Chapter 5
)()()()()()(
Erika had already been introduced to the gym and pool area that was located in the Human section of the castle. That part was warmer than the rest of the castle, heated to keep the Humans warm and content. Sadly Erika didn't bring a swimsuit with her but she would remedy that when she went to the shops later that week.
The gym was pleasant and open planned. The wall opposite the door was completely glass and looked into one of the pools below. One wall was lined with aerobic machinery, and the other was filled with strength work.
She took off her rings, the thumb one came off easily but the one on her right middle finger needed to be carefully twisted off. She began to wrap her hands as she walked towards the punching bags near one corner, gently throwing the role of wrapping tape to the bag near the wall. Of course the wrappings were black to match her outfit while her sports bra had red linings that matched her leggings.
Warming up on the treadmill to get her heart pumping and loosening up her muscles, Erika pulled her hair into a bun at the top of her head. It made sure that her hair was tightly wrapped over itself and would stay in place. She didn't need any distractions so she put her wireless earbuds in and began to hurl punches at the bag.
Erika had pent up anger from the last week or so, and coming back and having to explain why she didn't want to be turned made it boil and spit.
Sometimes things would come out of her mouth and she didn't know why. She felt like Jane had to know that snippet of information. Jane was allowed to hate her, anyone was allowed to hate anyone else. Erika didn't want to be liked by everyone because then she couldn't disappoint them.
Muscles in her arms beginning to ache, she swapped to kicks. Planting her feet firmly, she swung into roundhouse kicks as they were her best ones. She always got back onto two feet before she went for another kick, alternativing every five or so kicks so each side would get equal practise. One of the kicks was badly placed, her ankle twisted too much before impacting the bag.
Even with the slight pain, she shook it off and went back to punches. She felt like she was being watched, looking to the door where one of the Guard stood. Waving them over, she lowered her music by using her watch.
"Guard change?" She asked Alec after he stood to one side.
He nodded with a blank face as he stared at Erika's face.
"What?" Erika shrugged when she caught him staring.
"You upset my sister."
"I upset a lot of people," Erika got in a few more punches before she stopped, looking at him with slight confusion. "How did I upset her anyway?"
"You did not upset her, per say, but she has turned eerily silent since her shift with you."
"She shouldn't have asked questions she didn't want answered with the truth," Erika resumed with the punching, shaking the simmering anger off before it could turn into rage. "She asked why I didn't want to be changed and I told her in perfect detail. My mother was killed by a Vampire on a rampage through England. I lost most of my memory of her. My sister was close to killing herself to see Edward again. All of that led to me being here." She began to hurl her punches, knowing she would bruise her knuckles regardless of the wrappings. "I'm in a whole different continent, living with a large group of people who could kill me at any moment, and I have no choice in the matter if I want to keep my family safe."
Erika hissed and brought up the hurt finger to her mouth, sucking on it to elevate the pain that her nail felt.
"My lady?" Alec asked, stepping forward. "What did you do?"
"Hmm? I bent my nail forward and hurt it," Erika waved her hand out for a second before bringing it close to inspect it. The false nail on top of her natural one had been pulled on enough in the last three weeks of wear. She sighed, gently peeling the already peeling false nail off and revealed her natural one amongst fakes. "Guess I need a new set now."
"You've hurt yourself," He said, taking her hands and unwrapping them in a blur. He only slowed down when he got to the layer that covered her knuckles, gently peeling it off to reveal extremely bruised knuckles. Her right hand was worse than her left, the skin rubbed a little too much on one of her knuckles and caused tiny tears on three of them. "Let us get you to the doctor before the Masters find out, I doubt they would be happy to see you get an infection."
She snatched her hand back, looking at his eyes warily but noticed they didn't darken like they should have. Taking the wrapping too, Erika shook her head as she took out the earbuds and placed them back into their charging case. "No need for a doctor. Wrappings prevent stuff from getting into my skin. I just need to disinfect them and I'll be good to go."
"My lady, I do not think that—"
"I'll. Be. Good. To. Go. Alright?" Erika said it slowly. She stared into his eyes, letting him know she wasn't going to back down on this matter and that made him sigh. "Now, I want to sort my knuckles out and eat something."
