Archive of Our Own

We don’t really have a choice, Edward. The Volturi made it quite apparent that we had to come see them.

“That or they would make us.” Edward offers irritably under his breath in response to my thoughts. Beside us, Jasper shifts, his eyes scanning the room for the hundredth time, unease radiating from him.

“Jazz, please, I know your old military training is kicking in, but can we relax a little bit? They haven’t even said why we are here.” Emmett throws his hands in the air when everyone in the family stares at him.

“Oh, yes, tis truly a wonder why the most powerful vampire coven whose requirement for being a member is having supernatural abilities would be interested in our family.” Rosalie finishes with a quick swat to the back of her husband’s head. Emmett’s dejected ‘well, it could be something else’ goes completely ignored by all.

“My concern,” Carlisle starts voice kept low, almost inaudible, “is not that we are here, but more are we going to be allowed to leave.”

“Well, some of us will be allowed to.” The crack of Rosalie’s hand on the back of Emmett’s head is much more swift and harsh this time around but still pales is nothing compared to the glare she levels him with.

“We are not going to be separated,” Esme says with conviction, her grip on Carlisle’s hand is tight, betraying her uncertainty.

“I don’t like being blind, and I haven’t had a single vision since they decided to demand our presence.” I growl out, frustrated with the lack of anything regarding our trip to Italy. My vision being the only reason we weren’t blindsided by the sudden appearance of the Volturi in Washington.

“Aro has, obviously, heard about each of your abilities, but I doubt he knows the exact details. For what it is worth, I don’t think the lack of decision-making is to target you specifically.” Carlisle offers with a weak smile.

He is probably right. We had a run-in with a small coven about two months prior that had decided to make parts of Washington their hunting and playground. They had taken particular exception when they came Forks and we told them that they were unwelcome. When they tried to hunt there anyway, one small fight later they ran and took their chaos with them. Enough chaos, anyway, to draw the attention of the Volturi. Apparently one of the members of the rogue coven told the Volturi of our more gifted members in hopes of saving his own life. According to Jane, the blonde vampire that had led us to our current quarters, it had not.

“If nothing else, we shouldn’t have to wait long. They are not known for their patience.” No sooner had Carlisle spoken then the set of double doors we had entered from opened, revealing a group of giggling, awe-struck humans. Two bored-looking guards following behind them, herding them through to the deeper parts of the castle. I watch as Esme looks between them and Carlisle helplessly.

“Honey…” she whispers, and he wraps a consoling arm around her shoulders, turning her away from the closing doors, a quietly murmured ‘I know’ reaching my ears. I turn away from Esme’s heartbroken expression.

Almost immediately following the exit of the unfortunate humans, one of the Volturi steps through a different door. As he approaches, Emmett places himself between him and the rest of us, looking the newcomer up and down. While Emmett may have an inch on him in height, they’re built the same, and, at least outwardly, he is entirely unintimidated by Emmett’s posturing. Expression remaining blank, his crimson gaze finds Carlisle’s golden one immediately.

“This way.” Curt instructions are almost grunted out and he doesn’t wait for anyone to acknowledge before turning and starting for the door he had just appeared from. Silently he leads us through a maze-like network of halls and passages. It takes long enough that I’m fairly certain we had to have double-backed a few times.

Eventually, we make our way to what was once the throne room of the castle. Still is, apparently. Caius and Aro are seated in two of the three large, ornate chairs that sit at the head of the room.

“Caius, please, take your…pet elsewhere. We have guests.” Aro’s words drip in disgust, nose wrinkled, and lip curled. Carlisle’s step falters, his focus entirely on the other presence in the room. Edward’s head snaps in his direction, mouth open.

“A werewolf?”

“Yes!” Aro’s voice is cheerful, but the look he shoots the creature is less than impressed. “A trophy. The last of its kind. Or so Caius hopes, anyway.” He offers Carlisle a polite smile, ignoring Caius’s glare. “Welcome, we’re so glad you decided to come.” Rosalie digs her fingers into Emmett’s arm when he opens his mouth, Aro’s lips twitch. “We’ve been so anxious to meet the coven responsible for preventing an attack and drawing more attention to us. Thank you.” 

“There is no need to thank us, discretion and keeping our secret are our number one priority. Though we certainly appreciate your invitation.” Carlisle’s words are calm, expression cool, but he maneuvers himself between Aro and Esme as the leader of the Volturi approaches.

“Your dedication to doing so is most appreciated, even if it is expected. But come!” The creature, which had been huddled against the far wall, stirs a low rumbling echoing around the room. It lifts its elongated, large head with a huff. “Caius, your pet,” Aro’s tone is no longer amused, “remove it. Now.” The beast swings its head in our direction, breathing deeply. It shifts, untucking one leg from its curled position revealing not a paw like I had been expecting, but something more resembling a clawed hand. The rumbling grows louder as the creature continues breathing deeply. Sniffing.

It uncurls from the wall, facing us with its weight resting on both forelimbs but there’s a sway to its movements like it is struggling to stay upright. “Relax, Aro, the collar is fresh,” Caius states, clearly amused at Aro’s displeasure of the creature. It heaves itself from its side, lurching so that it is on all fours and Caius takes a nervous half-step away, lip curled.

Then why are you afraid, Caius? Old habits or is it not as harmless as you say?” Aro asks amused once more but his words are laced with venom. With a hiss, Caius approaches the creature that is still trying to stand properly.

“The beast is nothing. A worthless relic of a time that has long since passed.” Disdain and contempt drip from his every word as the creature tries to focus, head still swaying, legs unsteady.

“Carlisle,” Esme whispers quietly next to us, quietly enough for only us to hear, tone close to heartbroken. Her right hand rises to cover her mouth, the fingers of her left gripping the fabric of Carlisle’s shirt tightly.

“And yet, you keep it anyway.” Aro offers disinterestedly, and Caius growls.

“It belongs to me. I’ve removed the rest of the miserable, disgusting creatures from the world. I deserve a trophy for my efforts. As soon as it no longer brings me joy to see it in a collar under my control, I shall make werewolves truly extinct.” His words end in a growl as he wraps his fingers around the creature’s throat and hurls it across the room. The beast hits the ground only a few feet away from us with a thud and a quiet whimper. It continues to lie there, unmoving, staring blankly at nothing in front of it. I briefly register Aro’s dry, “a truly impressive display” but something about the creature has me enraptured, unable to look away.

I see the collar that Caius had mentioned, almost completely hidden by the longer, dark hair covering its body. The collar has small vials around its entirety and is fitted tightly against the creature. There’s an overwhelming, sickeningly sweet scent clinging to the creature, with an underlying bitterness that is overpowering enough to make me stop breathing.

“Disgusting, isn’t it?” Caius’s voice next to me startles me badly enough to cause me to flinch, bringing a smirk to his lips. “A truly abhorrent creature. It would tear the head from your shoulders, given half a chance.” 

“Why doesn’t it?” I ask, eyes trained on the still unmoving creature.

“The collar,” Caius states, tone superior, “a design of my own making, It has vials with a mixture of wolfsbane, belladonna, and mercury. The vials are injected into the creature slowly throughout time.”

“So that’s how it is in its transformed state despite the lack of a full moon,” Carlisle speaks up and Caius flashes him a smile that is nothing short of cruel.

“Yes. It has been in this form for more than a hundred years. Even better yet, the mixture is poisonous and painful. The beast is in constant agony. Fire runs through its veins at all times. But it’s too weak to do anything about it.” He aims his feral smile at me, “the smell? It’s the concoction interacting with the creature’s blood. Any higher of a dose, it would poison the beast faster than it could recover.” Caius’s glee at the creature’s pain turns my stomach and I force my expression to stay neutral.

“It seems very effective,” I grind out and his eyes alight with sick delight.

“Very! It takes skill to cause as much pain and suffering as possible without losing the subject. Even if the loss wouldn’t be a great one.” Caius says proudly before stepping away and it takes all my willpower and a well-timed hand on my arm from Jasper to keep me from tearing him apart then and there.

“Enough about the creature, you are so graciously here at our request, after all.” Aro begins with a clap, “shall we get to why?”

“We have a guess,” Emmett mutters.

