Edward's POV
The night was still, thick with the scent of damp earth and pine as Edward and Demetri navigated through the dense forest. Their movements were silent, practiced. Every step was deliberate.
The mission was simple in concept—observe Alexandros' coven, uncover their strengths, and return before dawn. But the execution? It was perilous.
Edward had prepared for the worst.
Before leaving, he had stood by Isabella's bedside for a moment longer than necessary, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. She was deep in sleep, curled up beneath soft silks, unaware of the chaos that loomed outside her walls.
Edward had leaned down, brushing a light kiss against her forehead. It was an unnecessary farewell—he would be back before she even stirred—but it was a comfort he couldn't deny himself.
Now, as they moved through the wilderness, Demetri slowed, his head tilting slightly.
"We're close," the tracker murmured.
Edward extended his senses, reaching outward. Ten minds. Their thoughts flickered through the night like embers—some buzzing with frustration, others shrouded in careful calculation.
He exchanged a glance with Demetri. They needed to be careful. If even one of them possessed a gift that could detect foreign presences, this mission would be over before it began.
Demetri's hand brushed Edward's shoulder. "Too close, and we risk detection."
Edward nodded, slipping deeper into the cover of the trees. He needed to be patient. If he could just listen, gather fragments of their conversation, he might be able to piece together what they were planning.
Crouching low behind an ancient oak, Edward inhaled sharply, pushing his mind further.
The voices inside the crumbling manor overlapped at first—muffled noise, stray thoughts drifting between strategy and impatience. But then, a voice cut through the din.
Sharp. Impatient. Edged with restrained fury.
"And yet, we wait here in the dust while they tighten their grip?"
Edward focused.
The woman's mind was restless, filled with discontent. She was waiting for something—waiting for action. Her irritation simmered just beneath the surface, but underneath that?
A weapon.
Not persuasion. Not mere intimidation. Something primal, something raw.
A wail.
Edward stiffened.
Not just any scream, but something far worse—a frequency so sharp, so destabilizing, it could shatter focus, strip away reason, and render even the strongest opponent vulnerable.
He pushed deeper into her mind. Siren. That was her name.
Before he could go further, a low, rumbling chuckle followed—a different mind, one filled with absolute confidence.
"The Volturi aren't invincible." The voice was deep, gravelly, thick with certainty. "They're old. We're stronger. Faster."
Edward honed in, pressing against the sheer force of presence in this vampire's thoughts. No tactics, no restraint. Brute strength. Power without precision.
If this vampire got his hands on someone, they wouldn't walk away.
Siren's voice snapped back, unimpressed.
"Viktor, strength alone won't win this war."
Edward's focus shifted.
Viktor. A fitting name for a brute who relied on sheer force.
But before he could delve further, another voice slipped into the conversation—smooth, deliberate.
"She's right. The Volturi's real power isn't their guard. It's their control."
Edward sharpened his focus.
This one was different. His mind was layered—slipping, shifting, evading Edward's grasp. Not unreadable, but intentionally elusive.
The vampire continued, his words slow, knowing.
"If we want to bring them down, we don't attack their fortress." A pause. "We take what they care about most."
Edward's body went rigid.
Viktor scoffed. "You think they care about anything?"
A quiet chuckle.
"You misunderstand power, my friend." The voice was confident, amused, dangerous. "Even the strongest rulers have something they won't risk losing."
Edward pushed further into his thoughts.
Xavier.
And just like that, Edward knew.
Xavier wasn't about brute force or physical domination.
He was a manipulator. A master of deception. He didn't force people to obey—he made them doubt. Twisted their thoughts, turned their fears against them, dismantled trust with whispers in the right place, at the right time.
Edward had seen persuasive gifts before. But this? This was something worse.
Siren's voice turned sharp, cruel amusement lacing her words.
"Aro's little pet."
Edward's jaw locked.
He felt Demetri stiffen beside him.
So that was their play.
Viktor let out a dark laugh. "You're suggesting we take the hybrid? You think they won't see that coming?"
Edward caught flashes of past actions—a bloodied package, a lifeless cat sent to Volterra months ago. A test. A warning.
They had already been testing the Volturi's patience.
Aamon's voice cut in, his irritation clear. "They saw it coming, and their response was exactly what we wanted. Aro kept his little pet even closer, I suppose." A sneer. "That means we were right. She's their weakness."
Edward's fingers curled into fists.
Aamon. The tracker.
One the Volturi discarded in favor of Demetri.
He wasn't as precise, but he was relentless. And he knew enough.
