they'd arrived in Alaska, but that had been all in the form of communication thus far.

"I always need you," he told her, kissing her softly.

"And I you. But for now…" She broke off, not wanting to be too anxious, but she couldn't help herself. Ever since Rosalie had walked away from Emmett, her need to be a mother greater than her need to be with her mate, Bella had been unable to stop thinking about her own mother and how she could have chosen the opposite. Edward had finally received a text from Demetri, and rather than reach out to him from the club and risk word getting back to Aro, the pair had decided to get away.

"Yes, my love." Edward retrieved his phone. The Call Me message had come in a few hours ago. He hoped his brother was able to talk.

"Demi," he said when the familiar voice answered the line.

"Edward, thank you for getting back to me. I'm close to home and can't put off going there for much longer."

Edward tensed at his words, and Bella followed suit. "What do you mean, home? Did you find her or not?"

"Well, that's the thing…"

"You promised!" Edward interrupted, his voice snapping over the line. His brother's other promise echoed in his mind, along with a fear that perhaps Demetri had decided on a different path.

"Edward, brother, listen! I'm headed home because that's where she is."

Edward's thoughts stilled abruptly at those words.

"Home? As in Volterra, home?" It wasn't possible, was it?

"Maybe. Probably. Every fiber in my being is telling me she's in Italy. It's possible that she's in Rome, but…the pull for Volterra is strong. I think she's there."

Edward looked into his Bella's wide eyes for several moments. "Well, I guess follow it. And contact me when you can. Text if you can't speak, but find her."

"I will. I'm sorry it's taken me so long. Father had several other errands for me to attend to, and I kept thinking the pull toward home was just the need for something familiar."

"I understand." Edward stroked Bella's soft cheek. "I'm sorry I jumped all over you. I was afraid…"

"Nothing has changed."

Edward sighed. "Some things have. Not the plan, but I'm not sure on the timing. We're to be wed, soon, and I'm hoping to take advantage of that, but some circumstances have arisen that make me hesitant."

"We have all the time in the world, brother."

Edward laughed roughly. "That we do. I know I don't need to remind you…"

"To watch my thoughts around Father. No, I think I've got that covered after all this time. Anything else you need me to do?"

"Get close to Chelsea."

"How close?"

Edward laughed at the lascivious tone Demetri's voice had taken on. "As close as you want to, my friend. But not so close that you forget where your loyalties lie."

"Don't doubt my abilities, brother. Maybe I can sway her on my own."

Edward shook his head. "I wouldn't dare to doubt you, Demi. Other than that, keep your eyes and ears open, look for potential allies. I have some in mind, but you're there to see if anyone is dissatisfied or ready for change."

"Count on it. I'll be in touch."

They disconnected after saying their goodbyes, and Edward turned to Bella. Her thoughts were loud, but she remained silent.

"What would you like to know, my love?"

"If she's in Volterra, what does that mean?"

Edward sighed and pulled her into his arms. "It could mean anything. Perhaps she and her mate wanted to visit our, well, capitol for lack of a better word. They could just be passing through. Or…"

"Or they're part of it, part of Aro's guard."

"Maybe. I wish Charlie had told Billy who she was with. That would help, but it doesn't matter. We'll find her, and we'll deal with it." He hated how sad she was over her mother's desertion. He hoped, with every fiber of his being, that there was some unexplained reason for it, other than that her mother just didn't care that much. That was unacceptable, in Edward's eyes.

She smiled and brushed his hair away from his forehead. "Not everybody can love me as much as you do."

"They should," he growled, his arms tightening around her possessively.

"As if you could stand that. You'd kill anybody who tried to rival your affections for me."

He chuckled. She knew him well. "Yes, but I'd appreciate that they had good taste, even as I ended them."

Bella laughed with him, but then it faded and she met his eyes. "I love the way you love me."

"Completely," he told her, kissing her gently.

They held each other in silence for a while, lost in their mixed thoughts.

"Will you tell me about your life in Volterra?"

He'd known that question was coming, and she'd been patient with him not really being ready to talk about it. But now was the time.

"I'm not sure how old I was when they took me. Six? Seven? Eight? Something like that. Old enough to remember some of my life before they took me, but too young to do anything about it." Bella's fingers linked with his, and he was immediately soothed by her touch.

