Everyone is holding an unneeded breath as they wait in morbid anticipation. Each coven stands off from the Cullens keeping to themselves as countless eyes scan the battlefield when the first crunch of a shoe against compact snow is heard.
“The red coats are coming. The red coats are coming,” Garrett comments, bouncing up and down, preparing to fight. If it wasn’t for the situation you’re all in you would’ve chuckled, but your coven mates – Vladimir and Stefan – are out for blood.
“There better be a fight,” Vladimir muses just loud enough for you and Stefan to hear him as his teeth bare.
Stefan, the more reasonable of the two, tsks as he looks ahead. They start appearing in a long row of black coats, the middle of the hoard slowly opening to reveal the core Volturi as they come to a stop. The tension in the air is so thick that a finger could cut through it.
Moving from behind Edward and Bella, Carlisle steps forward. “Aro, let us discuss things as we used to, in a civilized manner.” Even though you can hear his words, your eyes scan the crowd looking for weak spots to exploit. What you weren’t expecting was to lock eyes with one of the guards, his garnet eyes capturing yours, mouth parting in shock as you take a harsh step back. No. Not one of them.
“Fair words Carlisle, but a little out of place given the battalion you’ve assembled against us.” You snort at the comment, earning you a harsh pinch in the side from Stefan as the guard who caught your eyes cocks his head in curiosity. Breaking eye contact, your eyes land on their leader whom you’ve never met.
Carlisle smiles softly. “I can promise you, that was never my intent.” Vladimir growls at the claim. “No laws have been broken.”
“We see the child. Do not treat us as fools,” the blonde king – Caius – states as if the words are an insult to him, and from what you’ve heard from Vladimir and Stefan, Caius is the cruelest one out of them all. In a way, Vladimir and Stefan can respect that. They can respect that Caius doesn’t pretend to be benevolent in the way Aro does.
“She is not an immortal child. These witnesses can attest to that. Or you can look. See the flush of human blood in her cheeks.” Your eyes flicker back to the guard, who meets your gaze, furrowing his brows. You can’t deny that he’s handsome. Tall and lean, ready to strike at a moment's notice, and you wonder who he is.
Following your line of eyesight, Stefan frowns and grips your arm, pulling you into him. “Stay away from him. He can track you,” he whispers in your ear as it clicks into place. So that’s Demetri.
“Artifice!”
“I will collect every face of the truth,” Aro states, waiving off his coruler. “But from someone more central to the story. Edward, as the child clings to your newborn mate, I assume you are involved.” Edward steps forward but your attention doesn’t stray from the tracker, and neither does his. His gaze locks you in a trance and you can’t break free. Not when Edward extends his hand toward Aro. Not when the child and Bella move forward with Jacob and Emmett. Nothing around you seems to exist except him. And you hate it.
The trance is broken as Demetri lights a torch and hands it to Caius as Irina is killed. Reality crashes in. Even if he is your mate, he is still one of them and your coven mates will never allow such a pairing. The Denali sisters scream in anger as they begin to run forward. “Get ready,” Vladimir muses with thrill, adrenaline already infusing into his cells.
“Blind them!” Edward shouts to Zafrina, halting the sisters as they slowly calm down. You step forward as does Demetri, his eyes meeting yours again for a split second before diverting to Edward as he steps forward, crumbling down in pain.
Looking at Vladimir, you frown. “This is getting boring.” He doesn’t reply but nods in agreement. From across the field, Demetri smirks. “If I wanted to do politics I would’ve ran for president.”
“Shh, be quiet.” Stefan hardly whispers as the Cullens continue their face off with the Volturi.
Despite your eyes meeting his, your words are directed toward your coven. “You can’t deny that this is fucking stupid. We should just kill them already.” Demetri raises an eyebrow, paying more attention to your conversation with a smirk, mouthing words to you and you alone. As if you could. “You wanna bet?” He shrugs, making a motion with his fingers, beckoning you to him.
Vladimir’s eyes flicker to Demetri and then back to you, realization dawning on him. “Fute.”
Come to me.
“You wish.”
“Dear ones, there is no danger here. We will not fight today.” People begin to move away as you and Demetri come back to reality, Demetri looking more out of place than you.
“What happened?” You ask sheepishly, as your coven mates fume beside you
“Have you not been paying attention? What have you been doing?” Stefan is pissed. More pissed than you’ve ever seen him.
“She was eye fucking that tracker,” Vladimir spits with disgust as the Volturi begin retreating with their heads hung low, Demetri sparing you one last glance before running away. Vladimir and Stefan storm over toward Carlisle. “We have them on the run. Now is the time to attack.”
“Not today.”
“You’re all fools! The Volturi might be gone, but they will never forgive what happened here.” Stefan proclaims, anger seeping in every word. They spare a glance at each other and you before they run, you following behind.
----------
The sunlight bathes you as you lay on the forest floor, breathing in the life around you. It’s been weeks since the confrontation and Vladimir and Stefan have taken a “vacation”, leaving you in charge of their property. All is seemingly right in the world, until it silences itself.
“You’re such a stalker,” you call out into the forest, eyes closed and not moving from your spot in the sun as he sits next to you, looking down at you.
“And you, you are infuriating.” You pop open an eye and he’s even more handsome up close. The sun highlights the blonde of his hair and the red of his eyes, shining like rubies. His black clothes cover all of his body except for his face and his hands. And his scent? It’s like a forest after a frosty morning. “You’re gorgeous.”
“I’ve been told,” your eyes scan him. “You’re not bad yourself.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” His voice is smooth and polished. It doesn’t waver like other men you’ve entertained in the past. “Where are your…friends?”
“I don’t know. Isn’t it your job to track people?” He smirks, eyes trailing down your body and lingering on the swell of your breasts under your lace dress before flickering back up to your face. “I’m surprised you didn’t come sooner.”
