I woke up this morning to find you gone : a Volturi one-shot

The Twilight "Zone" series-these stories have a bit of strangeness about them.

Caius' human mate - First person POV

Caius' mate goes to bed with him, then falls asleep with him at her side as he is most nights. She awakens the next morning to find him gone. Not away, but really gone. And no one in the Volturi castle has ever heard of him. Or her. How will a human convince the Volturi she belongs there, and that her mate is real and is now missing.

oooooooooooooooooooo

My name is Allie Carson. I was an American who had lived in Washington state all my life. It was a fairly normal life, that is, until I met Caius. He was handsome, almost regal in his carriage, rude when it suited him, and an old-fashioned gentleman when he chose to be. I could tell right off he was...different.

I had bumped into him on the street, literally. He had been sent, he later told me, to keep an eye on a local family here in Forks.

"Are you a cop or FBI agent? I asked him, curious.

"Nothing so mundane," he replied curtly. "Why do you care?"

I ignored the snark. "Mundane? Now you have me really interested. I would never say the work of a detective or an agent of the government was mundane."

He only smirked, which intrigued me more. I told him I was on my way to have lunch at a local diner and asked him to join me. He agreed after looking around the main street. I briefly wondered what he was looking for, but by the time we reached the diner, my mind was on the hamburger lunch deal my stomach was demanding.

We sat at a table, and the waitress came by with two glasses of water. She set them down and took out her pad. "Hello, Allie, I see you found a friend. Stranger around these parts?" she asked Caius, her eyes obviously admiring him. "What can I get you both?"

"Marsha, I'll have the hamburger lunch deal, with a Coke." I looked at my impromptu companion. "Can I get you anything...uh?"

"Caius," he said, finally smiling.

"Caius? Ok then, Caius...did you want anything?"

"No, thank you. I've eaten already," he replied, leaning back against his chair.

There was that smirk again. "I guess I'm the only one eating, Marsha." After she went to put in my order, I looked the blonde man over. "Caius is a strange name."

"It's an old family name. I rather like it," he said.

"Oh, I do too. Unusual names run in my family. Even though I ended up with 'Allison', dad once told me he wanted to name me Athena, but mom objected."

"The Greek goddess," he said knowingly.

"Are your parents historians or something? Your name, the fact you instantly recognized one of the Greek gods."

"Actually, I am a historian so to speak. I...read a lot about history. Do you like history as well?"

I was so impressed to meet someone like Caius. Here in Forks, the library had minimal books on ancient history, so I had to buy a lot of used books online. "Yes, I love history, I don't even care what era. It all interests me."

His brilliant blue eyes lit up at my words, so I must have said something right. Just then, Marsha came by with my lunch plate and a glass of Coke.

"Here you go, Allie." She turned to Caius, asking him, "Sure you don't want anything?" When he shook his head, she nodded and left us alone.

We talked about anything that came into our minds until I had finished everything on my plate. "How long will you be in town?" I asked my lunch companion.

"Two days, maybe three. Then I'll return home."

"Where is home, if I may ask." I wasn't sure if he had to keep that secret, his job and all.

"I'm from Volterra." He must have seen my frown, since he immediately clarified. "Tuscany region, Italy.

"Wait. So you're not an American officer? Interesting." His accent didn't sound Italian, but perhaps he was a transplant.

We left the cafe together, but I had to get home, and Caius seemed distracted, his eyes again scanning the streets. We bid each other goodbye and went our separate ways.

I walked across the street, still watching Caius. A young man, whose face I didn't recognize, walked up to him. They seemed to speak to each other as if they knew one another. The stranger was dressed in what appeared to be clothing from another era. He was handsome as well, and I wondered who he was. I sneezed, which forced my eyes closed. By the time I opened them, Caius and the stranger were gone.

The next morning, I left my house to find the blonde stranger standing on the sidewalk out front. He smiled when I walked over to him. "I just wanted to see you before I left," he said.

We spent the rest of the morning together. I asked him if he could reveal the name of the family he was watching. Were they criminanls, I asked him. He laughed.

"Not exactly criminals. The Cullens tend to do their own thing with no concept of the law."

Did he mean Carlisle Cullen? "Caius, Dr Cullen is highly respected here in town. We feel fortunate to have such a...a skilled physician in our small hospital, when he could find a better paying position anywhere in the country. And his family's great. I don't know them very well, but we have spoken at times. Alice is so sweet, and Emmett is a hoot."

"They've done nothing wrong...yet. I was only sent to watch them," Caius replied, trying to reassure me.

I admitted to myself I was intrigued by this man, a foreigner to my country. But I was stunned when the last day of his stay, before he was supposed to leave for good, Caius demanded to see me. Demanded.

