Chapter ten: Bodyguards.
If there was a situation I would never want to be in, it would be this one. I could think of situations ten times as worse than this one, but I would still prefer them. Because now I had to face it. I had to face him. Why the hell couldn't he just... Do any normal boyfriends do when things end? Move on. Or, try to move on at least.
But not Alec. Never Alec.
There had once been a time I met a boy who didn't care for no one, nor anything bar his sister and his coven. Somehow, and I wasn't quite sure how I did it exactly, but I had become one of those very few things he let in. That he went on to care about, and from how well I knew Alec -which I'd like to think was really well- the things he cared about... He never gave up on them. His loyalty was one of the many traits people could respect him on. Envy Aro for having, and wish to have it themselves.
His dedication was another trait which was highly respectable, yet irritating none the less. I couldn't say I was really fully surprised at the fact Alec had found out. After all, it was his job to know things and figure things out; wasn't it? His intellect and breakdown in figuring things out were amazing.
"Is... This why you're here?" I couldn't help myself from asking. It seemed silly, but was there a possibility this was the reason he was here? I couldn't see how it would fully revolve around it, for Carlisle had said it involved 'all of us.' Our breakup didn't involve them in the slightest... Did it?
Alec's hand fell from my face, while his head shook in response. Well, there's the answer to my question. It wasn't to do with this, he just decided he wanted to 'talk' about this alone. Did he see it like I did? This conversation didn't involve the others? I hoped so. I wasn't quite sure how my family would react if they knew exactly that had gone on when I had gone 'missing.'
No doubt they would be angry at me for not telling them, angry for the Volturi not informing them I had vanished for a number of hours, angry for the fact Lilianna had slapped me, and no doubt angry that I had lied about my reasoning for ending things with Alec.
Although they weren't overly thrilled of our relationship, I don't think they were petty enough to want to keep us apart. At the end of the day, they just wanted my happiness, didn't they? After a period of time even Jacob came around to wishing me happiness. Hell, he had been there for me when I had ended things with Alec. He didn't want anything in return, nor did he expect anything. He had just been there as my friend, as my brother.
He felt, and looked, truly sorry for me. He did comfort me; they all did.
If they all found out... They would no doubt be angry. Well, I feared of them being angry. At me and Alec, most of all.
However, the one who had all the right to be angry, just simply stared at me. Sure, he had the rage in his eyes and I could see the patience wearing thin on him; but why wasn't he yelling? Why wasn't he demanding an explanation like he had been moments ago?
Honestly, him just standing there, looking at me, scared me more than anything. The lack of emotion that was on his face was probably one of the most petrifying traits Alec possessed. It was when he was like this that you couldn't help your mind was wandering to the countless possibilities on what he could be thinking.
The empty space on his face where there should be anger, or joy, or whatever it was he was feeling was just... Blank. The only remote door I had any inkling into what he might be thinking, or feeling, was his eyes. He had always been good at guarding himself with this 'emotionless' facade, but it seemed like today was a day that he couldn't keep it up completely.
His eyes were the cracks in the large wall he had set around himself, and I could see quite clearly that he was not pleased in the slightest. Warning bells were going off in my head, screaming at me to fun from the immediate danger that was standing right infront of me. But what could he do? There was no point in running, because what was done, was done. There was no avoiding the facts. Alec and I had ended.
And it was with that thought that I realized why Alec wasn't saying anything. Because he had been thinking the exact same thing as me since we had walked out here. What could he do? Tell me he loved me - which I doubt was true anymore - and that I was an idiot?
These things didn't change the facts. They did however open up a doorway for me. I hated seeing Alec like this. I had always prefered him with some sort of emotion on his face; but in a moment like this... There was only really one way to get emotion out of him, even if it wasn't the emotion I wanted.
I had to provoke him. If I wanted past these walls and see what he was truly thinking, and feeling rather than just some mere guess, I'd have to dig deep and do what I did best. Turn on the sass.
