"I'll admit kid, I'm impressed," a smug voice called out to me, making me freeze.
Slowly turning my head, I looked into the alley beside me to see Demetri leaning against a wall watching me.
"I mean we all definitely thought you were going to try and run off at one stage. But on the first day? Impressive."
The street I was on was still bathed in sunlight, whereas Demetri was stuck watching from a shady alley.
"I still have a chance. The sun's still up. I'm not going back."
Demetri sighed. "You won't make it. It's not just me out here looking for you. There are others."
Shaking my head, I ignored his warning and kept running down the street. I turned right further down the street, hoping to put more distance between myself and Demetri, only to quickly spin around as I found the street was already covered in shade.
Before I could exit back out into the sun, a cold hand grasped my elbow and pulled me back into their chest.
"Caught you," she taunted into my ear as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders to hold me in place against her. Jane.
"Let me go," I struggled against her in vain.
"Sister," Alec spoke from behind us, and Jane spun us around to face him.
"Brother."
"Nicely done," he nodded as he watched me carefully. "How is your head?"
I ignored him as I continued tugging against Jane's hold. Sighing, Jane raised her hand up to my head and moved some of my hair so that she could see my injury. "It's fine," she answered for me. "It's only a small cut. What to do with you now," she mused.
Alec managed to lock his eyes onto mine and stared at me for a moment before sighing. "Perhaps a change in approach might work better."
"What?" Jane asked.
Alec tilted his head. "Leave her with me. You and Demetri go back to the castle. We'll return shortly."
"What are you going to do?" Jane asked as she released me, allowing me to stumble forward.
"Well, the human did mention she was hungry earlier. They get grumpy when they're not fed," he said to his sister, speaking about me as if I wasn't standing in front of them.
"Are you sure that's safe?" she asked cautiously.
Alec looked over at me and breathed in deeply through his nose. "I will succeed."
I glared at him as I looked between him and his sister. There was nowhere to flee to. They had both exits covered. Not to mention they were faster than I could ever hope to be.
"Demetri," Alec called out and Demetri immediately appeared by his side. "Return with Jane. Inform the masters we will return shortly." Demetri nodded quickly before disappearing with Jane.
Alec sighed as he looked over at me. "I'd appreciate it if you do as I request without a public argument. It'll be much easier if we avoid attracting attention," he said as he came to stand right in front of me. "Are you going to be able to do that? If you don't we'll head straight back to the castle."
I glared up at him before I broke eye contact and nodded.
"Follow me, human," he instructed as he turned and walked down the alley.
I followed after him, being sure to leave a few steps in between us as I glared at his back. I could hear him quietly muttering in Italian as I followed him through shady alleyways as he tried to find a restaurant that was covered in shade.
"Here will do," he stopped walking as he found a restaurant. I stopped walking at the same time, maintaining my distance from him and he turned around with a sigh. "I am not going to hurt you, would it really be that much to ask that you walk next to me?"
I only crossed my arms as I glared at him. Rolling his eyes Alec put his hand in his coat pocket and pulled out a pair of brown coloured contacts that he proceeded to place in his eyes to cover the red.
Seeing him do this made me loosen my arms and drop them back to my side. He looked exactly as he did when we'd first bumped into each other. That day in the bookshop when that charming, albeit-it strange boy found my phone and not the murdering monster I now knew him to be.
Noticing my slight change in attitude Alec gave me a small smile and walked closer to me and held his elbow out, gesturing for me to take hold of it and walk with him. I looked at him sceptically before scoffing and crossing my arms again.
Alec let out a small huff before he began walking towards a restaurant, allowing me to trail behind him again.
Alec chose a table on the terrace and pulled out a seat for me to sit in. I glared at him before walking around the other side of the table and pulling out a chair for myself to sit in.
"Alright then," he muttered before sitting down. We sat in silence for a few minutes while he looked around us in disgust.
"What?" I snapped and he turned to look at me. "Are you always this sour?"
"Well you're not exactly acting like a ray of sunshine either," he quipped.
"No, you kidnapped me. Remember? Not much to be happy about."