)()()()()()(
She got to her room without any hurry, asking Alec to bring a plate of fruits for her to snack on.
As much as she wasn't happy to have a guard with her, she knew the importance of safety. Living in a castle with over thirty Vampires was dangerous enough for the staff, knowing they could be eaten at any moment and the authorities couldn't do anything because the Volturi were the authorities. She had been introduced to the half of the Guard that would more or less baby sit her. It was usually one of the private guards of her mates, or Felix or Demetri.
She didn't complain or make a fuss about being constantly followed. Of course she tried to be angry about it but after the first day she gave up, she felt safer knowing she was being watched and the people around her couldn't hurt her without huge repercussions.
Erika sat on her bed, shoes already taken off so she could sit criss crossed with a first aid kit next to her. Her dad insisted on it, not knowing if the other countries had the same things that came in the kits.
Before putting the clean bandage on her knuckles, she had to clean the area. She took the alcohol wipe packet and ripped the packaging to get the wipe out, hissing when the wipe came into contact with her injury. It burned and stung a little but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.
A warm hand clasped around her right wrist. Caius was expressionless as he brought the hand closer and took the wipes from her. He narrowed his eyes in confusion and worry, sitting on the edge of the bed with the grace Erika was jealous of. He took the wipes from her, silently beginning to wipe the tiny wounds on her knuckles.
She tried to somehow see what he was thinking by his expression, it didn't work so she spoke with an even tone, "What are you doing?"
"I should be asking you that, Erika," He didn't sound happy but she couldn't truly tell because he didn't look up at her. "Why are you bleeding?"
She shrugged as he wiped the knuckles with a gentle hand. "I punched the bag too hard."
"How irresponsible of you to—"
"Don't start!" She snapped before lowering her voice back to normal. "My blood isn't appetizing to Vampires." Erika took her hand back. "I can do this myself. I don't need to be coddled."
He held her wrist again, soft touch but held on with a steel grip. His eyes told her that he was not in the mood to be tested. "I am not coddling you, I am caring for my mate.2
"I can do it myself," She said through clenched teeth, trying to get her hand back even when she knew she wouldn't be able to. Unclenching her jaw, she sighed and relaxed her stiff muscles. "Fine."
"Good girl,"
"Don't call me that."
He hummed and continued.
They sat in comfortable silence. Erika didn't try and take her hand away. It was sort of a comfort to have him touch her. His hands were soft and warm compared to every other Vampire she had ever met. Everyone else was cold and had stone like skin that wasn't pleasant.
Caius lifted her hand so he could look at her palm, smiling at the sight of it compared to his.
"Don't even think about calling my hands small," Erika pouted. "My dad calls me a T Rex because of them."
"Do you draw?"
"A little. Why?"
"You have an indent on your middle finger that tells me you do not hold your pencil properly." He gave her her hand back. "Can you bend your thumb to your forearm on both hands?"
"Yeah, I'm a little double jointed," Erika said.
"I think you might be hypermobile," He gently bent one of her fingers, finding that the top joint would allow her finger to bend back a little too far to be normal. "Do you ever get joint pain from sitting in a supposedly comfortable position?"
"Yeah, I know I'm hypermobile. It hasn't ever been a problem besides when I type or write for a while."
"I will have to see to it that you get joint rings, it will help your fingers stay in place in general and not let them bend more than they should,"
"I don't need them,"
"You do. Your distal phalanges bend back too much to be healthy in the long term." At her confused face, he took her hand and touched each tip of her fingers. "This top section of bone."
"Oh." She thought of all of the joint pain she would from that part of her fingers, knowing her fingers were stiff and achy after a day of drawing or writing. "Yeah, I think splints will help. I used to get pains during long exam weeks and when I draw for too long. You're an artist, aren't you?"
Caius smiled. "I am, when did you find out?"
"As Aro saw all of my thoughts, I saw his." Erika mentioned before smiling sheepishly. "Can you teach me to draw hands? I can do portraits, landscapes, sketches, still life, but I can't figure out how to draw hands without a reference."
