Disclaimer: All
publicly recognizable characters, settings, ect., are the property of their
respective owners. The original
character and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the
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Summary: In the
aftermath of the Newborn War, the Cullen family celebrates their triumph over
Victoria. Little do they know that their
victory will be short lived. A visitor
comes calling; a visitor who has been keeping tabs on the Cullen’s and Edward’s
human pet. When Caius doesn’t like what
he sees will Bella risk everything to save the vampire family she loves?
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Chapter Four
~Caius~
“I’m human, not
stupid! Now what in the Hell is going
on? No more games!”
Seeing her like this—even in her human state—was
divine. Her eyes were alight with fury
and her cheeks flushed with indignation.
She was spirited and vivacious and it threatened to steal my unneeded
breath.
It was very obvious now, how she had intrigued not only Aro
but Marcus as well. She had many
qualities suited to her that would be the makings of a stunning immortal. It sent a thrill zinging through my very
pores every time I thought of the outcome.
I was anxiously waiting.
Admittedly, I was furious and vexed when Aro had suggested
that I accompany our Guard in their retrieval of the human. What care had I for their new pet
project? It was only when Aro told me of
all that he had learned from the thoughts of that vile son of Carlisle did I
find myself aboard our private Jet and bound for the Americas.
As much as I hated the human race, I was never much inclined
to play with my food. What Edward was
doing was beyond disgusting and I had every intentions of reaping revenge for
her.
The more I had thought about it, the angrier I had
become. The girl had risked life and
limb to see Edward Cullen safe and back to the posh lifestyle with mommy and
daddy. She had faced a room full of
vampires, my brothers and I included and begged us to kill her in his
stead. She did this all in the hopes
that he would be spared, and this is how he repays such loyalty? The idea he had in mind for payment of such a
debt made my long-since-dead insides crawl.
I wanted the Cullen dead and if I had my way about this, he would be.
My thoughts quickly shifted from the Fae-like creature as
she gave her explanations to Isabella; letting my mind drifting back to when I
had first seen Isabella out in field, shaken and terrified as Jane threatened
to end the life of the young newborn.
Hearing the Cullen’s in the distance was somewhat enjoyable,
if not entertaining. To me they had
always been a perplexing coven—
No, they were not a coven…they called themselves a family; how utterly disgusting.
But, they were interesting to Aro and completely infuriating
to me. Something about the way they fed
made me shudder to the core. It wasn’t
right, it was very unnatural and it was my personal belief that it is the main
cause for Edward’s depraved ways.
It didn’t help my anger that they had all gotten away with
their previous misdeeds completely unscathed—telling a human of our existence
and allowing them to live was an offense punishable only by death. It would have been another matter altogether
had we the promise that she would be turned.
Aro, knew though, that Edward had no plans to change the girl and it
boiled his blood to see such talent go to waste.
However, due to Aro’s kinship with Carlisle, his family was
spared their lives if they complied with our wishes in changing the human
girl. They obviously had not lived up to
their obligations.
It would have mattered not, whether they changed her or
no. Aro coveted the girl for his own and
in some way, he would have her. Even
Marcus, the old skeleton that he is, regarded the girl very highly and for the
life of me I couldn’t see why; until today.
What bothered me was my own ploy in all of this. The urgency in which I had forced myself on
this trip puzzled me. I literally found
myself agreeing to come on this ‘mission’ without a moment’s hesitation and
before I realized what I was doing.
“The Volturi doesn’t give second chances. Keep that in mind, Caius would be interested
to know that she’s still human.” Jane
informed them with utter glee in her voice.
The naughty girl knew what was coming, as she further proved when she
looked over her shoulder in my direction, “Wouldn’t you, Master?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her antics, for such a fierce
one she really did have a sense of humor.
“Well, well, well,
Edward. I see you haven’t eaten the
little human yet. Whatever are you
waiting for?”
Admittedly, goading him was a foolish and immature action
but I found myself neither caring nor feeling guilty for doing so.
He crouched low in front of her as he reacted to my voice in
his mind and the natural instincts to protect his intended kill.
“If I wanted to kill
her, Boy, I would take her. Do you
really think you could stop me?”
“You will not!”
Edward exploded, nearly scaring his human to death. The rest of his family looked at him like he might have lost his mind, before
Carlisle approached him.
“Edward,” Carlisle asked softly, clearly confused as to what
raised his son’s hackles. “What is it?”
“Caius.” He snarled,
and I couldn’t help but laugh at the infant as he spat and hissed at me like a
little kitten.
