It was sinful, wearing his cloak to leave him.

The rain was a bittersweet commentary on the juxtaposition of my arrival and now my departure from Volterra. Each droplet was expelled from the sky with a steadily increasing force, splashing on the cobblestone streets.

My face turned up as tiny drops of water began to tap my cheeks like a knock on a door. Alec's cloak was tied around my shoulders, and I stuck out like a sore thumb, but people seemed too eager to escape the incoming weather to question it. The hood dropped while I observed the sky, and I reluctantly raised the collar to help it stay better on my head. Alec always folded the collar down, and it was silly, but doing the same made me feel closer to him.

It allowed me to pretend he would be anything but apoplectic with my actions.

Across the street, a man dropped a phone into his pocket as he spoke hurriedly with another. The two men were engrossed in an oddly public, heated debate, so I angled towards them, my pace tedious but necessary. I dropped my head as I drew closer. Neither of the men acknowledged me; even as I bumped into the anxious one, slipped two fingers into his pocket and lifted his telephone.

"Scusa," he apologized, too distracted to glance at me.

I made no attempt to respond, nor did I look back to see if he cared. I placed my bets on his conversation mattering more to him than a young girl in an old-fashioned black and red cloak. You would expect the cape to be a dead giveaway, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. As if I were a homeless person pushing a cart on the other side of the street.

I ducked into an alley where the roofs of the buildings on either side provided a decent cover from the sky's tears. And though the streets were far from empty yet, one glance around the corner confirmed that I had gotten away with my crime.

Leaning heavily against the wall, I began tapping the phone to try and find the keypad. My nerves seemed to rise with every failed attempt until I swiped my fingers, and it appeared. After typing in the numbers I'd written on my arm, I paused, and my eyes shot up. Paranoia had taken hold of me, but nobody paid attention to the shadow in the alley.

I pressed the green button and raised the phone to my ear.

My leaving should have been predictable. Before the Volturi, my father's disappearance served as the foundation of my decisions, and leaving had been the first decision I'd made within their walls. I only stopped trying to sneak out of the castle when Victor Tima confirmed my fear. Without my father, I had needed a new path.

So I played my role, made friends, and adjusted to what I became convinced would be the rest of my life. My doubts were pushed to the side and given the instructions to remain buried – until something changed. To be honest, I never expected it to.

I glanced up, confirming that I was still by my lonesome.

Alice Cullen's vision had been the modifier, and the suspicions I'd locked away hit me with full force. I still had questions — loads of questions about my father and his passing. And Razin, the Volturi's rising enemy, could have the answers I needed. As wonderful as life with the Volturi had been (aside from particular events), my loyalty to my father swallowed me like a moral obligation.

These considerations slipped into my dreams and allowed the waking peace to be stolen by the antagonists of real life. Two of which appeared with more frequency than the rest; Travis, whose death made him a superficial danger, and of course, the real threat: Razin. They were mere thoughts, not relevant enough to manifest into anything noteworthy. But they followed me nonetheless.

The Volturi continued searching for Razin using the same offensive methods as before, though they were returning with more signs of a fight. It was hardly mentionable, but Demetri and Felix had been spending a lot more time in the training room and others had started to join them. The coven could think of little else but finding Razin – naturally.

Except no one seemed to remember the detail I couldn't forget: Razin knew something about my father. I was determined to figure out what he knew, with or without them.

It wasn't as far-fetched of an idea as it may have seemed; me going after Razin. The journal that Aro had passed on to me contained the disturbingly thorough documentation collected by the original inspector investigating my father.

Once I'd finally convinced myself to open it, I found that it included virtually everything about my dad's work – except for me. Even in the jobs I had participated in, my involvement and existence went uncredited.

But where my name was missing, the investigator had noted three possible acquaintances of my father's with brief but specific additional information. Victor Tima was on that list. The other two names had telephone numbers underneath, and the likelihood that these were active numbers five years later was ludicrous. But I was desperate, and it was all I it was certainly not what Aro intended me to use it for.

If Razin knew something about my father, one of these men had to be privy to similar details. Maybe even the same information could lead us to Razin. That was the ideal and, to be honest, the only outcome I was willing to accept at the moment. I started thinking outside the box to come up with my own plan. If anything, the simple act of sitting and exploring different ideas to beat Razin helped me feel less useless. Even if no one really knew or cared to know about my untraditional ideas.

