❄ Twilight Forever ❄ Book 1 ❄ Cold Fall ❄

❄ 16 ❄️ Jane, Volterra, And The Volturi ❄️

❄ 16 ❄️ Jane, Volterra, And The Volturi ❄

Tuscany, Italy, Volterra
Tuesday, February 15, 2017

The sun rose over the trees of the surrounding forest as Rhys drove down the highway leading towards Tuscany, his hands clenching tighter and tighter around the steering wheel as he and Wren neared Volterra, where the Volturi coven was located. He glanced over at Wren, who was sound asleep in the passenger seat with a blanket tucked tightly around her. As he watched her serene expression, the burning sensation flared at the back of his throat once more. Rhys swore loudly and pulled over to the far side of the road. He shut off the engine and leaned his head back against the seat with a frustrated sigh.

"What is it?" Wren asked him suddenly, startling him nearly back to humanity.

Rhys looked around and saw her sitting up in her seat, watching him, her ice-blue eyes full of concern. He sighed again heavily and shook his head, looking away from her.

"It's nothing." he murmured half-heartedly.

Silence passed between the both of them before she spoke again.

"It's my blood, isn't it?" she asked him quietly.

Rhys' head snapped around in her direction and he stared at her in shock. How does she know?

"What are you talking about?" he asked her, deciding to play dumb.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously as her lips thinned into a straight line.

"Don't play dumb with me, Rhys Vulcan." Wren scolded him unexpectedly.

He didn't respond to her question. Instead, he looked out of the window to stare into the dark shadows of the forest.

"When you bit me, you took some of my blood, and now your body is rejecting it," Wren said matter-of-factly.

Rhys turned his head to stare at her again in astonishment. Again, how does she know?

"What's wrong with my blood?" she asked him in a quiet voice.

He hesitated slightly before answering her. "Your blood is unique in and of itself."

At her puzzled look, he continued on, trying to tell her the best way that he could. "There is a vast range of human blood available, some more potently sweeter to different vampires than others. Your scent is incredibly sweet yet it reduces the effect of blood lust and dilutes the scents of the humans around you," he explained.

Silence passed between them once again as she thought over what he had just said. Rhys waited silently, watching her face for any signs of a reaction. Wren looked at him just then, her ice-blue eyes grave.

"You are saying that my unique scenting blood interferes with the scents of humans?" she asked him.

He nodded his head in agreement. "Not only that," he answered, watching her intensely. "If taken by force, it can burn the back of a vampire's throat for days on end."

Her ice blonde eyebrows furrowed together as she thought through the words he had just said. Then her eyes widened suddenly and she looked at him in alarm.