Having enough of my little hiding game, I stepped out from
under the cover of the thick spruce and moss, and showed myself to the
others. The little human’s heart was
racing with anticipation and fear…mmm,
delicious.
The tables turned on me, however, when she came into
view. I sucked in an unneeded breath as
I took in her lovely features. She was
absolutely stunning. I had seen her
before in Voterra but as I was in something of a rage at the time, my vampire
memory seems to have glossed over her beauty.
Her large doe eyes widened at the sight of me as I came to a
stop in front of Carlisle, and she let out a small laugh. Many of the Olympic Coven turned to her
briefly, surely questioning the depths of her sanity. I had to admit, I was quite curious
myself. Most humans would be pissing
themselves in fright, and yet this one laughs?
Her eyes widened further as I lowered the hood of my cloaked
and I braced myself for the stingingly sweet smell of her fear. It would have been expected as many—vampire
or human—have reacted the same way when meeting me at close range the first
time. My lovely surprised me once again
when she looked upon my scarred face with no disgust or terror… but she did
gift me with the excruciatingly decadent scent of her arousal. It was sweet and tangy, and it became
everything I could do not to growl as I stared into her darkened eyes.
She shocked not only myself, but the Guard and her family as
well when she started to inch toward me, unbeknownst to herself. She was not afraid of me.
Carlisle’s ginger-haired son growled before his arm shot out
to retrieve his pet from approaching me further. I wanted to tsk at him and call him a fool
for wanting to only eat her. She would
be an immortal Goddess, and he was no match for her.
This only spurned him on.
I knew of his hatred of the Volturi; especially me and he saw me now as
competition. Little fool, there is no
competition.
“Edward please,” hissed the beautiful blonde, her face set
in a murderous scowl, “you’re going to get us all killed.” She then kindly muttered, “Asshole.” She reminded me much of my sister.
“She right, Edward.”
I taunted, taking a step in his humans direction just to irritate him. “Learn
your place or you will be joining the others in the fire today.”
“You should listen to your sister,” Jane informed him,
knowing I was moments away from being done with charade and killing the lot of
them. For the many virtues I was
bestowed in this life of immortality, a patient man I was not.
Even as I listened to Jane, my eyes were trained on the
delicate creature in Edward’s grasp. She
was as fragile as sugar-spun glass and here he was gripping her so tightly her
skin was changing color from the lack of oxygen her body required.
“Edward,” Carlisle called softly. “…son, you need to let go of Bella.” I knew very well what Carlisle was
doing. His placating tone and submissive
posture spoke volumes. He was making himself
small, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible as to not invoke
Edward’s hunting instincts.
As I looked again at the young vampire, it was entirely
obvious as to why. Edward was absolutely
protecting his kill. His eyes were
blacker than my robes and a small amount of venom was currently running down
his chin; indicating to his immense thirst.
It would seem his little human pet was on the menu, or always had
been.
“Edward, please let me go, you’re hurting me,” the human
pleaded as she struggled to free herself from her lovers iron grip, but I could
see the defeat in her eyes; she knew as well as I did that she wouldn’t be
going anywhere unless Edward released her.
In that moment something shifted inside me. It was powerful, profound and irrevocable. I grew protective, possessive and angry. Even the thought of his hands upon the bare
flesh of her arm had me nearly boiling over with fury. I didn’t have a clear understanding of this
sudden reaction to a human in pain, but as I have always been a man of
instinct, I acted.
A low-growl burst from my chest unbidden as I stared down
the mind reader, “Release her,” I commanded as calmly as I could, “Or I will lop off your head.” I finished silently, looking into his
eyes as she struggled to keep his fake personality in check in front of the
rest of his family.
I could see it in his eyes—the real Edward Cullen—and if the
Carlisle and the rest of his animal drinking brood were to look beyond their
silly beliefs they would see it too. He
wanted nothing more in this moment than to fuck her and drain her, wretchedly
enough—I don’t think he’d be opposed to doing it in front of them either.
The mind reader’s head snapped up as he read my thoughts, a
cocky smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Yes Edward, I know what it is
that you want.” I told him silently,
and he smiled at me.
“That will not be
happing. Isabella will be returning to
Volterra…with me.”
He snarled loudly, crushing Isabella closer to his
side. “I will never allow her to be
corrupted by your kind of filth.” He
spat, clearly for the sake of his own image.
I knew for a fact that he would have cared less, except the thought of
my venom tainting her blood left a rather sour taste in his mouth.
Jane inched forward as Edward continued to rant, and I could
tell she was itching to burn him to the ground.
“She would never go with you willingly and…,” he trailed off, lowering
his voice so that only those of our species could possibly hear him, “…if she did I would kill her.”