"When do you want to learn?"
"I've not got much to do nowadays. My schedule is free until I fall asleep, whenever that is."
He stood from the bed, holding a hand out for her to take. "I have the rest of the day free, if that is acceptable?"
"Of course," She took it and allowed him to help her from the bed.
"Dress in something a little warmer, my studio is much colder than the rest of the castle," He said as he realised she wasn't wearing very warm clothes. "Jeans and a shirt will do, along with comfy shoes."
She nodded and walked to the dresser, finding a dark pair of worn skinny jeans. Folding the jeans over her arm, she went to the walk-in closet before stopping at the door.
"Sweater shirt cold, or thin shirt cold?"
"I would not know,"
"Right." She walked into the wardrobe and closed the door, changing in there before reappearing in the jeans and a dusty blue sweatshirt with navy flats.
)()()()()()(
The studio was huge with tall walls and open windows lining one of them. Every other inch of the walls were covered in shelves and various stages of finished painting, sketches, and pictures that worked as inspiration boards. Several areas of the marble floor were covered in thick linen that would catch the paint if it was dropped or spilled. Half a dozen eszles sat around the room, some finished, others just started.
It was chaotic but beautiful.
Everything had its place. The shelves held various amounts of busts and small statues while larger statues were in the corners of the room. Too many different types of jugs, cups, bowls held paint brushes, some of them were splattered with paint while others were clean.
A two metre long drawing desk sat before the windows, propped up a few inches so it was easier to draw on. Another table sat a couple feet away, a large table full of jugs of water, cups of paintbrushes and various glass palettes for putting and mixing the paint on.
Caius rolled up the sleeves of his red shirt, bearing his pale forearms as he quickly closed the doors behind them. He picked up a medium sized book, a skeleton on the front. "We will start with the basics, anatomy."
"Anatomy is basic?"
"If you understand how the body works, you can better picture it in your mind and draw from that. Sit at the table," He gestured to the messy table that was covered with a bit of everything really.
When she got closer, she didn't realise that there was a space cleared away already. It was the perfect size for her to read the book and sketch at the same time. Erika did as asked and sat on the stool that sat under the table.
Caius placed the book in front of her, opening the page to the bones of the forearm and hand. He took the chair from the drawing desk, sitting beside her with a sketchbook to show her how to draw the basic shape of the hand and arm. It was mostly circles, squares and rectangles but after a few minutes it began to take proper shape. Within the vague outline, he sketched the areas where the bones would sit before adding a bit more depth in areas that needed it.
He gave her the pencil and sketchbook, letting her have a try as he added in comments where needed.
Time passed without them noticing, both too focused on the lesson. Alec had brought the small plate of fruit, asking permission before coming in and setting the plate to the side. The day passed without any more interruptions. The sun was starting to set, sending a golden light over the room as they paused. Erika looked outside, seeing the small changes in the sky that indicated that there would be a sunset within the next few minutes.
Nearing half six, Erika paused the lesson and they moved from the studio to a balcony in the library.
The balcony was just an alcove in the wall of the library, facing the west sky. The stone ledge was held up by thick pillars and it was wide enough that Erika would be able to sit on it.
"I love watching the sun," She said as they watched it beginning to set. "I do this every time it rises or sets."
"It happens twice a day, what is the interest in watching something that will happen often?"
She lifted her chin as the remaining sunlight warmed her eyesight. "I want to realish in the sunlight and feel its warmth for as long as I can. I won't always be able to go in it without glittering like a disco ball, like you right now."
Caius just hummed, knowing his skin was glittering like she said. His forearms were still bare and his face and neck were the same. "You find ways around the disco ball look eventually."
"Hopefully," Erika laughed. "I rather not have to cake myself in makeup to be able to go outside without looking like a diamond."
"When you are turned, we will show you some of the way,"
Erika's smile dropped. "Thanks."
"You seem upset by the reminder of your turning," He turned to face her but she looked out into the final rays of sunlight. "Why?"
"I'm not upset by the reminder, I'm annoyed by the lack of control I will have over it," Erika muttered. "I hate the reminder that death will come eventually, perhaps in different forms but we all will die eventually. Perhaps that's why Vampires evolved to have mates."
