"Now that we are by ourselves will you finally answer some of our questions?"Kate asked. She along with the rest of the Denali Coven and Isabella were all gathered in Carlisle's office. The room was soundproof so no-one would be able to overhear what they were talking about. Kate figured now that they were alone Tanya would give them more details about everything that had went on. Especially since they needed to discuss what was going to happen now that the kings were dead as it was obvious that the mated trio were going to be involved in future vampire politics. What that meant for the rest of the coven Kate had no idea. She just hoped that it didn't mean that they were breaking up. She didn't want to lose her family.
"We are more than willing to answer all your questions and then have Isabella give you the block."Tanya wanted her family's minds safe from mental influence.
"What blocks?"Irina asked.
"The same blocks that Rosalie and I have that protect your minds from any mental gifts."Tanya told her.
"So that's how you got around the Cullens."Carmen and the others never could figure out how Tanya and Rosalie were immune. They all knew it wasn't natural like Tanya claimed but weren't sure how they had done it.
"How did Rosalie get it though? From what I had witnessed while living in the castle I was under the impression that Isabella was monitored closely and never allowed to leave the castle."Eleazar didn't think the kings would allow their most valuable guard member to leave the castle for any reason.
"That is why I took Rosalie away to change her. I bought a villa in Italy that is close to the castle and brought Rosalie there so Isabella could meet us. She had Jane sneak her out of the castle while Athenodora and a few other guard members covered for her. She is actually one of Rosalie's sires."Tanya explained.
"That's why you have a bite mark on both your wrists."Anne had always found it odd that Tanya would bite both of Rosalie's wrist when changing her. It was actually odd that Tanya bit her on the wrist as well. Tanya had used the excuse that she didn't want to bite Rosalie's neck until they could share mating marks at the same time. Something that Anne thought was reasonable.
"Rosalie needed the block so Isabella decided to use the opportunity to be part of her turning."Tanya said.
"What I don't understand is if Isabella was able to give you and Rosalie the block why didn't she give it to the rest of us?"Victoria would have thought that giving them the block would have been the best thing to do. It would make it safe for them to have the same information as Tanya and Rosalie.
"If she did then the kings would have learned it from Edward when he went to Italy to kill himself. They would have summoned us to find out how the whole coven was immune to mental gifts. That would have led to Isabella being exposed when she saved us from death. If that happened it would have ruined all of her plans and the kings would have done a lot worse than just killing off covens for gifted vampires in their pursuit to get her back and kill the rest of us."Tanya had wanted her family to have the block but it wasn't safe.
"I still am awed with the way your gift works compared to Alice's."Carmen knew that Tanya had a glimpse into the future but didn't think that the person who told her things had such influence on how things turned out.
"Alice's gift is useless in the grand scheme of things. I doubt that she will ever get any kind of control over it."Isabella didn't think Alice would ever improve even with practice.
"I loved the way Rosalie put Alice in her place when she told her her gift was unreliable and she shouldn't put any faith it. She was so pissed."Kate was feeling very smug knowing that a member of her own coven was far superior to one of the gifted Cullens. The family never missed an opportunity to brag about how powerful they were and it always irritated all the of the Denali. Especially since they couldn't tell them about Tanya's knowledge.
"Luckily they aren't our problem anymore."Rosalie was very happy they didn't have to deal with their so-called cousin ever again.
"I wonder what's going to happen to them now. Carlisle and Esme took off together, Jessica moved to the reservation with her child and the remaining four have no idea how to live on their own."Irina didn't think they would be able to survive without some kind of guidance.
"They are going to ask us if they can join our coven. Something I don't think we should allow."Isabella didn't want to take on the responsibility of the four Cullen children.
"No way."Victoria didn't want to deal with them.
"I don't think we should allow it."Rosalie didn't want to play babysitter to a bunch of immature animal drinkers.
"What does everyone else think?"Tanya didn't want to but wanted everyone else opinion before making a decision.
Eleazar looked to Carmen getting a head shake."We don't want them in the coven."
"I don't want to even associate with them."Irina wasn't a fan of any of Cullens and didn't want to get stuck with them.
