With One Look

Chapter 11

Caius's P.O.V.

I can't believe this is happening. All I ever wanted was to make Isabella the happiest that I could. Then she would go on those damnable missions. I hated it, but Aro keep pushing me to let her go, "Let her go," he'd say. "Let the world know how powerful she is and that she belongs to us, Caius," he'd say. Always pushing, constantly nagging,"it's for the good of our coven to show how powerful we are," he'd say. But I couldn't stand it any more. I missed her so badly and finally made her stop going.

It wasn't long before Aro started again, "she's part of the elite guard, Caius. She needs to be in the throne room with the others during trials. You know she'd want this; she doesn't like being singled out above the others," he'd say. I didn't care what Aro said, I didn't want Isabella around all that death, but there were times when Isabella would say she was going whether I liked it or not, and I was glad to some extent. I did miss her and having her by my side made me happy, but it wasn't an everyday thing unless Aro would order for her to be there, which royally pissed me off.

I remember this one time, Aro came to me and told me to have Isabella in the throne room that evening. He said that he had gotten news of there being a spy in our midst and that person was part of the elite guard. He needed Isabella there to help him read the guardsmen to find the traitor and he was using having the guard join us at meal time as a ruse to make them think they were being honored for the hard work. As I was leaving his office he stopped me by saying, "oh, and Caius, she will have to feed with the rest of us. Is that understood?" He demanded. I just looked at him between narrow eyes and stormed out of his office. He knew Isabella only fed off criminals and I knew then he was using her to get to me. Letting me know that he ruled ahead of me and Marcus. I heard him laugh as I walked down the hall. The arrogant fool.

I went straight to Isabella and told her that she had to join us at feeding time that evening, but she refused to go. I told her that Aro demanded that she be there because he had gotten news that a trader had infiltrated the elite guard and he needed her help to read the group after they fed. She then agreed, thinking she didn't have to feed with the rest of us, but soon deflated when I told her that she had to feed with us because Aro would take it as an impertinence against him if she didn't. She argued with me for a while, and it took me almost begging her to do this for me until she finally agreed, but unhappily.

That evening when the time came to feed, Aro ordered the guard to feed. I looked over at Isabella and I could see the sadness in her eyes at not wanting to do this and I hated myself for making her do this. I hated myself even more when I saw the small child that stood at her feet after she drained the young woman and realized that the child belonged to the woman she'd just killed. The pain I saw in her eyes nearly brought me to my knees. I had made her do this, and it was only for Aro's vanity, to prove he led this coven.

Since then Isabella was having trouble feeding even on the criminals that she had always fed from. I knew this not because she told me, but because I noticed she was holding off as long as she could before feeding. I never said anything to her because I knew it was my fault that she was having such a hard time with this. I also figured out that she was to some extent using Carlisle Cullen's diet. I could tell that she was still feeding on humans because her eyes stayed the same color, but there was a gold tint to them making me guess she was also feeding from animals, but as I said I never said anything about it, because this too was my fault.

It was a few months later when Aro started again. He wanted Isabella to attend a meeting with the guard to watch the proceeding involving a coven's dispute over another coven trying to take over their territory. I saw no harm in Isabella joining us and asked her to join the guard during these proceedings, but now I wished I hadn't, and I'm sure Aro wishes he hadn't ordered it either.

Everything was going great. The elite guard was standing in their usual place surrounding the wall of the throne room, I looked over at Isabella and smiled at her and she returned my smile as Demetri and Felix brought in the coven to voice their concerns. I immediately saw the leader of their coven walk in, he was a large vampire and his face was marred with a frown, do to the circumstances I'm sure.