I could have stolen one of the guards' phones, but none of them seemed to carry a device casually. Still, using any non-high guard member's telephone would get them in trouble. I figured that if I could make it out of the castle and stay out long enough to call the two numbers (calling Victor's felt more morbid than helpful), I might get a call back before I was forced back inside. I would have answers, solutions rather than problems.

If I had this opportunity before I met Alec, I might have gotten somewhere in my investigation.

Before I met Alec.

Alec was still severely opposed to involving me with any topic near Razin. A motive inspired by good intentions but highly impractical the more they started to accept the vampire as a real threat. Vladimir's attack certainly played a role in that change.

Since we'd returned from the Cullens about three weeks ago, Alec had been avoidant. Restrictive. Like he had lost all faith in himself to engage in conversations or activities that might risk a hot button issue rising between us. With our disagreements and his overt caution, he refused to spend any time with me – waking or sleeping, if external factors had already disrupted his mood or made him susceptible to the emotions he wanted to avoid. This was my own rationale to explain why he was also obstinately reluctant to even kiss me. So much so that our friends were still in the dark about how far our explorative friendship had actually progressed – and now, regressed.

After everything that had happened – from our heated argument in the library to the events on the train and our time with the Cullens, I expected our more familiar interactions to remain as the status quo upon our return. In fact, I wasn't even sure if I wanted them to, still a little uncomfortable with the extreme shift in our relationship. Between the two of us, the more intimate actions had ceased as soon as we entered the castle. As if every touch, every word and meeting of our lips were no more than an artificial memory.

And he wouldn't admit it, but I had a feeling he was still grappling with his guilt over my minor bruises. I had hoped the dramatics would be resolved once the visible marks on my body disappeared, but the Kings sent their elite team on a mission before they could.

My frustration with Alec's baffling and irrational behaviour was transparent, so running off might be seen as a significant escalation. In my defense, it wasn't so much running away as it was running to something. I had a little more faith that I might make it further than the first time I left the castle several months ago. Alec wouldn't be so easily fooled – whether he expected it or not. Though it was safe to say he would be unprepared. I needed Demetri out of the way as well, just long enough that I would make some decent progress before they found me.

The four of them – Alec, Jane, Demetri, and Felix – weren't due back for at least two more days. My chances of getting something done before being found increased exponentially with them gone. It could be my only chance to make headway on my father's case.

If we could find out what happened to my father, we could use it to figure out what Razin would show me in five months' time. We'd be ready for him.

I groaned into the telephone as several beeps informed me that the first number I dialled was out of service. The second, and last number, belonged to a familiar name: James Roché. I could almost recreate the memory of a boisterous redheaded man pulling a euro out of my ear in a magic trick that delighted my child self.

I pushed Alec from my mind and tapped the green button. Waiting with bated breath for a voice…

Voicemail. I swore under my breath at the pre-recorded female voice through the phone, " – is unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep."

"Hi…err," I cleared my throat, "I don't know if this will work, but…." It would be unfair of me to expect an answer from a phone number five years old and probably languishing at the bottom of a dumpsite. But the ring was a good sign. It was in service, at the very least. "My name is Saffiya," I hesitated yet again. "Civello. Thomas' daughter? I have a few questions. If you could call…could call me at…." I relayed the number on my arm. Alec would be pissed, but I prayed he would try to understand. I needed him to understand.

I hung up hastily, my nerves vaulting, yet a slight bounce of joy floated in my stomach. Hope was dangerous, but I permitted myself to celebrate the progress. I'd come so far to get to this moment, starting at the abbey…the abbey.

I studied the numbers on the phone, reflecting, until my head lifted up in time to see a flash of black disappear around a corner.

No.

My eyes were playing tricks on me. Even with the rain to cover them, there was no way the Guard would risk coming after me in the daytime. They would wait until nightfall and drag me to the throne room for a third time, kicking and fighting. Marcus would sigh, Caius would make a snappy comment blaming the Cullens for my behaviour, and Aro would chastise me with that smug little smile. But if it wasn't the Volturi tracking me yet, there was only one other option, and it was certainly worse than the lower guard.