"Please. Do you understand how lucky you are?"
"Lucky!" I yelled. "Lucky! How could you even…"
"Ciao!" a waitress greeted as she hurried over to us, quickly making me fall silent. "Inglese?" she asked as she looked at me. "Can I get you both anything to…" she trailed off as she looked at Alec, his ethereal beauty stunning her into silence. "Can I… can I get you anything to drink?" she giggled as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Ask her," Alec snapped at the waitress.
"Coke per favore," I muttered quietly.
"Come back again in a few minutes," he ordered the girl, not even bothering to look her in the eyes.
"Of course," she nodded. "I'll be back shortly," she smiled, turning around and audibly exhaling.
"You don't have to be so rude," I muttered.
"She's just like every other human," Alec scoffed. "Led by such base desires."
I glared harshly at him as he insulted my entire species. "You're an ass," I muttered as I slumped into my seat.
"Can you deny it?" he challenged.
"Well, your charms haven't exactly affected me," I quipped.
"No," he grumbled. "No, they have not." It bothered him, I could see from his reaction he was bothered that his appearance wasn't swaying my opinion of him. No one could deny he was stunning, they could design statues just to look like him, he was the perfect model, but it was hard to admire your own captors.
We sat silently for a few minutes, allowing me to stew in my rage before his voice interrupted my thoughts. "The masters are furious with you."
"Who cares."
"You should. You don't understand the dynamics of our coven. You do not challenge the masters, you most certainly do not disobey them. You have been here one day and you've done both. Aro was amused until you attempted your escape. Do you understand you're going to have to stay alive in a castle of vampires for over a year? You can't go around breaking plates in your room and jumping out of windows. We're not used to holding back, if you bleed you are in very real danger. The only thing that saved you from me today was the fact you were in the sun. Even then it was hard to hold back."
"Perhaps you should all learn to exercise some self-control," I retorted angrily.
"It doesn't work like that," Alec groaned in frustration. "When we smell blood… it's like sharks. A frenzy comes over us. It's primal. It's very difficult to hold back."
I fidgeted around uncomfortably in my chair. Hearing how he and his friends would have the urge to drain me of my blood if any spilt in their presence was… disconcerting.
"That's disgusting."
"Anything to eat?" the waitress nervously asked as she approached our table, sneaking sideways glances at Alec.
"Just the pesto pasta please," I smiled softly as I handed her the menu and she scurried away. She too sensed something dangerous about my companion.
"You won't find it so disgusting when you too have the same cravings," he smirked at me and my head shot up to look him in the eyes.
"What?"
Alec frowned in confusion. "What did you not understand? You'll understand the craving for blood once you are one of us."
"No, I won't."
"What do you mean?" Alec sighed.
"I'm not becoming a vampire," I growled under my breath as I leaned forward aggressively.
"Yes. You are. We're turning you when you turn 17."
I hadn't given much thought to what would happen to me. Perhaps I thought they'd return me home once they were done with me, or put me into the care of the Cullen's, even perhaps kill me. But it had not occurred to me they planned to make me one of them. That was my own naive mistake.
"I'm not doing that."
Alec's eyes darkened immediately and anger flashed through his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course, you will."
"I don't want to be like you!" I hissed. "A killer. A murderer. Evil."
"Is that what you think of me?"
"Why do you even want to turn me?"
"I… Aro has plans for you."
"Plans? What plans?" I snapped angrily.
"Aro has seen something in you. A potential. One that was discovered by that seer, Alice Cullen. You will be very important to my coven one day. The plan was to wait until you were 17 and take you then. Unfortunately, my sister's rash actions have altered that plan. But the age target remains unchanged by Aro. You will be turned at 17, and you will be part of this coven."
I leaned back in my chair. "You cannot make me comply."
"You will."
"What makes you so sure?" I challenged.
"The seer has seen it. She has seen your future in a way you could not possibly comprehend. You'll come around to the idea."
"As you've said. You, vampires, lack self-control. What is to stop any one of you from killing me in the next year? If I bleed once, you will all want to kill me."
"I will not allow that to happen," he answered me darkly.