"Then why do you want to talk to me?" I said, digging into this hidden strength I thought I had lost a while back. I crossed my arms and stared directly at him.
His face didn't even so much as flinch.
"Isn't it obvious?" He said, so vague and empty. "Why? Why didn't you say anything when it had happened? I could have dealt with it then and there, rather than five months down the line."
I shrugged my shoulders. "Because you didn't have to deal with anything. I had already dealt with it myself."
His jaw clenched tightly as he took yet another step closer to me. I felt my heart beginning to hammer in my chest.
"She laid a hand on you, Renesmee." Alec said through clenched teeth, the anger flaring in his ruby eyes once again. "And alongside that, she threatened to kill you? You giving her what she wanted was in no way 'dealing' with it."
"And killing her would be the right way to deal with it, huh? Just because of some small bitch slap and a threat?"
"Yes! That's exactly what I would have done!" I broke him. "That's exactly what I am going to do! She not only laid a hand on what is mine, but she threatened and tore you away from me. She deserves to die!" The anger was plastered all over his face now. I had cracked past every wall he had put up, and everything was spilling out. I took a moment to enjoy the fact I still had that effect on him, yet sympathized with what he was saying. He had cared enough... To kill for me. And evidently, he would still kill for me. I wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.
I couldn't quite seem to get my head around it, let alone take some pleasure in the fact he still cared. But if he still cared... Then all of this was pointless. I had ended things for him. I had done it so that he would live and perhaps be happy. I had done all this for him, and if it came down to it, I would do it again because I still cared about him. Because I still... Loved him.
"But I'm not yours." And it was because of that, I couldn't take any chances. If Lilianna was still out there, then there was a high chance that she could still be watching Alec. If she were to see me... Take him in again and throw caution to the wind, then there would be no doubt I'd be handing him over for death. A word without Alec wasn't a world at all. I would much rather live in a place where I knew he was alive but not mine, than live in a place where he no longer existed. "Not anymore."
Alec's anger seemed to wash out with my words. Had there been a drain at his feet, I would have a front row seat to watch as it washed away. Instead, I had the look of confusion and hurt on his face. That was three emotions so far. I was doing well. He still had the capability of feeling. The rumours must've been wrong. I had heard that Alec of the Volturi was as heartless as ever, he didn't care nor did he feel. And yet in the space of two minutes I had managed to see three types of emotions wash over his perfect face.
I wish I hadn't seen the hurt, however. There would never be a feeling worse than seeing him going through some type of harm.
"No, you are not mine," He agreed with me by giving a firm, sharp nod. "But you would be if not for her, and the point still stands I am going to make her pay despite this changing nothing."
Changing nothing. I couldn't help but feel my own pang of hurt. Perhaps I had hoped that he would fight back? Demand that I be his again, which... I wouldn't be able to refuse for long. There was nothing I wanted more than to be in his arms again, to belong to him, but it already looked like... He had moved on. He looked more professional than ever. Dedicated. Determined. He looked like a Volturi member.
"If this changes nothing, why are we talking about it?" I quizzed.
"Because you didn't inform me of this!" He snapped again. "She did not just threaten you, Renesmee. She threatened me alongside that, and now she is plotting to take down not only your family but mine also."
"You think I don't know she threatened you?!" I couldn't help it. The way he was talking to me... It was as if I was a child. It was as if I had no idea as to what happened. "It was because of that I ended things! I wanted to keep your family, you safe."
Alec let out what sounded like a scoff. "You think I am unable in protecting myself? I have more years on you than all your family put together."
"And so does she."
Alec was past 'no emotions' now. He was downright glaring. I had set out to get a emotion out of him, and I had gotten it. But it seemed I had also gotten an argument also.
An argument was better than him not talking to me though, right? That was my way of thinking, anyhow. At least he was talking to me, even if it was in a harsh tone.
"She is also a selfish individual who is putting her desires before anyone else. Something she shares in common with you." Alec restored with a firm glare.