Gasps of astonishment echoed through the clearing, making
the human jump. “Edward,” Carlisle
exclaimed. “You can’t mean that.”
In a very human and uncharacteristic gesture, I rolled my
eyes at the simplistic coven leader. Of
course Edward had meant everything he said.
In fact, it would seem that Edward was merely waiting for the
appropriate—or most opportune—moment to strike.
That, in itself, made me slightly apprehensive; if Edward turned
desperate, he may simply snap the humans neck in a fit of rage.
Edward smirked in my direction once more as he whispered, “I
would kill her before you could move.”
Even as I knew his words were meant for my ears only, I was
glad he was keeping up his little façade in front of the human. For some unnamable reason, it bothered me to
think of the impact his cruel words would have on Isabella. She didn’t need to know how lowly he thought
her, at least not while he still was within striking distance.
Edward, heaving herd every thought in my head, sneered at my
thoughts before turning his head in his father’s
direction and speaking loud enough for even his human to hear.
“Of course I meant it, Bella belongs to me and no other… I
would not see her sullied by a venom as grotesque as his.” Venom was streaking down his chin and it was
plain to any eye that he was fast losing his patience with us.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at his pubescent little
rant. “Is that what you think,
Boy?” I asked him smugly. “Do you really think you could do it before I
removed your arrogant head form your shoulders?
I don’t think you can. Let us
see, shall we?”
He growled loudly at me, jerking Isabella to his side and
gripping her arm so tightly I heard the bone give.
She jerked in his arms, sobbing quietly as she began trying
to pull away from him in earnest.
“Edward, please!”
She was begging again in her panic, and again, for some
reason that did not sit well with me.
“Carlisle,” I warned, taking a step closer to
the—clearly—psychotic vampire. “If he
doesn’t release her, I shall have his head removed, permanently.”
Carlisle looked ill, but complied with my warning at turned
to his blond son, “Jasper, please.” He asked politely.
It was my turn to be ill as the Major of the Southern Army
stepped forward, riddled with the bites of his enemies, and went for the pin
instead of the kill. There was nothing
left of the man I had remembered and so many had feared. He was more docile that a damned house pet
now and the wastefulness of it disgusted me.
Isabella gasped and winced as Edward was removed from her
person, and nearly collapsed from the rush of blood she experienced. It was verified moments later by Carlisle
that the limb was indeed broken and it only further proved that she was no more
to Edward Cullen than a chicken could be to a fox.
No mated vampire could ever hurt their intended, human or
not. It had been proven many times
over. First when Marcus found his mate
in Aro’s sister Didyme and again when Aro was first mated to Sulpicia.
Suplicia was no more than a girl fresh from her first
courses when Aro met her. He being so
much older than she, decided that for appearances sake he would wait until she
was older to change her. Never in that
time had any harm come to her—not even during their most intimate times—by his
hands or by the hand of any enemy. This
Isabella already bore the mark of another vampire against the creamy, soft
flesh of her wrist. It was a burden to
my soul to see it there.
Hearing her sharp intake of air, I turned my head to find
her dark eyes burning a hot path up the length of my body. Her eyes were nearly
black with lust as her gaze met mine and not a moment later the scent of her
arousal slammed into me so hard I had to take a step backwards.
It was thick and tangy and so pure in her wanton desires
that I growled. Pleasure coursed through
my veins as tasted her sweet nectar in the air and I could not hold back my
groan. Isabella’s face lit up with her
scarlet blush, making her all the more appealing to me and did nothing to help
the tension of my engorged manhood as strained against my slacks.
In that moment, everything seemed to fall into place. My mind—for a single nanosecond—completely
cleared of all other thoughts that didn’t revolve around this strange girl and
my connection to her. I finally knew
what she was to me and I knew without doubt, that this little human would be
returning to Italy with me, and it had nothing to do with my brother’s
edict. I wasn’t certain if I was correct
in my assumptions, but I knew I would not be leaving the Americas without her.
“No!” Edward shouted,
thrashing against his brother’s boot that held him in place, “She’s not going
anywhere!”
A smug smiled turned up the corners of my mouth as I
inwardly chuckled at his petulant crying.
But then I noticed that he was not only shouting at my thoughts, he was
looking at his previous pet who had once again started in my direction.
She seemed as drawn to me as I was to her; this pleased me
greatly.
“Shut your mouth, foolish boy.” I growled, growing tired of his ordering
everyone about. “I am tiring of the game
you are trying to play. I came here for
a reason. As a favor to my brothers I
was asked to check on Ms. Swan after certain things had been brought to their
attention. Did you really think I would
retreat just because you are disinclined to give up your pet?”