We had gone for a walk into town and ended up at the park. We sat on a bench beneath a tree. I didn't say much, unsure how I felt about his leaving. His next words stunned me.

"I want you to join me in Volterra. Come with me and be my mate. I know it sounds strange, but it won't when I explain everything."

"It's been three days! I hardly know you, Caius! What is this all about?" I looked up at him while he stood and paced in front of me.

"I cannot tell you everything, Allie. You have to trust me when I say we belong together. I confirmed this with Marcus."

"Who the hell is Marcus? Caius, are you crazy?" I shut up when he took my hands in his and sat beside me.

"I...work with Marcus. He has a gift of recognizing relationships between people, a hundred, fifty...two. He told me you and I are destined to be mates."

"Mates. As in spouses?"

"If you wish to call it that. All I know is what I feel when I am with you. My previous mate died long ago."

Long ago, he said, when he barely looked thirty years old. My head was spinning, yet when he suddenly kissed me, my brain took the time to stop thinking while I let this man gather me in his arms and continue to kiss me. When he pulled back, I gazed at him in shock. Yet could it have felt more natural.

So I left Forks forever, binding my life with Caius', before I even knew much about him, or what he was.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was like any other night, Caius and me lying in our bed while we talked about the day's events. We were laughing about something that happened, when he moved to hover over me, pressing his lower body against mine. I smiled up at him while wrapping him in my arms. then kissing him. I was still human, so he had to be careful he didn't accidently bite the tip of my tongue off. Soon he would change me, and he would not have to hold back any longer.

We made love until I was tired out. He let me lie against him, our fingers entwined. "I love you, my heart," I said.

"I love you, amore mio," he replied, pulling me closer.

I closed my eyes and Caius held me until I fell asleep.

Sunlight poured through the window, waking me. I turned to my left to see an empty spot in our bed. I sat up, calling for Caius. Maybe he was in the shower, but he usually asked me if I wanted to join him. I got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. No Caius. I touched the shower wall. It was dry.

Had he been summoned by Aro for a last minute meeting or trial, and didn't want to wake me?

I quickly dressed and went in search of my mate. I entered the door of the throne room, and found no one. Perhaps they had gathered in the larger audience hall. I was on my way there when strong arms grabbed mine, pulling me back against a tall, marble-hard body.

"Felix, you startled me." When I turned to look up at him, his expression frightened me. It was as if he didn't know me. When he grabbed my arm, I struggled against the pain. "Felix, you're hurting me." Even the fearsome Felix had never harmed me since I arrived here. This was very much out of character for him.

I was unceremoniously dragged to the smaller throne room, where Aro now sat with Marcus on the dais that lacked one chair. This was crazy. Where was Caius' throne?

I was about to ask what was going on and where was Caius, when Aro rose from his throne and walked down the three steps to stand before me, Felix still holding my arms but less tightly.

"Who are you and how did you get inside this place?" His red eyes bore into mine.

"Aro, I've been here ever since Caius brought me here. And where is he, by the way. What have you done to his throne?"

I saw Aro glance back at Marcus, who was sitting still, as he usually did. The quiet one merely shook his head.

"Aro, can you please ask Felix to let me go."

Aro gave the tall guard a blink and Felix stepped back, but not far from me.

I rubbed my arms and glanced around the room to see most of the top guards standing against the wall. They all looked at me as if they didn't know me.

"What is your name, my dear," Aro asked.

I had to laugh. "You know me, brother. I'm Allie, Caius' mate?"

Aro looked aback when I called him brother. He stepped back, turned and walked slowly back to his throne, sitting once there. 'You say you are Allie, mate to Caius. Yet we know no Caius...nor you."

This was insane. I was in a nightmare it seemed.

I pointed down the line of guards. "That's Demetri, Chelsea, Afton, Santiago, Jane, Alec. Heidi is most likely out fetching tourists for your next meal. You're Aro and he's Marcus. If I hadn't been here awhile, how would I know your names or theirs? I also know you're vampires." I looked over at the empty far corner. "Where is Caius' throne? It usually sits there, at your left."

"There has never been another throne, my dear. Marcus and I are the sole leaders of the Volturi. There are no others." He spoke gently, as if to a child.

"Yes, there is! Caius helped you form the coven ages ago." I had lost my composure by now.

Aro asked me a question, I think to test my story. "And who are you to this Caius?"

"I'm his mate, from America. He brought me here 10 months ago. You promised me one year before you insisted I be changed. I have two months left. And now I don't even belong here, so it seems."

I gave a pleading look at Marcus. who was always kind to me. He stared back at me as he would a stranger.

Aro appeared to be thinking, when he suddenly stood, walked down the steps, and grabbed my wrist, saying tersely, "Come with me."

I was suddenly afraid. "Where are you taking me, Aro?" Very afraid. "Aro, please don't kill me. Give me a chance to explain!"

