26 | NUMB |

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THREE MONTHS LATER

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RORY REYES WASN'T SURE what it was about Italy that made all her worries seem to disappear.

Instead of feeling dead or alive, Italy seemed to numb it all. She heard of living zombies, but she was more of a ghost. She went about her day, doing as expected, but that spark that once blazed in her hazel eyes was all ashes and dust.

It was easy to pretend she had healed entirely, but her pain was more like a scab that kept her from bleeding out and stung constantly. She chose to act like nothing happened to her. Rory didn't feel sad or angry, she didn't feel anything. She was simply...existing.

Maybe it was the distraction of art or that she was worlds apart from her past—nothing in Italy tethered her to where her heart was broken and dreams crushed. Here, the ancient city of Florence, in the bustle of tourism and art is where Rory began to feel okay again. None of her new friends and fellow interns knew a thing about her past besides her being from America and having a passion for art.

In Italy, she was a new person. She went by Rory Reyes instead of Aden to truly cut ties with her past. She didn't call or text home as much as she used to. She was reborn. It was easy that way. Her memories were laid to rest while Rory began to forget it all for good.

It was nearing the end of her new beginning when everything came back to haunt her.

The new adult was making her way to the student's villa after a late night celebrating her birthday at an art exhibition in downtown Florence. The night had gone as usual, a foreign museum filled with drunks and tourists, but Rory felt very alone despite having all her new friends celebrating with her. They had stayed behind, another round of rich authentic Italian wine filling their throats, while all Rory wanted to do was go to bed.

She was distracted by memories resurfacing of the last 18th birthday party she had been to. She hadn't even noticed the young man whose interest she had piqued, too busy feeling sorry for herself in front of a painting. Rory left the museum unconcerned and largely nostalgic of her home, deeply missing her mother and her friends.

Music from the plaza faintly played in her ears as she strolled along the dark streets she was now familiar with—long days full of art museums and exploration in the forever warm Italian heat. It was, however, very late in the night, the alleyways that welcomed her in the broad daylight were suddenly not as amiable and happy under the moonlight. The soft band music faded into stark silence as Rory walked on, only the tap-tap-tap of her heels echoed on the stone pavement.

A few minutes later, she was made all too aware of something sharp in the air, a sudden tension she hadn't felt in months, a feeling so strong it stopped her in her tracks. It wasn't the Italian heat, but something else, something sinister.

Rory stood in the face of a pitch black alleyway with nowhere to go but forward. There was a strange scent in the air—something crude like vomit or garbage that had sat too far long in the sun.

No longer were the sounds of her heels the only thing she heard in the empty street. Something heavy was being dragged against the aged stone the made up the pavement and buildings. She couldn't tell who—or what—was coming straight for her.

Then someone—or something—stumbled out from the narrow alleyway, almost completely collapsing before her feet.

Her racing heart was both relieved and terrified at the sight before her. Just a drunk.

No need to immediately think of them—it's not like Jasper was going to pop up out of nowhere and rescue her. No, Rory didn't need Jasper to save her anymore, she was fully capable of being her own hero.

The man's hands flailed about wildly as he got closer and closer to her. Rory was close enough to attribute the disgusting scent to the drunk, who had probably vomited all over himself hours ago, and she could see the whites of his eyes as he darted them all around the street looking for something.

"Signore?" She tentatively asked, despite her instincts screaming at her to run the other way.

He didn't respond, still stumbling about. She took one step closer the same moment he slammed right into her. His expression was filled with both terror and relief at their collision. He grabbed her at once, managing to wrap his calloused hands around her arms tightly.

"Let go of me!" Rory shouted in Italian as she struggled to escape from the drunken stranger's tight grasp of her arms. The man was responseless.

She ripped her arms away and pushed the man back. He looked lost and tried to reach out to grab her again, his face horrified and searching.

"Help!" Rory tried to call out. She looked around the dead streets, cursing the quality of the durable sound-proof stone that kept people from hearing what was happening outside their homes.

She made sure to stay far from his reach as she watched him. Something wasn't right.

He stepped further into the moonlight, still helplessly stumbling around in confusion. Her eyes widened at the state of the man's shoulder as the patch of red continued to bloom on his blue button down. She realized the stranger wasn't delirious—the man was wounded. Badly.

His silent screams and thrashing as if he had no idea where he was reminded her of things she had thought of for months. The peculiar thing was that the man was not even making a sound as if he was incapable of it.

Something wasn't right. Her instincts were screaming again.

The man was suddenly thrown against a wall by a blur of a shadow. He didn't get back up.

Dread filled her as Rory slowly looked around the alley, already gathering what was really happening. She was being lured.

Someone was watching her and Rory could bet her entire art portfolio that the person didn't have gold eyes and a soft heart.

"If you're going to kill me, get on with it." Different language, same stubborn words.

