Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does.
This story is non-canon and contains fem slash.
Author's Note:
Please follow, favorite, and review. Thanks!
A note for readers who were following this story prior to fall 2024: I have revamped (no pun intended) this story and intend to start posting new chapters occasionally. I would recommend rereading the existing content before continuing to the new chapters.*
Last updated/edited on 10/01/2024.
First Person POV: Izzy
Once the sun had risen, I left my bedroom and headed downstairs. My appetite for blood had gradually lessened over the past few months and the family had recommended that I switch to hunting every other day. It didn't sound like a big deal, but it was an improvement from requiring daily hunting trips.
Normally I would leave in the morning when the sun rose and return around midday. I always had at least three family members with me. Generally, the sisters accompanied me on the weekdays and Tanya, Eleazar, and Carmen joined me on weekends. Though, the family made it a goal to take hunting trips with everyone present at least once a week. Today was my first idle day since joining the Denali coven. Now that I didn't need to hunt constantly, I wasn't sure how I was going to fill my extra time.
As I entered the living room, the sisters paused their conversation. They waved me over when I entered the room, and I took my seat on the couch between Kate and Tanya.
"So, you're getting older… No more daily hunting trips." Irina said, shooting me a smile.
"My baby's growing up so quickly!" Kate cried and pinched my cheek. I slapped her hand away and glared at her in mock annoyance.
"So, any ideas on how you want to spend your free time?" Tanya asked and I gave a shrug.
"I haven't decided… What do you guys usually do during the day?" I asked them.
"My sisters and I mainly online shop, play video games, and practice our other indoor hobbies." Tanya informed me.
"What about Carmen and Eleazar?"
"Carmen works as a substitute teacher for the local public schools and Eleazar usually gardens." Tanya told me. It surprised me how little I knew of my family members even after living with them for months.
"Gardening?" I asked. Gardening didn't seem very plausible at this time of year.
"Yes, the big green house in the corner of the yard is Eleazar's. He grows tons of fruits and vegetables." Irina added in.
"But you guys don't eat…" I said in confusion.
"Well, it's not for us silly! He donates all the produce to local food pantries." Tanya informed me.
I liked the idea of that. Not only was Eleazar living peacefully with humans, but he was also giving back to the community.
"Do you think he might let me help him?" I asked.
"Definitely sweetheart, he's constantly trying to rope us into helping him." Tanya told me.
"Are you sure? I don't want to ruin anything with my newborn strength…" I hesitated and Kate snorted.
"God Izzy, grow some balls! You're way too timid for a newborn." Kate joked. "And yes, we're very sure. Eleazar loves you like a daughter; he would let you help him even if you ended up ransacking his greenhouse." I snorted at the visual she created.
"Come on, we'll take you over." Tanya said.
She grabbed my hand and pulled me off the couch. We left the house and glided across the lawn to Eleazar's greenhouse.
Irina knocked on the door and after a second of rustling inside, Eleazar answered the door. He wore an old, faded tee-shirt and blue jeans. It was probably the most casually dressed I had seen anyone in the family since arriving.
"Hey girls, did you change your mind about helping out?" He asked hopefully.
"Nope, but Izzy wants to volunteer." Irina told him.
"Oh, wonderful!" Eleazar said brightly and ushered me into the green house.
The girls waved goodbye and returned to the house. I turned around and inspected the greenhouse. It was very, well, green. Unidentified plants and occasionally a pruned tree lined the walls and rows through the center. It was organized chaos. However, I knew nothing about gardening, so I really wasn't one to judge. In the back corner was a long table with two large sun lamps and scattered seed packets on top.
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting company, so you'll have to tolerate my disorganization today." He said rubbing the back of his neck and I gave him a reassuring smile to let him know it didn't bother me.
"Well, you have perfect timing, it's the beginning of October so I'm going to be preparing the winter crops today." He waved me over to the tables in the back corner.
"I'm growing Kale, radishes, carrots, and beets. Those are all nice, hardy crops for the winter. You can help me with planting seeds today. What you're going to do is grab a peat pellet," he said and picked up small brown cylinder about the diameter of a golf ball with an indent in the center, "and place one seed inside. The peat pellets are made of dried, compressed peat moss so when you add water they expand and keep the seed at the perfect depth. Then we're going to line the expanded peat pellets under the lamps. They'll sprout in a few days." Eleazar instructed and I nodded along with his instructions.
"I'm working on the kale right now, but you can start on the radishes. Just add them to the tray under the lamp until you run out of space." He directed.
I took the package of radish seeds he handed me and grabbed a few peat pellets out of the bag on the floor. I focused on moderating my strength - I didn't want to damage the seeds with my newborn strength. Eleazar seemed to pick up on my anxiety.
"Don't worry if you break a few seeds, it's unavoidable, just try your best." He reassured me.
I continued adding seeds to the peat pellets, wetting them, and then lining them up on the tray. Eleazar and I worked in silence for a few minutes, and I decided to strike up a conversation.
