FORKS - carlisle cullen

F I F T E E N

Eleanor Martin's POV

"No!" Edward shouts loudly after reading Aro's thoughts, sprinting forward only to be held back by two of the guards. "Aro, don't do this, I'm begging you!"

Alice and Jasper are held back by their own guards and I look to Aro in confusion as he gestures to the two remaining guards. Suddenly, I feel Carlisle being ripped from my grasp and I immediately release a chilling growl that I didn't even realize I was capable of making. I whip around quickly, running at the two vampires that hold tightly onto my mate, rage bubbling up inside me.

As I am about to pounce onto them, I am dragged backwards and I can smell that it is Aro who has grabbed me. Using my newborn strength to my advantage, I nearly break free from his grasp but before I get the chance, he calmly calls Caius and Marcus forward, each of them grabbing onto one of my arms and Aro releases me.

My body shakes with rage and I hear my shoulders cracking as I strain roughly against their grips on my forearms and biceps.

"I have seen that vampires always become their most fierce - but also their most vulnerable - when their mate's lives are endangered." Aro begins a short soliloquy, gesturing as the vampires holding onto Carlisle force him onto his knees on the stone floor.

"Wait! Please stop!" I scream loudly, the sound amplified by the bare floors and walls.

I struggle even harder against the two vampires holding me when one of the guards grabs onto the sides of Carlisle's head, a breaking sound meeting my ears as spiderweb cracks spread up his neck onto his cheeks. The thought of losing my mate makes me grow so desperate and livid that I have little to no control over my actions.

I feel a heat burning in my chest and with one last scream and tug against the hands restraining me, the two vampires holding onto Carlisle burst into several pieces, falling to the ground lifelessly. The two piles then burst into flame and Caius and Marcus immediately release me, the room as silent as death itself.

Nobody stops me as I run so quickly I may as well have teleported to Carlisle's side, running my hands from his shoulders down his front, wanting to assure that he was alright. He grabs onto my hands, holding them over his hard chest as he rises to his feet, pulling me securely to him as Alice, Jasper, and Edward are released. They immediately dart to us, standing close by.

The remaining guards had disappeared fearfully from the room, leaving only the core members of the Volturi: Aro, Marcus, Caius, Jane, Alec, Demetri, and Felix. A sweet aroma rises to my nose as smoke from the two burning vampires swirls through the air. Aro lets out a strange combination of a laugh and an excited scream, the odd sound bouncing around in the silence.

"Eleanor, my Darling!" Aro cheers happily, completely undeterred by the fact that I destroyed two of his guards without even touching them. "You are magnificent beyond my wildest thoughts! You must join me!"

He takes another step towards me, at which a threatening growl bubbles up in my throat and I move in front of Carlisle and the kids.

"I would rather die," I grit through bared teeth. "Now I believe that you've done enough. My family and I will be leaving now."

"You will stay." Aro demands, dropping the charismatic air that he had feigned when we first arrived, revealing the sadistic murderer that I knew was underneath the mask all along.

"I will not," I mimic his domineering tone, making anger flash darkly in his crimson eyes. "Need I remind you what I have just done to your little stooges? I am calling the shots in this room, and we will be taking our leave. Now."

By the expression on Aro's face, I can tell that he is not used to being opposed let alone threatened.

"Alec, Jane, Demetri, Felix," Aro speaks calmly. "Will you please escort the four Cullens down to the lobby?"

"We're not leaving without her." Carlisle says harshly, his original English accent softly cutting through his developed American accent occasionally throughout his sentence.

"I never said that you would leave without her, my friend," Aro chuckles. "I need to have a private conversation with the newest member of your coven, that's all."

"It's alright," Alice nods, snapping out of a vision. "He isn't going to hurt her."

"Edward?" Carlisle prompts the younger man to look into Aro's mind.

"Alice is right." Edward confirms, making me relax a little bit.

The instructed members of the Volturi begin to lead my family out of the door, but Carlisle kisses me passionately.

"I love you." Carlisle hums against my lips.

"I love you, too." I reply, kissing him once more before he is forced out of the room.

The door slams shut with a loud bang and I face the three core members of the Volturi confidently with squared shoulders.

"Eleanor," Aro smiles, brushing back a strand of his black hair that had fallen delicately across his forehead. "My lovely Eleanor," I snarl slightly at him, only making his grin broaden. "You have power that every other vampire could only dream of having. You would be such a strong asset to my coven... Nobody would even stand a chance."

"That would turn your little oligarchy into a full-blown dictatorship so fast that it would make everybody's heads spin. It would be completely unfair to any of the other covens," I spit bitterly. "Don't get me wrong: I understand where you're coming from though."

"Do you?" Aro patronizes me, and I nod emphatically.

"You already have the strongest coven in the world. You have quite the collection: from what I understand your coven holds vampires with some of the most powerful gifts," I take a deep, unnecessary breath. "But I know that if I joined you - which I will not - you would be quick to manipulate and abuse my power to establish even more dominance that you already have."

"I just don't want to see your gift go to waste, my Dear." Aro says, grabbing ahold of my hand once more.

I almost rip away from him but I feel him pull back the memory of me being bitten by the rogue and then the fact that he killed my mother and father.

"It won't go to waste," I say flatly. "I have a very specific rogue in mind. I refuse to let him get away with what he's done."

"But without him, you would have not discovered Carlisle to be your mate, no? Perhaps what he did was a favor." Aro offers, grandly gesturing in the air.

"Murdering my parents was no favor," I growl. "And he will pay for it."

"But how will you find him?" Aro asks.

"I hadn't gotten around to that yet," I say. "May I please leave now?"

"Feel free," Aro gestures as Marcus watches with a bored-yet-thoughtful expression and Caius glares aggressively as if I had given him a personal reason to hate me. "But remember that my offer still stands."

"And it will continue to stand. Forever." I turn and walk out of the room, letting the door slam behind me.