"Why?"
"To keep sanity intact. Humans are social creatures, and I think Vampires would be the same. While we have families, Vampires have covens." She placed her hands onto the stone of the balcony, feeling the cooling stone under her skin. "If we were alone forever, we would give up on life. We would not see any point in living if there is no one to share life with us."
"That seems plausible," He placed a hand on her forearm, skin warm as she placed her hand over his and traced it with her thumb.
)()()()()()(
She didn't like to be lonely.
There was a thick line between being alone and being lonely. She was surrounded by people throughout the day and night, people talking, people interacting around her but not to her. The secretaries barely acknowledged her when she walked past, only smiling fakely at her and waving if she was lucky.
She would call Bella and talk for however long she could, which wasn't much when Bella had school work to do. Charlie worked a lot, sometimes even doing more overtime than should be allowed. She was lucky if she could get a ten minute phone call from him.
Caius spent a couple hours a day in his studio, teaching her a little each day and letting her learn from him. She was getting better in drawing recently but there was a pause in their lessons because there was an increase in paperwork in the past week.
The Guard didn't speak to her unless they had to, staying in the background and keeping her safe physically. It wasn't like she needed it anyway. She hardly left her room anymore, only coming out every once in a while for sunlight.
After a few days of not leaving the wing, the Guard had thought she didn't want to leave it. She did but she didn't want to be followed and be watched. She hated being watched when she wanted to be alone.
Within the confinements of the library, to one of the corners where it was difficult to get to, was the balcony she liked to sit on.
Even though it was well into the night, the weather was warm as she sat on the wide ledge of the balcony. Her left leg propped up so she could lean back onto the wall, her other leg was thrown over the ledge. If she leaned to the right, she would have a fall that would kill her, but to the left, the balcony was safe.
She swung her leg lightly, just enough to feel the breeze on her bare foot. She left her sandals by the wall.
Her music isn't blare into her ears this time. It was soft and at a medium level.
She didn't feel like she needed loud music, she needed soft and comforting.
Lean a few inches to the right and she would fall. How long would it take for her to hit the ground? What would break first? Would she land on her head and die instantly? Or would she land awkwardly and die slowly? How long would it take for them to find her? What would they tell her family?
Questions.
Questions.
Interesting answers.
"I'm not going to," Erika turned her head to look at Aro with the blankest expression he had ever seen. She turned her head back to look out at the town and sky. "I'm not that desperate."
"Yet."
Her lip curled but she didn't comment.
"You are tired,"
"I'm sleeping fine,"
"I was not speaking of sleep," He said and stepped silently until he was at the ledge, placing his hands on the stone. "You're exhausted mentally and emotionally."
"How would you know?" She trailed her eyes to him, slow as if she had all the time in the world. She dropped her gaze to her hands before she crossed them across her chest. "If I'm going to be left alone, I can't be confined to this wing."
"You are allowed out of this wing, Erika"
"Without being constantly watched, Aro?" His face didn't move so she rolled her eyes and swung her feet over to the proper side of the balcony ledge. She only muttered as she walked away from the balcony, going back into the library. "Didn't think so."
She ventured back to her room, leaving Aro at the balcony.
Erika sighed as soon as she got back into her room, her back against the closed door. She shook whatever she was feeling off.
She didn't need emotions at the moment.
She needed a drive.
Bringing up the local roadworks and maps on her tablet, Erika could plot out the route easily. From Aro's memories, there was a large stretch of road nearby. She could use that as a way to get this adrenaline pumping without getting anyone hurt or her in trouble for being over the speed limit.
Stuffing herself into a tight pair of black jeans and a white tank top, Erika zipped on her leather boots and biker jacket. She only brushed through her hair, it was going to get messy soon enough.
She grabbed one of the couple of helmets she had stored in her room, inspecting it carefully before deciding on the black one with the slight purple shimmer.
Stepping out of her room dressed and ready, she saw Demtri walking in the hall.
"Hey, do you know where the kings are?"
"I believe they are in the throne room, my lady,"
"Trial?"