“Indeed. Well, as you are aware the Volturi are made up of talented individuals with remarkable abilities, even for our kind. And it has been brought to our attention that three of you possess such abilities. We are always looking to add to our family.” Aro states opening his arms wide, tone too friendly.

“You don’t even know our abilities,” Edward says plainly and Aro smiles.

“I’ve heard enough. We wouldn’t have asked you here if we thought it was a waste of our time.” Anger starts to bubble in my chest.

“We won’t simply leave our coven,” Jasper states flatly.

“We have a few members that don’t have any powers. We wouldn’t be opposed to adding a few more.” 

“And what,” the acid in my tone is hardly suppressed, “if we don’t want to be a part of the Volturi?” Aro’s eyes harden, and his smile develops an edge.

“I am hoping to show you that the benefits of being one of us would change your mind enough to convince you to stay.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Aro chuckles, crimson eyes flashing.

“If after a week you and your siblings still have no desire to join us, you are welcome to leave!” I don’t buy it, even for a moment. My instincts are screaming at me to get out of here. “What is it that they say in the States? ‘Scout’s honor’.” Aro offers, holding up one hand the other resting over his still heart.

“Your offer is more than generous –” Carlisle is cut off by Emmett.

“I don’t need a week to know that I don’t want to stay here.” Aro’s mask of kindness slips, for just a moment, and annoyance bleeds into his expression.

“Indeed. You are free to go now, of course. After all, this was an invitation meant for the more gifted members of your coven.” The jab hits its mark as intended and Emmett bristles, baring his teeth.

“None of us will be staying with you.” Emmett’s tone sits just this side of threatening, the rough rasp of a growl seeping through.

“You will stay here, boy, if we demand it.” Caius states, temper flaring, and the two guards that were by the door when we came in start edging toward us.

Waves of calm permeate the room and, for a moment, Emmett is even more irritated. He flashes a glare at Jasper, “this is not the time nor the place, Emmett. Please.” Carlisle urges calmly.

“Carlisle…” Emmett is still tense, but the guards have flanked him now and more have come from seemingly nowhere, making us horribly outnumbered.

“Emmett, please.” With a low growl, Emmett drops his shoulders and steps back. The guards and Caius look disappointed as Aro waves them away. One of the guards steps past me with a light hiss and a glare.

As she is passing the werewolf, who had still been lying motionless on the floor, she purposefully steps on one of its front hand-like claws hard enough to audibly snap bones. Fear flashes in her eyes briefly when startingly white teeth snap just in front of her nose, her moving back just in time to avoid being bitten. She lets loose an angry snarl, grasping the creature by its neck and slamming its head into the ground followed immediately with a swift kick to the beast’s jaw, the crunch of broken bone loud in my ears.

Anger flares up and burns in my veins, venom pooling in my mouth, and before I know what I am doing I find myself nose-to-nose with the guard, hand wrapped around her throat.

“You do that again and I’ll rip you into a thousand pieces.” The guard hisses, eyes flicking past me and back again. My vision darkens momentarily, and the quick, movie-like flash of what she is about to do appears. The vision fades as she swings her right fist for my head. I let go of her throat and start to turn. Grabbing her extended arm and using her momentum, I continue to pivot and throw her against the wall. 

She crashes into the stone surface hard enough to leave a crack, stone dust floating to the floor, but jumps to her feet immediately, eyes furious. “Enough.” She immediately drops her stance and her gaze, Aro stepping up next to me. “Leave.” She turns on her heel and exits. “Very interesting. I see the description of your abilities proved to be accurate. You can see the future then?” Venom still sits heavily on my tongue, and I try to rein in the urge to snap at him as well. 

“More premonitions than actually seeing the future,” I say, voice rough, “it is dependent on the actions one takes. If someone makes a decision, I might see them making it, or the outcome of that decision, but if they change their mind at the last second I won’t know.”

“How entirely fascinating. And you, you can manipulate and feel others’ emotions?” Aro asks, stepping away from me and moving back to the rest of the family. 

I take a deep breath and close my eyes in an attempt to calm down. Faint whining draws my attention and turn around and find the werewolf still on the ground, head back at an awkward angle from being kicked. There’s  blood dripping from its mouth and it has its crushed hand tucked against its chest. Before I can think about it, I take a step toward the creature. Its eyes immediately snap open and find mine. The gaze is hazy, both from the effects of the collar and the pain it is in, but my breath catches in my throat and my heart seizes.

What little I had heard about werewolves did not paint them kindly. Then again, any information that's given to me about any supernatural creature I take with a grain of salt. I mean, have you seen Dracula? Or Blade? Regardless, by all accounts, they are depicted to be uncontrollable, mindless animals when in their transformed state. Ruthless with an insatiable bloodlust that lasts from when the moon is fullest until it disappears the next morning.

But this? I’m not looking into the eyes of some wild, rabid animal. No, there’s intelligence, understanding, and pain. So much pain and exhaustion. Amber-colored eyes begging for freedom in any form it would take. More than anything, I see a creature that has given up and accepted that this is to be how they will spend the rest of their days. However long that would be.

I feel my heart crack in two, the pain bringing a dampness to my eyes that will never fall. This is not some vicious monster that deserves to be put down. This is a creature that had long since given up, and it had been this way for more than a century. With a gasp, I turn to face Carlisle only to find everyone staring at me anyway. “Alice?” Edward asks quietly, glancing between the creature and me and then at Caius and Aro. “It’s okay, Alice.”

“Fascinating. So, you can read minds. How exciting it must be to be able to read anyone’s mind at your leisure.” Edward’s expression twists with annoyance but he turns to Aro as Esme approaches me, pulling me close to her side. 

“Carlisle,” I whisper so that only he and Esme can hear, “we have to help it.” Esme’s brows pull together and she quickly glances at the werewolf. “It isn’t some unhinged creature. It’s intelligent. I can see it.”

“Not ‘it’ Alice. Them. Werewolves, when not in their transformed state, look human. They were human, once. One has to be bitten by a werewolf to become one. Other than during the full moon, they are no different than you or humans when it comes to rationale.”

“Carlisle, they’re suffering. They’ve been like this for years, it isn’t right.” I plead, eyes drawn back to the werewolf.

“And I want to help, Alice, but there’s not much we can do. For all intents and purposes, they belong to the Volturi.” Disgust and outrage burn hotly in my stomach, a growl surfacing without warning. “Alice, please,” Carlisle’s voice borders on begging, “this isn’t something we can fight or talk our way out of. We have to play by their rules.”

“Is there a problem?” Aro asks kindly and I grit my teeth. Carlisle shoots me a pleading look once more before clearing his throat softly.

“Not a problem, but Alice is concerned with the state of Caius’s trophy. It seems your guard did quite the number on it.”

“Bah, nothing it won’t recover from. They heal rapidly.” Caius spits from his seat at the center of the room.

“Indeed, but I do believe that when your guard rightfully defended herself,” Esme places a warning hand on my arm with a light shake of her head, “when it tried to attack her, that she shattered its jaw.”

“And that is a problem, why? The mongrel is used to pain, I daresay that that is nothing compared to the rest of its miserable existence.” Esme’s grip tightens and Rosalie maneuvers to my other side, the two of them effectively holding me in place.

“Of that, I have no doubt, your skills are widely known.” Caius preens at the words and my jaw creaks with the pressure I’m using to bite down in order to hold my tongue. Growling to my right draws my attention and I see Emmett and Edward holding on to Jasper. His angry eyes flitting back and forth from me and Caius. Shit. I take a deep breath and try to relax. The tension across Jasper’s shoulders eases slightly.

Carlisle clears his throat softly again. “But even a werewolf must eat and I doubt anyone here wants to try and spoon-feed it if it is unable to feed itself from its injury.”

Caius looks ready to argue for a moment but stops himself. His gaze roams over the human-wolf hybrid almost disinterestedly. After a few moments, he waves his hand before rising from his seat. “Very well, I’m not finished with it yet. Do the bare minimum so that it can keep itself alive. Santiago,” the vampire that had led us here steps forward from the door, “bring them whatever they need. When they are done, send the beast back to its cage.” With a flick of his cape, he turns and leaves the room.

“Does this mean that you will consider my offer?” The glee in Aro’s voice is not masked and we all look to Carlisle for an answer. He glances at each of us in turn, eyes lingering on mine for a moment longer before meeting Aro’s once more.

