CHAPTER 18
Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Green Day
Moments after that strange welcome to Italy, they were brought back aboveground and Leah found herself in a restaurant, cleared out of other patrons.
Leah supposed that Dr. Fang just couldn't say no to Head Vamp's generous offer.
Human servers flitted about, paying special attention to the wolves and Renesmee. Renesmee still doesn't like human food, Leah learned. Now, the Volturi know it, too.
Anyway, something's off with Edward. Dude looks like he was traumatized six ways to Sunday by that quick encounter.
Demetri and Felix were still hanging around. Because, of course they would be. Leah was irritated. She hadn't touched the latest dish placed in front of her.
Pappardelle al cinghiale
The past hour had been plate after plate of Italian cuisine. Prepared to the highest quality, she was sure.
The waiters brought food for everyone, including the vampires. Leah scrunched her nose at the food waste. Even if Jacob and Seth ate like pigs (which right now they're too uncomfortable to eat at all), it was still too much.
"Is the food not to your liking, Miss Clearwater?" Demetri asked. "We can ask the chef to prepare something else."
Leah hesitated to reply, not wanting to put some poor chef six feet under with her answer.
"Italy has a proud culinary tradition. Whatever you want, they can make," Felix winked at her.
Demetri tilted his head slightly. His friend was playing the muscle-bound fool again. Nothing could be further from the truth. Felix is probably the most well-read creature on the planet. And the one most attuned to human trends. Why he insisted on masquerading as this dumb strongman, Demetri doesn't understand, but who was he to question his much older mentor.
"I'm vegetarian," Leah replied flatly.
That answer took Demetri by surprise. He did not know that about her after nearly ten years of observing her.
There was a tittering that rose up from the table.
"You're a what?" Rosalie asked. There were some quiet chuckles. Leah knows that there are other Guards listening in.
"Hard of hearing?" Leah shot back at her.
Leah was about to add that she can find food on her own (preferable, actually), when she was interrupted.
"You can't be a vegetarian. You're a wolf," Edward said bluntly.
"Weren't you processing your trauma in silence a few minutes ago? Go back to that," Leah said.
Demetri gave a quiet order to the waiter that's been attending to them.
"You can't be a vegetarian. You need to hunt for your instincts as a wolf," Bella interjected.
"Thank goodness we aren't really wolves, then," Leah said flatly.
"You aren't wolves? You've exploded enough times in our house enough times that I would beg to differ," Rosalie said haughtily.
"I never exploded in your house, even when you all deserved it," Leah said, and it was true. Out of all the wolves, she was the one who never became so emotional that she phased. Her father dying of a heart attack when she first phased gave her immense control over her emotions. The pack mind violated her privacy, making her intense emotions known, so she's sure the other wolves would disagree. But she never exploded in a ball of fur because she got angry or frustrated. And she never ripped anybody's face off.
"Fleas at our house say otherwise," Rosalie said nonchalantly.
"Rosalie!" Esme admonished her, and for a moment Rosalie looked chastened.
"You're complaining about fleas? You're a two-legged tic! Fleas would be an opportunity for you to make friends!" Leah shot back.
Rosalie's eyes flashed. Maybe Leah wasn't better at controlling her temper. Maybe she's just better at mouthing off so she doesn't need to phase to get back at people that make her mad.
The waiter put a new dish in front of her. It had parmesan, which made it still not vegetarian because of the rennet used in the cheese, but she wasn't going to comment and get this human that was currently shooting her dirty looks killed.
"Going back to the topic of you not eating meat. That's simply not possible," Jasper interjected. Truthfully, he was tired of everyone else having better control over their diet than he does. He was relieved when Bella finally snapped. Happy, even. Edward did not like that from his thoughts.
Jasper joining in surprised Leah since he's always been quiet, but especially now in Volturi territory.
"You know, I really thought that getting stuck in an elevator with a bunch of cadavers was going to be the most irritating thing that would happen to me today. But apparently having my own self explained to me by Colonel Sanders was just stuck in the pipeline," Leah countered.
She got up from the table, and walked outside. See how good her self-control is? Walking away instead of firing back some more.
The waiter threw his hands in the air in frustration at her.
Outside, night has fallen. Leah doesn't feel the cold on her skin, she hasn't since she started phasing, but she feels a bit of the chill air when she inhales. It's fresher here than in Seattle. No salt air from the sea, they were too far, but less pollution, too.
Ten years, and they haven't learned anything. Haven't even tried to learn anything about their kind. They've accepted what they know to be facts, unchanging and whole. What's worse is that Leah wasn't even thinking about the Cullens. The wolves are so contented with their place in the tribe, with their imprints, with their abilities, they never chose to question. Unlike Leah who has done little else but question everything since she phased. Asking all the whys and the hows. Finding answers the hard way, risking her own life, collecting scars.
Even her studying Genetics for grad school was an extension of her questioning. There was no line of inquiry she wasn't willing to explore. She had been unwilling to share what she's learned. What the wolves know, the Cullens will know. What the Cullens know, other vampires will know. Who knows how the things she'd learned will be exploited?
The knowledge she's accumulating makes her even more isolated and alone than before. So much enlightenment. None of which she can share.
What would they even say if she told then she hears a voice in her head? That she converses regularly with The Spirit inside of her? That she, like all the other Quileute wolves, is possessed by a creature from another realm entirely? That it had led her, whispered in her ear, to where there were other strange creatures? That it had taught her how to do things?
They would more likely believe that she's a liar or insane. Easier to dismiss her than to shake the wonderful lives they've built with their imprints and status. Was she sad for them, or was she angry at them? Hard to say. It changes day by day. Right now, she's furious.
She pulled out a small flat airtight case from her pocket. Inside was expensive marijuana rolled up to look like cigarettes with a hemp filter. Drugs don't affect her, but inhaling the warm smoke is comforting. They cost a pretty penny but it's less harmful to the environment. Disguised as regular cigarettes, so they're less likely to be flagged in a law enforcement search. She almost wished she got caught with them at the airport. Then she wouldn't be here in this godforsaken place now, dealing with this.
She tried using a lighter on the 'cigarette'. It sparked, no flame. Fuck.
She heard the familiar quiet tread of a vampire. They are given away by the soft scratching of fabric and their scent. A lighter flame is held out in front of her.
"Our apologies that the meal was not to your liking," Felix smiled at her in what she would describe as flirtatious.
Leah crushed the stick in her hand and tossed it to the ground, while looking at him straight in the eye. She turned to walk away.
Still inside, Demetri pondered the conversation that happened. In less than twenty-four hours, the she-wolf had managed to surprise him multiple times. She was unpredictable, that one.
Felix had been given the task of romancing the she-wolf. His friend's preference for human lovers and knowledge of human trends made him an obvious choice. Aro hoped that the she-wolf's loneliness might make her amenable. So far, it did not seem to be going well.
Judging by the exchange at the table, Demetri was just glad he wasn't the one tasked with pretending to like the ornery woman.