Thank you for the support on this story <3 Chapter 6 will be on Friday because of somethings come up i have to deal with tomorrow but ill be back to a chapter a day next week.
Amirah Cullen
The Volturi mansion was eerily quiet. I strolled in, my six wolves at my side to the girl on the reception desk. She raised her head and her eyes widened at the sight before her.
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked nervously.
“I am Reinette Cullen. I don’t need an appointment,” I said reaching across her desk to click the bell that summons a guard member to the front desk.
“I… you can’t…” the girl stammered but Esther appeared through the doors leading to the court room.
“It’s okay Ada. She’s telling the truth,” She said and strode forward to greet me. “Come,” she smiled as she took my hand in greeting. She led me and my wolves through the court room that was empty and into the main meeting room adjacent to the court. It consisted of a long glass table and about twenty chairs. One end had a magnificent oil painting of Volterra, Italy and the other a large sofa. In this room was a handful of people. Zio, his wife Chantelle, their son Matthew, and his wife Lidiya, Lidiya’s sister Anelie, her husband and my uncle Tony, Lidiya and Matthews daughter Asta, Esther’s daughter Ivana, her partner (and I suppose technically my great-uncle) Micah and my great grandparents Edward and Bella. Then there was Axton and Alena.
“Perhaps your wolves would like to wait in the next room.” Esther suggested eying the six people following us in. I turned to nod at Elliot. He didn’t dare to question me in front of the powerful people in this room, so he nodded and led the wolves out of the other door of the room to one of the other waiting rooms. Elliot had seen the floor plan to the mansion in my head and been here once or twice himself. I turned to see everyone in the room had sat down now around the table.
“Please, Amirah,” Zio said offering me the seat at the end of the table opposite to him. I looked to my left to see Bella smiling encouragingly at me and she reached to take my hand across the table.
“I’m sorry so many people needed to be here. I wanted to explain our plan to you since its clear this man has intended on you being in the centre of his claims,” Zio announced with a nod. I nodded in return but didn’t say anything.
Why is Ivana and Micah here? I asked in my mind to my grandfather at my side. I knew Esther could hear me too, but I was asking my grandfather out of spite mostly. He knew roughly how my abilities worked, that I would know his answer without hearing his actual words.
Demons are a threat to anyone in Esther’s bloodline. Not just Esther.
“I don’t believe what this man is saying. If that isn’t obvious. Alena asked me to come here but I don’t understand the necessity.” I told Zio at the end of the table. It wasn’t a complete lie, but part of me knew my thoughts stemmed from denial.
“Well, I’m afraid we do believe it.” He said as he folded his hands together on the table. “I’ve only known of your existence Amirah for the last thirty years and it has perplexed me and the Volturi experts for just as long. You don’t make sense and your powers are only growing as you age.” He explained.
“I’m one of the least powerful people in this room,” I challenged him.
“You know that’s a lie,” Esther responded drawing my attention. “I have seen what you can do. I have seen how the parts of yourself can enhance and strengthen the others. You may not be indestructible as some in this room, but your powers are infinite and there is only one other that can claim such a feat,” she said and eyed her daughter across the table.
“And even Ivana can tire. You do not,” Alena continued Esther’s thought. Looking from Ivana to myself. I avoided the sight of Ivana. I wasn’t a huge fan of her, although I had nothing really against her. I never understood her or her reasoning behind the decisions she made, and we had clashed many times in the past.
“What’s the plan here? Use me as bait? Wait to see if an army of demons arrives and then fight them with the five wolves I have at my side?” I asked unsure what they were going with here.
“The plan is to meet this mans pack, to meet his leader. We do not believe his leader is of this world. He is unique in his abilities, as you are.” Zio explained.
“And then what?” I asked. I could feel my anger rising. I knew what was happening here. They were raising me for slaughter. If they believed an ounce of Vicente’s story, they believed I was destined to lead this war. That I was meant to alpha the wolves to fight and probably die against a force we had no idea how to fight.
“Then we discuss the prophecy and what it means.” He said slowly as if he was waiting for me to fill in the gaps. Alena had already thrown out the imprint word, so I knew she wasn’t the only one in this room that thought it. They had probably been discussing it for hours.
“And then you force me to lead a bunch of wolves into a fight I don’t know how to win. If its even real!” I said my voice raising as I stood and leant onto the table before me. My palms flat on the glass and I glared across the space to Zio at the end.
“We will lay out a battle plan if the war becomes a reality. Right now, we need to see if the prophecy is real,” Zio tried to explain.
“Why don’t you just say it though? I have to do this, or the world ends right?” I asked. I felt like my choices were being slowly ripped away from me from the power radiating in this room. So many impenetrable forces and they wanted me to do this?
