𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲; 𝐚. 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨

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Things felt different when the Latin Coven arrived in Mississippi. The first thing Nero noticed was a strange scent, she'd obviously had grown accustomed towards humans and the different scents they each carried, but it was something about this specific scent that she felt off about.

Vesta had been the first one to set foot into the new home, his eyes trailing along the vast empty space and heard his footsteps echoing with every step he took, the rest of the coven had followed afterwards.

It was no surprise that they had moved once more, they travelled constantly and overtime, it began to wear them out. The constant wars and economic struggles they saw with each country at every time period, seemed the add onto the wear and tear.

One thing that had changed drastically with the coven was the involvement of a predetermined person that one would spend the rest of their life with; a soulmate. It had showed up in Cesare first, so instead of the basic quartet, an extra person had been added to the coven. Cesare's mate was a young lady by the name of Caroline Thirza.

Caroline was a nice lady in the eyes of Nero, who had been the last line of defense in the men finding someone and once realizing that Cesare was clearly happy with the woman, Nero allowed Caroline to stay.

This didn't mean that she was let off the hook immediately, the younger girl had wanted to woman to understand the concept of their coven and if anything were to happen to Cesare, she'd be in the shithole for it.

Making Caroline quickly realize that Nero wasn't a force to be reckon with. "Nero?" Aulus asked his coven leader, noticing the off expression upon her face when they first arrived. The girl didn't say anything and instead hummed as a response, her chest was in a certain uncomfortable feeling that she didn't know how to process it.

"Are you alright, Nero?" Caroline was the one to ask, of course it had been over a couple of centuries since they had first interacted, so the two women were just as close as Nero was with the men. "Just fine. Something feels weird." At her words, they were all on edge, they hadn't interacted with the Volturi since the fourteenth century, so they supposed maybe Aro was coming back to see if they had any gifts to manipulate.

"The Volturi?" Immediately, Nero shook her head, she knew it wasn't the Volturi but something else. But in clear frustration, she couldn't put her finger on what it was. They all stood around the house until Nero shook them off, she didn't need her coven to worry if there was no need to. And that's what they did, they listened to their coven leader and ventured around the house doing things that they wished to do. 

Mississippi wasn't all that exciting, not having many things to do while being here, but the small town provided a safe haven for them in their time. They wouldn't have to worry about going out and people wondering why they weren't aging. It was small towns that they knew to associate with due to the fact they wouldn't show their faces a lot. 

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Nero was still unable to figure out what the scent was, completely enraged by the constant smell under her nose and the other thing that frustrated her was the fact that the others couldn't smell what she was smelling. So, she did the one thing her mind could think of; to find the scent.

And to be fair, Nero didn't take too long finding the particular smell, her sights picking up on a small female who was just sitting down against a tree. Nero tilted her head, she wasn't expecting a human and she wasn't expecting the scent to be completely infatuating. The older girl took a step forward, hesitantly, something she had never done in over a centuries, in order to get closer.

Once she did, the opposing girl had opened her eyes, a smile on her face as she stared at Nero. "There you are, I was waiting for you." Her voice was slightly airy and her face showed innocence, but the one thing that threw Nero off was the golden eyes the girl carried. "You... waited?" Nero questioned softly, confusion littering her expression as she looked down at the small girl. 

"Yes." There was no addition to her words besides a pat to the spot next to her under the tree. Nighttime was approaching, the clouds blocking the setting sun and the trees above them providing extra comfort to shade. Nero took the spot, but her confusion was still in the air, and the other girl knew that. "The scent?" The girl questioned, earning a nod from Nero, who's perplexed mind was still brewing. 

"It's mine to you and yours to me. We are predetermined to be together, by what gods, I'm unsure." At her words, it finally clicked in Nero's head, Cesare has a mate and just like what Caroline was to him, this woman was to her. "I'm Alice, by the way." The pixie stuck her hand out in a form of introduction and as her name replayed through Nero's head, the gladiator wanted to praise the gods for giving her a beautiful name. 

"Nero." Alice couldn't help but giggle at the way her mate spoke her own name, the accent that she carried and the slight seductive undertone she had made her nerves skyrocket with happiness and nervousness. "What... happens now?" Any sort of romantic interest Nero ever had with someone was for sexual desires, but seeing as having a mate was completely different, the older vampire had no idea how to approach the situation. 

"We don't have to force anything, I'd rather not have our relationship developed on a bind that ties us and rather on our emotions alone." Nero nodded slightly, completely understanding nothing was going to be forced in this 'relationship' and she preferred it that way. "Right," There was a pause of silence as Nero tried to direct her nerves into a different part of her brain, until she spoke up. "Are you an immortal?" She questioned the dark-haired girl, earning a giggle as a response. 

"Yes, I am." Nero tilted her head as she looked into Alice's eyes once again, the older girl not comprehending how the younger girl had golden eyes. "How are your eyes... gold?" 

"I've fed off of animals instead of humans. Instead of red, like yours, mine are gold." Nero nodded, before turning her attention to the rest of her mate's facial features and she really couldn't deny how beautiful she truly was. "How did you see me?" Her trance was cut off by her curious thoughts, wondering on how the pixie knew how she was coming for her. "My gift is to see the future. Well, premonitions, only on one's thoughts and decisions. I saw you, looking for me." 

That's when Nero winced, she hated the future and any thoughts about it. "It was nice meeting you, Alice. But I must go now." Before Nero could leave, Alice gripped onto her wrist and stood up in front of the older vampire. Her height only reached up to base of Nero's shoulder, strongly proving how small she was against the gladiator. Alice stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss against her cheek before resuming her original position. 

"Don't be a stranger."

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