"There is no way I am going to be in a coven with Alice or Emmett."Anne hated the small vampire. She was whiny and very materialistic. Emmett was immature and acted like a child. Both of them were unbearable to be around for long periods of time.
"Then it's settled. We will not allow the four to join our coven."Tanya was happy that everyone agreed. She just like the rest of her family didn't like the four. She especially disliked Harriet and her obvious hatred of Rosalie. Even though it was Emmett who sought Rosalie out Harriet blamed Rosalie for her mate's interest. Something that was common place when a mated vampire took an interest in Rosalie. Instead of holding their mates responsible for their actions Rosalie was blamed for their reaction to her.
"You told us that Carlisle is going to be tortured and killed. What's going to happen to Esme?"Carmen asked.
"A member of the coven that Carlisle gets killed by is Esme's true mate. I didn't say anything because Carlisle would have killed Esme before she got a chance to meet up with them. Also I thought it was only fitting that Esme's true mate had the chance to kill Carlisle."Isabella told her.
"If you knew who they are why didn't we just step in and stop Carlisle from killing her? Why did we let him go?"Irina would have figured it would have been easier to just capture Carlisle and turn him over to Esme's true mate.
"For two reasons. One we have better things to do than get involved with the Cullen's drama and two I hate Carlisle. I have hated him since I was introduced him when he came to the castle. I have always wanted him to suffer for all the many things he did in the castle and all the danger he put you all through. I personally think the most fitting punishment is for him to become the very thing he has preached against his whole life. A vampire that kills innocent humans and drinks their blood. The fact that he looses his mate in the process is just a bonus."Isabella thought the fact that not preventing Carlisle from killing humans when they easily could was the ultimate revenge.
"You're right. He hates human drinkers. He especially hates ones that kill instead of using blood bags."Anne thought Isabella was right. That was the best punishment for Carlisle.
"Speaking of drinking human blood I would like to inform all of you that myself and Rosalie will be going to the human blood diet. The only reason we did in the first place was so that Victoria wouldn't be scared of Irina and that we could make an alliance with Carlisle. Now that we no longer have to deal with the Cullens there is no reason to stick to animals."Tanya was looking forward to drinking from the blood bags that Isabella made sure were brought to Forks just for them to break their diets and gain full strength.
"I should also inform you that animal blood has been poisoning you. It's made your bodies, senses and mind weaker over the years and will continue to do so until you get to the point of regressing to less than humans abilities. If you are morally against it I had some of my allies set up a way to get regular shipments of bagged blood that you all with have access to. That is how I feed as it's hard for me to focus when my hunger takes over and makes it so my kills aren't clean and I rarely get all the blood from the bodies."Isabella had thought bagged blood was the greatest thing humans invented. It had saved a lot of clean up and ruined clothing over the years.
"I am more than happy to go back to humans."Kate had hated drinking from animals and was upset that Tanya made them.
"I want to thank you for preventing me from scaring away my mate. That being said I have no problem go back to human blood. Especially if it has been hurting my body."Isabella was grateful that Isabella had not only gave Irina a chance to save Victoria and Anne but made sure that Irina would be able to bond with the girl. It was proof that even though Isabella wasn't with them she cared about the coven and it made Irina trust the stranger. Not that with all the many instances that Isabella had stepped in over the centuries wasn't proof enough.
"I agree with Irina. I would like to change my diet if it's hurting my body."Victoria said.
"It will also improve your gift as it hasn't been at full strength with the weakening of your senses."Isabella told her.
"Then I am definitely switching diets."Victoria's gift kept her and the others safe. It there was a way to do it better than she would do anything she needed to make it stronger.
"We aren't opposed to switching diets. The only reason we did in the first place was because we wanted to be members of the Denali coven."Carmen and Eleazar had no issues with killing humans. They just wanted to be a part of the Denali and that was one of the requirements.
"I don't mind either."Anne wasn't keen on killing anybody but was more than fine drinking from blood bags.
