Before the New Moon

Chapter 4

 Perhaps the only downside to dating Alice is her repentless impatience when Jasper and I are sleeping. She doesn't sleep, and most nights she just entertains herself, but since we're not home, there's little to do. Which is why I could feel her cold delicate fingers playing with my hair and softly scrolling the side of my face. It wasn't outwardly malicious, but I could tell that her plan was to wake me up. I turned my head, my tired eyes opened slightly, facing the clock our hotel room was provided with.

7:35 am, she lasted longer than I thought.

"Good morning baby," She greeted softly, pressing her smirking lips to my temple.

I grumbled a response and felt strong cold arms around my waist pulling me towards an equally strong chest.

"Don't answer, it's a trap." Jasper tiredly chuckled into my ear, "She'll try to force you out of bed next."

"Any way to avoid it?" I asked, hearing Alice huff in indignation.

"Not that I've found in the sixty years I've known her, this is simply a way to put off the inevitable." By now Alice had gone to the other side of the bed and was currently play hitting Jasper for his slanderous words. The rest of the morning went by in a pleasant blur. With biteless remarks and light teasing.

By the time we made it to the restaurant for breakfast, Bella and Edward were already waiting for us. I received a strange look from Edward, and wondered if he inadvertently heard anything from Jasper. I gave him a small smile, reassuring him that everything was alright. I wondered if Jasper had sought him out last night, needing a way to externalize his anger.

What would that even look like, truly. Come to think of it, I had never seen any of the Cullens truly angry. They all seemed to be constantly aware of their emotions and how it might affect their strength. I looked at Bella, quietly eating her breakfast next to me, the only person who had seen what these people were capable of. She hasn't told me everything in complete detail, and despite that episode I had, I didn't really know what happened that day in Phoenix. But I knew it gave Bella nightmares, and that she tried her best to keep them from Edward. Something she did to spare his conscience, because his guilt and worry over her safety, physical or otherwise, bordered on overwhelming.

All these thoughts and questions led my mind back to the biggest issue we needed to discuss. The Volturi. The vampire elite that governed over all others. Who had strict rules and protocols about vampire-human relationships. Who would decide the ultimate fate of this relationship.

"I think we should talk," Edward broke the comfortable silence at the table.

"I know," Alice sighed, rubbing my thigh thoughtfully. "It's just a lot to talk about."

"Perhaps, but it's better to do it without Carlisle's foreboding warnings about the council." He squeezed Bella's hand, "It's less overwhelming that way."

This shopping trip continued to reveal ulterior motives. I wondered if everything they did was laced with motives. But maybe once you live long enough, everything becomes some sort of chess game.

Edward explained everything he thought was important, starting from the beginning, how they came to power by overthrowing the coven before them. The Romanians, who believed vampires to be superior to all others, humans or not. The Volturi's reign had been overall well received. The Romanians' rule had been well known for conflicts, as they fought and conquered anyone they deemed a threat. But as humans and their technology continued to evolve, the creatures of the night could no longer afford to be so careless with the knowledge of their existence nor with who their allies were. So the Volturi managed to amass many allies from the fractured communities the Romanians khad worked so hard to beat down. From werewolves, to shifters to sirens, many came together to take down the Romanians and establish the Volturi as the Vampire heads of state. Now each community has individual rulers, all of which meet in a council to ensure humans are kept in the dark. Because for as powerful all these creatures are, humans still have the advantage of numbers, as well as their horrifyingly efficient scientific advancement.