Razin, the Volturi's rising enemy, was bold but surely not so arrogant as to risk sending goons into the sacred city of Volterra. Unless this was an act of desperation. Perhaps ruining the twins was worth sending his creations into the lion's den for the mere chance of grabbing me. The concept was almost crazy enough to be practical for the vampire's plan of world domination. But really, there was no way for Razin to have known I would make it so easy for him to 'kidnap' me on this day, at this time.

However, logic, factoring in both possibilities, warned me otherwise. Even if I'd imagined a figure in black, I preferred to air on the side of caution.

I snapped the borrowed phone shut and dropped it, purposefully drowning the device in a growing puddle, and rushed to the other side of the alley. Now, I regretted the gaudiness of the cape as I stepped out from the shadows and slowed to match the pace of the citizens of Volterra.

Less than a minute later, another dark flash caught my attention, so I abruptly turned to take an additional street. It appeared ahead of me again, and I spotted my brief refuge, dashing up the single step and tugging the door open.

Hesitant and unsure of what exactly my purpose was, I stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"I know you," a female voice called. The woman walked out from behind the bar to confront me, the same one I had met my first day in Volterra. She crossed her arms over her chest and surveyed me with growing suspicion. "Victor dealt with a lot of 'em shady characters."

I raised my eyebrows.

The bartender continued, "all them strangers and he only went missing a few days after you showed up."

I didn't appreciate the accusation, despite her being spot on. Defensively, I huffed out, "if he was such a shady character, how d'you know he didn't just leave?"

She narrowed her eyes at me and moved further down the wall, plucking two photographs off with a bit too much force. She waved one in front of my face. "He's still got two of 'em waiting at home."

The shock was written across my face and I made no attempt to hide the guilt that attempted to blend in with it. I automatically snatched it from her.

The photograph was relatively recent but its image made my stomach turn. A young boy sat on Mr. Tima's lap with a gigantic grin, two teeth clearly missing right in front. On the other side of the booth, a young girl looked to be around 9 years or so. She had her arms crossed over her chest, the opposite emotion from her younger brother evident as the glower on her face. A plump woman had a hand on her shoulder, smiling for the picture. But the kind where you knew the instant after it was taken, the daughter received a reprimand that was anything but smile-worthy. One boy, one girl, and a beautiful wife. Everything a con man would never have, and yet, Mr. Tima had found it in a small town in Italy.

And I had taken that away from him. His kids would grow up like me. With the title that had defined me since I was left behind. Fatherless. Only Mr. Tima did not choose to leave his children and my father had purposefully, willingly walked away from me and my childhood. Of course, the distinction didn't make the pain of their absent father any less than mine.

"Any idea where he's gone?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, quickly releasing it as soon as I caught myself. I took a breath and tore my eyes away from the picture. "No, sorry."

I hardly tried to convince her and I began to regret ducking into the tavern more and more. The bartender finally relented, removing the photo from my hand and grudgingly offering me the other one.

"I suppose this is what you're looking for." She eyed my attire once more as I accepted the photo.

"Thank you."

Her harsh gaze hadn't lessened. "Take it. And don't come back."

My eyes widened at the bluntness, but I didn't overstay my welcome.

The rain had picked up, so I pulled Alec's hood back over my head as I tucked the photo in a pocket and scanned the immediate area. If Razin's men were waiting for me, they were smart enough not to do it in the light.

I stepped off the entrance, heading back down through the city. I was being silly. What I had seen was a figment of my overtired imagination. A wink of dark...a trick of –

Ahead of me, another flash of black on the corner. I came to a sharp, stumbling halt and glanced around the area to see if anyone was reacting to it. To see if there was something out of place with what I assumed I had seen.

I moved one foot forward when a cold arm encased my waist. My body was already fighting the marble hold before his hand slammed over my mouth and tugged me back into an alley

Despite the hand, I forced a muffled, guttural scream to try and break through. I kicked at the person holding but the vice grip tightened. A voice in my ear made me stop.

"Fiya, it's just us." Demetri was trying to soothe me, assuming I was reacting out of fear. I opened my eyes, forgetting when exactly I had closed them. "You're okay." His hand left my mouth and I blinked to see Felix standing across from us, a cautious witness.