“We will stay until we reach the decision, collectively. Be that tomorrow or in a week.”

“Splendid!” Aro claps excitedly, “I shall make the arrangements!” He almost skips out of the room, leaving us, the werewolf, and Santiago behind. The other guards having left with their masters.

“Santiago, was it?” The vampire crosses his arms, boredly meeting Carlisle’s gaze, “do you have any medical supplies here?” He continues to stare. “Right, is there any way you could procure some gauze, wrap, and some splint material, please? The stronger the material the better.” He continues to stare, his jaw twitching once before he leaves.

“They seriously left us here alone?” Emmett asks, incredulous.

“Please, there are two guards outside each door. All with a variety of not-nice thoughts about us.” Edward says, mood more sour than normal.

“Okay, fair, but are we really staying here?” Emmett shoots back and we all look at Carlisle again. He looks at his soon-to-be patient a short distance away, still on the ground, and then back at us, back at me.

“That is entirely up to Alice.”

“What? Why the fuck would we stay here? Ali!” Emmett all but shouts and Rosalie shoots him a glare that has him lowering his voice so that we won’t be overheard. “What the fuck, Alice?” Esme’s disapproving scowl goes ignored.

“We can’t leave them like this,” I say quietly and Emmett stares at me blankly.

“Who?”

“Them,” I say tilting my head in the wolf’s direction, “I’m not leaving them here like this.”

“Them,” he echoes, baffled, “the werewolf?” He looks over at Esme and Carlisle, “what the actual fuck?”

“Emmett, please.” Esme chastises.

“No, Ali is risking our necks on a very rapidly closing window to escape. For a dog.” My patience snaps.

“They were human once! Or have you forgotten everything about being one?” I bite back scathingly. It’s enough to cause Emmett to take a step back and click his mouth shut, eyes wide. “Did you even listen to Caius, or were you too busy measuring your dick against the guards to pay attention? That person,” I start, voice raw, “has been trapped in that form for over one hundred years. Has had that collar inject poison for one hundred years. They have been subjected to Caius,” I spit his name out with as much loathing as one can harbor for another being, “and his torture this entire time. Alone, with no one in the world to show them a single ounce of kindness.” I finish my rant, breathing hard despite not needing to. “So you can leave, Emmett, if you want, but I refuse to leave them here in this state.”

“Alice,” Rosalie says, speaking for the first time since entering the room, “even if we help…them now, once we leave, they will be back in the same position they were before. It would be more merciful to kill them.”

“And we can’t even do that. Caius would have our heads faster than you can imagine. We cannot survive without the permission of the Volturi to do so.” Jasper says grimly and I shake my head desperately searching for an answer.

“No, we can’t leave them like this,” I say, voice thick and I look at Carlisle and Esme desperately. “We can’t.”

“Alice, while I understand not wanting anyone to go through this,” Carlisle begins softly, imploringly, “why is this so important to you?”

“I – I don’t know. I just, when I looked into their eyes. I could see everything they’re going through. The pain, how tired they are. Carlisle, my heart hurt looking at them.” I say desperately, hoping to explain something that I don’t understand. “And when that vampire,” I growl at the memory, venom gathering in my mouth, “attacked them, I couldn’t control myself. It was an anger I’ve not felt before and she will not be allowed to touch them again.” I say viciously, voice rough. 

Carlisle and Esme share a look, eyes wide and eyebrows raised, Esme’s mouth open slightly. Edward’s head snaps sharply, shock written plainly across his face. “You can’t be serious.” He says laughing. “That’s not possible.”

“What?” I bark out sharply, the long day wearing my patience thin.

“Nothing, we’ve just never,” Esme hesitates, “honey, this is just extremely serious, very much a  life or death situation. And you’re doing all of this for someone you haven’t met. It’s not that we don’t want to help them or don’t want to support you with this, but this is much more complicated than simply helping someone for a moment and then being on our way.” My brain wars with my heart because I know what Esme is saying is true. The near-violent reaction that my heart has at the thought of leaving them here confuses and frustrates me to the point of tearing my hair out. I don’t understand why this is such a big deal to me. Yes, what they are going through is sad, heartbreaking even, but their well-being should never be more important than that of the welfare of my entire family. All of the inner turmoil and conflict rages in my chest and I suddenly find it difficult to breathe.

“Mom…I don’t,” a lump forms in my throat and my eyes burn, “I don’t know why I can’t leave them, but I can’t.” Esme rushes forward and pulls me into her arms, hushing me and running her fingers through my hair. “I can’t leave them. But you guys need to go, you can’t stay here.” Esme pulls away angling her head down towards me with a disapproving frown.

“No way! We aren’t leaving you here with them. We are all going.” Emmett says fiercely and I can’t help but smile and feel relief at their support.

“We will just have to work out how to get them out of here with us,” Carlisle mutters, turning to face the werewolf. “And I don’t know how we are going to be able to get out of here without bringing the wrath of Volturi down upon us. Or at least long enough for us to be able to escape.”

“Even if we did, they would hunt us down. Even if we get out of here and run away to some isolated, deserted place, they will hunt us down like the dog they,” Rosalie tilts her head at the wolf, words icy, “are. The Volturi aren’t exactly known for letting things go. And you want to play jailbreak with Caius’s pet dog.” A rush of irritation and…something else floods my system and I pull away from Esme with a growl.

“They are not Caius’s to claim!” Rosalie looks startled for a moment before rolling her eyes.

“For all intents and purposes, they are. That dog is Caius’s favorite plaything, and you are wanting to take it away! Alice, you don’t even know what the thing is like when it isn’t drugged out of its mind.”

“It doesn’t matter, whatever they’re like, they don’t deserve this.”

“Rosalie has a point, Alice,” Jasper says softly, “if it has been like this for as long as Caius claims, it may very well have lost all of its humanity.”

“No, I know what I saw when they looked at me. That person is still there.”

“How much are you willing to risk to get to that person?” Jasper asks, eyes serious.

“Everything.” I meet his eyes directly, gaze unwavering.

“Who are you willing to risk,” he counters solemnly, “because if you can’t control it, there’s no telling who will get hurt, or worse, in the process.” I open my mouth, but Carlisle cuts me off with softly-spoken words.

“He’s right, Alice. There’s a reason, aside from Caius’s humiliation, that he decided to eradicate them.” Carlisle holds up his hands when I whip around to face him, “I’m not saying that they deserve this or that it’s right, but there are very real risks involved with this. Werewolves aren’t like the wolves at the reservation. They’re immune to our bite and venom, they’re unbelievably strong and quick. And there’s very little guarantee that you would be able to survive a one-on-one fight with them. One of the reasons Caius was able to do what he did is because they run on pure animal instinct during their transformation. He was able to outsmart and out maneuver them. Alice,” Carlisle steps towards me, placing a hand on my shoulder, “if they get loose and we aren’t able to stop them, they can turn anyone they come into contact with. All it takes is one bite. One rampage through a small village or town can lead to a disaster.” I look over at the wolf who has since curled into a ball, the faintest whine sounding with each exhale.

“Caius is more likely to forgive you for killing the creature, you know,” Rosalie offers, attempting to be helpful in her own way, “all it would take is that it attacked and we took it slightly too far. We wouldn’t have to worry about being hunted then. At the very least, Aro wouldn’t mind.”

“No, but they might feel it necessary to have us join them as reparation,” Edward responds quietly and Rosalie growls in frustration, her patience long since expired.

“Just leave the damn thing!” she snaps and my heart clenches in despair. Something inside of me screaming, demanding that I help the wolf. To not let another being hurt them ever again. To take them as far away from here as physically possible and protect them. But I know that I can’t do that and keep my family safe. The consequences of choosing to help the creature are unbearable. Knowing that, no matter how long or far we run, my entire family will be mercilessly killed, and it would be my doing.

“Rose,” distress coloring my every word, fingers tangling in my hair and pulling, anything to ground me in the chaos swirling around in my heart, “I don’t know if I can. I feel like I’m being torn in two from the inside. Carlisle,” I beg, pleading, “what’s wrong with me?” Rosalie looks at Carlisle in dismay, but he only shakes his head.