He cocks his head, clasping his arms around his legs before peering forward. “Don’t tell me you missed me.”
“Missed you? I don’t even know your name.” He hums in response, not believing you. Sighing, you sit up, extending your hand. “I’m (Y/N).” He turns his head and grabs your hand, bringing it to his lips and presses a gentle kiss to your knuckles.
“Pleasure to meet you, (Y/N). I am Demetri.” He releases your hand, and if you were human, you might’ve blushed.
“So, Demetri, do your owners know you’re gone?” He growls softly at the disrespect, but if he wanted to hurt you, he would’ve already.
“I’m just surprised you’re all by yourself. Alone. Defenseless. You don’t know what’s out there.”
You raise an eyebrow. “Defenseless? You think me defenseless?”
He smiles, teeth a dazzling white and you can’t help but to fantasize about them biting into you and claiming you as his. “Not to worry cara mia. I will protect you.” A silence falls over the two of you as nature resumes around you. Nothing in the world could break the peace you feel sitting by his side and you can tell he feels the same. A hand reaches out for yours, lacing your fingers together with his, but you don’t move away. “Perhaps you were destined for me, perhaps as a punishment.” His eyes lock onto yours and if you had a breath, it would belong to him. He leans in, brushing your hair with his free hand. “Do you feel the pull?”
Wordlessly you nod, craving more of his touch. Surging forward you push him back into the grass as you straddle him, feeling the hardness of him against you. “I feel the pull. It’s a shame that you’re the enemy.”
He leans up onto his forearms, not moving you off of him. “I don’t have to be. You could join.”
Laughing, you smile down at him, the sun creating a halo around your head and Demetri swears he’s in heaven. “I wouldn’t. I like this Romeo and Juliet dynamic a little too much.” Leaning down, you press your lips against his in a passionate fury, creating a burning ache between the two of you. Pulling back, his eyes darken with lust as do yours. “I have the place to myself, if you want to come inside.” He’s up in a second with you wrapped around his waist, arms holding you protectively.
It’s bold of you to talk to him like that. Stupid too, especially in the state he’s in.
Your boyfriend was someone you would describe as a saint. Kind, cute, caring. But without his humanity, he was the opposite. He was hostile to everyone, getting on your nerves, especially when he shoved Matt to the floor when he tried to give you your homework back. He caused a scene in the hallway, practically threatening to rip out Matt’s throat if he so much as looked at you again.
Ripper Stefan was violent and territorial. You didn’t know what that meant for you.
Stefan’s hand found your shoulder, pulling you to turn and look at him. He lowered his head, making fiery eye contact to get his point across.
“Let’s get one thing straight, you belong to me.”
Stefan’s words send a chill down your spine, your soft, cuddle boyfriend, who used to sing along to You Belong With Me, is nowhere to be found and you’re left with this possessive shell of him.
Right now, he didn’t love you, he just knew that he wanted you and he was damn sure he was gonna have you.
“Don’t talk to me like that,” you sneer. “I don’t belong to you, Stefan, so do me a favor and fuck off.”
You felt brave turning away from him, as if your words would sink into him, maybe make him feel something and switch a flip inside of him. Your words did flip a switch in him, just not the one you were hoping for.
Stefan’s large hand grasps as your arm. With an easy, singular tug, he pulls you back under him, forcing your back into the lockers behind you. They slam against your back, the sound overpowering your scared gasp.
“No, no. Don’t talk to me like that.” Stefan tsks, caging you between his arms. “You’re not in control here.”
Left defenseless, your eyes shoot around the halls, looking for someone, anyone, but the hall is empty.
Harshly, Stefan grips your chin. “Don’t do that,” he demands, tauntingly. “It’s just me and you, baby.”
The pet name falls off his lip in mockery. It makes you feel pathetic and despite what you tell yourself, you’re afraid. Stefan grins. “I can hear your heart racing.”
“Maybe because I’m fucking terrified,” you snap, voice low, trying to calm yourself. Stefan reaches out for a lock of your hair, twisting it around his finger before he lets it fall back into place.
“Good,” he whispers, an inch from your face. His eyes flicker over your lips for a split second his eyes meet yours and his lips twitch into a smirk as he fits his face into the crook of your neck. He inhales softly, and your foot bounces against the floor anxiously.
Stefan kisses at your neck with fake innocence, moving up to your jaw before focusing on your pulse point. His teeth scrap against your skin gently. Against your will, your eyes gloss over. You whimper. “Please don’t.”
“Do what, sugar?” he asks, “Bite you?” He jumps toward with his last remark, relishing in how you flinch.
You nod, fearfully, looking down at the floor rather than your scary boyfriend.
Stefan’s head cocks to the side ever so lightly, his eyes searching for your own. When they meet, you can see the familiar lustful haze in your boyfriend’s green eyes, but they’re darker than usual. For reasons unbeknownst to you, you refused to look away. Glaring at him through your eyebrows, Stefan cherishes your attention, licking his lips with excitement.
“Mr. Salvatore,” a voice calls from behind Stefan’s mean silhouette. “I think it’s time you get to class.”
You sigh with relief, your head falling back against the locker. “Ric.”
Stefan hardly looks away from you, barely sparing Alaric a glance as he eagerly tries to engage your intense eye contact. “In a minute.”
“No, now.”
“We’ll finish this later,” Stefan whispers in your ear, nipping at it as a threat disguised with playfulness as he pulls away.
If looks could kill, Alaric would be dead the second Stefan turned away from you, bumping his shoulder as he headed to class.
“Thank you,” you gush, hiding your face in your hands, desperate not to cry.
Alaric looks at you with sympathy. “Get to class,” he says. “We’ll deal with him after.”