I hummed in my chest and tried to push him off. "Let me go." Felix's eyes made contact with the man restraining me.

"Yeah, I dunno if we should do that yet," Demetri mumbled, so I made another sharp shove with my arms just to prove a point. "Exhibit A."

"Maybe after you calm down–"

I grunted, "you think this is gonna calm me down?" The consideration was quick and Demetri freed me. I pushed off of my friend, pacing deeper into the boarded-up alley before turning on my heels. "Where is he?" They'd hardly sent another uneasy glance at each other before I scoffed. "Typical."

"Fiya, you might want to pick your battles with this one. He knows–"

"Ha!" I commented mockingly, my better self only hoping my friends would forgive me for such behaviour. I propped myself up against the wall. "I don't want to see him. And I'm not going back."

"Kid."

"You can't make me."

"How did you even get out?"

I scoffed, "'get out', you say. As if I could be any more like a prisoner."

"Felix didn't mean–"

"I know." My lowered voice made their shoulders fall as I relented to the situation. "He didn't even come, did he?" I asked as if I already knew the answer. It seemed that I did not, in all my arrogance, because a familiar voice sent a shiver down my spine.

"Saffiya."

Damn.

It wasn't fair of him to say my name. It had only been a few days, but his voice triggered that obnoxious pull in my chest and awoke the butterflies in my stomach to stir up every emotion I'd been trying to shove down, especially during my current mission. I didn't stand a chance if he could do that with only my name and a smoky tone.

The Prince of the Volturi was the epitome of regality, and in that alley, his stare alone could have mistaken me for some kind of barbaric criminal.

I crossed my arms to state the obvious, still leaning back on the wall. "You're supposed to be in America. With Jane."

"She is waiting," Alec dropped his hood as a black whisper flashed into the entrance of the alley.

Alec nodded to the guys. Demetri squeezed my shoulder and Felix ruffled my hair, either because they were trying to convey their forgiveness or because they pitied me in the current moment. Or both. They walked to join Jane, forced to walk back to the castle in the glimpses of rainy daylight. Leaving Alec and I to the echo of the passage.

Sourly, I commented, "quick mission." 2 days early. Rotten luck on my end.

He was quiet, a stern expression seeking remorse or shame from me. I refused to give in and his tone remained devoid of emotion, straight to the point, "I received a call that you attempted to run away. Twice." Now I know why I made it past the doors this time.

"Third time's supposed to be the charm."

Alec was far from amused. "We are returning to the castle –"

"I'm not going back."

He ignored me, "and you will not draw attention–"

"Wanna bet?" I pushed off the wall to confront him directly.

Alec's smooth voice dropped, sprinkled with a gravelly undertone, but he came no closer. "We can talk about why you've felt the need to behave so foolishly once we arrive –"

"You won't even touch me," I was quick to retaliate, and it didn't put me on his good side. "How do you expect to get me back into the castle in the middle of the day without making a scene?"

It wouldn't be much more trouble for him as the sky became heavier with the incoming storm. In the street, fewer people seemed to pass by every minute. But there were enough that they'd notice me struggling if he tried to carry me out. He sighed, glancing out of the alley as if weighing the options.

I couldn't stop myself from biting off more than I could chew, "only one way to get me out of here. So unless you're willing to use your special talent, I'm staying right –"

Alec's head jerked up and his glare pierced my skin, forcing me to take a step back. He offered no counter-argument but took two steps closer as if he intended to challenge my claim.

Shit.

I retreated on instinct, but my heart started to hum and would soon be pounding in my ears. Alec knew the sound well and just like that, his lips curved up with the arrogance of an over-achiever.

"My darling little human," he murmured as he reached out, two fingers grazing my jaw. I jerked away from his touch but his hand only twisted, capturing my chin with a delicate but subtle warning. I gave in.

How did he do this to me? I had no comprehension of what the hottest part of a flame felt like, but I imagined it was identical to the feeling that bolted through me the moment our skin touched. Yet, he was colder still than the stone of the walls or even the bitter tone of the delicate as he handled me, the opposite enveloped my mind as I was thoroughly intoxicated by the flashes of lightning that radiated between us.