Deja vu hit her with those words, the same ones that changed her and Jasper Hale forever. Rory shook her head and the aching thoughts—she had to focus. Just like when she faced several near-death experiences with the Cullens, Rory stood fearlessly in place. She opened her mouth to speak once more, but was silenced by the voice of an angel—or the devil.

"You aren't going to fight the inevitable I see. How disappointing—I quite like the hunt."

Rory backed away. Oh shit.

A figure emerged from the shadows into the white light of the moon, lighting up his beautiful features—flawless, marble white skin like the roman statues she had just studied and terrifying charcoal black eyes—confirmed her assumption.

Vampire.

The voice belonged to a male (of course) and he was just as perfect as any other vampire she had encountered in the past year. In a pitch-black coat and black suit to match, the vampire looked no older than seventeen or eighteen, but his obsidian eyes belonged to someone who was ancient (or at least several hundreds years old) and very hungry. Dark bangs brushed against his brows boyishly, but his expression was more on par with a disapproving adult.

Despite it probably being a bad idea, Rory rolled her eyes at the vampire.

"Stop wasting my time. Get it over with. I've had enough of you vamp—" Rory shut her mouth but it was too late. She remembered Jasper telling her about his world and their rules; specifically their utmost rule to keep the secret and allowing Rory (and Bella) to know the secret not only endangered the human girls, but endangered the Cullens as well.

The Italian vampire's interest grew immensely at her slip. "Do you know what I am, girl?"

He spoke with an odd lilt to his words, his Italian being more formal or old school than she was used to, taking her longer to formulate a response to. He walked closer menacingly with an amused chuckle.

Instead of answering, Rory glanced at the bleeding drunk who still stumbled about like he was blind. "Did you do that to him?" Maybe he had powers too.

His obsidian eyes remained trained on her. "Answer my question, human, or—"

Rory couldn't help but scoff. "What—you'll kill me?" she asked mockingly.

When she found herself held against the stone building with a marble hand around her throat in the blink of an eye, Rory was not in any way surprised to say the least. She sort of expected it at this point. She was never good with keeping her mouth shut in inappropriate and very bad situations.

"I don't usually play with my food," the vampire said mirthfully, flicking his black eyes to the now slumped over body, before looking back at Rory, "but this time, it appears my dessert wants to play after all. Tell me, girl, what is the name of the vampire who has told you our secret. Maybe I'll be merciful and I'll turn you before I track them down and make them face the punishment for daring to defy the Volturi, especially for the stupidity to break the law here in Italy."

The vampire tightened his grip around her neck threateningly as he glared at her. Rory squirmed, trying to loosen her neck enough for her to be able to speak at least. The vampire complied begrudgingly.

With air flowing back into her lungs, Rory asked the vampire, "What's your name?"

The vampire raised a dark brow. "It won't help you."

"In my eyes, the vampire that broke the law is you," Rory smirked cleverly. "I never said that I knew what you were but you, oh, you so happily exposed your own identity."

The vampire was confused at first until he recalled his words and her lack of ever actually admitting she knew the secret. His eyes darkened even more if possible at the human's logic. "Don't make this difficult for you, girl. Last chance. What's the name?" he snapped in Italian so rapidly she could hardly translate it.

She understood the gist though. "I have no idea who you're talking about." Rory glared back.

The Cullens and her may not have parted the best way but they were her family for months and some part of her would always be loyal to them even if they didn't believe in her.

"Fine." With a cheshire-like grin, the vampire let her go. She stumbled forward, her hands clutching her bruised throat as she watched the vampire smirk at her.

"You're letting me go?" Rory knew it was a slim possibility, but she was the tiniest bit hopeful.

"Of course not, little american," he chuckled in perfect english to Rory's surprise as he made his way over to the slumped over body. He had figured out she wasn't Italian and she knew his secret. What else could he find out? The possibility terrified her.

He lifted the drunk upright off the cobblestone a few inches whilst he stared straight into Rory's eyes maliciously, "I simply must take care of another order of business. Don't worry, it won't take too long."

She didn't have a chance to respond because one moment she was staring at the vampire in shock and the in next, her world was full of darkness.

Damn it.

She supposed it was her own fault. Her and dark alleyways never ended well.

Maybe this was death. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, no final judgement, just the silent echo of fear and thoughts to fill the void. She was awake, but she couldn't move, speak, smell or feel anything. She was simply and utterly senseless. It was eerie.

It felt like hours, days, years until she felt her senses return to her. She felt the soft texture of cloth first, expensive sheets she must be lying on, then the scent of cotton and something else invigorated her senses. Her body tingled as what she assumed was paralyzation wore off.

"You can open your eyes now," she heard the command of the nameless vampire who had apparently kidnapped her.

Great. Happy fricking birthday.

Rory opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room that she immediately gathered as a hotel room or something judging by the lack of personal items and other accoutrements. She sat up at once.