At once, Carlisle began to argue on his son’s behalf; he
stupidly believed the boy still held love for the girl that he would end simply
to keep her from being intimate with another man. It was only after Carlisle’s clairvoyant
daughter confirmed my side of the story and added that she had been the one to
call the Volturi in the first place, did he hang his head in shame.
Isabella looked as astonished as the rest of the Cullen’s,
and I felt slightly guilty for having to cause her pain.
“You will die for her
tears, Edward. You know as well as I
that she should never shed tears for you.
If I find out that you knew what she was to me, I will kill you slowly. I know you have seen the inside of my
dungeons, Edward. Did you like what you
saw? Would you like to see the inside of
a cell for the rest of your eternity?”
He seemed to turn ashen under my stare and began screaming
again, “Don’t listen to them Bella! I
love you!”
I chuckled at him again, “You
stupid, pompous fool—
“Shut the fuck up, Edward.”
Jasper cut me off, kicking him swiftly with his free boot and ending my
mental rant.
In the end, I couldn’t even fathom why I had agreed to let
the newborn go free. I only knew that it
would be a burden to my heart to deny my little human anything. That was also disconcerting. I had been in the presence of mated couples
for most of my immortal life, and yet I cannot remember such a time that my
brothers had every lost their mind so completely as I had. Yes, they too were overrun by the affections
of their mates, but I was at a loss as to what to do with myself now.
It was common knowledge that some vampire that have reached
my age and beyond have gone insane and I was beginning to think I may now have
that same affliction. Had I truly lost
my mind? For me to act in such ways that
I conducted myself in that open field were not only out of character and
strange, but utterly terrifying.
More now than ever I was cursing my brothers for sending me
on this trip. At first, I had only
thought they had need of my hammer—my kind of justice—as it were, but now, I
couldn’t help but wonder if they had something entirely else in mind when they
sent me. As intrigued as they were by
the little Isabella, I wouldn’t put it past them; Aro was always one for meddlesome matchmaking.
“So, I’m just supposed to drop everything and run off to
Volterra?” Bella snarled, snapping me
back to awareness.
She looked less human and more like a vampire with every
word she uttered. Her skin was pink in
her anger and was aggressive in her stance.
I couldn’t help but to think she was beautiful in her rage and once
again I had to question my own sanity.
“It would please me greatly,” I found myself speaking before
I could filter my words. “We have much
to discuss, Mon précieuse Isabella.”
(My precious, Isabella.)
Her cheeks flushed crimson at my declaration, and once again
I found myself having to discreetly adjust my painful erection.
Carlisle’s dark haired daughter laughed, looking pointedly
at the slight disfigurement of my slacks and I realized I was not as discreet
as I would have hoped.
Bella, following her sister’s line of sight, gulped loudly
and ducked her head.
“O-of c-course,” she stuttered nervously and left the room
at a near run, the strong smell of her arousal scenting the air as she fled.
Isabella was not seen again until that following evening, or
at least she was not seen by me. She and
the psychic had spent the better part of the day at the hotel’s spa. I had no inclinations as to what a human
female would do at such a place but when she returned—despite the hideous
purple plaster on her arm—she was simply glowing.
For the better part of my day—as I could not participate in
any daylight pleasantries—I was forced to wait, filled with anticipation and
uncharacteristically twitching in my seat.
He did not comment, but I was sure that this amused Demetri to no end as
he could not stop smirking at me; bloody Russian.
It was nearing midnight before I heard the tale-tale signs
of her rustling under her covers. The
Cullen coven were in need of a hunt before the lengthy flight to Italy and had
left several hours before, leaving me alone with that beautiful Belle.
As requested, Jane and Demetri had both been guarding the
door in the outer foyer, leaving me to my thoughts as I took the opportunity to
sort through the strange sensations that only seemed to accompany her presence.
She entered through her bedroom door and it was easy to
discern by the state of her undress that she thought herself to be alone. She was absolutely exquisite in her dressing
gown of thin silver silk. It clung to
her pink flesh like a second skin, accentuating the way the swells of her
breasts heaved with every breath and how the night air puckered her pert
nipples. I could even make out the light
strip of dark curls that lined her sex and she was…aroused.
Light beads perspiration licked down to the back of her
neck, damping the stray curls of umber, gold and cherry as they escaped her
upswept hair, making her fragrance all the more tempting. She was utterly clueless as to her appeal.
A deep growl rumbled from my chest and I did not try to stop
it. I wanted her. There was no denying how much I wanted
her. She was wanton and I was not so
disinclined to refuse her.