“Jesus Christ.” Rosalie mutters, exasperated, throwing her hands in the air and stalking off. 

“Quiet,” Edward says suddenly, right before one of the doors opens and Santiago steps through, arms laden with medical supplies.

With no great urgency, he steps forward and dumps the materials on the ground before turning on his heel and moving towards the wall. He leans back with a smirk, arms crossed. 

“Is something funny?” Emmett grits out and his smirk only grows.

“Not at the moment, but I imagine things will liven up here shortly,” Emmett growls under his breath, Rosalie rubs a soothing hand down his arm despite the hole she’s glaring into the floor.

“Alice, Emmett, please, if you would be so kind as to assist?” Carlisle says and Emmett pauses.

“Me?”

“We may end up needing your strength to help hold them down.” Emmett preens a little and flexes his arms. Rosalie rolls her eyes and pulls away from him, but a small smile pulls at the corners of her mouth.

Carlisle gestures for us to follow him and we quietly step towards the creature lying on the ground still curled in on itself. They don’t move as we approach, but the whining has stopped, and they seem to be holding their breath.

“Hello,” Carlisle begins, sounding unsure. For the first time in my existence, he stutters, “uh, we just want to take a look at your hand. As well as your head, if you’d be okay with that.” The wolf doesn’t move, I’m not sure they’re even conscious until one amber eye opens and watches us, mildly unfocused. Carlisle’s eyes flick to Santiago for only a moment, and he drops his voice, “we want to help.” He takes a careful step forward and growling immediately echoes around the room. Santiago makes no effort to hide his laughter.

“Give it up, the beast won’t let you near it. There’s a reason Caius keeps it collared – my understanding is that it nearly killed him before he was able to get the collar exactly right. Killed almost half the guard, too. But if you want to become some puppy chow, then by all means.” Carlisle ignores him, taking another small step forward but immediately freezing when the large head lifts slightly with lips curled exposing extremely large and very sharp-looking teeth. The gaze is still unsteady but focused on Carlisle in a way that I know they won’t miss if they decide to snap.

“Please,” I whisper under my breath, my heart begging them to let us help, and orange eyes change focus over to me. “Please let us help you,” I ask, and their lips relax, teeth no longer on display, but the growling has not stopped. With zero thought, I take a step forward putting myself within very easy striking distance, even for the injured werewolf. For a moment, it flashes its teeth again but I don’t move backward and I hold their gaze. “Please.” They watch me for a moment longer, gaze flickering to Carlisle, and then pull away. The growl morphs into a groan as it uncurls and stretches out, extending its mangled hand for us to look over. Santiago watches with disbelief as Carlisle steps forward and kneels right next to the creature.

“Well, they broke three fingers and dislocated the wrist. And the healing process has already begun.” He looks the wolf in the eye and offers a small smile, “both good and bad. I’ll have to rebreak your fingers but that does mean they should be healed in no time.” His smile wanes when all he gets in response is a stare.

“It can’t understand you. It’s a mindless animal.” Santiago chuckles and my anger flares once more.

“They were human once.”

“Once. More than a century ago. They’ve been without thought or emotion other than rage for over 100 years,” he lets out an amused snort, “you don’t even know if it spoke English before it was turned. Or, more likely,” he offers with a smirk, “they were the village idiot that was left as the sacrifice while everyone else escaped.”

“Then how embarrassed you must be for having the village idiot nearly kill one of the most powerful vampires and half of the guard meant to protect him.” The smile slips off his face and he takes an angry step toward me but a low rumble from the wolf halts him. With an uneasy glance, he steps back.

“Just get finished so I can be done with all of you.” He growls out.

“Alice,” Carlisle beckons gently, a small, amused smile ghosting across his lips, “come, we need to fix this before it heals completely.” I kneel down next to him on his left, my vampire instincts yelling at me to not be this close in such a vulnerable position but my heart seemingly flutters whispering get closer. With a breath, I angle myself towards the limb, my back partially at the wolf’s head. “Emmett, if they will let you, please stand behind them. You may need to stabilize the arm to keep them from moving while I fix their fingers.”

With more caution than I’m used to seeing, Emmett steps gingerly around the werewolf until he’s positioned at their shoulders. I feel the werewolf tense and their eyes track Emmett’s movements unwaveringly, low rumbling deep within their chest. Emmett glances nervously at us and doesn’t kneel down. Without thinking, I reach forward and place my hand on the werewolf’s outer bicep. Almost faster than I can track, teeth clamp around my forearm close to my elbow. I hear both Esme and Rosalie cry out behind me while Santiago cackles.

The pressure placed on my arm is immense and it takes all my willpower to not cry out and try and jerk my arm free. Instead, I sit still and meet the amber gaze steadily. I know that with one jerk it could tear my arm off and with how fast it was, it could exchange its grip on my arm for one around my throat with very little problem. It could end my existence before anyone could move to help me. Yet, strangely, I don’t feel fear. The grip on my arm is painful and my life could end at any moment, but looking into their eyes I feel no fear. I don’t see the mindless, wild animal everyone keeps saying they are. I see pain, exhaustion, and fear. There’s no malice or desire to kill. My vampire instincts demanding I fight back, run, something, go quiet.

It no longer feels like a caged tiger is slamming against the bars, roaring its fury, demanding to be heard and released. Something shifts and a wave a calm that has nothing to do with Jasper washes over me. The rest of the world flows away, leaving me and the wolf in an intense staring contest. I feel a gentle smile pull at my lips.

“It’s okay.” I breathe, lifting my right hand and fighting back a wince as the grip on my arm tightens. My skin cracking and breaking under the pressure of pointed teeth. Slowly, I draw my hand closer to the werewolf’s head. Their lips lift and a growl rumbles out of their chest, their breath almost scaldingly hot against my arm.

“Alice!” Esme pleads behind me, but I ignore her. I continue to move my hand, begging the universe to let me live to see the next thirty minutes. The closer my hand gets the louder the growling becomes, the grip on my arm increasing the more I approach until I stop with my hand hovering just above the wolf’s head, in between ears that are plastered back against its skull. The growl reverberating throughout the room is almost deafening, and I can feel it vibrating up my arm and rattling through my bones. If they bite any harder they will puncture through completely. My arm is already screaming from the pressure, and I doubt it would take any real effort on their end to shear through completely.

“I promise,” I whisper before placing my hand on their head. Instantly, the growling stops. The moment my hand touched their head, their eyes closed and a part of my heart crumbles knowing they were expecting the worst.

Unsure eyes slowly blink open and focus on me. After a moment, I flex my thumb so that it moves slowly across the top of their head, and then back across. Their eyes fall shut once more and the grip on my arm loosens substantially, the relief immediate. I’m still not able to remove myself from their mouth, but the hold is no longer painful. I continue to caress my thumb across the top of their head, adding a bit more pressure. After a few moments, their eyes open once more, and all of the breath is forced from my lungs.

Fear, exhaustion, and pain are still the primary emotions swirling in glowing amber eyes, but now there’s the faintest spark of hope. So minute it is almost nonexistent, and threatening to be swallowed by the other emotions present, but there. Such a small gesture causing so great of a reaction only adds to the overwhelming amount of evidence of just how poorly this being had been treated over the years. Like they are less than nothing. Pain engulfs my entire being, my heart being ripped in two.

The caged tiger stirs again, more furious than before, biting and clawing at the bars. Ready to risk self-injury to escape and reach the broken creature in front of me. Tears born of anger and grief flood my eyes and I turn and catch Edward’s concerned gaze.

We must find a way to get them out of here. They can’t stay here with the Volturi any longer, Edward, it will kill me if they do. Edward sees the flashes I send his way of what I’ve seen, my thoughts, and the pain I felt. Pain that I know he feels as well through his telepathy. His hands clench and he looks away from me and down to the werewolf who has, almost imperceptibly, pushed up into my hand, and nods. I see him lean over and whisper to Jazz, too quietly for anyone but him to hear. There are tears in Jazz’s eyes, too, and I mentally ask Edward to apologize for the onslaught of emotion Jazz has had to deal with.