Ouch. He thought me as selfish? How the hell could he even consider that! I was anything but selfish. I had broken up with him so he could live! I gave up my happiness for him. So he could go on protecting our world, doing what he did best, and be beside his sister! That was how it was before he had met me, wasn't it? He stood alongside his sister and planned to do so until the sun fell from the sky. Me giving up that, in my view, was selfless; not selfish!
"I did this for you!" I was the one who stepped forward this time, unable to stop my hand from reaching out and prodding his chest with my finger. He wasn't the slightest bit phased. "I gave up everything for you!"
"I would have done the same in return," Alec caught my wrist and held it tightly. "Might I remind you I was at the point of leaving the Volturi, begging to stay with you."
How could I forget? It had crushed me to see him like that. To know that I had been the one to push him to that state, to force him out of his comfort zone and result in begging for me not to leave him.
"I asked you," I stated back. "I asked you what I should do. What you would do, and you gave me your answer."
"I did nothing of the sort," Alec gritted his teeth tighter.
Oh, really? Well then... Let me just refresh your memory, Volturi.
"I love you Alec," I whispered against his chest. I needed him to know that it was true. I needed him to know full well it was true, and it would never change. But this was the only way I felt I could get what I needed from him, to lead into some guidance. With him holding me the way he was, I don't think it would ever be possible to leave him. But... If in some roundabout way he would do the same as I was planning, then it would be easier because at least then... I was doing the right thing. "You know that right?"
"Renesmee, what's going on?"
"You know I love you, right?" I asked again.
"Of course." I felt his head nod above me. I buried my head closer into his chest.
"And you love me?" I needed to hear him say it... I needed to hear it, for it might be the last time I ever get the chance.
"With every fibre of my being."
"And if it came down to that love, would you do anything for me?"
Here it was. If it came down to his love for me, would he leave me if it resulted in allowing me to live. If it did, then I would have nothing compelling me to do otherwise. I couldn't be selfish in my love for Alec. Not when his life was on the line.
"Reny-" he tried to object.
"Would you?"
"I'd go to the moon and back for you, Renesmee. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, but I don't understand what this has to do wi-"
I had to shut him up. I couldn't hear it anymore. His confession, his loyalty of feelings, his devotion to me... As beautiful as it was, I now knew what I needed to do. I had to leave the man I'd fallen in love with. I had to leave him so that he could live. I wondered... If this was how my father had felt when he had to leave my mother. I had heard the stories of how broken she had been. But she had been human... Alec wasn't. Alec would move on. He had done well without me to begin with. Although Edward had returned to Bella, I didn't see how I would ever get to be in the arms of this man again. But I had to do it.
So as a last act of my love for him, I wanted to share a final night in nothing but Alec.
Alec's hand on my wrist removed itself with great force, practically swatting it away. The glare in his eyes had magnified by ten. I could see the disbelief in his eyes. The betrayal there.
"You... You can't be serious." Said Alec in a mixed tone that not even I could determine. "That was what that was about? You... justified tearing us apart on account of what I said?"
I blinked at him, rubbing at the area he had held tightly. It didn't really hurt, it was more so of the fact he had held there, and my skin had been set alight. Trust my body to react instantly, right? It was as if every cell in my being had been put on standby, waiting for the day he would come back into my life and touch me. Even the most smallest of touches had set everything into haywire. Everything in me was ringing.
"You said you'd do anything for me, and so I did everything I could for you. I let you go, so that you could live."
Alec scoffed again, but this time it wasn't in sarcastic humor. It was in rage and disbelief. "I wouldn't have left you!"
He... Wouldn't have? My confusion must have showed on my face, because I was downright confused. This had been a matter of life and death. Was he saying that if it had been my life in jeopardy here, he wouldn't have taken the route that allowed me to live? And here he was saying I was the selfish one!
"You wouldn't have, huh?" I moved my hand to my hip, head tilting to the side. "So I'm in the wrong here for wanting you to live? Well sorry for thinking about you over myself."