"No. Most likely some paperwork or letters that need to be sorted." He said. "Are you going for a ride, my lady?"
"Yeah, I am. I want to inform the kings before I leave so they don't think I'm trying to leave again," Erika plainly said. "I don't need them accusing me of breaking our agreement."
"You acquired an agreement with the Masters? I didn't think any Humans could do that," His lips curled up a tiny bit.
Her own smile laced her face. "I'm not just any Human. I'm a Swan. Swan women aren't the most… agreeable when a threat against them or theirs has been challenged, and we don't do well when being told what we can and cannot do. Take that advice as you will."
"I will take it under advisement, my lady," He said, gesturing to the end door with a hand. "May I escort you to the throne room then?"
)()()()()()(
Bare the flickering torches against the walls, the turning of pages, and the scribble of a pen, the throne room was silent enough that even Erika could hear her own heartbeat. Alec and Felix stood within the room with the kings, letting Demetri announce her presence.
She caught sight of her mates at the table to the side of the room, a few larger candles at the table to let them properly look at the books and papers they had scattered around. Walking over and quickly glancing at all of the foreign writing, she found she could vaguely understand the words even though there were half a dozen.
They didn't even acknowledge her, continuing to do whatever they were doing before she came into the room. Aro didn't even pause in his writing as Erika stopped a metre or so away from them.
"I'm going to be out of the castle for a few hours," Erika plainly said, no question or request in her voice.
Caius turned the page of his book. "Where is it you're going?"
"No destination in mind, I'm just going out for a ride for a bit," She watched as he lifted his gaze from his book, seeing the softness there. "To clear my head and get out of the castle."
"Why not have one of the Guard take you to town instead?"
"I rather take a ride by myself,"
"On the deathtrap you Humans call motorbikes?"
"Yes."
He stared at her for another moment before nodding once. "Have fun."
"I'll be back within a couple of hours," She checked her watch. "If you need to contact me before I get back, I'll have my phone on me."
While Marcus nodded with a reassuring smile and stayed silent, Aro snapped the book he had next to him shut before dropping his pen.
"Erika, can't we advise you to not yet leave the castle?"
She scoffed, shifting the helmet from one hand to the other. "You can advise me all you want, I'm going to leave the castle tonight. I'll only be gone a couple of hours, nothing will happen to me."
"There are around five thousand deaths on motorcycles each year—"
"And the death rate for motorcyclists killed between the hours of three and six are under five percent of the total. My father is the chief of police in Forks, I know all about the statistics and laws surrounding motorcycles. And you know that I know the risks, so why are you trying to stop me?"
"Not even an hour ago, you contemplated death. You sat at the balcony and actively thought of killing yourself. I do not even know if you are suicidal or not, and I will not take the risk."
"If I was suicidal, I would be six feet under ground already. What I was thinking and feeling was the Call of the Void, a thought of doing a deed or action that could result in fatal harm or death. Humans have these thoughts all the time, it doesn't mean we act on them. Just because I was suicidal before in my life, doesn't mean I am now."
While Aro knew, the two others didn't.
Marcus flicked his hand towards the three members of the Guard, dismissing them as he and Caius put down the things in their hands. Both held expressionless faces but their eyes told a different story.
"I see he didn't tell you. Good," Erika placed her helmet on the table, thus letting her cross her arms loosely around her torso as the leather of her jacket groaned. "It wasn't his thing to tell you and he knows that. Can we have this conversation later?"
"No."
The firmness and absolute authority in Marcus' voice made her flinch. It was uneasy with how easily he could command something with his voice, and something told her she should listen. She stayed where she stood, her feet firmly planted with even breaths as she just looked at him.
"I'm not having this conversation," Erika said with her own firmness lacing her voice, a touch of venom lacing her words. "I was suicidal when I was younger but I'm not anymore, I haven't been for a long while. If you want to know why, ask Jane about my mother. But I'm going for a ride."
When Erika reached for her helmet, she didn't see it where she left it. Taking a breath in and letting it out slowly, she turned back to Marcus to see him holding her helmet. Erika held her hand out for it and gave him a look but he just watched her blankly.