"We were visiting from London. My father was a doctor, and my mother was a house wife, and we went on a family holiday to Italy." He frowned at the memory. "Our train stopped in Volterra, and there was some kind of street fair happening. I begged my parents to take me. We had time and I was sick of being cooped up, so they took me. It was a cloudy day, and there were all these people in masks and bright colors, and I was captivated."

She heard the guilt in his words, in the swirl of his thoughts. "It wasn't your fault."

"If I hadn't wanted to stop…"

"You were a young boy, Edward. Of course you wanted to go to the fair. What kid wouldn't? You could hardly know what was going to happen."

"Maybe." He'd harbored guilt over it for a century. She wasn't going to be able to convince him to let it go with just a few words. "I don't even know what happened next. One second, I was holding my mother's hand while my father got us food from a vendor, and the next, I was in the dark, moving faster than was humanly possible, something holding on to me tight."

Edward closed his eyes, seeing it as if it was yesterday, letting Bella see through his memories. "When I could see again, I was in a room that looked like a museum. There was art, priceless art, all over the walls, real gold statues, and beautiful architecture. Of course, that didn't really register at the time. What did was the woman."

He showed her Sulpicia, her pale skin, auburn hair, stunning face, and deep red eyes. "Even though I was young, I knew eyes weren't meant to be that color. Plus, there was something wrong behind them. I didn't know at the time that she was damaged, a little crazy. I just knew that I was scared."

Then he stopped talking and took her back into his memories.

"Sulpicia, what have you done?"

"He's mine. He was meant to be mine."

The dark figure, the man talking, came into view, peering at the scared little boy. Like the female, he had red eyes, but his were scarier. And his tone had young Edward even more frightened.

"You know the rules."

"So we don't change him now. We raise him. He's mine. My son. Look at him, Aro. He looks just like Gianni did."

Her voice broke on the name, and the male put his arms around her.

"He's not Gianni, my love. He's gone. This boy isn't ours…"

"He's mine now!" she shrieked, pushing him away from her and grabbing the boy. He was too frightened to make a sound, but tears spilled over his cheeks.

"Don't cry, my baby," the woman crooned, stroking his hair. She smelled very good, and her words of comfort had him holding on to her. "You're mine now. I'll take care of you. Mama is here."

"Mama?" he asked, raising his head and looking for his mother. "Where's my mommy?"

"I'm your mommy now, baby. Your mommy had to go away, but she wants me to look after you. I'm going to raise you just like you were my own baby."

"Sulpicia…"

"No, Aro! You won't take this away from me, too. He's mine. He's meant to be mine, and you'll let me have him, or I'll walk out this door right now and show the people…"

"You dare threaten me?"

Young Edward burrowed further into the lady's neck at the scary words that came from the man.

"Yes, I dare! You took everything from me when you made me this way. You will let me have this child, Aro! He will be ours, and one day when he's grown, we'll change him, and he'll stay with us forever. Gianni didn't, and that was your fault! Your fault! You will not take my baby. My…what is your name, sweet boy?"

He didn't raise his head, wanting to hide away from the scary eyes and voices. "Edward."

"There, there, my Edward. I know you're frightened. But it's all going to be okay now. You're going to have everything you could ever want. Mama and Papa will give you toys, and we'll get you a pony. Would you like that, Edward?"

He raised his eyes, then, looking at the woman who held on to him so tightly. "Mommy? Daddy?"

"Oh, baby, they had to go away. But they wanted me to look after you. And I will. You're going to be the most loved boy who ever existed, do you know that?" Her eyes were still wild, but her words were soft, as was the hand she ran through his hair.

"His parents will look for him."

"No, they won't."

"What did you do?"

"I did what I had to do! I did what you wouldn't! I saved my baby. He's mine!"

Edward shook his head and took them both out of the memory. "They argued for a while, but she'd already taken me, and he gave in, as one is apt to do when their mate desires something." He managed a smile. "I didn't know then if she killed them when she took me or if they were alive, searching." He continued before she could ask. "She broke my mother's neck when she took me. My father was alive and died a few years later back in London, alone. Marcus found out for me."