"But that's the thing. You weren't thinking of me." He had to be kidding, right?! That was all I had done, for christ sake! Did he honestly think I actually wanted to leave him? I was just about to protest when Alec continued on; muting me once again. "You didn't once think about how I would have felt if you left me. I would have thought of you. I would have thought about how it would have affected you, especially after you claiming to love me as much as you did. You thought of yourself, and went with what you thought was right; when it only made things worse."
"Worse? How the hell could it have gotten worse than her threatening to take you from me if I didn't leave?!"
"Because with you leaving, she didn't take me from you! She took you from me!" He fully yelled. So loudly, I was positive everyone in the house would have heard. So much for just wanting to 'talk' huh.
I stood by what I went by with Gary. Getting it all out in the open was a good thing. Letting it all out would help, but I didn't quite see how it would stand by in this situation. This was making everything seem clear. Alec didn't view it the same way I did. I had thought I was in the right, by wanting him to live, and yet he viewed it as a selfish act. I guess... We'd never come to common ground on this sort of thing.
"Don't you see... With you complying with what she wanted... You gave her exactly what she set out for. She took you from me. She took the last remaining thing I cared about in this world, and crushed it before my very eyes." He stepped forward to me again, while all I could do was stare up at him. "You fell right into her hands by giving her what she wanted. I would never have... I still would never... Do that to you."
His hands found my face once again. Both resting either side and cupping it tenderly. "I would have fought with everything I had for us... Because you were all I had."
My heart was shattering all over again. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream at him I was sorry. I wanted to hold him and ask him over and over again for forgiveness. Alec's head fell forward to rest against mine. His addictive breath washed over my face, causing my own breath to hitch.
"You were my life, Reny."
Hearing that nickname again, after so long, killed me inside. It was then that I realized just how much I had screwed things up. Perhaps I should have gone to him, sawt out some sort of help, gave Alec more credit than what I thought. But in the position I had been in, I had only been thinking about Alec's safety. I wanted nothing more than for him to live on, no matter what.
And if that meant he was to live without me, then so be it.
"And you were mine..."
A stray tear managed to fall from my eye without my permission. Alec gently wiped it away with his thumb, while he rubbed our noses together. His eyes were closed tightly. I wished he would open them, so that perhaps I could have some clarity as to what he was thinking. He stayed as still as a statue against me, his hands never once falling from my face. The only movement he did was his thumb gently stroking across my cheek every now and then.
"Alec..." I whispered, letting my own eyes fall to a close.
"Yes?" He replied back, just as silently.
"Are you going to kiss me?"
There was a long pause. Each second that ticked by made my insides twist.
"I want too.." He admitted, his eyes slowly opening once again. The solid red peered right into mine, and I could see the truth lying there beside the pain and sorrow this conversation brought him. "I want too... So much." He repeated again. Perhaps to reassure me in some way?
"Then do it..."
His thumb brushed under my eye for what felt like the first time all over again. His eyes never once moved from mine.
"I wish I could," he sighed. "But I can't."
My world came tumbling down on me.
"Our parting... Made me realize that without me in your life you are better off." Wait, what? What the hell was he saying?! "You deserve all the happiness in the world, Renesmee. But I cannot bring you that."
I wanted to protest. I wanted to tell him he was wrong, because my time with him... Being his, had been the happiest I had ever been in life. I had felt complete when I had been with him. That he was my happiness.
"You deserve better than me." Alec finished, his eyes closing once again, as if he too were fighting against something inside him to say these words. I wished this 'something' would have won, because what he was saying... They weren't true.
"I don't want-" Alec's finger pressed itself to my lips, hushing me into a silence as he stared me right in the eyes.
"You are everything that is pure in this world, Reny." Him using my nickname made it all the more harder to hear, but I complied with staying silent. It's not like I had a freaking choice. He didn't remove his finger from my lips! "Where as I am the darkness. You spoke wisely in Volterra. We are too different. And as much as I wish that I could, I can't change who I am; nor do I want you to ever change. You will find someone who is right in every way for you. Darkness and light were never meant for one another; despite how much I wish they were. It is indeed time to... Wake up and face reality."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Alec was using what I had said to him against me this time. Had this been how it felt when I had said it? The crushing in my chest, the pain throughout my body, the realization that it could... Actually be true?