"Foolish human, I'm not going to kill you. or you would have been dead already." We stopped in front of our chambers, mine and Caius'. "You say these are the rooms you shared with this Caius?"

I opened the right door and walked in. "These have been Caius' rooms for longer than I know. I have lived here with him for the last ten..." My heart dropped. I looked around to find an empty set of rooms. The furniture was gone. Our belongings were gone.

I ran to the bedroom, then searched the massive closet. It was empty of our clothing and the large jewelry case Caius had bought me to hold all the beautiful necklaces, earrings and rings he had chosen for me over the months. There was nothing left behind to bear witness to his extreme generosity.

I turned to Aro. "I don't understand. It's all gone. But it was here when I woke up this morning. I dressed and left to look for Caius." I thought for a moment. If Caius had disappeared from this place, perhaps time itself, all the things he had bought for me would be gone too. It was a logical assumption that if he never existed, anything tied to him would never have been here. And I would not be here. But I was. I am.

I started to walk back to the outer door. While I stood in the corridor, I felt Aro move behind me. I awaited execution, but instead, he took my elbow and led me back the way we came.

"You're not going to kill me, Aro?"

"I said I would not. You know too much, but what you know proves some of your story. For now, Marcus wishes to speak with you."

"No problem. I know the way." He let go my arm and we walked side by side to Marcus' chambers. When we came to his doors, Aro left me there with a pleasant expression, reassuring me.

I reached up and knocked on the heavy wooden door. It opened to reveal the tall melancholy vampire.

"Welcome, my child. Come in." He stepped aside to allow me in and led me to the settee. I sat down and tried to get comfortable.

"It's good to see you again. Marcus. I'm glad you asked me here since I want to ask you, do you see me with your gift? Am I with anyone?" Caius maybe.

Marcus looked a bit surprised that I mentioned his gift. "Yes, I know about your gift. When I arrived here from America, you confirmed with Caius and me, that we were mates and belonged together. Why don't you remember that?"

Since I had arrived here in Volterra, Marcus had always favoured me, and his lack of emotion basically made him more relaxing to be around. When Caius was off on some mission with the guards, Marcus would invite me to his rooms and read to me while I lay my head on his lap. Sometimes he would comb my hair with his fingers in a soothing manner. Anything to calm me during my mate's absences.

"Sit here, child. Aro asked me to talk with you about your delusion..."

"Marcus, it's not a delusion! I'm telling you all the truth. Caius met me in America, and we spent some time while he was in Forks. He asked me to go home with him because we belonged together." How many times did I have to say it. "He checked with you, telling me you have the gift to see relationships." I shut up, too tired to speak anymore.

"I have something to ask you, child. If you want to stay here, Aro has given his permission, as long as you stay with me. Eventually if you wish, you can become my mate and I will change you myself. For now, I will ask nothing of you."

I knew what he meant. I looked over at Marcus. Dear Marcus. I had no where else to go. I nodded silently.

I stayed with Marcus for the next 4 days. He was true to his word, asking nothing of me. Instead, he did what he could to make me feel better.

He had chosen a favourite book, reading to me while my head rested on his thigh. His fingers caressed my head while he played with my hair. His soothing voice became an even drone of words.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

I must have fallen asleep. I rose up on one elbow and looked around me. I was back in my bedroom, Caius' bedroom. Everything seemed as it should be. I turned to see Caius walking from the bathroom as he was drying his hair with a towel while completely naked. I stared up at him with what must have been a look of utter shock, before I jumped out of bed and ran to him, grabbing him and kissing his face and mouth.

"Oh my god, where have you been? I have been looking all over for you and no one knew who you were and everything here was gone..."

Caius dropped the towel when I had grabbed him. "Whoa, my love, what is all this? What do you mean I was missing and everything was gone."

"Am I dreaming now?" I grabbed his hands and looked at him, my expression serious. "I woke up five mornings ago. You were not in our rooms, so I went in search of you, thinking perhaps Aro had called for you. Felix found me and dragged me to the throne room. I asked Aro about you, and he acted like he had never heard of you. No one had. I was sure he was going to kill me since I had no reason to be here and was still human. I think the fact I knew so much convinced him I had been here for the last ten months." I wpuld have rattled on hysterically had Caius not stopped me.

"Allie, shhhh...slow down, love." Caius cupped my cheek gently, then pulled me to him. He was here, back with me, and yet it was like five days ago all over again, only Caius was the one who didn't believe me.

"I spoke with Marcus and he offered to take me in so Aro would not have to kill me. He promised me if you never came back, he'd take me as his mate and change me himself."

"Wait, Allie, what are you talking about?" He gripped my upper arms with his hands. "Who the devil is this Marcus?"

Frowning, I looked at Caius in disbelief. "God, not again."