The Blood inside you is the Blood inside me

The Blood inside you is the Blood inside me Part 30

Aro was very pleased with the positive responses Carlisle was receiving from the covens he and his family were closest with. It was the others that were reluctant, not fully trusting the Volturi. They feared the human army, of course, aware of the six covens that had been destroyed. But they still felt the Volturi were the greater threat, that there must be some nefarious reason for them wanting to gather all the covens together in the same place. The Olympic and Denali covens attempted to convince their kind the Volturi were sincere in their offering of peace.

Antonia had by now left the Cullens to go live with the Denali coven. She had convinced them this meeting was for the best, describing the horror she had endured, watching her family being destroyed by the humans and their arc weapons. Tanya, in sympathy, asked the woman to stay with them, feeling she would fit in better with them than the paired-off Cullens.

As the only living witness, Antonia was also able to convince others of the danger from the humans, and the sincerity of the Volturi. Garrett had willingly helped the Cullens to find and invite lesser known covens, and to convince the wary that attending the meeting was to their best interests.

Now that the attackers were known, Charlotte used the map she and Marcus had put together pinpointing covens around the world. The hunt for the vampire killers had now become a hunt for willing attendees to the meeting planned at the southern villa. She had assumed, in error, that every one of their kind would want to work for the protection of all. She learned many just didn't trust the Volturi or hated them outright. Others felt it was none of their concern, being nomads and so less likely to be found by Sulpicia's army.

The more she heard about reluctance from the covens, the more Charlotte began to feel resentment that those she regarded as her family were seen in such a bad light by others of their kind. She had lived among the Volturi for over a year now, and had only known them to be good people, looking at them from a human perspective. It was true they had to do unpleasant things to keep the vampire world safe, yet they never let their work affect them. They were playful, generous, and supportive. Charlotte had known of humans who behaved far worse. These vampires were her friends and loved ones now. The fact they had to feed on humans was something Charlotte had come to accept. Still thinking like a human at times, she wished they would choose criminals to feed upon and not the groups of unsuspecting tourists Heidi delivered that sometimes included children.

The one complaint she'd heard about most often was Aro would do anything, literally anything, to gain gifted vampires. Charlotte knew why it was so important to him. Why didn't any of the others understand this. Granted, she didn't necessarily approve of his methods, but she accepted his reasons.

As for her closest family, Marcus had always been there for her since he had first saved her the night of the accident. She loved him second only to Aro. He would calm her nerves and advise her. She enjoyed the little pleasantries of being with him. How anyone could think ill of such a man made her angry inside. She knew she would do anything for him.

Caius enjoyed acting like a, dare she use the word, badass, but he had only ever been sweet to her once he got past the "kill her" phase. If, however, anyone threatened their family, he would become a formidable fighter to protect them all.

Felix, Demetri, Alec, Jane and the others were all family to her, and Volterra was their home. Maybe during this meeting, as the newest member to the coven, she might be able to convince the other vampires the Volturi were in existence for the good of their kind.

Fortunately, many felt that Sulpicia had broken their most sacred law and had to be punished. That she had once been Aro's mate held no weight, which meant she was still guilty and had to face judgment. The fact that she was building an army of her own, one made up of humans, was unheard of. Not that all believed the stories. It would be up to Aro and Charlotte to convince everyone of the danger he had foreseen a decade ago, and its manifestation today.