"You were my world," Alec sighed, removing the finger from my lips finally. "My book. But I am just a chapter in yours."
Did he just... Use P.S I love you on me? He... Remembered.
We ended up ditching the coffee idea, and heading back to the cottage. I was far too absorbed in the idea of learning more about Alec to even notice the fact we were now back in Forks and he was pushing the door of the cottage open, bringing me into the warmth. Pulling off his cloak; and putting it onto the back of the sofa, I gently fell onto the sofa comforter. Alec wandered on in and put the kettle on. I was about to ask what he was doing, but he returned with a warm mug of hot chocolate, which I happily drank. When he sat beside me, he flicked on the T.V and began to search through the channels.
"OH! STOP!" I yelled, quickly. Alec froze, his finger just on the 'next' button.
"I love this movie!"
"What is it?"
I gaped at him. "For an old vampire, you really are slow with the movies, aren't you?"
He shrugged, but continued to wait for my answer. "It's P.S; I love you. One of the best romance movies you will ever see... Ever!" Thankfully, it was only just the beginning. Outside, the rain was picking up and hitting against the window; while it bounced off the ground; making sweet sounds. He turned up the volume.
"Alright, then you have to sleep. You have school tomorrow, remember." Alec mused, resting back and kicking his shoes off. I watched in a daze at how human he could be sometimes, even when he was acting like my dad. Gently, he placed his feet onto the coffee table and got more comfortable. I eased in closer to him, resting my head against his shoulder. "What's your favorite movie?" I whispered.
"I don't tend to watch movies," he muttered back.
"You'll love this one, you old hopeless romantic."
"Hopeless romantic?" He scoffed. "No, not romantic. Just hopeless,"
Alec dropped his hands from my face and stepped away from me. "I will, however, accept your previous offer. If it still stands, that is." My what?
My face must've given my confusion away since Alec arched an eyebrow and went onto explaining what he meant. "Of friendship?"
Oh... Oh! So he was accepting that now? What happened to it being improper for a Volturi guard member to have friends? What was it he had said? 'it isn't acceptable nor the norm for a Volturi guard to have friends. Do not take it as anything... Personal. I am just doing my duty and what is expected of me as a guard member.' I suppose it was true what he had said, really. You never found anyone who actually considered themselves a member of the Volturi's friend. Sure, Carlisle and Aro exchanged words with calling one another friend, but I was positive there was no real ties there. What was there wasn't friendship. Come to think of it... I hadn't met anyone who classed any member of the Volturi as their friend besides me, of course.
I had classed Alec as a best friend, alongside the person I was in love with. Demetri and Felix were my friends too, despite how much they annoyed Alec. Jane... Well, she had been a work in progress, but I hadn't had the chance to actually make anything happen there. It looks like I never will, either. I wanted so bad to be accepted by Jane. Not for my own benefit, but for Alec's. To prove to her I was good enough for her brother, and for the rest of the world to see that I had been good enough to gain the acceptance of the overall feared Jane. Although Jane was quite frankly petrifying most - well, all - of the time; I always looked at her in Alec's view. A girl who had been hurt, betrayed and tortured all of her life. Trust wouldn't come naturally to someone who had endured that. I'd be damned if I would willingly be friends with someone, after going through all that, easily. Especially someone who was trying to... Take the thing that had been there your entire life. But I wanted to be her friend. I wanted to prove to her I was different, and it was possible for both of us to care for Alec in our own way. That I would never come between them both, nor even try to steal him from her. All in all, I just wanted Jane to like me in return.
I never got to for fill that goal. "But I thought it wasn't-"
"It isn't." Alec quickly answered. "But it won't be the first time I broke out of the usual Volturi behavior. Especially for you, Renesmee."