I turn back to face the wolf, its eyes already on me, and I start to scratch with my other fingers as well. Their eyes roll into the back of their head and slide shut with a light groan. “Hey,” I call softly and eyes blink open sleepily at me. “We have to fix your hand and jaw now, okay?” I tilt my head slightly in Santiago’s direction and lower my voice, “we want to help you, but this is going to hurt.” Hazy eyes watch me for a moment before the pressure on my arm disappears completely, teeth removed with the utmost care. The wolf swipes its warm tongue gently across some of the holes left behind once before resting its head on the floor. “Go ahead,” I say, turning back to Carlisle. “Do what you need to do,” I drop my voice so only he can hear me, “they won’t harm us.” Carlisle studies me a moment before nodding. With only the slightest hesitation, he reaches for the werewolf’s clawed hand.

“I’m going to put your wrist back into place, first, and then I will fix your fingers. This is not going to be pleasant.” The wolf blinks slowly, eyes trained on Carlisle’s face. “Alice, I need the wrap and the splints, please,” Carlisle says, voice completely professional now that he has slipped into doctor mode.

I turn and find the pile of supplies that had previously been dumped on the ground and find the wrap easily enough. I look for what can be used as a splint and glare icily at Santiago who shoots me a wink in return.

“He only brought a stick, Carlisle,” I say with disgust.

“Hey, it’s a large stick. Figured you might want to play fetch with it later.” I turn and hiss at the vampire, teeth bared. Carlisle gently takes the stick from my hands.

“It’ll work depending on how cooperative they are.” He snaps the stick in half and sets the pieces in front of him, “but I will need more.” He mutters under his breath and looks around the room. “Ah, that will do it. Emmett, see the metal sconces on the wall? Could you break a couple of pieces off for me? The longer the better.” As Emmett goes to do as asked, Carlisle angles his head towards Santiago. “I’ll be sure to tell Aro that we were forced to use the décor simply because you were unable to find any suitable material elsewhere.” Santiago’s jaw clenches and he looks away without a word.

Carlisle thanks Emmett when he brings over three pieces of iron. He then takes one of the pieces and measures it up against the clawed index finger, careful not to touch the digit that is sticking out at more than one odd angle. Silently, he takes a nail and marks the metal before handing it to Emmett who breaks it where marked. Then he unrolls the bandages, loosely rolls them back up, and sets them to the side before catching the wolf’s drugged, tired eyes.

“Your accelerated healing has almost healed everything entirely by now. I’m going to try and make this as quick as possible but please don’t move. You’ll break the splints and they are all we have right now.” The wolf shuts their eyes and Carlisle takes that as permission to move forward. 

He grasps the wolf’s hand near the palm and above the wrist, his hand almost appearing small in comparison. He looks at me briefly before giving a quick jerk. There’s a light ‘pop’ and Carlisle is wrapping the joint. “Okay, the easy one is done. Now to the fingers.”

The vampire that had stepped on their hand had broken the outermost finger, the ring finger, and crushed the index finger. Carlisle takes one of the pieces of stick and, while holding it with his pinky finger, wraps his other fingers around the broken outermost finger of the werewolf. Holding the palm steady with the other hand, he takes a deep breath before pressing against the broken digit, forcing the bones to break once more before setting them in the proper position. The next second, he has the stick pressed flush against the finger and is wrapping it quickly. The entire process takes no more than three seconds. He does the same with the ring finger, wasting no time at all between the two.

When he reaches the index finger, resembling more of a zig-zag than a straight line, he touches it gingerly. “She broke it, but it is not a clean break. The best I can do is realign the major fractures and hope to get everything else as close to where it needs to be as possible.” Without wasting a second, he breaks the final finger and puts it in place with two pops and a crunch, quickly taping it so that it is braced by the middle finger as well as a piece of iron.

Throughout the entire process, the wolf hadn’t flinched or tensed once and part of me wonders if this pain is nothing compared to what it has been forced to endure from its captors. My heart aches at the thought. Carlisle places a hand on my shoulder as he stands and moves towards the wolf’s head, their eyes opening to watch him.

“I’m going to take a look at your jaw now. Please don’t bite me,” Carlisle says under his breath, kneeling down. Tentatively, he places his left hand over the wolf’s muzzle, his right cradling the right side of their jaw, angling the head slightly. “Well, it is broken, but it’s a fairly simple break and should be easy to fix. Ideally, I would like to wire it,” his eyes flit up to meet the amber gaze at the loud, drawn-out exhale they release, “just to make sure it healed properly. But we will have to make do. Alice, the other pieces of iron, please.”

I retrieve them as asked and he takes one piece and measures it on the outside of the jaw, then takes the other piece and does the same on the medial side. “Okay, ready?” The wolf blinks at him and Carlisle rubs a gentle circle on the wolf’s muzzle. “The splints on your hand should be ready to come off in just a few minutes, this should be ready in about twenty, okay?” They blink once more. With a nod, a quick press of his hands, and a pop he presses the outside piece of the iron against their jaw and gestures for me to take hold of the other. After a moment, their muzzle is wrapped tightly.

“All done. As I said, the splint for their jaw can come off in about twenty minutes. The ones for the fingers should be able to come off in about five and be okay. I say ten just to be safe.” Carlisle states, facing Santiago.

“I don’t know why you’re telling me, I’m not going anywhere near it. It can do it or you can.” The vampire says, bored. “I was told to take you to where you will be staying for your duration here.”

“We won’t be staying long.”

“Take it up with Aro. Are we ready to move along?” Carlisle wipes the irritation from his expression and adopts a neutral one.

“If we are able to go with to where you keep the werewolf so that I can remove its splints once we are there, then yes. If not, we’ll have to wait.” The crimson-eyed vampire looks the quadruped over with disgust before pushing off the wall with a sigh.

“The sooner I am done babysitting you lot the better. Get the beast up and let’s go.” I glance over at Carlisle in concern. The werewolf had not tried to stand since being beaten and with the effects of the collar, I’m not sure they would be able to make the journey. He lowers his voice as he passes by.

“Help them up if they need it, we need to see where they are being kept.” Emmett and I glance at each other before I kneel down, placing my hand on their neck.

“Come on, you need to get up. Can you stand?” Tired amber eyes watch me a moment before closing. I move to stand thinking that they won’t try but a moment later they draw their injured hand up, curling it against their chest. With a struggling effort, they angle their other forelimb under their body and push. They are just barely able to lift their head and chest from the ground, arm trembling with the effort. Emmett steps up beside them and loops one arm under their own.

“I’ve got you,” he murmurs softly. Orange eyes watch him, unsure, for a moment but with a heave their back legs scrabble to find purchase on the ground. It takes a moment, and some help from Emmett, but eventually the wolf is up on three legs, the other still tucked protectively against its chest. Slowly, Emmett releases his grip and takes a step away hand hovering close to their shoulder, ready to go back if they need it. 

The creature stands for a moment, swaying slightly, gaze leveled at the floor. The swaying gets worse and I step forward, worried they will fall over, but at the peak of the sway they push with their good forelimb and heave themselves to a standing position. They stumble slightly before getting their feet under them and standing up straight. Emmett and I both take a step back, mouths open in awe.

Werewolves are massive. Or, at the very least, this one is. At their full height, they stand at least seven feet tall at the top of their head. Their long, thin ears adding another six or seven inches. A light dusting of dark, dirty, brown fur covers their entire body with it being thickest at the top of their head, around their neck, and across their broad shoulders. Longer and slightly thicker hair grows along their forearms as well as starting at their upper thigh and traveling down to their knee.

Incredibly sharp-looking, bright-white canines peek out from under their upper lip and I know that the rest are just as impressive and deadly. Their fingers and thumbs end in inch-and-a-half-long claws. Hindlimbs resemble that of a dog, even ending in what looks like a paw, just with the toes being slightly longer than would be normal.

Their entire form is…boney. Sadness and anger war within me at seeing the almost emaciated state they are in. Ribs can be counted from a distance, I could slot my fingers between them easily. Hips, collar bones, and spine jut out harshly, their skin pulled taut across their entire body. Skin and bones is a very apt description with very little muscle mass found anywhere. They look like they could have walked off the set of The Machinist.

I look up, glowing orange eyes already watching me. “Come on,” I say gently, taking a step towards the door that Santiago is eyeing us from. They follow with a staggering step and Emmett quickly steps to their other side, but a light growl stops him. The wolf huffs before taking a few more lurching, awkward steps. I wonder how long it has been since it has stood like this, let alone walked.

