Discover Twilight

chapter liv

Edward smiles smugly at the expression Aro's steely face held after seeing Alice's vision, hearing from across the field how horrified Aro was by what the future held for him if he continues down his current path.

Caius, not having seen Alice's death filled vision that included his own demise at the hands of the Denali sisters, snarls at Alice's advisement, wanting to continue in the sadistic plan they previously had for this meeting, "We cannot alter our course. The child still poses a grave threat."

"But what if you were sure she could remain concealed from the human world? Could we leave in peace?" Edward offered, already having planned to keep his exceptional daughter out of public eye for a few years until she was fully grown.

"Of course. But that cannot be known."

"Actually, it can."

Immediately after Edwards assurance, two people emerge from the forest. Alice smiled graciously at the two nearing tan pair as the made their way to join her in front of the Volturi. Alice turns and smiles at me, reminding me of the conversation she and I had months ago about a tribe in Brazil, "I've been searching for witnesses of my own among the Ticuna tribes of Brazil."

"We have enough witnesses," Caius sternly tells the Cullen, his voice laced in bitterness and devoid of any meaningful emotion.

Intrigued by the pair standing in front of him, hearing his heart beat sporadically underneath his clearly vampiric appearance, Aro holds a single hand up to silence his brother, "Let him speak, brother."

The male of the two cleared his throat, giving his testimony to Aro and even offers him his hand to have access to his thoughts, "I am half human, half vampire. Like the child. A vampire seduced my mother, who died giving birth to me. My aunt Huilen raised me as her own. I made her immortal."

"How old are you?"

Nahuel turns to face Bella, his eyes lingering on her three month old daughter beside her, "A hundred and fifty years."

"At what age did you reach maturity?"

Nahuel gave the dark haired man a small smile, "I became full-grown seven years after my birth. I have not changed since then."

This answer gave me hope. Hope that Renesmee would live a long and happy life like her family despite her being half vampire. If Nahuel could live to 150 and be like Renesmee, she had a chance of outliving me and making her family complete.

Aro, too, seemed intrigued by the half-breed, asking him the most basic question, "And your diet?"

"Blood, human food. I can survive on either."

Marcus turned to his brother, exhibiting his first emotion that I've observed. He was surprised. "These children are much like us."

Caius was pissed that we have managed to turn this in our favor, saving ourselves from the death and destruction they had previously planned for us. He desperately tries to find something for them to have against us, trying to pick a fight, "Regardless, the Cullens have been consorting with werewolves. Our natural enemies."

When the word Caius used to describe us left his lips, all eighteen of us growled at him. Basically inviting him to challenge us, ready to tear into him until his extended existence was no longer. I wanted nothing more than to return to my human form, showing them that we were quite different from what a werewolf was but I stopped myself before I opened a whole new can of worms.

Our youngest Pack member, Collin Littlesea took a small step forward to lunge at the vampire but Sam sent him a pointed look, "DON'T START ANYTHING, COLLIN."

Aro shares intensely at me, seeing me standing at the focal center of both Packs. You could see him mentally weighing the pro and cons of addressing the wolves' presence but he tears his eyes from mine to meet Edward's. Aro turns from facing us and addresses his army, "Dear ones, there is no danger here. We will not fight today."

Some if not all of the Volturi looked  disappointed in Aro's verdict, including Caius and Jane who have been noted as the most sadistic of the group. But they obeyed Aro's words, turning and quickly leaving the clearing.  Aro was the last one to disperse, speeding to the treeline only to stop. His eyes linger on the gifted vampires of the Cullen coven, quietly sucking his teeth at the outcome, "Such a prize."

After Aro and his army leave us only on the open field, all relieved to have made it through the day Alice, Vladimir starts to stomp on the direction the Volturi ran, "We have them on the run. Now is the time to attack."

Carlisle chuckled at his eagerness, kissing his mate on the temple as she pulls him closer to her for a celebratory embrace, "Not today."

"You're all fools! The Volturi might be gone. But they will never forgive what happened here," Stefan screams, advising us that the end was not in site.

However not one of us listen to them, crashing into our loved ones to celebrate. After being tackled to the ground excitedly by Paul and Embryo, I see Vladimir and Stefan leave in anger.  All that mattered to us was our success, we survived and the Volturi was leaving us alone for the time being.