I grew antsy the farther away from Volterra that we got. Alice seemed to be the only one who sensed this, and she watched me closely out of the corner of her eye throughout the long journey back to Forks. I tried not to fidget.
Edward was too engrossed in Bella to really notice my unease, which was probably for the best. He probably didn't want to hear my inner monologue of I want to go back followed shortly by No, shut up.
Needless to say I was very glad when we finally arrived back in the rainy town of Forks, Washington, even though I was so restless I wanted to rip off my own skin. If this was even half of what Bella felt while Edward was gone, I didn't blame her for jumping off a cliff.
The rest of the Cullens were waiting in the airport when we got off the plain, and I was struck with the realization that I would shortly have to explain why the three Volturi kings kept visiting our house. I had a feeling that would be an awkward conversation.
Rose and Emmett had immediately rushed to wrap me in a bone-crushing hug, and they didn't release me until I gasped, "Can't. Breathe!"
"Sorry, kiddo," Emmett said, ruffling my hair. "We were really worried about you. Running off to the Volturi with Alice and Bella? What were you thinking, you could have been killed!"
Rose was equally distraught, but I didn't quite blame them - they were practically my parents, since it was them that I latched on to when the Cullens had first found me, collapsed and bloody on the forest floor.
"Never do anything like that again," She said sternly.
I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Yeah, don't worry, I won't."
I delayed informing the rest of the family of what had occurred in Volterra longer than was probably necessary. The Volturi weren't popular among them and I wanted both Alice and Edward with me. Edward didn't return until late with Bella in tow. I offered her a small smile.
"You all know what I want," Bella said, addressing us. "And I know how much I'm asking for. The only thing I can think of for it to be fair is to just vote."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Edward said from the steps.
"Shut up," Bella hissed at him. I grinned. She knew how to stand up to him after all. "Alice?" Bella asked through gritted teeth, pointedly ignoring Edward.
Alice bounced up to her, wrapping her in a hug. "I already consider you my sister. Yes."
Bella had barely stammered out her thanks when Jasper spoke. "I vote yes. It would be nice to not want to kill you all the time."
I stifled a giggle and ignored Rosalie's scolding look as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry to both of you for how I've acted. And I'm really grateful that you were brave enough to go and save my brother, even though you did take Rowan with you. But this isn't a life I would have chosen for myself. And I wish there had been someone to vote no for me. So, no."
I squeezed Rose's hand. This was clearly hard for her. She glanced at me. "Your turn."
Oh. "I didn't realize I got a vote," I mumbled.
"Of course you do, pipsqueak. You're just as much part of the family as we are," Emmett said, grinning at me.
I looked to Bella. "I'll become immortal one day. I've always known that. I'd like to do it with my best friend by my side. I vote yes."
"I vote hell, yeah!" Emmett exclaimed, surprising no one. He spun Bella in a hug. "We can pick a fight with these Volturi some other way."
I frowned, uneasy, and saw Jasper glance curiously my way out of the corner of his eye. He had likely been picking up my restless state ever since I had returned home, but was enough of a gentleman to not ask.
"I already consider you a part of the family," Esme said, beaming at Bella. "Yes."
Carlisle stepped towards Edward, his expression sad. Edward looked pained. "Why are you doing this to me? You know what this means."
"You've chosen not to live without her. Which leaves me no choice. I won't lose my son." His eyes were gentle when they met Bella's. "If this is what you want, then yes."
"Okay," Bella said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I guess that's settled."
I could feel my heartrate increasing as I knew it was time to share what had happened in Volterra. I looked nervously at Edward. He was kind enough to speak when it seemed my voice failed me. "There's something else we need to discuss."
"Go on," Carlisle encouraged.
"It's regarding Rowan. The kings' ruling for her is," he hesitated, "different."
"Different? Different how? They're not touching Rowan, I'll kick their asses, royalty be damned," Emmett snarled protectively.
"No, no, that's not it," I said, reaching out to grab his arm. "They're not, um, they won't harm me."
"You don't know that," Rose said, eyes wide. "It's a miracle they let you live at all."
"That's one way of putting it," I mumbled, glancing back towards Edward.
"What did they say, Rowan?" Jasper asked, sending a wave of calm my way.
I took a breath. "That I'm their mate."
Silence.
"WHAT?" Emmett bellowed. "Their mate? All three? No, no, that can't be right, it's obviously-"
"It's true," Edward interjected, and though quiet Emmett was silent immediately as those who weren't present in Volterra clung to his every word. "I saw their thoughts and Alice's vision. It's true. They'll never harm her."
"They let her leave?" Carlisle asked, surprised. "I can hardly see them doing that willingly."
"Aro let her leave," Edward corrected. "Caius and Marcus were not so keen."
"That's even more puzzling," Carlisle said, his brow furrowed.