"It won't work. Why don't you just drop me home and we'll forget this whole thing even happened? I'll tell my mum I was angry and went to stay with my friends back in London. She won't care."
"You are staying here and that's not up for debate."
"Because you've been assigned to my protection." I snorted. "You can't stop me bleeding if I get a paper cut. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to kill me."
"Do not!" he growled loudly through gritted teeth. "Do not even jest about that, Wilhelmina," he closed his eyes as he clenched and released his fists a few times.
"Your pasta," the waitress came over and placed my dinner down before quickly running away again. The tension in the air was palpable.
"Eat," Alec demanded, his eyes still shut.
I rolled my eyes and huffed under my breath as I grabbed my fork and started on my pasta.
The rest of my meal was eaten in silence. Alec eventually opened his eyes and his eyes studied me as I ate and it took everything in me to refrain from snapping at him.
I looked around the street as we sat there. It was now dark in Volterra, but something caught my eye. A lifeline. The bus stop. It must've been the one I was looking for. If I could keep Alec distracted for long enough, perhaps I could make a break for it and get on a bus. He couldn't attack me and force me to return with him while we were out in public.
I saw our waitress walk inside the restaurant and I turned to look at Alec. "I'm going to the bathroom," I said quickly before leaping up and walking inside. I looked around until I spotted the waitress standing near the kitchen. "Mi scusi," I tapped her shoulder.
"Can I get you anything else?" she asked me.
"I want to apologise for my cousin's behaviour," I said to her, framing Alec as my cousin. "He was having a bad night. A girl turned him down."
"What kind of girl would turn a guy like that down!" the waitress laughed with me.
"Who would know!" I exclaimed. "He's actually Italian though, just so you know. And he did mention he thought you were just beyond stunning, but he was too nervous to talk to you."
"He did?" the girl asked, her jaw falling open. "Oh my goodness," she giggled as she fanned herself. "I have a chance?"
"A huge chance," I nodded. "I'm just heading to the bathroom. But say I'm in there for 5 minutes? It's the perfect opportunity for you. He'd really appreciate it."
"Oh, mio dio," she sighed. "Grazie! Grazie!" she thanked me as she walked outside quickly.
I saw Alec glaring at me. Vampire hearing. He knew what I'd sent her out to do. I didn't care though. He couldn't exactly vampire speed away from her, he was sitting on a terrace filled with people. Quickly I hurried down the corridor for the bathroom and spotted just what I was looking for. An exit door.
"Yes!" I whispered to myself as I hurried through it and into an alley behind the restaurant. I quickly walked down the alley, heading the opposite way to where Alec was sitting. Even though I knew he was subdued by the waitress, I was still checking constantly over my shoulder. He still had speed at his advantage.
When I got to the end of the alley, I turned the corner only to run straight into a cold chest.
"Now where would you be headed?" his voice asked as he gripped my forearm firmly.
"Let me go," I tugged against his hold.
"You know you have such bad luck with alleys, perhaps you should avoid them," he smirked down at me. "This is three times you've been caught in an alley in the past 24 hours."
"Why won't you just let me go!"
"Volturi rule number one. Humans cannot know our true nature. If they find out, the options are absolute, there is no alternative. Option one, they are killed immediately before they can spread the rumour. Option two, they must be turned. That is why we cannot let you go. You know too much to be allowed free. Your time in the human world has come to an end. You're one of us now," Alec explained as he leaned closer toward me. "In time, you will be turned, and you will revel in the life you've been given. It's what the Cullen girl has seen. Now I am taking you back to the castle where you will face the masters and will likely be given a punishment for your disobedience. In time you will adjust to your new life. But don't try and escape. You will never succeed. I won't let you leave, you're with me now."
A new update for you! I apologise for the delay. Hope you enjoy
She definitely has a bratty attitude now, no denying it. Partially a result of her upbringing, but it leaves room for character development. My idea is that once she starts forming bonds with others her defensiveness, anger and brattiness will drop as she's using it as a self-defence mechanism currently.
The next chapter will include quite a lot of Jane! It's really going to be an opportunity for her to talk about her past.