"Then once we finish talking I will have one of the guard members get the blood bags I brought for all of you to drink incase you wanted to change diets."Isabella said.
"That's another question I have. What is going to happen to the guards now that the kings are dead?"Irina asked.
"Actually what is going to happen to all vampires now that the kings are dead?"Victoria knew that the kings kept the vampire population in check and without them in charge it was going to be a free for all.
"I'm sorry I thought it was obvious but I guess it makes sense you guys wouldn't know."Tanya was kicking herself for not telling her family right away."Myself, Rosalie and Isabella are taking the thrones for ourselves."
"What the fuck?!"Kate exclaimed in shock.
"I'm sorry I think I misheard. You are taking the thrones for yourselves?"Anne was sure that's not what Tanya said.
"That's been the plan the whole time. Isabella has been building alliances with not only the former kings subjects but the leaders of other vampire territories as well. She has the backing of all them and enough power to crush anyone who thinks it's a good idea to try to overthrow us."Tanya wasn't worried about any enemies they would gain. Isabella was the most influential vampire on the planet. Having gained the respect though preventing things from happening and helping many in need.
"What does that mean for us?"Carmen asked.
"Each of you will have a role in the new regime if you want it."Rosalie told her.
"What would our roles be?"Victoria didn't think they would be useful to vampire politics.
"Eleazar we want to offer you the role of official royal archivist. The job would entail you going through all the material the formal kings had gathered throughout their rule and organize it. Starting with the forbidden archives that only the three of them had access to."Tanya wanted to know what the kings had been hiding from everyone.
"I am more than willing to step into that role."Eleazar was very excited about having unlimited access to the libraries and archives. The former kings were very paranoid and only allowed people to go in specific places. Most of the materials they had were off limits.
"We are going to be hosting more humans in the castle so Carmen we would like you to step into the role of head chef of the castle. You would be in charge of all the meals coming out of the kitchen. A kitchen that you will be able to design yourself. You will also be in charge of hiring and firing anyone you need for staff."Rosalie thought that was the perfect role for the woman.
"I can do that."Carmen loved to cook and feed people. She just never got the chance. Doing this would fulfill her desire and to be in charge of important dinners would allow her to branch out on her culinary abilities.
"How about me?"Kate asked.
"I promised you better fights."Tanya said."If you want them then you will be leading a team of elite guard members that will be sent on the missions no one else wants to go on because of how dangerous they are. It will keep you very busy as many are going to try and overthrow us in the next couple of years. Isabella has picked out a team for you. You will of course have to train but she has told me that you will excel in this role and have many challenging opponents."
"Hell yeah! I am totally down for that."Kate couldn't wait to start training with her team. If Isabella said it would keep her busy and she would be challenged then Kate knew she was going to have a lot of fun.
"Another thing that needs to be discussed is both your and Anne's mates."Isabella said.
Anne perked up hearing that."You know who our mates are?"
"I do. Kate your mate is a member of the African royal guard. I worked out a trade with one of the gifted vampires in my own guard to take her place so that she could transfer to your team. She had a few things to wrap up before she could leave and will be meeting us in Italy in a week and a half."Isabella hadn't had to offer anything for her guard to go to the African coven. Even thought they were loyal to Isabella they wanted to explore the world and joining the African coven would fulfill that desire while they continued to do be a high ranking guard member like they enjoyed being.
"Thank you."Kate was happy that she was not only getting a mate but one that was a lot like Kate if the fact the woman was a guard member meant anything.
"Anne your mate is part of the Japanese Royal family. My mother Colette saved her from a kidnapping plot a few centuries ago. As I know you didn't want to be away from Victoria and the rest of the family I arranged for the princess to live part time in Italy and part time in Japan. It will be up to the pair of you to decide when you want to stay where but you must spend time with her parents at least half of the year. If not they will not let her leave their castle and you both won't be able to travel anywhere together."Isabella had thought that was the perfect compromise for the mated couple.
"When do I meet her?"Anne thought that was a reasonable request. That way they would get see to see both their families and not be forced to stay at the castle.