I stared at him, trying to get around his words. He was right, after all. He had become my friend to begin with, and that was - as he put it- out of the norm. Even more so, he had moved on from friendship to... Alec had ignored usual Volturi behavior all for me.
"Besides... I did promise to be your friend forever, did I not?"
My breath hitched in my throat. He... He.. He remembered that too?! Was the point in this to make me feel bad? To make me ache at the fact I had given up probably one of the most amazing individuals in the entire world? If that was indeed the case, it was freaking working!
"You did..." I nodded in a breathless whisper.
"I am a man of my word," Alec stated, a small smile appearing onto his lips.
I idly returned the smile, and nodded again in agreement. Alec... My friend. It would take some getting used too, I think. But maybe... Maybe I would get used to it. Go back to how it had been before Alec and I had crossed the line of friendship and into relationship.
He bowed his head in some sign of respect.
"We may return back to your family now, Miss Cullen." He had gone back to his formality again. "There are a few details that we wish to go over with you all."
Wordlessly, I nodded my head again.
Alec took it upon himself to start walking back, while my body turned to watch him go. I felt like I was breaking all over again. Because this time... It was he who had basically ended it. There had been a chance for him right there, right then, to take me. To rekindle what we had lost, but he didn't. Instead, he was walking away from me.
I now knew what he felt. Helpless. Alone. Hurt. Pained.
I would even go as far as saying perhaps maybe even hatred. Not at him. But... At me? Had he hated me when I left him? Oh, I don't know! My head was jumbled and my heart was in my throat. I hoped he had hated me for what I did to him. I certainly did. If he hated me, then it would make this a whole lot more easier. I wanted him to hate me.
No. I... I... I wanted him to love me.
Silently, and brokenly, I followed after Alec.
Friendship was better than nothing, right?
That's what I kept telling myself.
Alec opened the door for me when we finally made it back to the house. Still acting the gentleman. I smiled politely at him as I stepped into the house, and made my way down the narrow hall. I heard the door close behind me, and then the gentle patter of his feet following closely to the main room.
As soon as the space opened up, eyes were on me. Or, us, for Alec's hand found my shoulder as he peered over me. Why was I smaller than everyone! Couldn't there be at least someone I was taller than?! Just someone? Anyone!
"Forgive me," Alec spoke to each and everyone within the room. "We were longer than I had expected."
Had he not wanted to be out for that long? Well, I couldn't really blame him. We had started that... Strange, angersome conversation on the basis of probably never talking to one another again. And yet we had come out of it as... Friends? I wouldn't even begin to try and understand how me and Alec worked. I myself was confused as to how we even got to this point.
"Have we missed much?" Alec then asked.
"No," Jane was the one to answer. Probably the only one in the room who had the balls to talk to Alec, anyhow.
I saw Edward send me a small frown. Oh. He's listening. Great.
Alec gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze while sidestepping around me. He made his way across the room and took a seat beside Jane. Seeing them together... Like this reminded me of when I had first seen Jane in the flesh. She looked like Alec so damn much, and yet so different at the same time. The vivid red eyes, the full lips - that were fuller than Alec's - the high cheekbones and immaculate posture. Her knees were together, her hands holding eachother, neatly resting upon her lap. Beside her, Alec was leaning forward. His hands were also closed around one another, but more so in a fist than Jane's neaty, lazy, rest. His body was leant forward, his arms resting on his knees.
The Volturi necklace around his throat dangled in the air.
"Where were we?" Alec asked while I tried to come out of the state of awe I was in.
I had the Volturi's most fearsome guards in my house... Sitting beside one another in all their glory. Had this ever happened before in the past? Before me, that is?
Dad's head shook in a gentle 'no.' To everyone else, it must've looked like he was just adjusting the few strands of hair that were adamant on being in his face.
"I was just about to explain your plan, brother." Jane said in a monotonous voice. His plan? What plan?