“If there was another option, we would take it Mia.” Esther answered my thought.
“We cannot risk the implications of Esther being around demons. No one of her bloodline can be in this fight. We need someone else. We need you,” Chantelle said trying to make me understand but it wasn’t really calming my anger. I could feel it taking over me, the power and the emotions overwhelming me to produce a panic attack. Only, I had a lot of power in me right now. It was not a good time for a panic attack. My breathing was heavy as the words of those in the room swam in my head.
“Axton,” Alena hissed, and I suddenly felt his arms incircle me and suddenly I was gone from the room. I was on the south west balcony of the Volturi mansion. The cold air of Chicago swept at my hair and face. The warm arms of Axton held me to him as his hand rested on my neck above my pulse.
It was an embrace that was natural to us. An embrace that calmed me in an instant.
“Thank you,” I whispered. I didn’t need to finish the sentence. He knew I was saying thank you for not only being by my side, as always, but for taking me out of that room.
“I told them there needed to be less people. That it didn’t need to be like that but Zio had his reasons for everyone there and your great grandparents just wanted to be there for you.” He explained.
“What were they hiding from me?” I asked him after a moment. I didn’t know what it was, but something was wrong with that meeting. They were treating me like I was going to die.
“They validated his story. Vicente arrived at the court two hours ago. They have already sent for his leader.” He said and didn’t let go of me.
“How did they validate it?” I asked.
“Esther and Micah. At the very least they believe that he believes its real. That is enough for them to bring in his leader. Who by the way is part demon himself.”
“I’m sorry what?” I asked and pulled out of his embrace with my strength.
“He’s part demon, part shapeshifter. He doesn’t change into a bear like them, but a shadow form of himself.” Axton explained looking down to me.
“A shadow?” I asked and Cains story flooded my mind.
“Did you miss the part where I said part demon?” He asked.
“How is he part demon?” I responded.
“We don’t know that. It shouldn’t even be possible. But Esther will know the second he enters the room. She’ll be able to feel it, and more importantly, none of their abilities will work on him if it’s the truth. He will be like a void. Unless Micah can see the human side to him. Its all unknown at the moment. That’s why they need to bring him here. To find out exactly what he is.”
“Some don’t believe he’s part demon,” I deduced from the looks I had received in that room to how Axton worded his explanation.
“No.”
“You don’t believe it,” I said looking up at his face.
“No, I don’t,” he answered me in a whisper as he avoided looking at me.
“What if this is all real? What if everything is going to happen? What if I imprint and him and I are destined to lead an army against demons?” I asked scanning his face for any sort of answer that I was about to lose him forever.
“Then the day will finally be here. The day you are no longer mine…” he said with a pause, but I didn’t know how to respond. “But know this Amirah Reinette Cullen. I will always be by your side. I will always love you and I will always protect you. No matter what.” He said and that was it. My fear, my anger, my confusion, and my reluctance all faded away. I could do anything in the world as long as I had him. He may not be my soul mate, or my imprint or my other half, but he was so much more than all those things to me. I would fight fate and destiny to keep him in my life whether that was as a friend or more. And although I had heard it a million times before, at the face of danger and the possibility I would no longer be his he had said everything I needed to hear.
“I love you,” I said simply we were both looking out across the balcony.
“Ditto,” he whispered back. It was kind of our thing and I would miss it. I felt selfish. Would I really drag him alongside me if I imprinted on someone else? Would I really be that desperate to have him still be by my side, watching me obsess over someone else? The thought was incomprehensible to me, but I knew how different everything looked when an imprint was involved. How their entire world revolves around them.
“I won’t be selfish. It will be entirely down to you; how much you’re involved in my life. I don’t want you being hurt,” I tried to explain but the words were crazy to me. We had sort of talked about it in the past, about the ‘what ifs’, but it didn’t seem real, not until now.
“I signed up for the hurt the day I fell in love with you. I’ve been waiting for this day for decades. I won’t go back on my word. We started off as friends and that’s how we’ll be after. Its just the next step in our friendship,” he said, and his words made me genuinely believed he would be okay.
“I should go back and apologise for my outburst,” I sighed reaching for his waist to hug him.
“They’ve already scattered. We’re staying at my sisters until the end of the week when Vicente’s tribe arrives. Zio has sent guards ahead to ensure they all follow his orders and take the flight on Friday.” He informed me as he turned to look out at the view behind the Volturi mansion. It was the Volturi village. A couple dozen perfectly placed houses that encompassed a park in the centre.
“My wolves?” I asked.
“Tony and Anelie are going to let them stay with them. They’ll be two houses down from us.” I nodded in relief. My uncle would take care of them, they were his brothers too technically.
