In love lies death

Caius finds love and makes her an immortal, but later, he must deal with an old enemy

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Caius, the gift-less vampire of the Volturi triumvirate, had finally met his mate in a pretty red-haired woman who worked for the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma or as it was called in English, the Rome National Central Library. She was driving from Rome on a country road when her car got a flat tire. She pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to glare at the damaged tire, not knowing how to change it. She checked the trunk and found she had a spare and a jack, but had no knowledge on what to do with either.

Caius spied her as he was driving past the disabled vehicle, and pulled over. He was not starving, having fed 5 days ago, but thought he could do with a snack. He got out of his car and walked over to her. "Car trouble, I see," he observed with a smirk.

"Yes, flat tire, and I don't know how to change a flat tire. Do you?" She stood with her hands on her hips, still frowning at the car.

Caius wanted to laugh, but when she turned to look up at him, he couldn't see past the deep olive green of her eyes. With that and her genuine smile, he lost any interest in drinking from her. "I'll see what I can do."

Caius changed the tire, his natural strength making it easy. In no time, he was finished, and was using a rag to clean his hands. "All done," he said with a grin.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate your help." Her smile intrigued Caius. She was pretty, more than pretty, with her long red hair and green eyes.

"I'm Caius. Pleased to be of assistance." Loathe to let her drive away and out of his life, he asked her to lunch. "There is a small café down the road. Please, let me take you there. We can talk for a while." He noticed the pink blush of cheeks. "Unless you're married?"

"No," she said. "I'm not married nor do I have a boyfriend. I would have to refuse your invitation in that case, but since I have no one, I can say I would be happy to join you for lunch." Miranda in fact, had no one. Her parents were dead, and her last boyfriend had left her to move to America.

"Follow me then down this road about 4 miles. It's on the right side of the street." He got into his car, satisfied when he saw her car following him. They both pulled into the parking lot, where Caius met her at her car. He helped her out and placed his hand at the small of her back. "What's your name, by the way?"

She flashed a smile at Caius. "It's Miranda."

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Caius asked Miranda out over the next month. He had already decided she was the perfect woman for him, beautiful, graceful, intelligent, and curious about life. Since Athenodora had left him so long ago, he preferred to remain alone. To think of taking a human for a mate was unacceptable since they were inadequate, and vampires were rare enough to make his desire for a new mate unfulfillable. Athenodora had been lured away by a human male, whom she later changed. It didn't make Caius any more a lover of humans when he had learned that. Yet here he was, drawn to a human he would never let go. He had to ask her if she was as interested in him as much as he was with her.

Miranda actually adored Caius, but was afraid to say anything. Men these days had such commitment issues, she had given up finding an equal she could love and respect. So she was quite taken off guard when he had asked her if she loved him. She gazed into his violet eyes, a strange colour for a man. Elizabeth Taylor was said to have had violet eyes, but Miranda found only one photo that proved that. Re-focusing her thoughts, she knew Caius was asking her about her feelings, feelings for him. "Caius, I love you. Surely you know that. If not, I haven't been doing things right."

He smiled at her statement. "I love you, Miranda. You've been everything my previous...wife was not." The violet of his eyes darkened to a medium purple. He confessed the truth of his existence at that moment, taking one of her hands and kissing the palm. "Miranda, my love, I'm a vampire, whether you believe me or not. Do believe I love you and want you to join me in Volterra with my people as my mate. You will become like me and live forever."

Miranda was shocked at first, disbelieving all of it, until he removed the blue contact lenses that made his eyes appear violet. She peered into the crimson orbs with interest. Maybe she should have run, but she was frozen to the spot. Her boyfriend was a vampire, and he was asking her to become one too. Seeing the man she had grown to love standing before her, she impulsively hugged him. Laughing, she told Caius how much she admired and wanted him. "Yes, I will go with you to Volterra."

Once they were at the castle that Caius called home, he introduced Miranda to Aro and Marcus. The latter had seen his brother's mate very much a part of his existence, so gave the human female a smile of welcome. "My dear, you will make our Caius a very happy man. Welcome to Volterra, and to our home."