I stepped forward, but no one looked at me. All eyes were on the twins. I took the seat that Alec had previously been in when I had come home. The room was overpowered with the smell of cinnamon. There were other hints in there too, from Demetri, Felix and the other girl standing there. I didn't know her name, but I knew her face. Jane's scent almost matched Alec's, but hers was a little bit more... Sweeter than what his was. Alec's radiated of musky, earthy, addictive cinnamon; just freshly ground and in a jar. Where as Jane's... She did have that earthy smell about her, but it was more subtle. More so of... Cooked cinnamon you'd smell in a freshly baked cake. Never the less, both of them had their cinnamon smell. How I had missed this smell. The mouthwateringly beautiful scent of Alec lingering around the house...
"Ah, yes." said Alec, nodding his head. Taking his cue, Alec went on explaining.
"We've established that she will stop at nothing to obtain what she wants disregarding the consequences. Threatening the Volturi is an act of treason, but alongside that... She is threatening your coven as well. As a Volturi guard, I view her tactics to be childish and quite frankly repulsive." ... She was threatening our coven's? Because we had been in love?
"It's highly obvious that she is looking for a battle. Our source has shown us, as you've seen Edward"-he looked directly at my father, who nodded in agreement-"she is planning to take us down one coven at a time. Starting with yours..."
There wasn't a single sound in the house. No one breathed. No one moved. They just listened. That was until... Uncle Emmett got an idea. Or more so, his usual idea.
"Can't we just go and stop them now?" He toned down the 'ass kicking' thing, which was surprising. Usually, he just spoke what he thought. Good going, Em! You're slowly developing a filter! "I mean, how hard could it be to kick their asses if we take them off guard?"
Oh, nevermind. I would have facepalmed if I hadn't of been frozen.
"Because, chances are, she knows we are here and she is watching us. Or at least, she will be. From my experience with Lilianna in the past things do not pass her. I have my suspicions that perhaps, she knows that Delilah has come to us; and if she doesn't yet... She will. She will catch on quickly that we know something if we do not go about this carefully. Going to her now and trying to eliminate them would be premature and messy."
I got chills from how fluently Alec was able to be in all this. Tactical, serious, business like. Was he like this with the Volturi all the time? Discussing plans and ways to go about things?
"Messy?" Jasper was the one to answer back this time. "We have dealt with newborns in the past."
I didn't even want to think about that. I had heard the stories. Poor Bree...
"That may be the case, but they were sloppy. Lilianna has been exceedingly careful. She hasn't sawt out just any normal newborns." Jane answered with a evident snip in her voice. "She's kept the gifted ones to use to her advantage."
Gifted vampire's? But gifted vampire's didn't happen all the time. From the reports of the amount of people who had gone missing, there was no way in hell all of them were gifted. Which meant...
Oh no.
"She's killing the ones who aren't useful to her." I whispered, my eyes wide with sorrow. "My friend's... Cousin went missing. She's only fifteen..."
The eyes were all on me while I sat there trying to think of how the odds were in her favour. If she had been taken by Lilianna, what were the chances of her being gifted? Of being of some use? Did I really want her to be of use to Lilianna, if it would help bring down my family? No, but I didn't want her dead either!
"We're sorry to hear that," Alec said with a sincere tone.
"What... What will happen if she is... With them?"
Alec's eyes held onto mine for two seconds, and I already knew the answer. We all did. I felt my heart break for Gary all over again. Alec dropped his gaze to the floor while he answered what we all already knew.
"She will be eliminated with the rest of them. We cannot allow any of them to live."
I had to hold back a sob. Little Belle... Gary... He had already gone through too much. At the hands of Lilianna alone, she was slowly breaking Gary into nothing, and she didn't even know him! She had taken Nick from him, and now his family. Was there nothing that this girl wouldn't do? Did she not realize the lives she was ruining by taking these people?! By killing them, or using them in some... Sick, twisted plan of hers?
"And what about this Delilah? The one helping you?" Carlisle asked, his arm around Esme tightening.