It takes us a minute, but we do make it to the door and once we do, Santiago rushes through it and down the hall at a pace that he knows we won’t be able to keep up with. The two guards on the opposite side of the door shift nervously as the werewolf bends down to fit through the doorway. One hisses, teeth and eyes flashing dangerously when the wolf stumbles, shoulder knocking into the doorframe harshly, but they manage to catch themself and just barely stop from toppling over. The hissing guard takes a step towards the wolf, but Rosalie immediately whips around, eyes so dark they are almost black, and hisses right back. The ice in her glare stopping the guard in his tracks long enough to allow Emmett and I to assist the wolf upright once more.

We walk for a while, our trip slowed considerably by the shambling gait set by the wolf. Much to Santiago’s irritation, we don’t rush them along. Eventually, we reach yet another door, this one wooden and reinforced with metal. Santiago pushes the door open and steps off to the side, leaning against the wall, expression bored once more. Carlisle steps through the doorway, Edward on his heel, and the wolf slowly follows with Emmett and I close behind.

The longer, rectangular room is empty save a few sconces dotting the walls for light. Running along the right wall are five square cutouts that are about two feet deep. Each cut out has a sloped stone on the side opposite the wall. In the back of the room, metal grates run the width of the room. Carlisle pauses, head tilted, before quickly looking at Edward, eyes flicking towards the door. Without a word, Edward steps around us, heading back out and striking up an almost too-loud conversation with Jasper.

“If I am not mistaken,” Carlisle says, words hushed and stepping close, “we are in what was once the old laundry room. Water would fill up there,” he gestures at one of the cutouts, “and the laundress would then soak the clothes and scrub them against that stone. With the dirty water flowing back there,” he angles his head towards the back of the room, “to, what I believe, is one of the wastewater canals.”

“Which would eventually lead to the river. If this, in fact, the old laundry area, the canal should be one of the main branches.” Excitement starts to bubble in my chest, and I rock forward on my toes, bouncing slightly. “If the canal is deep enough here, they might be able to get through.” Emmett blinks at Carlisle, looks over at the wolf that had thrown itself in a heap on the floor when it walked in, and back at Carlisle.

“You want that,” he sticks his thumb over his shoulder, “to fit in there?” He flips his hand over, finger now pointing at the grate on the floor. “You’re joking, right? They’re one-and-a-half times my size! How the hell are they supposed to fit there?” Carlisle hushes Emmett gently, moving to the dozing creature, calling out softly before picking up their hand.

“We don’t have a lot of options at the moment, Emmett.” He gently starts unwrapping fingers, bending and flexing them. One orange-amber eye opens to watch for a moment before sliding closed, a sigh rushing from their lungs. “Go look.” He finishes with their digits, seemingly satisfied with how they’ve healed, and moves towards their head.

Emmett shakes his head, but steps towards the back of the room, stopping right at the grate. I reach his side and all my excitement is snuffed out. There’s no way they will be able to fit, only at the very end of the grate does the canal start to open and even then, it is only just. It doesn’t get big enough for even me to crawl through for another three or four feet after the grate ends.

“It’s okay, Ali, we will figure it out.” Emmett’s hand is heavy on my shoulder, and I shake my head, shrugging his hand off, and head back to Carlisle. “It is that drain thing you mentioned, but it’s not big enough.”

“Does it open up at all?” Carlisle runs a gentle finger along the wolf’s jaw, the splint material in his hand.

“It starts to at the end, but even Ali wouldn’t be able to fit.” Carlisle stands, aiming a cautious look towards the door, Edward and Jasper still talking and Rosalie contributing on occasion.

“We’d have to dig it out further for it to be used,” I say dejectedly, but Carlisle looks thoughtful.

“It’s not like the castle is made out of anything special, it really is just stone. The wall cracked when your sparring partner hit it. It would be almost easy to make the canal big enough.” Emmett considers Carlisle’s words but looks uncertain.

“How are we supposed to do that undetected? It’s not like this place isn’t guarded. And Caius is very fond of his pet.” Emmett lifts his hands with a quick ‘sorry’ when I hiss at him.

“That isn’t going to be the hard part. It will be difficult to get them out of here without the Volturi suspecting us. We’ve already shown far more regard for them than anyone else here has. It will be quite suspicious if they go missing at the same time we decline to join them and leave.” My heart sinks to my stomach.

“How long would we have to wait?” 

“Vampires have long memories. And with how attached Caius is, I daresay that there isn’t a length of time that would be too long.” Carlisle looks at me, sympathy weighing down his gaze, and I fight the urge to scream and break things.

“Carlisle,” I whisper, words desperate, “they’re being tortured here. Beaten, starved. They are in pain all the time. We can’t just leave them here!”

“Alice, it won’t matter if you break them out of here if we just turn around and get caught. We will be killed and you, Edward, and Jasper will probably be forced to join them. And they will be right back where they started and probably punished for attempting to escape.” Carlisle’s eyes darken and his words are laced with anger, “and Caius is quite skilled at taking someone right to the edge of death without pushing them over completely.” My jaw clicks shut, shoulders dropping in defeat.

“How long?” My head is bowed low, words barely audible.

“A couple of years, Alice. Ten, at the least.” My chest aches and I find it difficult to breathe. “And we are going to have to make up for our show of kindness. We must leave with no one thinking that we harbor any sympathy for their werewolf. With that and time, I’m hopeful that we will be able to make this work.” I nod my head, only half listening.

The thought of leaving them here with the Volturi for even a second longer is enough to make me sick. To leave them here for another decade is enough to break me down, the desire to cry and give in to the sadness almost overwhelming. A darker part of me is whispering for me to go through the castle and kill every single one of them outright. To leave Caius for last and take my time with him. Maybe even give him over to his favorite torture subject for a little vengeance. The image of the werewolf ripping Caius limb from limb plays in my mind, a smile that is mostly teeth and anger spreading across my face.

Caius pleading for his life as the wolf approaches him. Slowly making their way up to him, staring down at the miserable excuse of a vampire, teeth bared in a vicious snarl. Without warning, their claws dig into Caius’s shoulders, bright white teeth grip him around his neck. With a jerk, his armless, decapitated torso drops to the ground and the wolf tosses his arms away, crushing his skull between impressive teeth before spitting it to the floor.

The amount of satisfaction the daydream brings is almost overwhelming and I am a little disgusted with myself for finding such pleasure in something so violent. A quick glance over at the dozing wolf lying curled up, nose tucked under one hind leg has my inner vampire screaming at me to do it. They deserve that and more. A hand on my elbow pulls me from my thoughts and I find an amused, but slightly concerned Edward suddenly at my side.

“Santiago wants to know if you’re finished so that he can show us to our rooms.” Edward squeezes my elbow once before looking at Carlisle. The way his brows pull together and his eyes flit to me, then Emmett, and back to Carlisle gives away their silent conversation. “I will tell him that you have to reset their wrist, then.” I look at Carlisle in confusion as Edward turns to leave.

“Listen carefully,” Carlisle says quickly, verging on urgent, pulling Emmett and me to him, “we have to make them think that we do not care about the werewolf at all. And we are going to have to be convincing about it.”

“I can’t hurt them, Carlisle,” I say, and Emmett glances over at the slumbering creature and nods.

“I’m not asking you to, not technically. Alice,” he focuses on me, “I need you to convince the wolf to attack either myself or Emmett.” I stare slack-jawed and Emmett squawks in protest. “Not actually, but it is part of what needs to happen.”

“Alice, we can’t have them thinking that we like the creature. When we decide to get them out of here, the very first thing they are going to do is send every single vampire out to find them. If they think, at all, that we had anything to do with it because just maybe we were sympathetic, the might of the Volturi will crash down on us faster than you can imagine. We must not stick out in any way. With that, and hopefully enough time, we might be able to bypass immediate suspicion.” Carlisle says leading us to the wolf.

“To do that, we are going to have your wolf attack one of us and we will retaliate. We just have to make it look believable without actually harming anyone. You need to make sure that they understand that. If they can’t do this or take it too far, it won’t work.” I shove the thrill of Carlisle referring to them as my wolf as deep down as I can – it can be examined later. “Do you understand?” I nod and kneel at the head of the sleeping werewolf.