"Her family sent a team of guards to clear out the castle while we were here. She accompanied them with her own guards and is currently staying at the villa Tanya bought near the castle. As soon as we touch down in Italy I will have guards take you right to her."Isabella said.
"Thank you."Anne hoped they would be leaving soon. She desperately wanted to meet her mate.
"What role will Irina and I have?"Victoria was happy for her sister but was concerned about what she and her mate were going to be asked to do.
"We know that the pair of you have always wanted to travel the world but I held you back. We have decided that we would like you both to be our official ambassadors. The job will entail you traveling around the world with your own team of guards visiting our various allies or on occasion stepping in to help a coven in need if Isabella gets a vision like she is prone to doing."Tanya told them.
Irina looked to Victoria."I would like to do it but only if you do to."
"I want to. Plus if I can strengthen my gift it will be easy to protect us when going into unknown situations."Victoria would happily travel with Irina. With her gift and the team of guards that would be assigned to them then they would be perfectly safe.
"Then it's settled. Now the next step is Isabella giving each of you the block then we will gather what belongings we have here and take a flight back to Italy. Once we land Irina you and anyone else who would like to go with you will go to our villa to meet your mate. Myself, Rosalie and Isabella need to go right to the castle to officially step into our roles."Tanya was looking forward to finally getting to the castle and getting a minute alone with her mates. That would have to wait a few days until they had everything organized.
"What about all our other stuff that we kept in the house in Alaska and in storage?"Kate didn't want to leave any of her stuff behind.
"I have some people packing up all of your personal belongings from your houses and stuff in storage and shipping it to the castle. After the remodel is done for each couple to have their own wings you can have the opportunity to sort thought it and anything you don't need we will stored on the grounds so you can access it at anytime."Isabella told her.
"We are getting our own wings?"Anne hadn't expected that.
"You may not be the queens but you are all members of the royal family. That means you will be treated with the same respect the three of us will. Something that you have my permission to use violence on anyone who challenges that."Isabella knew that the Denali would be tested and needed to do what they could to prove themselves worthy of being royalty.
"That won't be a problem."Victoria wouldn't put up with anyone disrespecting Irina.
"Good. Now while Isabella gives each of you the blocks I'm going to go check in with Colette and Athenodora."Tanya wanted to see what progress the pair had made with the other two queens. When she had seen them before they were in complete denial that the kings weren't their mates. Isabella knew who their true mates were but they needed to be deprogrammed before they met them. If they weren't they would reject their mates and it would a mess.
"I'll stay with them."With all the unfamiliar vampires around Rosalie felt the safest with Isabella.
Tanya gave Rosalie a soft kiss followed by kissing Isabella as well."I'll be back soon."
"This won't take long."Isabella said.
"Everyone should stay here for now so that we can show a united front when we leave the house."Tanya told them.
"No problem."Kate wanted to make her debut to the guard standing by the new queens' sides.
Satisfied that everyone was going to stay put Tanya made her way out of the room down the stairs. The former queens and Colette were in the living room. Members of the guard were positioned around the house preventing anyone from entering. Including the Cullen children. Those being a loose end she needed to deal with as well. There was no way that Tanya was going to be saddled with the group. It didn't matter if they begged her. Which they probably would do. Not that Tanya would be moved. It would just make her hate them even more. Not that she cared about it. She had more important things to focus on. Getting the former queens to accept the fact they had been lied to for the last few millennia being the most important. Tanya would prefer not having to deal with them at all but they were good friends of Athenodora's and Tanya's mother in law wanted to make sure they were taken care of. If Tanya refused to help it would piss Athenodora off and Tanya wasn't stupid enough to do that. Athenodora was known as the warrior queen and was her mate's mother. That was someone you didn't want as an enemy. Luckily Tanya had already gotten Colette's approval. She just hoped it would help her gain Athenodora's as well because Tanya didn't want to be at odds with Isabella's mothers. It would upset Isabella and Tanya didn't want to be the cause of her mate's upset. She would do anything to prevent it. Even try and help the former queens when she really didn't want to. She just reminded herself that it would make Isabella happy and Isabella's happiness was her life's goal.