"Eleazar?" I began.
"Yes, dear?" He quickly responded.
"Have you always followed this diet?"
"No… I wasn't aware of this lifestyle until I met the sisters." He told me somewhat apprehensively.
"Oh, sorry… I didn't mean to upset you." I said guiltily, my question clearly made him uncomfortable.
"No dear, I knew this would come up eventually. You're part of the family and you deserve to know my background." He told me and I silently waited for him to continue.
"I imagine you know of the Volturi?" He asked me and I nodded in confirmation. I tried not to wince as I remembered Tanya's story of her encounter with the Volturi but failed.
"Yes, that's a common reaction." He chuckled awkwardly, not missing my subtle reaction.
"I was actually recruited by the Volturi when I was very new to this life." He told me and my eyebrows shot up in surprise. He gave me a rueful smile.
"Like many of our kind, I started my life as a nomad. When the Volturi learned of my gift they tried to recruit me. Of course, I was hesitant, but as I learned more about their purpose, I agreed to join them." I carefully schooled my expression and waited for him to continue.
"You see, I liked that the Volturi kept order in the supernatural world and kept humans ignorant of the supernatural. Not everyone agrees that we should allow humans to live freely. There are a pair of brothers, originally from Romania, who used to hold much power before they were dethroned by the Volturi. Before the Volturi, the brothers ruled over Romania and did not hide their vampiric nature from the humans living there. They believed vampires were superior to humans and therefore had a right to rule over them and keep blood slaves. I joined the Volturi to help maintain peace and keep the ever-looming Romanian threat at bay. The main leader of the Volturi, Aro, is an avid collector of gifts. Because of this, I spent most of my time traveling the world looking for gifted vampires and humans with latent gifts who could be recruited into their guard. I served the Volturi faithfully for about a century and then, on one of my missions through Spain, I encountered Carmen. I was innately drawn to her and our bond developed quickly. I attempted to balance my guard duties and my new relationship with Carmen to the best of my ability. However, it quickly became impractical, and I found myself neglecting my responsibilities on both sides. I requested an audience with Aro and informed him of the situation. Aro has the gift of tactile telepathy, so he can see all an individual's thoughts and memories through skin contact. With his gift, Aro was able to verify the authenticity of my mate bond with Carmen. He was sad to see me leave the guard but released me from my duties regardless."
"That's very nice of him." I said, feeling very surprised by what I'd just been told. I supposed the Volturi weren't the tyrants I had imagined them to be.
Eleazar chuckled at my reaction.
"I know, many outside the Volturi believe them to be power hungry and needlessly cruel. Having served in their guard for a century, I've seen firsthand the ruthlessness they are capable of. However, I've learned that nothing they do is without purpose. You've heard Tanya's story… It truly requires the coldest of hearts to kill an immortal child. And yet… If they had not, that child would have continued to rampage forever, and countless innocent human lives would have been lost. If the Volturi ruled with anything less than an iron fist, vampires would abuse their lenience and the world you know would cease to exist."
My brows furrowed; his logic was sound. The Volturi had a thankless but necessary job. They upheld the law and protected the human population despite being judged harshly as tyrants by their race. And even if they weren't perfect, they sounded like a significant improvement from the Romanians.
"I think you would be surprised if you met their guard members, Izzy. They may not share our diet, but they do share our desire to let humans live freely. I still do contract work for the Volturi occasionally. Ever couple of years they recruit a new member that they believe to be gifted, and I fly to Italy to lend my skill. I understand that you've had a poor opinion of the Volturi so far, but I hope I may have improved your perception of them - if only marginally. At the very least, I hope you do not think poorly of me when I assist them in the future." He told me.
"Thank you Eleazar, I appreciate you sharing with me. You have changed my perspective." I reassured him. His shoulders relaxed as he gave me a relieved smile. I found myself surprised that my opinion mattered so much to him. Perhaps Kate was right, and he did care for me more than I realized.
"Of course, my dear, and I appreciate your help with this today." he gestured to the rows of planted peat pellets that now occupied the space under our lamps. "It always goes much quicker with a helper, but the girls aren't fond of such messy activities." He told me and I giggled. I had a hard time even picturing the girls with dirt on their clothes.
As we drifted back to our work, I thought about what Eleazar said about meeting Carmen - their connection.
"Eleazar? You said you knew right away that Carmen was your mate…" I began and he nodded in confirmation.
"How did you know?" I asked and Eleazar hesitated.
"Well, there are a few ways to know. Your mate calls to you in every way, they attract every one of your senses." He told me and I nodded in understanding. "But the real test, is whether you feel tempted to mark them."
"Mark them?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, when a vampire meets their mate, and they become, er, intimate, they have a strong urge to mark their mate by biting their neck and injecting their venom into the mark." He explained awkwardly.
I narrowed my eyes, that description sounded familiar…