"Give me the helmet."
"Give me a reason."
"Because it is mine."
"Give me a good reason."
"Give me my fucking helmet."
His lip curled up into a cold but amused smile. "I do not think profiantity is needed."
She matched his curl of the lip but hers held no humour. "I think it does when you take my fucking things. You do not get to dictate what I do, where I go, bar the dungeons and the throne room during feedings because I see the reasoning there. You don't get to tell me what to do. You're supposed to be my soulmates, not my keeper."
"I see we did not inform you of the hierarchy within the bond."
She ran her tongue against her teeth, anger bubbling as she took another calming breath. "What. Hierarchy?"
"Within the pairing, or quartet that we are in, there is a dominant and a submissive,"
"The only place I like hearing those words is in the bedroom." She shifted her feet an inch, fixing her stance to stand straighter. "Explain further."
"I presume you are referring to the dominant/submissive lifestyle that has gained popularity in the last few decades. This is similar but this is in our DNA. It does not mean you are a naturally submissive person, nor does it mean you are dominant."
"I wish it was as simple as that sometimes," Caius muttered lowly, earning himself a swat on the head from Marcus. He stayed quiet after that.
"The dominant is paired with the submissive because they can work together to survive better. They keep each other in line but also allow each other to grow."
Erika pinched the bridge of her nose, having a feeling of where this was going to go. "And in our situation, who's who?"
"Aro and myself are dominant, and you and Caius are submissive…" Marcus put the helmet down to the side.
Erika's brain hurt.
"Yeah, enough of that for today." She snatched her helmet before they could take it again, putting it under her arm as she saluted them as she walked. "I'm out."
"We are not finished." He said while the other two watched on.
She called over her shoulder with a grin. "I am."
"Erika."
"What?"
"Do not walk away from me when I am speaking to you,"
"Or what?"
"Please come back,"
"Nope. I'm going out."
"Erika, stop."
"Make me!"
With each step after that, her limbs seemed to become heavier but she powered on through the tiredness. There was a dullness at the back of her mind, urging her to think reasonablely but she gritted her teeth and forced her limbs to keep fucking moving.
She didn't get any closer to the door after that. Her feet were glued to the floor, head becoming fuzzy as she realised Marcus was now in front of her.
He didn't look happy but he didn't look angry either. A calm but tired look came over him, his eyes drooping a little but the bright ruby colour shined brighter than it should have. His gaze pierced through the cold haze that shrouded her mind.
Her blinking slowed, becoming harder to lift her eyelids the longer she stared at him. She couldn't look away, sinking deeper into the icy haze as her helmet thudded onto the stone ground. Hot flash after hot flash went over her skin from head to toes. It prickled at her skin, chilling her afterwards.
"Give me your hand."
There was no question, no suggestion, no request. It was a firm demand that needed to be answered.
Erika lifted her right hand, almost dropping it into his waiting hand. Marcus clasped it in his left, caressing the healed knuckles with the same gentle movements he would use on a robin. His other hand cupped her jaw, letting her lean into it as he caressed her cheek to lure her into giving in.
She dropped her gaze when it became too much to look him in the face. It wasn't in shame or embarrassment, but more in anger and frustrations over the fact she couldn't control her actions at the movement. It wasn't because she didn't have control over herself, she always had control, but something was taking the reins and forcing her to stop moving.
The unforgiving haze wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything was fine and she was okay but each flash of obedience just sent her into a panic. It scared her, being forced to do something. She could do this, do as he demanded for now. Her shields were up, she was safe.
She was safe.
Regardless of how safe she was mentally, she was terrified. It took a lot out of her to not let the haze consume her quickly, but she was reaching her limits. She couldn't hold onto the power any longer, the haze becoming foggier and foggier. She was so tired. Each blink felt heavier and heavier on her eyelids, and she just leaned into Marcus' warm hand and closed her eyes.
The hot chills and flashes were worse when she closed her eyes, forcing her to relax her muscles. This relaxing caused her legs to become weak and she was already floaty in the head. Warm arms encased her, her face tucked into the crook of his neck as he ran a hand down her back.
