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Edward and Devon spent a little over two and a half weeks in Alaska. Devon really liked the Denalis; it was easy to converse with them and pass the time. Besides, the place was pleasant, and hunting was much more straightforward. He genuinely enjoyed being there.
Moreover, it didn't take more than two days for the Denalis to discover that Devon and Edward were a couple. For Edward, saying it out loud still felt odd, but he remained close to Devon. On his part, Devon understood Edward and didn't pressure him at all; they were taking things slowly. However, he appreciated that Edward wasn't one of those idiots who vehemently denied their relationship. He didn't mention it, but his actions spoke volumes.
The Denalis were very receptive about it, as they had grown accustomed to Ronan and his various partners he brought home, be they men or women.
But it wasn't all good. They had returned from hunting when Edward's phone rang, indicating a call from Rosalie. The call was short but to the point; Alice had had a vision, and she didn't want to tell Edward, but Rosalie thought it was best. It was about Bella jumping off a cliff. Rosalie also mentioned she wasn't sure if Bella had survived or not, but she wanted Edward to know what had happened.
In all those months since he left Forks, Edward hadn't thought about Bella even once, and that made him feel very guilty. He left her with a broken heart while he enjoyed his trip with Devon.
"I'll call Mom to ask," Devon spoke calmly. Edward seemed restless, but he nodded and sat next to Devon to listen to the call.
The woman answered on the third ring. She sounded a bit hoarse, as if she had been crying, which worried them for a moment.
"Hello, dear. I didn't expect your call until Saturday. Is everything alright?"
Devon furrowed his brow while looking at Edward.
"Uhhh... yeah. I just wanted to know how you all are. I'm bored and called to check on you. How's Bella and Charlie?"
There was a short moment of silence.
"Bella is fine," both boys seemed relieved at those words. "She went to the beach with her boyfriend Jacob and just returned. But one of Charlie's friends died yesterday, and he's not doing well."
"Oh... that's sad to hear. Tell Charlie I'm sorry."
"Thank you, dear." Another short silence. "Are you sure everything's alright?"
"Yes. Maybe I'll visit soon," he looked at Edward, who nodded more peacefully, "I miss you all and would like to have one of your desserts again."
The woman smiled, though Devon couldn't see it.
"Of course, Dev. You can come back whenever you want."
"Thanks, Mom. I'll talk to you later."
"Goodbye, dear."
The call ended, and both boys looked at each other with relief. It seemed everything was okay with Bella, and there was nothing to worry about. However, what really intrigued them was the fact that Bella was mentioned to have a "boyfriend." Devon didn't think she would have another boyfriend for a long time, but he felt genuinely happy to know that Isabella now had someone else in her life.
"Maybe we should head to Forks tomorrow morning," Edward said. "Surely, Alice will go in search of Bella—she sounded irritated— as if she didn't know her. Besides, I'd like to see with my own eyes that Bella is safe."
Devon nodded. "Yes, I'd like to go back too."
That night, they started packing their things to leave at dawn. Devon thanked the Denalis for welcoming him warmly and promised to visit them sometime in the future. In turn, the Denalis wished them a safe journey and expressed hope to see them again.
"Let me know if you have any news about Ronan," Eleazar told Edward before he got into his truck.
Edward nodded. "You know we don't talk much, but I'll tell him to get in touch if I see him."
Eleazar nodded and hugged his wife as they waved goodbye when Edward drove away.
The trip was silent and somewhat tense, although Devon wasn't sure why. He had a feeling Edward was in a hurry to see Bella, and he wasn't sure if he liked that. He understood the concern, but it seemed like Edward was overly eager to get there.
"Are you really worried about Bella?" Devon asked. Edward glanced at him quickly, but Devon wasn't looking at him.
"I think so," he frowned slightly. "I admit I feel guilty. I had a great time with you these months, and she probably wasn't doing well for a while."
