Woman of the Hour // volturi kings

26. dangerous

1996

"It's an honor to have you all here, my Kings," Eleazar greeted, welcoming them into their expansive home. It was a large, wooden lodge, hidden deep in the Alaska Range, surrounded by copious amounts of snow and an endless open sky.

"Thank you for having us," Aro said flatly. "We apologize for the short notice. This is a matter of urgency."

The brothers had returned to their regal demeanor, acting indifferent and uninterested in everything around them. Aro was the conversationalist, while Caius was scowling in distaste and Marcus seemed to want to be elsewhere. This was the Volturi everyone knew, not the warm and loving men that were wrapped around their mate's finger.

Once they moved further into the house, they were greeted by the other coven members. Tanya was the first to step forward, dipping her head respectfully. She was the coven leader, but because Eleazar had history with the royal coven, she let him take control. The next to welcome them was Carmen, who flittered to her mate's side, followed by Kate and Irina, who approached nervously.

"We're here to discuss an indiscretion that has come to light," Caius' voice was cold and threatening. "The Cullens have broken out most simple rule. They have exposed our existence to a human."

There was a collective gasp. The Denali's thought themselves close to the Cullen, considered them cousins even. They were the only other 'vegetarian' vampire coven in existence. To hear that they stepped so far out of line was almost unbelievable. Although, the Denali's knew the kings would not entertain false accusations, so the human must have shared their memories with Aro, willingly or otherwise.

"We had no idea, I swear," Tanya frantically explained. "They didn't mention any humans the last time they visited."

"You'll have no problem proving that then, will you dear?" Aro offered his hand to her, and she eyed it reluctantly. Alec stood to the side, tense and ready if she refused. He would subdue them with his powers so Aro could have free rein within their minds.

She tentatively reached out and clasped his hand, letting him pillage her memories and thoughts. She didn't have anything to hide, but the infiltration of her mind was not a welcome feeling.

Aro hummed and released her hand. She was being truthful; they had no knowledge of Claire or any contact with the Cullens after they had met her. But Aro now knew her loyalty aligned with the criminal coven, they would back them in any justified confrontation. It was a problem for later.

"Good," Aro concluded. "Now, when you hear from them again, you will inform us promptly."

She nodded meekly, as did the others. They might not agree with the way the Volturi ruled, but they weren't going to oppose them without cause. The kings exchanged glances, confirming that her agreeance was enough for the moment.

A sombre Marcus steed forward, convincingly playing his part as the gloomy brother. He cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the present vampires.

"We also have an announcement to make. We will be visiting our friends around the world in the next few months, but you are the first to hear this information."

"We have found our mate," Caius finished, emphasizing that she was theirs, collectively. It was incredibly rare to have a shared soulmate, even rarer to be fated to three people. Those with multiple mates tended to be powerful, needing all of their loves to ground them.

In a way, Caius was warning them. Not only was she mated to the three powerful kings, but that made her the only queen. The Volturi guard would be ferociously protective, and she would eventually have her own collection of gifted vampires whose soul duty was to protect her with their life. The Queen's Guard.

The Volturi were already a formidable power, but now, with this revelation, they were more dangerous than ever before. Eleazar had spent decades with them before he escaped their grasp with Carmen, seen many of their violent executions and trials, but he had never been so fearful of them.

﹌﹌﹌

She was in shock, she had to be. Claire wasn't a violent soul; she'd rather solve conflict with conversation than a primal reaction of violence. She was above that. Yet, the blatant disrespect Santiago displayed for the kings, and herself, set a fire deep inside her. Her hands steadied and her vision cleared as she blinked away tears. Her back straightened, the confident posture she usually held returning, and a vicious spark fared in er vibrant eyes.

This pathetic excuse for a vampire wasn't doing to make her feel weak. This coward had so much power over her, and still decided to creep up behind her when she was alone. When her snatched her, she was petrified. Her life flashed before her; every moment of love and regret, every memory with her soulmates and everything she should have told them.

She owed Jane and Dimitri her life, although she was confused as to why they were there. Her kings were going to be beyond furious, and she didn't doubt that they would enjoy making this coward suffer. But she was overwhelmed with an urge to torture him herself, to prove to him and her soulmates that she wasn't a timid human.

Dimitri had dragged is corpse home, through back alleys and empty parks, and dumped it in the basement. Jane and Claire fetched her fallen bags and broken music player, and the young woman insisted on carrying Santiago's decapitated head home herself. So, with a queasy feeling, she stuffed it in one of her tote bags, hoping it didn't look too conspicuous.

She was now looking down at the lifeless body from the top of the stairs, poorly illuminated by the single lightbulb in the room. The basement was mostly empty, apart from a few stacked boxes that were filled with some of her parent's belongings, the washer and dryer, and a few forgotten pieces of furniture.

After she expressed her interest in finishing off the disloyal vampire, Jane insisted they wait until the kings returned. Now all she could do was stare; stare at the cold corpse, still wrapped in his dark cloak and designer suit. The golden 'V' that hung around his neck was taunting her, she didn't think he deserved to wear that anymore. So, she elegantly glided down the steps, bent over the body of Santiago and tore it from what was left of his throat.

"The kings are outside, mia regina," Jane appeared at her side, keeping her voice low. Claire didn't startle, even at her sudden presence.

"I'll go and greet them. Stay down here."

With that, she turned and ascended the stairs, an air of confidence around her. She passed Dimitri, who was standing guard at the door to the basement, just in case. Before Aro could knock on her front door, she swung it open and greeted them with a large smile.

Caius quickly stepped around is brother and scooped her up into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground and twirling her around. She laughed joyously at him, beyond elated that they were back.

"Claire," Marcus said slowly, his voice tense and his eyes glued to her. "What happened to your face?"

a/n: i'm going to be away on holiday next friday, so my goal is to give you a chapter early next week instead of not uploading. fingers crossed anyway.