Alec's hand slipped to the side of my neck and his fingers pressed into my skin, just enough to let me know he was serious. He didn't bring me towards him, didn't push me away, but he was prepared when my eyes shot to meet his. He was daring me. Radiant, deep red eyes tracked my pulse, continuing down my throat to the curve of my neckline. The level of danger was vague, and I wondered if he was merely testing himself under the guise of intimidating me.

With a heated glare and a fixed jaw, he was trying to find something to say that wouldn't express more than he wished to reveal. Which is a way I never wanted to make him feel. Locks of hair were plastered to his forehead, and drops of rainwater littered his face, though he paid them no mind. He was too focused on me, and I tried not to flinch under the scowl. I could almost see the steam coming off of him as its own corporeal entity.

He was livid.

His voice was silver and each word he spoke burned with vexation, though he tried to conceal it. "Do not test me."

I kept my eyes from him, conflicted by, well, everything. "You can't make me go–"

"Yes, I can," he cut me off. His eyes flashed. "And I will. Though I would greatly prefer it to be of your own free will."

My defiance spiked. I put my hands on his chest and pushed as hard as I could, seeing as my strength wasn't much against a vampire. He let me shove him either out of surprise or some newfound patience. I took a breath, taking in his posture as he rested himself against the stone, eyes on me with a careful expression. If he was going to test me, then I was going to give him something to test.

I closed the distance, colliding into his body and pressing my lips to his against the alley wall.

My original intention was to preoccupy him, knowing it might take him off guard long enough for me to make it to the alley's edge, but I was thwarted once more by my own covetous longing. He responded before I could process it, his hands taking my face between them as his lips pursued mine with increased fervour. The action was by no means harsh but far from the gentle approach he'd been so committed to upholding. Which he remembered approximately three seconds after I'd crashed into him.

A rabid snarl pierced the air. His. The warning pulsated through him and sent shockwaves to my heart as he pushed me away, slamming my body against the stone wall of the alley. A move that surely would have drawn blood from my skull, at the very least, with the force he used.

He got lucky.

Something kicked in, and Alec regained control at the last possible second, cupping the back of my head and saving it from the misshapen dips and protrusions in the stone. I grabbed his forearms to steady myself, taken aback by his speed and unaware of the close call. Blinking tightly, I opened my eyes to see the dominant, sensible part of him recovering from the sudden emergence of his predatory side. I was still distracted by both the thrill of his lips against mine and the impact of the wall behind me, and of his reaction.

Alec released me as if I'd stung him, and I could see him processing the worst-case scenarios that had been narrowly avoided. While his bursts of emotional overcompensation were as familiar to us as mine, this was another level. Frankly, it was unnerving. An outburst this unbridled and intemperate belonged in the early days of our story. Even then, this was something deprived. It was another step back, and he would drive himself insane if he started reliving the what-ifs. And for the first time, I could think of nothing to ease his mind.

Rubies had transformed into an onyx stone, breathtakingly stern. However, the longer we stood there, breathing heavily under the rain, the faster they began to change. Red to black was almost always immediate, but this time, the darkness that had overtaken his eyes began to disappear. A clearer carmine flooded in as Alec yanked himself from the fray. He turned away from me but when his gaze returned, his eyes were as red as could be, just as they were when he arrived.

He scanned over my form while I remained on the wall. Dread began to overtake the muscles in his face while I remained stunned by the evolution in his eyes.

Alec waited for any sign of fear on my part as he returned to me. Hesitantly, he brushed the hood from my head with a new objective. My face automatically glowered at him because the rain gleefully began to accumulate in the frizz of my hair and randomly parade on my scalp. Though his fingers were soothing, gently landing on the back of my head and finding their way to the roots as they carefully checked for any physical damage. When I determined he'd had long enough to do so, I lazily slapped his hand away, and his jaw clenched, fixing me with a displeased look. He calmly claimed my attacking limb and secured it gently to my side to keep me from disrupting.

Now that the hood no longer obstructed the view of my face, his visage fell to one of submissive dominance as he observed the changes to my face in his absence. He started with the bloodshot attack on my eyes and naturally followed the tears staining my cheeks before zipping to the three-day-old bruise on my hairline diagonal from my left eye. At least, these were the marks I'd identified before I snuck out of the castle. The appearance was enough to throw some self-inflicted guilt onto his features. For some reason, the fact that I could unintentionally injure myself never seemed to occur to him.