They weren't a large coven; there were only four of them, and it was then that I heard a female voice mumbling that they should have just killed the other coven and been done with it. My eyes followed the sound of her voice, and when our eyes met I was lost. There standing in front of me was my true mate. I felt the energy pass through my body as if I was struck by lightning. All else left me, the reason for this meeting, Isabella, the guard, my brothers - none of them existed only this angel who stood before me. I knew nothing until I heard Aro demand that this woman be taken and executed for her insolence to the crown. I jumped from my chair and ran, grabbing this woman and holding her to my chest, screaming, "you will not kill my mate!" Of course everyone stopped in their tracks and silence reigned over the hall until Aro ordered the room to be cleared of all but the coven and ourselves, but even then Aro and Marcus left the room as well, leaving me and the complaining coven alone.

I leaned down and pulled the angel in my arms away from my body somewhat and asked. "What's your name?"

"Athenodora," she said.

"Do you know what just happened?" I asked.

"I think so, you are my mate, right?"

I smiled with a nod, "yes, but it's more than that for you are my true mate, my love, and I will never let anything or anyone ever hurt you again," I told her and meant every word of it.

"Does that mean I will become a queen?" she asked and I couldn't help but laugh loudly at her question.

"We will see, my love, we will see," I said as I led her to my office to be alone with her to get to know her better, but as I entered my office I found Aro pacing thunderously while Marcus sat in a chair off in the corner staring at the two of us.

"Aro, what in god's name are you doing here?" I asked loudly. He ignored me and called for Jane.

"Jane," he called and as Jane entered the room he continued. "Jane take this woman and her coven to the guest rooms and see that they are taken care of. I need to speak to my brother alone," he demanded.

"Yes, Master," Jane said and led the woman from the room as I watched the love of my life leave and felt a tugging in my chest at her departure.

"Aro, what is the meaning of this?" I demanded.

"What is the meaning of this? Have you not forgotten something, brother, or someone I should say?" He asked hatefully.

"What are you going on ab…," I froze to the spot where I was standing and stared at my brother as he nodded his head, understanding that I had just remembered someone else and I realized she was in the room when all this had taken place. "Oh god," I mumbled.

"Yes, Isabella was in the room and since she shares Marcus's gift I'm sure she too knows what has happened, Caius. I just hope to god that you have explained the difference between a mate and a true mate," he said causing me to groan. "No … no. You haven't, have you? Oh lord, Caius, if that girl leaves this coven I will kill you myself. So you'd better make damn sure she doesn't. Do whatever you can to keep her here. I mean it, Caius whatever it takes. Do you understand me?" He shouted.

It was a demand, not a question, but that made no difference to me now. All I knew was I had to talk with Isabella. I only hoped she wouldn't hate me for putting her through all this. I still loved her, but Athenodora was my everything, my world now. I couldn't live without her. I hated hurting Isabella, but this couldn't be helped. I thought for sure I'd never meet my true mate; it was supposed to be rare, very rare. Who would have thought that she would march into my life this way. What was I supposed to do, stay single for eternity not knowing if I would ever meet my true mate? I sighed, knowing I was trying to make excuses for what had happened, but there were no excuses for this. It couldn't have been foreseen.

Aro left my office followed by Marcus, who patted my shoulder as they left. I sat at my desk pondering what I was going to say to Isabella. She must have been horrified when this happened. My poor Isabella, but I guess she is no longer my Isabella, is she? My feelings for her still hadn't changed, which made this all the harder. How would I ever make this up to her? I couldn't. I knew this. I could only explain things to her and hope she'd get over me at some point, but I knew it would be hard for her, and that made me sad.

I knew Aro could give two flying fucks in the wind about Isabella's feelings. His only thought was to make sure she stayed with the coven, and if Isabella decided to leave because of this I knew there was nothing he or I could do to stop her, she was just too powerful. But I didn't want her to leave either, not for the same reasons as Aro, but just knowing she was here made me feel warm all over. If worse came to worse and she really wanted to leave I knew I wouldn't stop her.

It had been a few months since my talk with Isabella. I hated hurting her the way I did, but I think we left each other as friends or as much as we could be in our situation. Even though I still loved Isabella, I loved my new mate a thousand times more.