"... She will be alongside the others." Alec looked up through his lashes. "Although she has helped us, it does not overpower what she has done already. We cannot take any chances nor make exceptions."
Jane gave me a look of confusion. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. I knew that look. She had caught on just as I knew she would. I had told Delilah she, and the others, would live. I had given her my world. Those were the terms for her helping us; however... Although I classed myself as a man of my word, I could not override Aro's rules. She, and the others, had been created for destruction and all the wrong reasons. They were problems, and the Volturi wouldn't stand for problems. No one would come out of this alive from that coven. None of them. And deep down, I knew Jane understood this also; she just had believed I would have kept to my word - seeing as that is what I normally would do. My word, my promises, didn't stand against Aro. What he said, what he ruled, was always obeyed and put first. No exceptions.
The silence continued to play out as the information was soaked in. All of them... The ones helping the Volturi, alongside the ones who had no idea what was going on, would be destroyed because of Lilianna. All those people... Who had once been human, had families, had lives... Just...
My stomach twisted.
"What do you suggest we do, if not go after them now?" said Edward, ending the deathly silence that was slowly tearing me apart. What could we do?!
Alec sat himself up and let out a deep, hollow sigh. His hand broke from it's clasp in front of him and moved to rest on top of Jane's. The small movement in his hand, I could see he was squeezing it in reassurance.
"We ask that you comply with our tactics, and do not argue." Jane answered. "We will be sending Corn," Ah! So that was the name of the girl! "Back to Volterra once we have finished here. She will inform Aro of this matter and know we have requested for his assistance and guidance. We feel that in a matter like this, because of the gifts she has already obtained, we will need numbers. Alongside you, the Volturi will stand and end this threat once and for all."
Did I... Just hear that right? The Volturi wanted to... Team up, so to speak? Was that even possible? After everything that had gone on with our families in the past? Sure, they had put their differences aside when Alec and I had been together, but that wasn't there anymore!
"Very well," Carlisle agreed before anyone could intervene. If they were going too, no one did. It seemed they were all on the same page. All agreeing to this. To stand with the Volturi... To keep both coven's alive. Putting their differences aside once again so that both could live. "Is there anything else?"
"We suggest that you keep together." Demetri was the one who spoke this time. For a minute there, I was positive he had lost his voice. "If not with each other, then with one of us. As a precaution, of course."
Well, that seemed simple enough. Seeing as all of us stayed together in this house anyway, we were never without one or the ot- Oh, crap.
"Renesmee," Edward's voice mirrored my own hesitance and surprise. The eyes went to Edward, and then to me.
"Is something wrong?" Jane frowned, glancing between my father and I again.
"She has this College thing," Bella answered for me. How the hell was I going to get out of that! I couldn't go to the College knowing that Lilianna was out there, probably plotting my death! No doubt none of them would let me go anyway! But Gary... He will be so pissed at me for bailing on him. He said he couldn't wait for this. His chance to get away from reality... And Lana, and my new friends and... Finn...
"Is it possible for her to not attend?" If only it was, Jane. If only it was.
"I'm not entire-" Edward went to speak, but Alec cut him off with something that stunned not only my whole family, but me myself.
"I will watch over her at this College event."
A/N:
Challenging you guys is impossible! You never fail. Y'all would be perfect Volturi guards; never letting a mission/challenge go.
Heh, imagine that. Working alongside Alec. I don't think I'd get any work done, really. Too busy drooling over him. Cameron Bright... Ugh, why are you so beautiful?
So, yes; Alec rejected kissing her. D'you guys want to come into the next room with me and scream a little bit/a lot?!
But there is one thing we know about Alec. He can't resist her for the long run - and this College event will have them closer than ever!
Anyway; I want to challenge you guys; but I'm positive you're beginning to beat me. I can write fast, yeah; but you guys are getting the reviews in quicker!
So, seeing as it was fifty last time; why not try one hundred more this time?
1,330. If you manage that, I think I will cry with happiness.
You guys really are the best readers.
I love you all.
-C.H