"He saw," I told him. "Not everything, but some things. So when I asked him to let me go, he did."
"Listen to me, Ro-bear, if this is something you don't want, we'll find a way to hide you, okay? I won't let them so much as look at you if you don't want this," Emmett said, closing his hands gently around my shoulders.
"It'll be okay, Emmett. I mean, I've got to... I at least should give them a chance, right?" Though framed as a question, it wasn't really one. I knew I wanted to see them again, however nervous such a thought made me.
"No," Emmett said firmly. "You don't owe them anything. It's your life, Rowan. Your choice."
"I'll give them a chance," I said.
Emmett sighed. "Okay. But if-"
"I know. Thanks, Emmett," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets.
"I take it they'll be coming here, then?" Carlisle asked me.
I nodded. "I don't know when, though. Just that they will be."
"Okay," Carlisle said, looking deep in thought. "It's been a long day. Bella, Rowan, both of you should get to bed. Trip to Italy or no, you still have school come morning."
"But we just got back to Forks!" I complained.
"I re-enrolled you when I heard from Alice that you were leaving Volterra unscathed. I safely assumed we would be returning. Edward, get Bella home. Rowan, get to bed," Carlisle said firmly. It was clear that the family meeting was over. So yawning after a very long day, I trudged up the stairs to my room and was asleep on the bed before I could even kick off my shoes.
All things considered, the Cullens took the news of my mates incredibly well. However, they were less welcoming of Felix and Demetri when they showed up a day after Alice, Bella, and I brought Edward back from Volterra.
Demetri's explanation as to their presence had been short and straight to the point. "The masters sent us to be your temporary guard, as Master Caius in particular was concerned for your safety."
I hadn't seen hide nor hair of them since, but I knew they were around. The prickling feeling of being watched was enough to tell me that. I didn't have much time to think on their presence, however; in between school and homework I didn't have time to dwell on anything, not even on the fact that the three most powerful vampires in the world were mated to me.
At least, I didn't until one of them showed up on my doorstep. In hindsight, this did explain why Alice had been acting so strange.
"Rowan! It's for you!" Emmett yelled, after he had opened the door.
"Coming!" I called, barely louder than normal volume. Considering I lived in a house full of vampires, yelling wasn't necessary. I jogged down the stairs and stopped in my tracks at the bottom.
Marcus stood in the doorway, hands tucked into a long black coat. He offered me a small smile. "Hello, Rowan."
"Marcus," I said, smiling in spite of myself. I didn't trust him, I didn't trust any of them - that was something they had to earn - but I couldn't stop the effect of the mate bond no matter how much I tried.
Marcus, thankfully, didn't seem to expect much of anything from me, not even a hug. He seemed satisfied with the smile as he stepped inside. Alice suddenly appeared, a smile on her face. "Marcus, what a pleasant surprise!"
"With your gift, Alice, I doubt it," he said with an amused smile.
"Let me take your coat," she said, ignoring the look I shot her as I realized she must have known Marcus was coming all along.
"Thank you," he said, removing his coat and passing it to her. Underneath he wasn't dressed extravagantly, wearing a deep red button down tucked into black dress pants. His focus was now solely on me, and though it was evident he wished to initiate some sort of physical contact he respectfully kept his distance. "How are you, my heart?"
"Okay," I said truthfully. I felt better than I had all week; his presence soothed the irritating, near-painful feeling of being separated from my mates.
"I'm glad," he said with a warm smile, and I got the feeling that he meant it. "I take it Alice didn't tell you I was coming?"
I let out a soft laugh. "No, she didn't. She tends to omit things like this from our conversations, funnily enough."
"How annoying that must be," He said, amusement tinting his voice.
I caught Alice's eye, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at the ginormous grin she sent me. "Oh, you have no idea. There are worse surprises, though."
"Oh, most definitely. I hope I didn't interrupt anything important?"
"No, not at all. Just homework, but that can wait. How about we take a walk?" I suggested tentatively, wanting to speak to him away from prying ears.
"Certainly. That sounds lovely, my heart," Marcus said.
"Great, let me just grab my coat." I grabbed my coat from the closet, pulling it on and zipping it up to ward off the chill of the outside air. I noticed that he had, needlessly, put his own coat back on.
"Have fun!" Alice practically sang from the living room. I simply shook my head at her as Marcus held open the door for me, following after once I had left the house.
I waited until we were an appropriate distance away to speak. "I didn't expect any of you to visit so early."
"We feel just as antsy as you do, my heart. The bond is not one sided. It's likely you feel it worse, since you're mated to all three of us. Caius wished to come first, he's been very near unbearable as of late, but Aro wanted someone more... level-headed, I suppose, to make the first visit," Marcus said. "He's aware that we put you on edge."