A knock came to my door one day. When I answered I was told that my brother, Aro, wished to speak to me. I left my mate in bed where I had just made passionate love to her and went to meet with my brother.

"What is it, Aro?" I asked as I entered his office and found my brother pacing once again across his office floor. He had taken to doing this a lot lately, and I knew it was always due to his fear that Isabella would leave us, but it had been months and I doubted very much that she was going anywhere.

"You have to talk to Isabella," he said in an irate voice.

"What, why?" I asked, not a bit surprised at his order.

"I had a talk with her a few days ago and she is thinking of leaving us," he said.

"What are you talking about, brother? What exactly did she say?" I asked, thinking he was letting his imagination run away from him again.

"I tried everything I could think of to help her get through this, Caius, and she admitted to me that she was thinking about leaving and doing some traveling. I have racked my brain trying to figure out a way to keep her here, but she wasn't having any of it. You have to talk to her and make her see reason and make her stay with us!" He growled.

I sighed and sat down in one of his chairs. "Aro, if Isabella is bound and determined to leave us she will, and there's nothing you or I can do to stop her, you know this," I told him.

Aro picked up a statue that sat on his desk and threw it across the room, burying it into the wall. "Find a way, Caius. I demand it," he commanded.

I ignored his command and sighed yet again. "Brother, think about it, she is stuck in a castle having to see the one she loves with another, how would you feel if it was Sulpicia? Would you want her to hurt if she wasn't already your true mate?" I asked.

"Yes, as long as she stayed within these walls, then yes. She would heal and find love again, plus, I would still spend time with her on the sly as you should do. Tell her you still want to be part of her life, spend quality time with her," he said.

I growled at him, realizing who I was talking to, forgetting that this vampire didn't have a conscience, his selfish ass wouldn't care about hurting someone he loved much less care about Isabella's feelings.

"To start off with, dear brother, I wouldn't do that to Isabella, much less to my true mate, and as long as she has to be in this castle and see me with Athena she will never love again. It may be best if she does go - at least she can start her life over again. She's always wanted to see the world, maybe now is her chance."

"NO! She will not leave. She is too powerful to leave this castle. She is capable of taking us down, Caius. She can destroy us. Have you ever thought of that? You have hurt her, brother. What if she wants to take revenge against you by taking down the Volturi to do it?" Aro growled.

I laughed at the thought. "Oh, Aro, Isabella is not vengeful, and the last thing she would want is to rule the vampire world. You are letting your imagination run away with you again," I told him.

"Caius you will stop her from leaving or I will find a way to destroy her. I cannot, or will not let someone as powerful as she run amok in our world," I said.

I growled once again. "You will not harm her! It's not as though you could, even if you tried. She would end you before you even took a nonexisting breath, and it won't be to rule the vampire world it would only be to defend herself and it would leave Marcus and me to rule. I told you before she is not interested in ruling our world. But I will have a talk with her and see where her mind is in this circumstance, but I'm warning you, Aro, if she wishes to leave it will be with my well wishes, and you will have to deal with it," I told him as I rose from my chair and exited his office. I heard him growl loudly as I walked down the hallway. I shook my head at his stupidity.

It was true that I would let her leave if she wished it, but I would make it hard for her to do so. I didn't want to hurt Isabella, but the thought of her not being within these walls upset me. I wanted her to move on, but the thought of her finding a new love bothered me immensely.

Could I stand to see her with another within this castle? I didn't know for sure, but the thought of her lying with another did bother me. Maybe she should leave, though I would miss her terribly, but I would survive especially with Athena by my side. I also knew that my love for Isabella would fade with time, but I wasn't so sure hers would, so yes, if she wished to leave I would let her go.

I walked up to her door and paused for a few seconds before knocking. I heard her bid me to enter and opened the door, looking around to find her standing next to the closet getting ready for her day. "Bella, may I have a few words with you?" I asked, in hopes that using the name I chose as an endearment would ease our conversation somewhat.

