[ COMING SOON : look, I don't know where this plot is going. I don't have more than one chapter planned out and god knows if it'll go past that. but it's gonna be a chaotic comedy nightmare with slow updates. real slow updates bc my life is in shambles ]
THE VIOLENT ONE SPEAKING.
ARO WAS POISED TO KILL, teeth bared and nearing the pale neck of Bella Swan, who had her eyes closed in fear, knowing this would be her end. She'd never see her father again. Her sister. Jacob. But at least she'd saved Edward and she could die knowing that.
"Wait!" Alice Cullen suddenly shouted, who was restrained by the guard named Demetri. "Bella will be one of us. I've seen it. I'll change her myself."
Bella slowly opened her eyes and looked at her friend curiously, wondering why the hell she'd only just now mentioned the vision. Why hadn't she said anything when Edward was on the brink of death at the hands of Felix, whose strength put Emmett to shame?
But there was a reason the psychic didn't want the first of three kings to see into her mind, to see every thought — every vision she'd had of late. The vision that had her convincing Bella to leave her dear sister behind in Forks in the first place.
As Aro beckoned Alice forward, she looked to Bella and whispered one sentence. "I'm sorry." Then she was removing the red leather glove covering her skin and showing Aro what he so desperately craved.
And he got it, the vision of an immortal Bella with golden eyes running through a forest with Edward at her side. But that wasn't the vision that his mind locked onto.
No, it was flashes of his future along with his brothers. Visions of them all with the same young and very human woman who seemed quite close with them all, and he knew exactly what she was to them upon seeing her. He'd seen her before in the back of Edward's mind but hardly any attention was paid to her.
Her leading Aro by his hand through the halls of the castle, unafraid to touch him freely like most everyone else was.
The girl brushing red paint along Caius' chin, making a horrible joke about it being the blood of his victims.
Marcus laughing with her in the library before ducking down to kiss her rosy cheeks. It nearly brought tears to Aro's eyes, who hadn't seen Marcus smile in centuries, and yet he looked so happy and content with this young woman who would become his entire world.
With their true mate.
Aro recoiled from Alice, his glare fixated on the young vampire who'd had the visions some time ago. "You would dare keep her from us?"
"What is it, brother?" Caius asked, sensing the shift in his brother's tone.
"It seems dear Alice has seen visions of our true mate, brother," Aro told him. In an instant, both Caius and Marcus were sitting up, far more interested in the trial than they had been. Caius gripped the arms of his throne to keep from attacking the psychic.
"She's human, Aro," Edward spoke up quickly. "She doesn't belong here, and you know it."
"Well, I do believe she looked quite at home here," he shot back, his red eyes unwavering. "It seems the two of you have known for quite some time that young Isabella's sister belongs to us."
Bella regained her courage in an instant, just as protective of her sister as always. The Swan sisters were as thick as thieves and would always stand up for each other. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but my sister doesn't belong to anyone!"
Alice quickly grabbed Bella and pulled her back, not trusting she wouldn't start a fight for her family. Bella got her horrible impulse control from her twin, and it was only heightened when she was involved or near.
"Hold your tongue," Caius commanded, rising from his throne. "To come between a vampire and their true mate is punishable by death."
"Brother," Marcus said, waving his hand at him to settle down. He was studying the relationship strings coming from Bella, feeling the similarities between one and the golden one he and his brothers had been burdened with for eighteen years upon their mate being born. "Calm yourself. They are quite close — twins. I fear harming the girl would not bode well for you."
"No, it wouldn't," Edward said stiffly. "She'd never forgive you."
Suddenly Alice looked at Caius sharply, a vision shooting through her mind. "If you take her from her home with no warning, she'll reject the mate bond on all of you and the tie will be severed. The same if you force the bite on her."
In an instant, Marcus and Aro looked at their brother, who'd already been quietly plotting the fastest way to secure their little human mate and turn her. Neither was really surprised by his way of thinking, though it was hard to trust Alice's say.
Aro again reached for her hand, demanding to see the outcome for himself. It was the same remarkable woman from before, being dragged kicking and screaming to the tower where their ex-wives used to reside before their marriages were ended, kept there by Corin and her ability to make anyone feel content. And Marcus watched, more of a shell of himself than he already was, losing his last chance at a happy existence.
"You see you can't uproot her from her life," Edward said.
"You can't be in her life at all!" Bella said angrily. "Look, Alice's vision is wrong. She's not your mate, and you need to leave her alone."
Aro sighed and shook his head as a low growl rumbled through Caius' throat. "I'm afraid we cannot do that, Isabella. Now that we know of her existence — her whereabouts — the bond will only grow stronger between us all. I fear you have much more to still learn about our kind. A true mate bond is sacred, and you will not stand in our way."
Bella shook her head, looking between the three terrifying men before landing on Aro. "Please," she whispered, her eyes watering. Marcus was the only one who even looked slightly sympathetic, knowing how close the two sisters were. "Please, leave her out of this. Just - just don't take my sister from me."
"Oh, Isabella, we're doing you a favor," Aro said in an almost condescending tone. "You'd have lost her eventually, what with your plans to follow Edward into immortality. Now it is guaranteed that your sister will be joining us all as well."
"But she doesn't want this," she said, a tear falling. Her sister valued her human life above all things. They'd already discussed it at length after learning about vampires. She never wanted to be like the Cullens. "Please, I'll give you anything."
"But see, the only thing you have to give is your sister," he said, not very sympathetic to her pleas. "Be grateful to have been spared. Your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal, Isabella. Go now. Make your preparations. And let dear Carlisle know that should anything happen to our beloved before we collect her — well, I'm sure he could imagine the repercussions—"
The king was cut off by the shrill ringing of a cell phone, and Bella wanted the ground to swallow her whole when she not only realized it was hers but recognized the personalized ringtone that belonged to her very own sister. It was the first verse of D12's My Band, and now she was regretting letting her sister pick her own ringtone.