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Miranda enjoyed going into the village or the countryside when Caius was busy with trials and unavailable to her. He only stipulated she be home by evening, so that they could spend time together. He would remove her clothing piece by piece, until she was as nude as the statues he had seen when he lived in Greece so long ago. He would worship her with his body, his desire focused on pleasing his mate first.

When it came time for her to be changed, Caius did it himself. Holding her, he kissed her deeply, curbing his desire to take her again. He wrapped his arms around her, baring her neck of her long red hair, then he kissed her throat, nibbling gently before biting her hard and deep. His venom flooded his mouth as he forced it into her body. She writhed in extreme pain for several days, until she finally slept. When she awoke, Caius had his mate for all eternity.

Their shared life was pleasant and exciting. They traveled the world together when Caius wasn't needed at home. They studied ancient texts with Aro and Marcus in the early morning hours when most humans were asleep. Caius had never been happier, his moods softened by the love shown to him by his mate.

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Miranda had gone into town to do some shopping. While there, she bumped into a man who claimed to know Caius. The fact he knew her mate was a vampire made his story plausible. He asked how Caius was, his smile slightly off to Miranda. He said he had meant to visit the Volturi leader, but time had gotten away from him.

Miranda said he should come back to the castle with her if he wanted to see his old friend. The man, who said his name was Georg, accepted her invitation. On the way back, they walked along a portion of the high wall that was part of the wall surrounding the city. Suddenly, Miranda found herself wrapped in arms holding her tightly. Georg had embraced her, and moving to the balustrade out of eyesight of anyone, he jumped over the railing and fell hundreds of feet to the bottom of the wall. When they landed, he ran toward the forest, Miranda thrown over his shoulder.

When Caius didn't find Miranda anywhere in the castle, he ordered Demetri to find her. It took the tracker a few days, but his success would mean grief for his master. The coven came as soon as Demetri had called Caius.

Miranda's body was found lying at the base of a large tree. Caius saw his mate, unmoving. The Guard walked the area to see what evidence they could find. One came back to report he had found werewolf tracks indicating there had been at least seven. The fury in Caius' eyes darkened them to black. He had killed most if not all of the werewolves. Apparently some had lived to enact their revenge against him. All because the werewolves had managed to survive over time, and because of their hatred for him, they had destroyed the light his soul.

Kneeling at her side, he saw the many grievous wounds that had killed her. She had been literally ripped apart. "They left her face untouched," he whispered, while he brushed aside strands of her red hair. He leaned down to kiss her, her open eyes staring sightless at him.

Aro stood beside Caius, witnessing his brother's pain. "They were very cruel, brother. They left her face untouched so that you would always remember her beauty, even as they savaged her body."

Caius was conflicted in his fury at the loss of his mate and his fear of the beasts who had killed her. "Aro, this is my fault. Had I destroyed them all, she would be safe...and alive."

"Bring her home, brother. We will take care of her there," Aro said quietly, placing his hand on Caius' shoulder.

Caius slipped his arms under her body, lifting Miranda off the cold hard ground. Felix collected any of her torn off body parts. She might have lived, but there had been too many of them for her to fight alone. He cradled her gently as if she could feel the pain inflicted upon her.

Once the coven members had returned to Volterra, Caius commissioned a tomb to be built in the town cemetery. It was made of pure white marble, her profile carved into the hard stone. When it had been completed, he personally placed her within the tomb, laying a red rose on her chest, her hands seemingly holding the perfect bloom.

Visitors to the Palazzo dei Priori would now see two Volturi masters sitting on their thrones, dispassionate, disinterested, and under the thrall of Chelsea. Aro had no choice but to order her to influence Caius to keep his brother from starving himself to death. Perhaps one day, Caius would come out of his grief and hunt down the last of the surviving werewolves.

In the Volterra cemetery, stood a carved marble tomb holding the body of a mortal who, in her trust, had fallen in love with a vampire, and had given up her mortality to be with him forever.