"Of course, Master Caius," she replied. I sighed, hating the way she greeted me.

"Bella, you don't have to call me that while we're alone, I explained.

"You are one of our leaders and we are no longer together. It would be disrespectful of me to not greet you as such," she said sharply. I grimaced at how she said this.

"Bella," I said softly as I pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and kissed her temple. "I still love you, you know that," I whispered into her ear softly as I rubbed her back. She sighed and moved away from me and crossed the room and sat at her dressing table and began to brush her hair.

Not to be defeated, I walked over and pushed her hair from her shoulders and began kissing her shoulder. I could feel the effect I had on her. She then said my name and instead of what I thought was a moan of my name she shrugged her shoulders, stopping me from showing her affection, and after seeing the look in her eyes I knew she was upset with me for trying to seduce her. This made me a little angry.

"Aro sent you, did he not?" She asked as I stood up behind her looking at her through the mirror. She had always been smart, easily figuring out things before anyone said a word, and this was no different, but I tried to hide the fact that Aro had indeed sent me.

"What makes you think that?" I asked guiltily.

"Because of the talk I had with Aro a few days ago. I knew he'd come up with something to try and stop me from leaving," she said, causing my heart to drop.

"So you are leaving?" I asked sadly. "Is it because of me, because I've found my true mate?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders but I knew that was the reason. "Love, you know I have no control over such things," I told her. She slammed her brush down and stood up to face me.

"Look, Caius, I understand you had no control over what happened, and although it hurts and probably will for a very long time I'm still happy that you found your soulmate. I only want what is best for you, and Athenodora seems to make you happy, but I don't wish to stay here and watch as the man I love happy with someone else. I also don't appreciate you brother sending you here to convince me to stay. I didn't tell him I was leaving, only that I was thinking about it, but...She said, stopping in mid-rant.

I knew she hated this and I wished I could take all the pain she felt away from her, but I couldn't so I would do whatever she wanted, whatever she needed to make this better for her. I walked up to her and place my finger under her chin and made her look at me as I finished her sentence for her. "But you can't stand to see me with another woman when you still have feelings for me," I said sadly. She nodded her head in answer.

"How would you feel if you saw me with another male?" She asked. I already knew the answer to this, but I paused and then answered.

"I wouldn't like it," I said, plain and simple.

"And I wouldn't blame you. Aro thinks I should find someone else to warm my bed…someone from this coven. I just can't do that to you or to me. I wouldn't feel comfortable, Caius," she said with a shaky voice and I knew if she could cry she would have tears streaming down her cheeks. In knowing this I nodded and pulled her to his chest trying to comfort her the best I could. After a few minutes I pulled away slightly and looked into those sad eyes and spoke.

"I understand my love, if you must go then go. Leave Aro to me. Just leave a contact number with us in case something happens and we need your help. Can you do that for me?" I asked and she nodded her head sadly. "When will you leave?" I asked.

"By the end of the week I guess," she told me. I nodded and leaned down and placed my lips on hers, kissing her passionately to say a final goodbye. When I released her from the kiss I told her that I would miss her. After saying this I heard a deep rumble of a sob come from her chest. I hugged her once again and whispered into her ear. "I'm so sorry Isabella," and I meant every word. If I thought for a minute that my true mate would have arrived any time as soon as she did I would have never started a relationship with Isabella. I hated seeing her so sad, but I released her from the Volturi and hoped that she could find happiness out within the world.

Aro was furious when he found out I let her leave. He swore he'd find a way to bring her back. I shook my head and I told him, "to just leave her be, Aro, just leave her be," I said as Aro walked away and slammed the door to his office. I knew this wouldn't be the end of it, but I will fight in Isabella's corner if need be, and I'm sure there will come a time when I will be needed.

A/N: I had to give you Caius's point of view of what happened, before we moved on to Bella's adventure before she meet up with Carlisle again...Let me know what you think...thanks for reading, huggs.