Her head whipped to the side as her heart took flight; her
eyes were wide as they darted to and fro, desperately seeking on the origin of
the noise. She was frightened and I
wondered if it was in fear of her Edward that caused this panic.
She needn’t worry; I would take care of him and Carlisle
could blaze in Hell before I let any of them hurt her.
It only took her a moment to spot me, though I will admit to
helping a bit by forcing myself into a patch of moonlight nearby.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped, wrapping her arms around herself to
hide her blushing body from my sight. “I
thought I was the only one here.”
“It’s alright, sweet Isabella.” I told her, my chest rumbling again as my
voice turned husky. I knew what I was
doing, but seduction was something I could not help around this beauty.
Slowly, I encroached on her, stalking her like the little
doe-eyed deer she so reminded me of. I
was the wolf, circling and growling as I inhaled the air around her, wanting to
taste her essence on my tongue once more.
Her scent was heavy, heady with the mix of her arousal and no perfume
from my boyhood could compare.
She stood still, like any trembling deer would, caught in
the high-beams…waiting for me to strike.
The tension in the air was thick as she quivered and I growled at the
thought. I could see it; she her pink
and slicked with my venom as she quivered around me…
Her breath hitched and as my eyes snapped open I realized
just how close to her I was.
“Isabella,” I breathed as I circled her once more, catching
an escaped lock of mahogany from her shoulder and bringing to my nose. A purr escaped me as I took in her heavenly
scent and had I not been so content and in the moment, my actions would have
terrified me. It was well known that we
do not purr for anyone but for the comfort of our other—
Removing myself from the thought, I inhaled again, calming
myself even as desire spiked in my veins and coursed through the length of
me. The smell of her scent—her heady perfume—filled
me with possessiveness and pride. I
wanted to bathe in it—drown in it—so that every male on this earth would know
that she belonged to me.
I would most likely kill another man with that smell upon
their skin.
“Je veux vous goûter,”
(I want to taste you,) I growled, skimming my nose along the alabaster and
pink flesh of her neck.
She gasped and took a step into me, bracing her hands on my
shoulder.
“Mon dieu,” (My
God,) I cursed quietly as the warmth of her hands seemed to burn through the
light fibers of my waistcoat, scolding and scorching my dead skin.
Venom pooled in my mouth as thoughts of her panting and
writhing under me as I fed off the crimson nectar flowing through her body were
brought to the forefront of my mind. I
could see it clearly; her body would be glistening with my venom as she panted
and chanted my name, bringing my pleasure to new heights and when I would
finally release, it would be my seed that scented her body as I…
I pulled away abruptly; frightened as to what I would do to
her if I remained in such confined spaces a moment longer.
Not a moment later, the thundering sound of vampire
footfalls were heard in the hall, along with the grating voice of Carlisle
Cullen.
Bella seemed dazed as I pulled away and retook my seat. She remained standing, her hands still
holding onto thin air as she looked around the dark room in search of me. I felt guilty for seeming to be ashamed of
her. I wasn’t, not even a little, but I
did not wish to give the others an impression of what transgressed here tonight
before I had a better knowledge of what it was myself. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know, because
I did, but processing it was another matter entirely.
Seconds later the room was flooded with light and Carlisle’s
little psychic entered the room wearing a deep frown of displeasure. Carlisle and the others followed close
behind, the blonde one scenting the air and smirking as she followed.
“We need to leave.”
Alice—as she has insisted I call her more than once—stated as she
pressed through the room, only stopping once she took in Isabella’s disheveled
appearance.
Isabella’s face was as red as I had ever seen, clearly
embarrassed by being caught unawares in her night dressings, among…other
things. The color that fanned across her
porcelain cheeks filled me with a sense of pride, making me feel smug that I
had been the cause of their rosy hue.
Bella scanned the room again and when her eyes met mine she
blushed again, ducking her head shyly and muttering under her breath. “Stupid, sexy vampires.”
Alice’s eyes widened and turned to me, her eyebrow cocked in
her hairline and a cheeky smile gracing her face. That smile led me to believe that she already
knew exactly what had happened here and the nod of her head only confirmed it.
The seer turned again, remorse filling her gaze as she
placed a cool hand on Isabella’s arm.
“Bella, I’m so sorry; I didn’t see.”
And just like ice water being poured on an open fire, her
desire was doused and again Isabella was frightened.
“What did you see, psychic?”
I ask in all haste, wanting to be rid of the Cullens—especially this
one—sooner rather than later.
She cut her eyes to Isabella and then back to me, and though
she spoke, I already had a feeling for what the problem was.
“Edward.”