Aamon continued, his tone brimming with confidence. "The hybrid is untouchable inside the castle. We'd be fools to attempt an attack there."
Xavier hummed, pleased. "Exactly. We don't take her. We don't have to."
Edward's unease deepened. Then what?
Siren's smirk was evident in her voice. "We make them afraid that we will."
Edward's breath stilled.
This wasn't about taking Isabella.
It was about making the Volturi destroy themselves.
Xavier leaned forward, voice carrying the weight of certainty.
"We remind them that no matter how high their walls are, no matter how many guards they surround her with… she is never truly safe."
Silence.
Edward's vision darkened.
The Volturi's power wasn't in their numbers, but in their fearlessness. Aro ruled because he made others believe he was untouchable.
But if they made him afraid? If they forced him to doubt his ability to protect what he held dear?
They wouldn't need to take Isabella.
They would make Aro destroy himself.
Edward withdrew, controlling his breathing, locking down the fury boiling beneath his skin.
He turned to Demetri, his voice low, controlled—but deadly.
"We need to go."
Just as Edward was about to pull away, another wave of movement rippled through the manor grounds.
Not from inside.
From the outskirts.
He tensed, catching the sound of approaching footsteps—heavy, uneven, frenzied. Not the careful, deliberate movements of seasoned vampires but something far more reckless.
Something was wrong.
A new presence rippled through the air, a shift in movement that wasn't coming from inside the manor. From the outskirts.
Edward stilled. Footsteps—heavy, erratic, hungry. Not the careful, controlled movements of seasoned vampires but something far more reckless.
Something uncontrolled.
Newborns.
His golden eyes flicked toward Demetri. The tracker had already sensed it too, his body tensed in anticipation. Edward's mind snapped back to the fragmented thoughts within the manor—Siren's frustration, Viktor's overconfidence, Xavier's insidious planning. This wasn't just a coven gathering strength.
They were building an army.
Edward sharpened his focus, stretching his mind further. And that's when he heard it—a distinct, deliberate voice cutting through the chaos.
"Alexandros."
The name was spoken with deference. Recognition.
Edward's gaze snapped toward the source. And then, in the tangled mess of newborn minds, he found him.
A mind more composed. Calculating. Focused.
Edward caught flashes—villages cloaked in mist, human eyes wide with terror, the glint of venomous teeth sinking into warm flesh.
Alexandros was the one turning them.
Village by village. Building their forces one human at a time.
Edward pressed deeper into Alexandros' thoughts, piecing together his recent memories.
"They will be ready soon."
"More are coming."
"The Volturi won't strike first. They will hesitate. Doubt. And that is when we move."
Edward clenched his jaw, his breath slow and controlled—but beneath his calm exterior, rage simmered.
Alexandros wasn't just another rogue vampire.
He was the architect of this war.
His golden eyes locked onto him instantly—a tall, lean figure with dark, shoulder-length hair, his crimson gaze sweeping over the newborns like a general inspecting his soldiers. Composed. Calculated. Dangerous.
But he didn't know.
Edward probed deeper, carefully avoiding detection. Alexandros had no idea Edward Cullen existed. No idea someone was reading his thoughts from the shadows.
He had no idea just how exposed he truly was.
Demetri's voice was a whisper at his side. "We leave. Now."
Edward didn't argue.
But before they could slip away, another movement caught his attention.
More shadows emerging between the trees. At least fifteen—no, twenty-five. Freshly turned. Unstable. The scent of venom thick in the air.
Edward's focus shifted.
He pushed into their scattered thoughts, a tangled mess of confusion and raw hunger. Most had no idea why they were here. Just that they had been turned and commanded to wait.
But in all that chaos, there was one clear instruction buried deep within their minds.
"Hold. Be ready. Soon."
Edward inhaled sharply.
This wasn't an army in training. It was an army waiting for its command.
Alexandros wasn't preparing for a battle.
He was preparing for war.
Demetri's gaze flickered toward him, silent confirmation passing between them. They had enough.
Edward turned, forcing himself to pull back, to lock down the rising fury. They needed to leave before they were discovered.
With one last glance at the ruins, he disappeared into the night with Demetri at his side, moving faster than thought, faster than sound—before any of them realized a predator had been watching.
Edward barely registered the wind ripping past him as he ran.
He didn't care about their numbers. Didn't care about their abilities.
They had made one critical mistake.
They thought Isabella was Aro's weakness.
They had no idea she was his.
And Edward Cullen did not take threats to his mate lightly.
Here's an update! Apologies for the delay—life has been a bit demanding, and I haven't had much time to wander through the secret gardens in my mind.
Drop a review and let me know what you think!