It was warm and comforting, but at the same time it wasn't.
Tears pricked at her eyes.
Breathing was still shallow.
Her heart rate was like that of a heart attack.
She was scared of them.
She was terrified of them.
She didn't know what they could force her to do.
She didn't want to find out.
She felt sick at the thought.
She didn't fall asleep, that would have been too convenient, nor did she pass out. It was something in between, she fell into a darkness that she welcomed more than she did his arms. She fell into the shadows of her mind, those that even Aro couldn't force his way into.
She was proud of that fact.
)()()()()()(
Aro and Caius went over to the other two as soon as they saw Erika lose consciousness.
"Fear overwhelmed her," Marcus said, putting one arm behind her shoulders and another beneath her knees to lift her into a bridal carry. He shifted her gently, making sure she wouldn't wake up with a bad neck or get hurt as she leaned into his chest and neck subconsciously.
"We will have to figure out why." Caius carcessed a finger down the side of her neck, feeling her fast and unsteady pulse before frowning. "It should not have affected her so negatively, even if she is Human. Her instincts should not have gone straight to fear."
Aro nodded once. "She has a control problem, that much is very much evident. She knows it. Her shields are primarily physical, but she has converted some of them into turning to mental ones as well. It is the reason I cannot see her thoughts, nor can Alice Cullen see her future without permission."
"Has she been more irritable recently?" Caius let his lip curl into a disgusted snarl as their silence. "You do not even know, do you? You have not spent time with her for weeks. I understand why she wanted to leave for a ride on that motorbike of hers."
"Every time I visit her in the morning, she is still asleep,"
"You haven't realised that she stays up so she can see the sunrise, in the morning," Caius said. "She watches each and every sunrise with me at the balcony where she contemplates death. Thinking of death and what is to come comforts her, she doesn't know when it will happen but she likes to prepare herself for it."
"How do you know this to be true?" Aro asked.
"Because I spend time with her, Aro!" He snapped. "Unlike the two of you, I try to spend a few hours each day with her. The bond has been hurting her recently, causing her to be antisocial and harming the bond even more. Unlike the two of you, we cannot live with just knowing our mates are safe. We need evidence and reassurance from you. She does not know how to ask for help because you did not tell her why she needs the help in the first place."
Caius stepped forward, linking his arms under Erika's shoulders and knees as he took her from Marcus. He stepped away, beginning to walk to the doors as his other mates just watched him for a moment.
"Where are you taking her?"
"Away from you," He said without turning back. "You've scared her. You should have told her about the hierarchy at the beginning."
"Why did you not tell her?"
Caius paused in his walking, looking down at Erika's calm face. "Because it is your place to tell her but you took too long in deciding if she is truly worth the hassle of debating with. We are paired with you to keep you on your toes but I suppose you are too busy to deal with us."
Even as they called out for him to stop, he didn't listen. Unlike Erika, they knew when he was being serious about a matter. He wasn't just serious, he was angry and they knew it was aimed at them.
)()()()()()(
"You heard all of that?" Caius said as he placed her body on her bed, watching as Erika opened her eyes with a little smile.
"All of it," She said, letting him help her shrug off her jacket. "I'm good at playing asleep."
"That you are,"
She got up from the bed and rummaged for her sleepshirt. Stripping down to her bra and thong, she slipped on the thin linen shirt before unclipping her bra and dropping that to the pile of clothes on the sofa. That pile needed to be washed anyway.
"You truly aren't a prude,"
"Nope," She said and got into her bed, putting her phone on charge. "I am exhausted though. I really don't… want to be alone at the moment. Do you mind if you could stay with me until I fall asleep?"
The soft twerk of the lips were reassuring as he nodded once. She shifted over a little, letting him take his shoes off before he got under the covers of the bed with her.
Erika burrowed into his side, feeling his warm hand on her back as he traced small circles into her skin. He had a book in the other hand, softly reading it aloud as her eyelids drooped more and more in comfort and warmth.
This new haze was warm and dewy, thin enough that she could get out of it but she didn't want to.
Her eyes closed with a final blink, letting her drift off without a warning.
)()()()()()(