THE SHERIFF HAD BEEN OUT IN THE CITY WHEN HE'D GOTTEN A TEXT FROM BELLA. She must have changed her number, since he'd blocked his own daughter after the disgusting rant she went on about Andromeda the week prior.
Truth was, Charlie didn't expect what he found on the screen. He thought it would have been longer, a paragraph detailing the woes that Bella had been through over the past few weeks being away from him. No, it had been short, to the point, and shocking.
'Vampires are real.'
He thought she'd been joking, that it was a ploy for his attention just so she could have enough time to write an unhinged rant about how much more deserving of his love Bella was. He'd stared at the text for at least five minutes before he'd gotten the next one. Charlie would wish that he'd blocked her when it went through. His life would have remained uncomplicated had he been wise.
'They can't kill me now. If they kill me, they're going to kill you too. Come to the Clocktower and see what a little monster your daughter became.'
---
HELL BREAKING LOOSE MAY HAVE BEEN A BETTER ALTERNATIVE FOR WHAT HAPPENED AFTER BELLA REVEALED THE SECRET TO HER FATHER.
Andromeda had no clue why people were suddenly screaming, or why Edward had been detained along with the entire Cullen Coven that had come for the trial. Vampires moved too fast and despite her good eyes, the context clues were not enough for the princess to realize that her father's mortal life would be over.
Her mate had a hand on her, pulling her out of the
Throne Room with ease that would have been impossible had he been a regular human. Andromeda let out a grasp, realizing suddenly that something had gone very wrong.
She'd been dragged quite a ways before let go, with Jacob standing intently in front of her,
making sure she looked right at him.
"Charlie knows," Jacob signed as quickly as he could, looking around to see if anything more had happened. He winced before turning back. "He has to turn today. You have to convince him
to turn."
"Who could have told him?" Andromeda signed back. Tears would have stained her pained face if not for the venom coursing through her veins. She wanted to scream. She felt so out of the
loop, every new piece of information a dump she wished never happened.
"Bella had her phone. There's no law against having it in trial, I guess." Jacob let out a visible
sigh. "They'll change that after today."
"Do you know who is going to find my father?" Andromeda looked around, seeing an array of
guards heading outside. "The parades are over. Humans are going home."
Andromeda didn't see what Jacob was trying to tell her, slipping away into the crowd of lower guards that surrounded the doors. She didn't know if they would let her out, if that would be too much of a risk on a day like this. Afton and Chelsea slammed the doors shut, the sound vibrating
against the princess' entire body.
"No," Chelsea signed to her.
"I need to go," Andromeda signed back, not wanting to break the rules and go against the guards, who were likely only working with her uncles and father to keep the entire Clocktower
safe. "Trust me."
"They are," Chelsea tried to sign through the commotion, but failed.
Andromeda was too freaked out to read her lips. She felt stuck, completely and entirely stuck without context or means to gain any. She grabbed the edge of the wall and turned around, seeing the guards on the other side of the hallway shutting the doors that led to the gardens.
A complete shutdown was nearly impossible due to the open nature of the Volturi. During times of war, but Andromeda had never seen such times. The books on everything that had to do with the medieval ages held the information. She hadn't read them since she was fourteen, maybe fifteen. Andromeda wished she'd revised on her knowledge of how the castle worked when she turned, so the information would stick.
Today was a feeding day too. Her uncle Marcus had told her that she needed to feed more often. She was still a newborn, her weak human body likely being the cause of the long stage. She'd be hungry, she should be.
Maybe that was why they were locking things down. Hundreds of humans outside and a hungry newborn do not mix.
---
CHARLIE DIDN'T EXPECT ANY OF IT TO BE REAL. It would have made more sense for this to all have been a really elaborate hoax. He considered blocking her five minutes after the text, but he was faced with his daughter's adoptive father before he had the wits about him to actually do it.
"We were told Bella told you about us being vampires," Caius started off with, his face contorting just enough to clearly indicate his anger.
Charlie didn't expect any less, his daughter had perhaps started a hoax about her sister and family being vampires. The area was majority Catholic, Charlie knew that much. Drinking blood outside of the little blood of Jesus was directly against the Bible. Andromeda didn't mention
being religious, but her father must have been, given the family's ties to the local church.
"I am so sorry she's been such a pain for you," Charlie apologized sincerely. "She's not been the same since Edward left her or since she met Andromeda. I should have fought harder for
custody, clearly there's something more going on here. Not that I expect you to care."
Caius blinked twice before asking, "Do you believe her?"
Charlie laughed. "No? She's clearly going through something. Dunno if that boy gave her drugs or if she just has psychosis. Renee's father had bipolar and it's genetic. Wondering if she's got it too."
The sheriff was puzzled by the clear relief on the face of the man who'd raised his daughter.
"If she does have this... bipolar... do we send her into a facility to check it out?" Caius asked. "Will they believe that we are vampires? Or will they believe she's hysterical."
"She just needs antipsychotics, I guess," Charlie said with a sigh. "Didn't think it would come down to this. Would explain the depression and now this manic state. Edward leaving may have
triggered the first fit."
"We have a facility here that deals with the homeless. I don't know if they'll take a foreigner, but we could put in a good word," Caius explained as he put a hand on his chin.
"That would be great. Again, I am so sorry that she's been doing this."
---
CAIUS HAD NEVER BEEN SO RELIEVED IN HIS LIFE. Charlie didn't believe Bella, which he didn't think would happen. Now he had a plan. They could easily kill Bella, claim she was in the facility, and then 'release' her only to claim she committed suicide. It was the perfect plan. If he asked for her ashes, Caius would hand them over.
"We have a way to do it, but this does bring up the possibility of Charlie coming to find out this information from someone else," Aro mentioned.
"The Shifters would never give us up now that Jacob is here. They care about their community,"
Caius rebutted. "We have solved this issue. Let us have peace."
"I am glad she will die," Marcus added. "Her hate was disgusting. Black and tarnishing everything around it. I have never seen such a hateful bond before."
YOU ARE READING
❝...❞, Jacob Black
Fanfiction𝑨𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒂 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊 was found by none other than Caius Volturi as a newborn after being kidnapped by members of the newly expanded Romanian coven. After looking into her brown eyes, Caius knew that this child was as good as his own and...