“Hey,” I say, softly, running my fingers through the longer hair at the back of their neck, “wake up, please.” Slowly, orange eyes open and blearily blink up at me. They untuck their head from under their leg and lean into my touch, the action causes a lump to form in my throat and my words stick. “I need you to listen, okay? We are going to get you out of here,” glowing eyes watch me and I’m hoping they understand everything I am saying, “but we can’t. Not yet.” They shake their large head with a grunt, forcing my hand away, and refuse to meet my eyes. “No, please,” my words are choked, tears filling my eyes again, “I will get you out of here. But we have to wait.” Sorrow and guilt flood my system as I explain to the massive being in front of me the plan, my heart nearly pulverized to dust as the spark of hope that once lit up their eyes is snuffed out, defeat taking its place. “Please, I promise I will take you from here. Just…you have to wait a little longer.” Sad, amber eyes turn back to me, studying me for a moment, before moving over to Emmett. With a grunt, they shift and lie on their side, once-injured arm extended out. I look over to Carlisle who nods and approaches, kneeling next to me and taking their hand.

“Carlisle, how are we doing this?” Emmett asks and Carlisle takes a steadying breath.

“I’ll fix their wrist and then they’ll attack me, making it look very real,” Carlisle says, looking at the wolf directly. It shakes its head with a huff and looks at Emmett.

“Come on, man, he volunteered.” Unwavering eyes watch him until Emmett sighs and moves to stand at Carlisle’s shoulder. The wolf huffs again and lifts his head, swinging his nose towards his left shoulder. “Dude, what?” I swear the wolf sighs, eyes closing momentarily, before opening once more and with a deliberate look at Emmett, they take their clawed hand out of Carlisle’s, grip Emmett’s shirt, and tugs him around to stand just behind their shoulder. “Today is so fucking weird. You better not kill me, Rosalie will kick your ass.” Emmett mutters under his breath and the wolf huffs once more, eyes now on Carlisle.

“Ready?” The wolf lays its head down on the ground, eyes closing. “Alright,” Carlisle states, words loud enough for everyone outside to hear. I’m going to reset your wrist, again,” his tone says exasperation, but he looks nervously between Emmett and me. I hear Edward outside make a comment and Santiago growls with impatience.

“Will you hurry up? I’ve wasted enough time on you all by babysitting, and I am tired of smelling dog.” Santiago grunts out, stepping through the doorway. I see Carlisle glance in his direction before meeting amber eyes and jerking on the wolf's arm, causing a loud pop.

In an instant, the room explodes into chaos and noise. Ferocious growling and snarling erupt from the wolf. Jerking their arm free of Carlisle’s weak grip, they reach around and dig their claws into his back, mouth snapping forward teeth flashing. Panic floods my system and I’m about to rip Carlisle from their grasp when I see that they actually pull Carlisle away from them, teeth barely grazing his neck. To everyone else, it looks like Carlisle just barely managed to evade being bitten.

“Carlisle!” Esme screams from across the room in sheer panic.

“Emmett,” Carlisle says, words overlapping with Esme’s cry, true pain lacing his words as claws dig further into his back, but Emmett is already moving, his left hand wrapping around the wolf’s neck and shoving his head down to the ground while I grab their arm and pull it free from Carlisle’s back and shoving Carlisle away from the wrestling match. 

A pained yell from Emmett has us both looking up only to find Emmett’s forearm clenched between the wolf’s back teeth. Their lips are raised and an angry snarl echoes around the room, though I’m not entirely sure who it’s coming from. I see Rosalie out of the corner of my eye step towards us, but the wolf bites down harder giving a slight shake of their head. Emmett grunts, face twisted in pain, but lifts his arm, effectively lifting the wolf’s upper body partially off of the ground, and wraps his right arm around their neck. With a grunt, Emmett spins, pulling the wolf with him over his body. There’s a splitting crack and the wolf is airborne. They fly through the air and crash heavily against the wall before dropping to the stone floor. Dust from the now-cracked stone falling around them. Emmett’s arm is still gripped tightly in their mouth.

“Son of a bitch!” Emmett swears loudly and Santiago is howling with laughter behind us. “I’m going to kill it. Turn it into a fucking rug!” Emmett growls out angrily, stepping towards the werewolf that is now struggling to stand.

“You aren’t allowed to kill it, but you’re more than welcome to rough it up a bit. You will have to get your arm back, though it may enjoy having something to chew on.” Santiago cackles some more and Emmett growls in frustration. He stalks up to the wolf who has almost managed to stand once more, draws his fist back, and punches it in the mouth. The wolf flies sideways and hits the stone once more, Emmett’s arm falling from their mouth and landing with a soft thud a few feet away. Emmett snatches it quickly, gives a swift kick that looks far more powerful than it actually is to the wolf’s side, and makes his way back to us. 

“I hate this place, can we go now?” Emmett mutters angrily, stomping over to Rosalie’s side, and Santiago snorts a laugh before leading us out the door and then shutting it. An extremely heavy lock sliding into place. Esme steps up on Carlisle’s other side, fingers gently tracing the deep holes in his back and the gouges left behind when I ripped the wolf’s arm away.

“Carlisle, what happened?” Esme asks, words hushed but coated in concern. He looks at me briefly before cupping her cheek in his hand, offering her a small smile.

“It’s a wild animal, Esme, it’s been in its wolf form for over a century. I doubt it remembers ever being human.” I open my mouth, confused as to why he doesn’t tell her the truth when he shakes his head once. Instead, I move over to where Rosalie is, standing next to Emmett, his arm tucked under her elbow.

“Fucking stupid-ass son of a bitch. That fucking hurt.”

“I don’t think having your arm ripped off is meant to be pleasant, babe.” Rosalie’s words are dry, but I can see the relief in her expression at her husband’s safety.

“Yeah, but –” 

“Man, you got your ass kicked. How did it feel being a dog’s chew toy?” Edward pipes in, cutting Emmett off and he looks just as confused as I did with Carlisle and Esme.

“It fucking sucked, bro! And I would have totally not have had my arm torn off, but it caught me off guard!”

“Should have been paying more attention,” I say, trying to lighten the mood, but Rosalie whirls to face me.

“This is your fault! You just had to insist on helping the damn thing!” Anger and hurt flare up at her words.

“My fault? How was I supposed to know it would do that!” Rosalie steps into my space, forcing me to look up at her to meet her angry gaze.

“They warned us that they were mindless beasts with no humanity left and only the desire to tear things apart. You chose to not listen and now I have to reattach Emmett’s fucking arm.”

Understanding clicks into place. Rosalie truly believes what happened was an attack. So does Esme. From Santiago’s smug smirk, so does he. If they truly believe it, they don’t have to fake their hatred and disdain. If their feelings are genuine, then the Volturi won’t have any reason to be suspicious. It is all part of Carlisle’s plan. I drop my gaze from Rosalie’s, trying to look appropriately contrite.

“I’m sorry. I just…I had thought that because it was human once, that it still might be. I didn’t – I’m sorry, Rose.” I look past her and catch Emmett’s attention. “And I’m sorry that you had your arm ripped off, Emmett. But you sure did kick its ass.” I offer with a quick smile and he blinks, confused, before being gently elbowed by Edward.

“Yeah, I mean, of course! Dad almost became a vampire shish kebob; I couldn’t let that happen. I let it have my arm, make it think it had a chance.” He flexes his attached arm, muscles bulging, and Santiago rolls his eyes, a slight smile pulling at one side of his mouth. I turn my gaze back on Rosalie, her glare just as harsh as earlier, but she stomps away with a roll of her eyes.

“Can we please get to where we are staying so I no longer have to carry around his damn arm?”

“Babe, are you saying that you…need a hand with that?” Emmett cackles at his own joke, and I bite back a laugh when Rosalie smacks him upside the head with his own hand.

As we walk away I notice that no one goes and stands guard outside the room where the werewolf is staying. “Santiago, isn’t anyone going to monitor the creature’s room?” To refer to them as such causes my heart to squeeze painfully, but maintaining this ruse is vital. “With everything I’ve seen it do today, I wouldn’t think Caius would take any chances.” Santiago chuckles, shrugging.

