Disclaimer:I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does.
Author's Note:
I read a lot of Volturi King(s) x OC stories on here. I feel like the main character always finds their way to the Volturi through obscure or improbable paths. If the Volturi feed weekly or even monthly, then they're seeing hundreds of humans every year. So, this is the story where one of those humans turns out to be Aro's mate, and of course, the subsequent chaos that ensues.
The prologue does not directly involve the Volturi, but don't worry, the OC will find her way to the Volturi in the next chapter.
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A note for readers who were following this story prior to 2024: I have revamped (no pun intended) this story and have started posting new chapters again. I would recommend rereading the existing content before continuing to the new chapters.*
Last updated/edited on 09/22/2024.
First Person POV: Astrid
I snatched my phone off the nightstand as it began to vibrate. My lock screen read 11:00pm as I muted Eva's call. I prayed that my family hadn't been woken by the noise and held my breath, listening for any sounds of stirring.
Tonight, I was going out of my comfort zone. My two best friends Eva and Becca had convinced me to sneak out. It wasn't something I'd ever attempted before. I was close with my parents, and they had raised me with a strict hand. Whenever I had considered sneaking out in the past, my anxiety had always gotten the best of me.
My phone began vibrating again, breaking me out of my thoughts. In the quiet of the night, it felt blaringly loud. I knew it was just Eva calling again, so I hit the lock button to dismiss the call and sent her a text that I was on my way. I had made a promise to my friends, and I intended to keep my word. There was no backing out now.
I silently padded across the carpeted floor of my bedroom and out the door to the hallway, wincing as the latch clicked back into place. I moved silently through the house, using my phone screen as a dim flashlight as I descended to the ground floor. When I reached the front door, I paused to confirm my family hadn't woken, and then slipped out onto the porch.
The summer night air was crisp and cool as I lightly jogged down the driveway to where I was Becca's car idling. The headlights stood out in stark contrast to my dark, forested neighborhood, so I hurried over and hopped into the backseat.
"Hey Astrid! Are you ready?" Becca greeted me cheerfully. Unfortunately, I was too busy checking out the window to make sure there were no lights on inside my house to give her a proper response.
"Mhmm…" I mumbled. I could feel my anxiety growing as we remained parked on the street next to my house.
"Alright... Well, let's get going before you change your mind." Becca said with a chuckle.
She pulled onto the road and headed in the direction of Sandy Hill Beach. Once I lost sight of my neighborhood, my anxiety dissipated slightly and was replaced by nervous excitement.
My friends were aware of how out of character this was for me. I had initially declined to sneak out with them, as I always did, but they broke me down over the course of our last week of school. They reminded me we were graduating high school soon, and this was our last chance to make memories together before we attended separate colleges out of state.
I turned away from the window and noticed that Eva was hugging a drawstring bag to her chest in the passenger seat.
When Eva noticed me looking, she grinned mischievously.
"It's a surprise…" she told me with a wink.
The beach was only about three minutes away from my house, so we arrived in no time. Sandy Hill Beach was a public beach and therefore only open during daylight hours. However, Eva and Becca claimed that they had been here multiple times past dark and had never had any trouble.
Becca pulled into the empty parking lot, and we walked towards the beach together. We approached the chain barring the entrance and I couldn't help but cringe at the 'Do Not Enter' sign hanging from the middle.
We continued down the shoreline and until we reached a good spot to settle.
"So, Eva, what's in the bag?" I asked curiously.
Eva squealed and pulled out a liter of vodka that was half full.
"Surprise!" Eva announced, proudly displaying the liquor for us to see.
I kept my face collected and glanced at Becca to see her reaction. Becca's eyes went wide, but then she smiled widely at Eva.
"No way! Did you steal that from your parents?" Becca asked.
"Nope, I got it from Gavin." Eva replied with a dreamy look in her eyes. Gavin was the college guy she had been "talking to" recently.
Eva unscrewed the lid and took a swig of vodka straight from the bottle. I watched as her face scrunched up afterwards, clearly the stuff didn't taste very good...