Caius scoffed at the vulgar lyrics and rolled his eyes. "No, by all means, answer it."
With a sigh of dread, Bella answered the phone, fully aware that everyone in the room could hear it with their enhanced senses. "Hey, babe."
"Hey, babe? I've been trying to call you for almost a full day, and that's what you say? Hey, babe?" a young woman said, and her smooth, alluring voice had each vampire king on edge. "Where the fuck even are you?"
"Um," Bella mumbled and looked at her feet, "I'm kind of in Italy."
On the other end, Jack let out a laugh of disbelief. "See, your little bodyguard called me up at Tyler's party last night and told me that you were going to Italy, but I thought — no way. Bella wouldn't just go to Italy without me."
"If Jake told you where I was, then why did you ask—"
"Because he's a werewolf, Bella. I don't trust him," she cut her off. And Caius instantly grew tense and angry at the thought of his mate being around such a creature. "Horrible company to keep. Almost as annoying as the bunny-slaughtering vampires."
"Hey," Alice said, frowning as she took offense.
"Shut up, Alice!" Jack snapped, having heard her. "Why are you in Italy? Dad's pissed."
Bella nervously looked at her boyfriend, knowing she needed to be honest. "I had to come and save Edward's life. Alice had a vision of me cliff jumping and thought I killed myself, so he came to Italy to die too at the hands of the Volturi. Remember, Carlisle told us about them."
They all heard her suck in a sharp breath. "Is Telepathetic there?"
Felix couldn't help but snicker at the demeaning nickname bestowed on him.
"Yeah."
"Give him the phone."
"She, um, she wants to speak with you," Bella needlessly told Edward, holding out her phone. He reluctantly took it and covered the speaker while shaking his head.
"Answer the phone!" Bella whispered.
"She's a terrifyingly angry little human. I don't want to talk to her."
"Well, too bad! Talk to her!"
The guard watched with interest as the pair seemed to forget they were surrounded by ruthless killers who wanted them dead. It was almost amusing to them, especially to Demetri.
Edward huffed and brought the phone to his ear, knowing he was about to be yelled at. "Hello, Jacquline. I hope you're well."
"Listen here you depressed, broody, pathetic excuse for a vampire. You leave my sister alone in the woods to die of hypothermia and have her corpse eaten by bears again, and I'll kick your fucking—"
"I wasn't eaten by bears," Bella cut in.
"You could've been eaten by—"
"This really isn't the time, Jackie," he cut her off, avoiding looking at the kings nervously. Looking into their minds, he could see that already, they was hanging on Jackie's every word, dying to hear her voice in person. "We're in the middle of something."
"What? Not dying?" she asked, clearly upset. Then she paused. "Wait, shit, are you still with the Volturi? Please tell me Bell's phone wasn't on silent."
"It wasn't," Alice chimed in, rubbing her forehead.
"Well, put one of them on," Jack said, surprising most everyone except her sister who knew her too well. "Don't care which one — actually, no, the violent one. Carlisle said one was a violent one."
Aro and Marcus — everyone, really — looked to Caius. The man had never held a modern telephone before, and yet Edward was anxious to not be the one Jackie was yelling at, so he quickly handed it over.
"Hello?" Caius greeted, realizing quite proudly that his mate already knew of him and was asking for him. And clearly, she viewed him as more powerful given his violent nature. He smiled smugly at his brothers, rubbing in the fact that he was the first to speak to her. "The violent one speaking."
"Look, you can send Edward and Alice back in pieces or ashes in an urn for all I care—"
"Jack!" Bella hissed in disbelief.
"But if my sister has one scratch on her perfectly human little head, I will burn your castle to the ground — I'm assuming your ancient asses live in a castle."
"You're quite foul-mouthed, tesoro," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"My name isn't Tesoro, it's Jackie," she told him, the Italian term for treasure flying right over her head.
"I can assure you that no harm will befall your sister while within our walls — for now, at least," Caius said, glaring at the human with hatred.
"Perfect. Return the phone, Oh Violent One," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You have fire, cara mia," he smirked before getting up from his throne finally. Bella was sort of shaking as Caius gave her the cell phone back. She couldn't believe her sister's bravery — but then again, she was on the other side of the world and out of harm's way.
"You're insane," Bella told her sister, bringing the phone to her ear.
"Look, babe, just get home safe, yeah?" Jack asked. "And bring me back something pretty."
Bella scoffed, unable to believe her sister was asking for a souvenir at a time like this. "With what money?"
"Um, Alice's money," she said in an obvious tone. "She can afford the caliber of shiny things that I love. Look, I've got to go to practice, so don't die. Seriously, tell the violent one I will rain down hellfire if you're harmed."
"Noted," Caius said, forcing himself not to smile while the human and Cullens were still in the room.
"Love you, Bells," Jackie was saying.
"Love you too," Bella murmured before the call ended, shrouding them all in an awkward silence. The only human swallowed thickly, looking at Aro in fear. "That, um, that's Jackie."
"Magnifica," he breathed out, eyes still on the cell phone. "Once the sun goes down, you're free to leave, and Felix will escort you to our jet. You will return home with a select few of our elite guards to watch over her. Let her know to be expecting us soon enough."
Bella could already picture the dramatic bitch-fit that would follow once Jackie learned she had a mate and a bunch of scary vampire babysitters. She certainly wouldn't make their lives easier with how much she partied and snuck out.
Edward looked at her helplessly, not wanting this life for Jackie any more than Bella did. "She's gonna blame me for this."
"She blames you for everything, Edward. She hates you."