“Today has been different. Typically the beast lies in that room, in the exact same spot, until Caius gets bored and summons it. Then we force it to wherever Caius deems, he has some fun, and it goes right back. It doesn’t even move when we feed it, the only reason we know it eats is because we have to go and get rid of the skeletons. Can’t have any evidence laying around, ya know?”

“Evidence? What do you guys feed it?” Santiago tosses me a malevolent grin.

“We had a lot more cleanup to do when we finished eating before it started playing garbage disposal.” My stomach drops and my steps falter. Esme looks downright sickened, and Carlisle sits just this side of furious. I swallow past my nausea.

“Well,” I choke out, “at least it’s good for something.” 

“If just barely!” Santiago laughs.

He eventually leads us to a massive room that is more of a suite than a bedroom and informs us that Aro has asked that we not go wandering around the castle and that he will call for us tomorrow. Without any sort of farewell, Santiago leaves. Rosalie and Emmett immediately go and sit by the empty fireplace that dominates the wall opposite the bed and begin reattaching his arm. Edward makes it a point to snag Emmett and whisper in his ear. Emmett’s brows furrow, but he nods his head.

Esme guides Carlisle over to the bed and takes a look at his back, now mostly healed, only the puncture wounds from where he grabbed remaining. “Carlisle, what happened?” She asks, voice tense, and he offers a small smile.

“I don’t know dear, it sat just fine when I splinted everything. It re-dislocated its wrist on the trip back to its room. I went to set it and,” he lifts one shoulder, “I must have been too rough. Or, it’s as they say. To go over one hundred years without being human,” his golden eyes flick to mine but I’m unable to hold his gaze, “maybe there’s nothing human left. Besides, we’ve heard the stories. Caius may be cruel, but there is a very real reason he hunted them down.” Esme looks at him dubiously but shakes her head and runs a gentle hand across his back.

“Well, regardless, I’m just happy you’re alright.” She turns her head towards the fireplace, “how’s your arm, dear?”

“It’s fine, should be good as new in a few minutes!” Emmett calls back happily and Jasper snorts from his side.

“Now, anyway. He almost put it on backwards.” Emmett glares, betrayed, with a loud ‘dude, seriously, they didn’t need to know that.’ Esme smiles fondly at her adopted children and lays her head on Carlisle’s shoulder with a sigh. He squeezes her hand affectionately.

“It’s days like today,” she says softly, “that I miss sleeping.” Carlisle chuckles and kisses her temple.

“She has a point, what are we supposed to do until we’re collected?” Rosalie says, less than impressed. Carlisle sighs and pulls away from Esme slightly. He looks exhausted.

“Aro is going to want an answer on if we are staying.” He holds a hand up when four voices simultaneously say “no”. “He has said that we are welcome to leave, but he won’t be happy about it. When we go, they will monitor us. Not that we haven’t been, but we will need to be on our best behavior. That being said,” he looks at all of us, “be nice tomorrow. They have the power here and are being gracious hosts, we shall show them the respect they deserve.” Rosalie snorts and Carlisle’s stern eyes capture her own. “I mean it. Be. Polite.” She looks away but nods her head. “Good. Now! Since we are in Italy, how would you guys like to go on a hunting trip? Russia isn’t too far away and there’s lots of room.” Emmett and Rosalie’s eyes light up and they start talking excitedly about the trip. My mind wanders to the werewolf we left behind, locked in a barren, stone prison.

Esme, Rosalie, Jasper, and the Volturi may think that they are some monster who wants nothing more than to kill and rampage, but I know better. It had three different opportunities today where it could have killed us, but it didn’t. Instead, I saw intelligence, pain, exhaustion, defeat, and then hope. There was a gentleness to them after they had initially bit my arm and when they guided Emmett to their shoulder. When they moved Carlisle out of the way so he wouldn’t be bitten. No matter what anyone else says, I know that there is a person trapped in there and they are suffering. No matter how long I need to wait, no matter what I need to do, I will get them out of here. Be it ten years or a hundred.

My vision starts to darken, the sounds around me fading until they are nothing more than quiet murmurings. Relief surges through me at the tell-tale signs of a coming vision and I sink into it gladly.

xxXXxxXX

Wind whistles past me as I sprint through the forest, eyes darting all around looking for my pursuer. I swerve around one large rock and leap onto another. Loud thundering echoes around me from the fast-moving river that flows only a couple of hundred yards ahead of me, barely visible through the pine and aspen trees. I push off the boulder and leap for the river, knowing that I’ll be caught if I stop for even a moment. I only need to make it back to the house.

Another second and I burst through the trees, onto the rocks at the edge of the river. All of the recent rain making it swollen and flow quickly, white foam gathering where it rushes and fights harshly against the rock. More foam being carried down and away from the nearby waterfall. I quickly scan for the narrowest part, nearly skidding in my haste to turn left for the bend of the river. I really hope that I don’t have to swim.

I reach the bend and kick off the edge of the rocks as hard as I can. I fly through the air and take a quick look behind me and smile at seeing no one. I was able to lose them after all – it always did bother Edward that his claim on being the fastest in the family was true by only a slight margin.  

I turn back and realize that I have misjudged the distance between the two sides of the river. I’ve overshot it and will be landing well within the trees. Better than getting wet, I guess. I lift my arms more to avoid the inconvenience of having branches hitting me in the face than for protection and prepare to make the quick sprint back to the house only a few miles away.

My self-congratulating is cut short when a  solid weight slams into my side midair just as I reach the treetops, causing us both to go careening to the left. We crash to the ground, both of us rolling before stopping in a heap. My back is pressed firmly into the rock beneath me, a solid, immovable weight on my chest. I swing my right fist trying to catch them off guard, but my hand is easily caught and pinned against the ground. I growl and hiss, teeth snapping at the hand on my chest, but they simply move their hand so that fingers are wrapped firmly around my neck.

They lean in close, bringing us nose to nose, and I snap at them again, glaring daggers at my captor and daring them to come close once more. They pull back slightly with a chuckle that rumbles deep in their chest before leaning forward again and swiping a hot tongue across my face, from my chin all the way to my hairline.

“Oh my God, Bella, I’ve told you not to do that!” The elongated mouth in front of me opens revealing large, white, very sharp teeth. A long pink tongue lolls out as she pants, each warm breath washing across my face and fanning my hair. She swipes her tongue across my face once more before leaping off me and prancing a few feet away. I growl at her rough bark of a laugh and stand, dusting needles and forest floor off my shirt and pants. “You clearly cheated.” She snorts and rolls her eyes.  

“You must have! There’s no way you would have been able to catch me otherwise.” The large wolf snorts again before throwing herself to the ground and rolling onto her back. “Bella, I am not a sore loser.” The skeptical look she shoots me loses all potency when she opens her mouth and her tongue flops out and hangs over one eye. “You look ridiculous, you know that? Some big ferocious werewolf you are. More like a big puppy dog.” She offers me an exaggerated growl, wrinkling her top lip in a snarl that just looks silly from her upside-down position. “Whatever.” I huff, fighting a smile. I shake my head, stepping over to her and plopping down next to her shoulder. 

The next moment I am face-down in a fuzzy neck, careful hands pulling me against an almost too-warm body firmly, but gently. I laugh, the long fur on her neck ticking my face, and reposition myself so that I am tucked under her chin, my nose pressed into her throat, and inhale deeply her scent of pine, cinnamon, rain, and something that is just distinctly her. A scent that had in no time at all become my favorite. I sigh in contentment, relaxing into the embrace, into the comforting scent. The rest of the world fades away as I focus on the strong, slow heartbeats and it lulls me the closest to sleep that I can ever get.

xxXXxxXX

A gentle hand on my elbow pulls me from my vision and I fight the urge to snap at whoever took me from the most pleasant, relaxing vision I’d ever had. Esme watches me with concerned eyes, and I swallow past the newly formed lump in my throat, wishing the moisture gathering at my lashes away. 

“I had a vision.” The concern doesn’t leave her eyes, only growing after seeing my response, but she offers me a small, comforting smile.

“The werewolf?” I barely notice the hush that comes over the rest of the family, their focus on me. The pressure on my chest and the lump in my throat getting worse.

“Her name is Bella,” I gasp with choked sobs, “and I think I love her.”