Axton and I stayed there for a little while before we made our way back through the mansion and to Zio’s office. I knocked lightly and waited.
“Come in,” he said, and I entered to see him look up from his desk.
“Sorry for my outburst,” I started, and he stood, walking around his desk towards me. “I didn’t ask to be what I am. I never really thought about the fact I might have a purpose, that the universe created me for a reason. I know I need to accept this. I just don’t really like my choices being taken away from me,” I explained, and his face softened from the usual Volturi leader mask into one of someone who cared, a father.
“Amirah, I am sorry this is happening to you. I know a bit about the idea of destiny pressuring you into a role you don’t want to play. We can only take what fate hands us and play with the cards we’re given. We are given great advantages to being what we are, but also crippling responsibilities. If it means anything, I am truly sorry. But we need you. I need you. I’ve never had to deal with a threat without Esther. We don’t know how to.” He explained and I saw a side I’d never seen of him in the last moment. I didn’t have much to do with Zio. He was close to my grandparents, but I only ever encountered him at the Volturi court where he was the leader. I had seen a more relaxed side of him over the last few months when I visited my grandparents over the summer but even then, I don’t think he was ever truly relaxed when he was around strangers. I had heard the story of the little boy that came to live with the Cullen’s, that had lost his family and wanted to be a better person. The boy that had been brainwashed and conditioned from birth to rule the supernatural world. He had fled that destiny and was raised in the Cullen’s loving household for decades before he finally took up the mantle and became the leader his birth father had raised him to be.
“I don’t know what will happen Friday, but I will do what I can to help. I’m assuming this alpha has more information than the messenger.” I said with a courteous nod.
“From what we can gather, yes. Vicente’s prophecy spoke of a binding ritual. One that could gift powers onto others under an alpha. He has been discussing what he knows openly with Esther and our ritual experts. He believes that you are destined to lead the greatest pack that’s ever lived, one that can choose their form and have the strengths of your tribrid abilities.”
“And you believe that?” I asked sceptically.
“I believe that it was written centuries ago dated to the day Renesmee was born. He claims their seer saw her birth and it would lead to a descendant capable of leading a great war. The man in the picture, their alpha, was born the same day and time as you were Amirah. There are too many correlations here to make all of this a coincidence.” He explained walking over to his desk to show me a piece of paper.
“This is the rough translation we have of the prophecy and the report on what Vicente told us. I think you deserve to read it. Maybe you’ll feel a little bit more in control of your destiny if you know what might be coming,” He said and handed me it. I took it and looked up to him.
“Thank you.” I said sincerely and paused before I spoke again. “And their alpha. Axton said you found out he was part demon. Is that possible?” I asked.
“No, it’s not. But then we didn’t know a tribrid was possible either.” He said with a smirk.
“Touché,” I responded looking down at the picture of the man on the top of the pile. He looked nice enough, his smile was kind. Something I wouldn’t expect from someone part demon, but I felt no emotion looking at the picture of my so called ‘destiny’.
“I have a copy. You’re free to take it,” he said with an encouraging nod. I thanked him again and left his office to see Axton waiting for my in the hall.
“Are you okay?” He asked concern coating his voice as he looked at my face. I gave him a small nod and took his hand. At the back door of the mansion my great-grandparents were waiting for me.
Bella came over immediately and hugged me.
“I’m fine grandma, I promise,” I said as she pulled away.
“I hate that this is happening to you,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Yeah, me too,” I sighed and looked behind her to see Edward watching me carefully.
“Your mother found out. She’s angry you didn’t call her,” he said from a few feet away. I sighed.
Great.
“She’s coming, isn’t she?” I asked.
“She will arrive tomorrow afternoon.” He answered for me.
“Of course,” I said but turned to Bella’s concerned face. “I’ll be ok,” I said to reassure her, but she was watching me intently. “Although I would be grateful if you could keep my mother calm in this whole situation. She’s spent my entire life keeping me safe, I’m not sure she’s going to like the idea of me leading a war.”
“She won’t, but ill try my best to reason with her,” Bella said reaching out to tuck my hair behind my ear. She turned to look at Axton.
Before she even said anything, he spoke.
“I will be by her side no matter what. As always,” he said, and I squeezed his hand in mine. Bella nodded and turned to me.
“You were born to be special.” She reminded me.
“I’m starting to realise that yeah.” I said with a bittersweet smile. I said goodbye to my grandparents and Axton, and I walked out of the back door of the mansion towards his sister’s house she was sharing with Ophelia. We didn’t need to say anything as we walked in silence.
Because the impending sense of dread was deafening.
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