She handed the bottle off to Becca who took an even longer drink. Becca cringed at the taste as well and then fake gagged. I couldn't help but giggle at her theatrics.
Unfortunately, now was the moment of truth. Becca handed me the bottle and I stared at it, feeling my stomach twist with anxiety. My conflict must have been clear on my face because Becca started in on me immediately.
"Come on little miss goody two shoes, live a little!" Becca told me, brazen as ever. Thankfully, Eva was more sympathetic to my inexperience.
"Astrid, I understand that you're nervous, but we're graduating this week and you're never going to get a chance like this again. You deserve to let go and have fun for once." She encouraged me gently.
"Yeah, I promise we'll take care of you, babe!" Becca added.
I sighed; Eva was right. I would regret passing up the opportunity to act my age for once. I cautiously lifted the bottle to my lips and took a small sip. I swallowed the awful smelling liquid, and my face pinched in disgust. Luckily, Eva saved the day by handing me a soda to chase it, clearly expecting my reaction.
"I can't believe people drink this stuff!" I sputtered and the girls laughed.
"Trust me, keep drinking it and you'll understand why…" Eva replied with a cheeky grin.
The next time I was handed the bottle, I knew what to expect but still shivered in disgust at the taste. I was immensely glad that Eva had brought a soda for me.
As the night continued, I gradually started to relax. The three of us reminisced about how we met and recalled our favorite memories throughout the past years. When I moved to this area in elementary school, Eva and Becca had been kind enough to take me under their wings from the first day. From then on, the three of us had been virtually attached at the hip.
"Do you remember Mr. Albert's face when he caught you on your phone in History class last year? I thought he was going to explode with how red his face got! You're just lucky you're his favorite student, otherwise you would've gotten detention for a month." Eva teased me.
"Right, like you managed to get for the last three weeks... Is texting your college boyfriend worth spending all your free time in detention?" I teased her back and Eva's brows raised in surprise; Becca cracked up though.
"Damn, Astrid, we're going to have to cut you off!" Becca said as she snatched the bottle from me. It was out of character for me to speak so bluntly, clearly the alcohol was having more of an effect than I had realized.
We continued to chat, and I watched my friends chat animatedly back and forth. I was going to miss them so much…
Next week was our graduation ceremony, and once the fall semester started, I'd rarely see them anymore. The idea of making new friends was discouraging, I had always been shy. I worried that I lacked confidence necessary to meet new friends at college. And even if I did, I doubted that they would ever compare to Eva and Becca. My smile faltered, and I felt my eyes start to burn with tears. I tipped my head down to discreetly wipe my eyes, but Becca and Eva noticed.
They pressed me, asking why I was so upset, and I eventually admitted my fears about attending separate colleges. The girls did their best to cheer me up and promised we would schedule visits often. I gave them a halfhearted smile in response, trying not to show my apprehension. My friends were both extraverts, they would have no trouble making friends at college.
Then, Becca brought up the idea of going on a trip outside of the US over the summer, just the three of us. Eva suggested Italy and I agreed immediately; I had always dreamed of visiting there one day. With everyone on board for the trip, my mood lifted marginally. I could picture us flying to Italy, trying new foods, touring museums, window shopping, and exploring the cities together. The rest of the night flew by as we planned our trip.
Feeling dizzy from the liquor, I laid back onto the sand to rest. As my head settled to the side, I saw a beam of light further down the beach. I struggled to see clearly with my vision spinning, so I squinted to get a better look.
"Shh!" I interrupted my friends. Eva and Becca went silent and looked at me in confusion.
"There's someone with a flashlight heading down the beach. We need to get out of here! What if it's a cop?" I whisper-yelled.
"Oh shit!" Becca gasped and Eva quickly sealed the bottle of vodka, shoving it back into her bag. We stood up and stumbled down the shore in the direction of Becca's car.
When we made it back to the car, we clambered back into our original seats. Becca pulled out of the parking lot without trouble, probably because there were no other cars parked in the lot and sped down the road in the direction of my house.