Her heart broke for him and for his family. "And Gianni?"

"Was their son, when they were human. He died when he was three. He drowned in a lake before they could get to him. She, apparently, was never the same after that. Aro got turned a year later, and he turned her, as well. I looked enough like him that it triggered something in her, and she took me without a thought to the laws or fear of discovery. After Aro accepted me, she took others. Always boys. Jasper, then Emmett, then Demetri and Felix and James…on and on.

"We lived pretty normally, albeit locked away from the real world. We were taught by some of the brightest vampire minds that existed. We got to play outside within the castle walls. We had horses and ponies and whatever else we wanted, except for our real families of course. After a while, their eyes weren't so scary and our memories faded and they became our real families. But I never forgot."

His sad eyes met hers. "As I got older, I swore to myself that I'd find out what happened to my parents. Eventually, I got Marcus to tell me. He was always a soft touch. She murdered my mother, which was bad enough. But my father…he was alone, and he never got over losing us. He looked for me for a long time before he returned home. I can't say for sure, of course, but I'm sure he died of loneliness."

Bella pulled his head to her shoulder, rubbing his back gently. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

He held on to her for all he was worth. "As time went on, Aro started to look at us as more than just his wife's children. He saw potential, and he brought in Eleazar. You know about his gift already. He pointed out those of us who showed some sign of a talent. We were the ones who made it through the transition. Others…well, he had them killed. Sulpicia didn't know it, of course, but I did."

"She didn't care? They were her children, right?"

"She cared, but…" He squirmed uncomfortably. "I stayed her main focus for most of those years. My resemblance to her lost son…she definitely loved me best. And if she started to question Aro, or get upset over an 'accident', he'd steer her back to me."

He shuddered at the next thing he had to share. "Other than Jasper and Emmett, I was closest to a boy who came a few years after I did. His name was Benjamin. He was delicate, very thin and not very strong, and some of the others picked on him. I stood up for him, and because I was the favorite, they backed off. Benjamin became like my shadow, and I did what I could to help him out, but he missed his parents and cried a lot."

Bella's stomach fluttered, knowing that Benjamin must have come to a bad end, because Edward would have likely had him in Seattle with them if he'd been alive today.

"Yes," he said, answering her unasked question. "One day, I overheard Aro requesting that Benjamin be brought to his offices. We were strictly forbidden to go there, and I felt funny about it, so I followed along. They had to know I was there. My scent-my beating heart-but they pretended not to. Aro took him into his office and told him that he wasn't showing enough progress to continue with 'the program,' whatever that was. Benjamin cried and promised to do better, but Aro picked him up and snapped his neck." Edward flinched at the memory of that sound.

Bella let out a little cry at the image she got of the broken blond boy.

"Aro looked right at me, where I stood in the doorway. I couldn't move. He just smiled and told me that one day, I'd understand, and then he drained Ben's broken body right in front of me." His tortured gaze met hers. "It was that moment, right there, that I decided that one day, I'd kill him. I didn't know how. I certainly didn't know that I was fated to be turned into a vampire as well; I just knew that I had to end him."

She climbed into Edward's lap, wrapping her body around his, getting as close as she possibly could. Her heart wept for that frightened little boy who'd been taken from all he knew and thrust into a nightmare. He'd come out of it strong, smart, and deadly, and she loved him all the more for the fact that he hadn't lost his humanity. He still loved his lost parents and that poor, broken boy.

"It was my fault, you know."

She pulled back, looking into his tortured face. "What was?"

"Aro saw the potential in me, what I could be, when I was young. That's why he let her take more boys, why he let us be raised. He wanted the strongest, the best of us, to be part of his guard. If I hadn't come along, none of the others-"

She silenced him with a kiss. "None of it was your fault, Edward. You were just you. She put everything in motion by taking you from your family, and he took his broken wife's twisted love and turned it into something even more twisted. But he couldn't break you, or your brothers. You're a miracle. My miracle."

He choked up at her words, crushing her to him. "You're mine."

"There's only one thing you got wrong, Edward."

He moved back to look at her beautiful face, raising a brow at the smile he found there. "What is that?"

"You said you had to end him. You misspoke." She kissed him again. "We have to end him."