Devon nodded in understanding. Before he could say anything, his phone rang. It seemed strange that Alice was calling him.
"Hello?" Edward paid attention to the call.
"Devon," Alice's voice sounded concerned, "I'm sorry; I wasn't sure if I should call you, Edward, or the Denalis."
"Alice, calm down. What's going on?"
For a moment, the line was silent.
"It's Ronan," she finally said. "I had a vision. They're going to kill him. Apparently, he was part of the Volturi and tried to separate from them, but they wouldn't allow it and told him the only way to... leave... was by dying. I thought you should know."
The car stopped. Devon felt dizzy for a moment. What should he do? He couldn't let him die. And Edward either. Even if he didn't like his brother much, he was still his brother, and he couldn't bear the thought of him being dead.
Edward took the phone from Devon and
placed it against his ear.
"Let's go to Volterra. Tell the others," he said before hanging up.
Devon looked at him without understanding.
"Volterra?"
"In Italy," he accelerated as much as possible, "I'm not sure why they want to kill him since Ronan is an excellent tracker, but they must have their reasons. We need to get there before it happens."
"Do you...?" Devon began, but Edward interrupted.
"He probably already knows we're here. Like I said, he's very sensitive to scents," he glanced at Devon, "probably, you were the first one he sniffed."
No one said anything for a while until they almost reached their destination. There were many people in some kind of parade, all wearing red robes.
Devon didn't even think when he got out of the car in a hurry, but it didn't take long for him to realize he had no idea where to go. However, in a second, Edward was by his side with a small smile, indicating which way they had to go.
They walked through the crowd, wearing a cap and sunglasses to avoid exposing their skin, and soon arrived at an entrance. Ronan was sitting on the stairs, in the shadow of the building, looking around with a certain sadness.
None of the newcomers missed the terrible sight of Ronan; he was even paler than usual, and dark circles marked around his eyes. It was as if he hadn't fed in months.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking at them from his place. His lips looked cracked and dry. "I detected your scent the moment you landed. You shouldn't be here."
Devon quickly looked at Edward, who nodded, and approached Ronan, crouching in front of him. He took his hands carefully and looked at him with concern.
"Alice had a vision where you die."
"And what does it matter if I die? I've lived for so long, and the only time I was truly and genuinely happy was when we were together," he glanced quickly at Edward, "but now you're with him, and I have nothing left. I tried to get away from them, but they won't let me go so easily."
Devon, this time, took Ronan's cheeks and made him look into his eyes. He remembered him differently; Ronan's eyes used to be bright and full of energy, but now, they were dark and desolate. It hurt to see him this way.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Edward spoke when he realized Devon wasn't saying anything.
Ronan moved away from Devon and stood up.
"Because I knew you wouldn't agree with this."
Edward almost rolled his eyes.
"And since when do you care what I think? Maybe I wouldn't agree with this, but you know the others would support you... even I would. You're my brother, no matter what happens."
This time, Ronan looked at him with sadness.
"I've always cared about what you think of me. Even if it doesn't seem like it," he murmured.
Both brothers looked at each other in silence, maybe in some kind of mental conversation.
But after a moment, Ronan hugged Devon tightly, as if he had been resisting it for a long time. He closed his eyes and pressed him against his body with force, as if he never wanted to let him go.
"I don't want to die," he murmured, hiding his face in the curve of Devon's neck, "but I don't know what to do to make them let me go."
Devon gently stroked his back.
"Don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you," he whispered.
The door behind them opened, revealing two men in black attire. Devon and Ronan separated.
"I changed my mind," Ronan said with a slightly amused tone, "I don't want to die anymore."
Both men looked serious, but they still showed a rather terrifying smile.
"Aro wants to see you," the taller one spoke, looking first at Edward and then at Devon, "all three of you."
Edward and Ronan knew there was no escape, but Devon had no idea, and although he seemed annoyed and ready to fight, Edward gently took him by the arm and shook his head.