As we drove back to my house, it occurred to me that Becca had just as much to drink as Eva and I and probably shouldn't be driving. But I pushed the thought from my mind, I could already see my neighborhood down the road.
"That was close guys…" I said.
"Oh, come on! Are you telling me you didn't have fun tonight?" Becca retorted, clearly far past worrying.
"Hell yeah! That was one for the books!" Eva cheered but I stayed silent. Becca glanced back at me with concern when I failed to respond. However, my eyes flickered ahead as the road curved, and we veered towards a tree.
My heart froze and time slowed… Suddenly, I felt completely sober.
I felt ice in my veins as adrenaline flooded my system.
I wish I was still in bed; I wish I never snuck out.
I closed my eyes and braced for impact.
Third Person POV: Catalina
Catalina had traveled to the Romanian castle to begin negotiations for the release of one her new coven members, Diego. She had originally sent Diego to the Romanian coven as an ambassador of sorts. Ironically enough, the reason she selected him for the mission was also the reason he was now being held prisoner.
Diego had a gift which allowed him to place ideas in the minds of those around him, allowing him to subtly sway them to his will. Although his gift sounded overly powerful, it wasn't foolproof. His gift required sustained eye contact for varying durations depending on the mental fortitude of the targeted individual. Manipulating a human's mind took far less time and effort than manipulating a mature vampire's mind; and an ancient vampire would likely not be affected at all. Diego's influence was also less effective on individuals with especially clear or logical minds. However, despite its limitations, the subtlety of Diego's gift had made him the perfect candidate for garnering favor with the Romanian coven.
When Diego first began his visit to the Romanian castle, his work had been immaculate. He used his power in the most lucrative situations and kept the level of his influence subtle. Unfortunately, given his success, he grew overconfident.
The Romanian leaders, a pair of brothers named Vladimir and Stefan, were ancient vampires and therefore not susceptible to Diego's gift. They quickly realized their underlings were being manipulated and narrowed the suspects down to Diego before he even realized he was in trouble. The Romanians correctly presumed that his gift required sustained eye contact and by simply blindfolding him, they were able to keep him imprisoned without risk of escape.
Although Diego was young and headstrong, but Catalina would not abandon him. She believed that with a few more years, or decades, of experience Diego would make a formidable member of her coven. It was uncommon for vampires to develop gifts, and it was extremely rare for those gifts to be as useful as Diego's.
Diego had served her coven loyally for the last decade of his immortal life, along with his blood-sister, Isabel, who had also manifested a useful gift. Catalina would not risk losing both of her gifted coven members at once, and if she wanted to keep Isabel loyal, then she needed to retrieve Diego.
"If you can provide an adequate replacement, then we will consider releasing your fledgling." Vladimir proposed.
Catalina fought the urge to roll her eyes. As the oldest vampires in existence, only Vladimir and Stefan would consider Diego a fledgling at a decade into his immortal life.
Catalina's coven was officially allies with the Volturi royal coven, who had been ruling over the supernatural world for two millennia now. Her coven's alliance with the Volturi was not as friendly as some of the other European covens, however, she knew that it was most beneficial to support the current ruling party. In fact, her coven was due for a visit to the Volturi castle soon…
She internally smirked; she was willing to bet that the Romanian brothers would be very appreciative if Diego's replacement came from the Volturi coven.
She mulled the idea over; if she traded a Volturi guard to the Romanian brothers, it would certainly earn her Diego's safe release, however, that was assuming she could manage to do so discreetly. Kidnapping a Volturi guard without witnesses would be a challenge, but with Isabel's gift at her disposal, it was definitely possible. Plus, she knew that Isabel would be more than willing to aid her if it guaranteed her brother's safe release.
The Romanian and Volturi covens were long-standing enemies and constantly skirting around full-scale war. But if the Romanian brothers were serious about overthrowing the Volturi soon, then she intended ride their coattails to the top.
"Understood, I will contact you once I've found a suitable candidate for the exchange." Catalina responded.