"He told you?" I asked quietly, shoving my hands into my pockets. "About what he saw?"
"He felt it prudent that we know. Caius was outraged that someone had harmed you - we all were - and it took both Aro and I plus Alec to prevent him from hunting down your father and killing him," Marcus divulged.
I shivered at this. "I hope you don't think less of me."
"For something completely out of your control? Certainly not. If anything, Aro feels tremendously guilty that he scared you. Otherwise he likely would have came out here himself."
"It wasn't his fault. And I'm not scared of him, I just..." I trailed off, uncertain.
"You don't trust him yet," Marcus supplied.
"Yeah. It's not your fault, or his. Knee jerk reaction, you know," I said. "I'm sorry."
"I know, my heart, and there's nothing to be sorry for. We're not angry with you for something that's not your fault."
I decided it was time to steer the conversation into safer waters. "How long are you staying?"
"Until Wednesday. Caius has insisted on visiting next, so he'll likely arrive sometime the week after," He told me. "So we have plenty of time to do whatever you'd like."
I had no earthly idea as to what sort of activities a 3,000 year old vampire would enjoy. "What do you like to do?"
"Truthfully, I spend the majority of my free time reading, though I do enjoy sitting in on the guard's movie night every so often," He said. "What do you enjoy?"
"Same as you, I guess. Reading, watching movies or TV, and drawing, even though I'm not very good at it," I said with a shrug.
"Well, we can do whatever you'd like. Just name it," he said.
I made a quick decision, heading off our current course and deeper into the woods. "I want to show you something."
"What is it?"
"You'll see," I said, leading him through the woods towards a large tumble of rocks with little difficulty - I knew these woods like the back of my hand, perhaps better than that.
"Rocks?" I could hear the polite bewilderment in his voice and smiled slightly.
"It's better at the top," I told him with a grin, pushing myself up and on to the first large stone. I glanced back, seeing the tenseness in his stance, and immediately knew that he was worried. "Oh, relax. I've climbed these rocks a thousand times. And what's fun without a little risk?"
Marcus shook his head lightly, disbelieving, though there was a slight smile on his face. "Very well. I'll follow behind you."
"Good. I showed Emmett and he just jumped straight to the top. That's much less fun." I climbed easily up on to the next rock. I had climbed up this rock pile so often that I barely had to think about where I was going. Though it was probably in Marcus' best interests to not know that I had broken my arm the first time I attempted climbing up.
"I never took you as the daring type."
"I willingly walked into the castle of the most dangerous vampires in the world and then put myself in harm's way in an attempt to save Bella," I said, pulling myself up onto the last rock before the top. "I'd say that's pretty daring."
Marcus chuckled. "Fair enough."
I reached the top, crawling over to the other side of the rock to give Marcus room to sit. I let my legs swing down over the edge, enjoying the peaceful sounds of the forest even though the cold bit eagerly into my uncovered hands.
"I can see why you like it up here," Marcus said after a while. I glanced over at him - he looked calm and at ease, which was much different than when I had first seen him. He looked alive now - as alive as a vampire could look - and not as if the weight of world had been placed unwillingly onto his shoulders.
"I found this rock pile back when we first moved to Forks. I had been with them for barely a year at that point, and I was in a very fragile state of mind. I still expected Carlisle or Emmett or Jasper or Edward to snap one day and hit me," I said softly, watching as he stiffened. "They never did, of course. But I always expected it."
Marcus was quiet, but incredibly tense, and on impulse I reached out and placed my hand over his. I hadn't realized what I had done until I was touching him, and we both stared at our conjoined hands in slight surprise. Quicker than I could register, he flipped his hand over so that his fingers could curl around mine, and he didn't speak as he waited for me to continue.
"I found this place when, after one afternoon, I got overwhelmed. I was angry that we had to leave Alaska, because I was comfortable there. It was familiar, but the Cullens had to leave and they weren't going to leave me behind. I was part of the family. So I stormed off into the woods and just wandered around for a while. Eventually I came across this place. It was so peaceful. Calm. I tried to climb it, fell, and broke my arm."
I chuckled at this. "Carlisle was there as soon as it happened. He took me back to the house and fixed me up. The others all fretted around me, they were so worried, but none were angry that I had ran off and gotten hurt. They were just concerned. And that's when I realized that they cared. They genuinely, actually cared. It didn't magically solve all of my problems, but I didn't keep pulling away after that. I finally started to trust them."
"Do you trust us?" Marcus asked. It was a simple question, but weighted, and full of the raw sort of emotion that only surfaced around those you truly valued.
I hesitated. To say yes would be a lie, but to say no would be one, too. "I'm getting there."
"Good." He gave me a smile, and though I knew it wasn't quite the answer he wanted, it was close enough. And it was comforting to know that he was okay with that.
Edited 4/16/2021