"Aro sent me to find out why you're taking so long," a blonde woman with red eyes appeared. She looked at everyone and then turned around to start walking back the way they came.
They all followed closely, walking through the dark corridors of the place. However, Devon could only be aware of his surroundings. He didn't trust any of these strangers, who seemed ready to attack at any moment. Both Ronan and Edward noticed how tense he was.
They walked for about five minutes and even went down an elevator. Until they finally reached a rather large room that had something like three thrones, and three men were sitting there.
The one in the middle stood up with a rather unpleasant smile and approached the newcomers.
"I suppose you must be Devon," he approached him, "my dear ally's mind is full of you."
Devon frowned. He assumed that man was Aro.
Aro then reached to be in front of them and took Edward's hand without even asking. Devon refrained from saying anything and stared at him. Edward had explained a bit about these vampires' abilities, and he knew Aro could read minds like Edward, but Aro needed to be in contact with the person.
"Fascinating," Aro murmured as he looked at Devon, "you are fascinating. May I?"
He let go of Edward and extended his hand towards Devon, who kept staring at him and didn't look away as he extended his hand. Aro's expression was quite strange, but a huge satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"Extraordinary," he almost shouted, "you can really nullify powers. But does it work with long-distance powers?" Aro then looked at Jane, the blonde girl.
"No!" both Ronan and Edward said in unison.
At first, Devon didn't understand until he saw both boys on the ground writhing in pain.
"That's enough, Jane," Aro told her, "try it with our guest."
Jane looked at Devon, who returned her gaze with annoyance.
"Pain," Jane said.
Devon frowned, feeling something running through his insides. It was uncomfortable but not bothersome at all. Aro watched him fascinated, while Jane seemed increasingly irritated.
"Enough," Aro said, and Jane returned to her place, "well then, what shall we do with you, Ronan?"
He walked up to him.
"You know you can't just leave the guard without consequences."
Ronan stared at him with annoyance.
"But you don't need me. Demetri is also a good tracker, and you gave Eleazar and Carlisle a chance."
Aro didn't stop smiling, but he seemed very annoyed.
"It's true that Demetri is a good tracker," he glanced at him quickly, "but your abilities are more... unique. But we can make a deal," he looked at Devon, "if this lovely boy switches places with you, I'll let you go with your brother."
"No way," Devon immediately answered without thinking, "Devon is out of this discussion."
Devon was about to retort, but Edward stopped him.
"That's a shame. I have no one like him, and I had never met someone of his kind before. With some training, he
could even nullify someone's abilities from a distance," he smiled with satisfaction, "but in case I let you go... do you really think the Cullens or the Denalis will accept you after I sent you to spy on them?"
"Of course," Edward said suddenly with a firm voice, "Ronan is family and always will be, no matter how many mistakes he makes."
Ronan seemed moved by his brother's words. Aro, on the other hand, seemed annoyed.
"You know we don't give second chances, Ronan. However," he turned to the other two men sitting, "since you have served us so well all this time, we could consider your request."
The dark-haired man sitting nodded as well as the platinum-haired man. Aro seemed to want to roll his eyes.
"I suppose it would be a waste to kill you with such a great ability. There will be no more chances for the Cullens, do you understand?"
Both brothers nodded seriously, and Devon, who seemed eager to fight, stayed in place and walked when Edward took him by the arm to leave the place. That had been very strange, but at least they could leave with Ronan.
Alice was waiting for them where they had entered and gave them a smile when she saw all three of them safe.
"Let's go home, guys," Alice said with a smile.
I became very fond of Ronan and at first I wanted to make him the bad guy in the story but in the end I couldn't hahaha I don't apologize for that jsjsjs I say, he is not a white pigeon and he will continue to make mistakes but now that he knows that his brother really loves him, he will think twice. Plus, I already have the ending planned and I'm almost sure you'll like it 🥰