When Alec's initial inspection cleared me of any immediate injuries, he nodded to himself and abruptly returned to his assignment while I still breathed heavily. "Right now, the Masters have not been informed that you are missing." His voice came out evenly but scarred, and it took me a minute to catch up with him, "if we do not return before your absence is discovered, I cannot shield you from–"

Someone cleared their throat quite purposefully, the sound travelling through the rain from the entrance.

I identified an older woman carrying a large shopping bag and squinting into the alley. How long had she been there? The vampire lowered his head, no glasses or contacts shrouding his eyes. We must not be giving off the best impression, with him still somewhat trapping me against the wall in more of a hostile manner than a suggestive one, despite his newly undisturbed manner. I doubted the old lady would have left us alone for either.

The woman said something in Italian, a concerned voice lifting at the end of her speech. She'd asked a question. Her face tilted in my direction expectantly, but I was at a loss, so I sought Alec's assistance. I don't think she approved.

The vampire responded to her words with a gruff voice, but the woman stood her ground. Alec muttered under his breath with spite, "she thinks I will harm you." Whatever he had said to her had done little to lessen her doubt about my welfare.

Swallowing my comebacks, I acted on a different instinct. I stumbled with the closest translation I could think of to convince her we were fine, "saremo al sicuro." [we will be safe]

The older woman still seemed unconvinced, but I reluctantly offered a wide, fake smile. Finally, she went on her way, more eager to get out of the rain than to investigate a possibly antagonistic situation by herself. I hoped she would mind her business from then on.

Alec's eyes flashed to me, startled, and I glanced at him warily through my eyelashes. "It's the end of Little Red Riding Hood. Caius gave it to me." I bit my lip, "did I say it wrong?"

"Yes," and I watched with bated breath as a proud but forlorn hint of a smile appeared on his face. He released my hand but maintained control by keeping me between his body and the wall. His thumb freed my bottom lip, then swept softly over my cheek like silk, as if trying to wipe away the tears that had been there not too long ago. I leaned into his touch. It was curious; How we could be in the midst of such a heated battle and yet come together to face an outside adversary.

"It is your decision," Alec continued with a new tenderness. "We can risk waiting until dark when we can no longer give you a choice, or we can return now, and you can tell me what is going on." He needn't give me the option anymore. We were only slightly covered by the roofs above, but the rain had become heavy and the sky dark, so it wasn't much of a decision. A clap of thunder hit the sky as if on cue.

He searched my face, though I was uncertain what he hoped to find.

"You cannot do that again," Alec's voice was melancholic, "it was unwise."

I could not hide the bitterness on my tongue, "do what? Kiss you or run away?" His thumb caressed my cheek, but I dropped my head to deny him the connection.

"Alec." The instant his name hit the air, he removed himself from me.

"Jane."

She was frowning at him, but she looked no more pleased with me. She presented her pale hand for me to take, but I shook my head. "I don't want to," I conceded weakly.

Her voice was coated with stone, but an element of patience lay within. "You must." My time was up. I glanced at Alec, but now, he wouldn't return the gaze. Jane prompted me once more, "vieni, sorellina." [come, little sister]

Trying to ignore the man beside me, I left his side to join Jane, as there was little I would deny her, and I wasn't sure he wanted me with him. He made no move to interfere. Jane was waiting for me, but she was looking at her brother's face, the two sharing a private conversation through some form of twin telepathy or mere familiarity.

She was calm as she aimed her next order to Alec, like a coded message, "we mustn't keep the Masters waiting."

Too calm.

~•~•~•~

I missed you all terribly! This is the original (for the most part) chapter that I was going to post before I cut it, so hopefully, it clears up some of the confusion.

When I was plotting out the entire story, I left some chapters open in Part II in case there were any types of scenes, moments, or character interactions in high demand from the audience (all you lovely people). I have a lot of random half ideas written for Alec and Fiya (sweet, hot, & angsty of course), the Elite/High Guard, the 3 Kings, etc., so that being said...if you want to let me know what kind of scenes/moments y'all are craving, we'll see what we can do ;)

How is everyone? Ready for summer? I am sending luck to anyone that needs it!

Ro