The vampire stood directly next to her side of the hotel bed with crimson eyes. With better lighting, his features were even more terrifying.

It wasn't the vampire's mane of chestnut brown hair or his sharp jawline or his tall stature cloaked in pitch black that scared her, but his obvious lack of care for her being a human. Unlike the Cullens, this vampire had no respect for humanity, she could tell from the way he looked her over with disdain. He was a true vampire, no facade or pretense of nicety.

This was a monster.

And he wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted.

Okay, this wasn't looking very good for Rory at all.

"I'm not dead." Rory tried not to sound so disappointed. She shook her head, trying to clear the lingering fogginess. "What did you do to me? I wasn't asleep, but I was—"

"I took away your senses," he explained dismissively, before his red eyes glowed sadistically. "I want to know the name of the vampire who revealed our secret to a human." Straight to the point. A nice change from the push-and-pull and fickleness she was used to.

"No." Rory tried getting up, but he pushed her shoulder back down. Hard. That was gonna leave a bruise later on—if she escaped alive that is.

The vampire crossed his arms. "Tell me. Maybe I will make your death painless."

"I guess we both won't be getting what we wanted tonight, then," Rory retorted sassily, wincing as soon as she realized how seductive that unintentionally sounded.

The vampire cocked his head as he observed her. "I should have just killed you and got it over with."

"Probably, but here we are," Rory shrugged and gestured to herself and the nice hotel room they were in. She had no idea what it was about her that kept vampires from killing her to both their surprise. Weird.

The vampire raised his hand back as he prepared to strike her, rip her throat out or crush her head. Rory squeezed her eyes shut, in preparation for the final strike.

The pain never came.

Rory warily peeked one eye open, then the other, to find the vampire simply standing there, observing her with his arms crossed. She was very confused now. She should be dead. He was perplexed by his own actions.

"Something about you..." The vampire murmured sorely as if he couldn't believe it himself, "...I cannot find it within myself to actively kill you."

Not the first time that's happened before. Rory was careful not to voice that particular thought. "What can I say? Charisma gets you far in life—well, not you since you're dead."

"I said I did not want to kill you, not that I could not," he sneered down at her. His brows lifted in an epiphany. "Maybe it's a manifestation of your potential ability as a vampire...my master will certainly want to meet you."

Her eyes squinted in familiarity at the term. Jasper had explained 'the leader's of my kind are the Volturi, led by Marcus, Caius, and...' "...Aro?" she muttered under her breath.

Oh fuck.

The vampire wasn't just loyal to the elusive royal Volturi coven.

He was a member.

She was in deep shit.

"Ah," he smirked wickedly like a cat catching the canary, "you are familiar with Aro, no? That means your vampire friend is well aware of the law, no plead of ignorance will help them now."

Rory feared not for her life, but the Cullens. Of Carlisle's compassion and Esme's soft heart, of Emmett's childish but lovable nature and Rosalie's strength, of Alice's hope in the future of possibilities, of Edward's undeniable and intense love for Bella Swan so much so that he gave her up for her to live a human life. And Jasper. Jasper, the man who broke her heart, who felt every emotion of everyone around him but hers, who at one point of her life, had protected her and loved her and gave her hope.

The Cullen family would not meet their doom due to her stupidity.

How could she get herself out of this mess? The vampire was reluctant to kill her for some reason and Rory wasn't sure if she could find a sharp object to draw blood and end it all.

Her heart wrenched at the thought of Jasper. As much as she tried to deny it or ignore it, Rory still loved Jasper and she would probably never stop. No matter his cruel and cold last words to her, Rory would do anything for Jasper Hale.

She flickered her eyes to the vampire's who didn't look away. He wanted answers that would endanger the lives of those she loved and she wanted to be numb again. The longer she was in the presence of the vampire, the more the bandage keeping her heart together disintegrated. He reminded her of her long buried pain. She just wanted him to go away.

His cold hand gripped her throat, pinning her down on the bed, with just enough strength to show her how powerful he was. "Come on, little one, what is the name?"

She was starting to see stars. Rory struggled to speak with his hand wrapped around her throat until he loosened his grip with a roll of his bright crimson eyes. She heaved in fresh oxygen, "V-Victoria! The vampire, Victoria, revealed the secret to me," she gasped out, clutching her throat securely as the vampire stepped back. She blinked back tears as the realization she barely escaped death hit her.

"See? That wasn't hard," he chuckled at how long she managed to withhold the information. He let go of her throat fully. "Now, who are you, little one?"

"My name is Aurora," she said, her voice devoid of emotion as she wiped a stray tear away. As much as she despised her full name, he didn't have the right to call her by the name reserved for family and friends.

He was a stranger.

A monster.

"Dea dell'alba," he smirked, "Goddess of the dawn." His hand lightly traced the contour of her cheek. "For future purposes, you can call me Alec."

((introducing...alec volturi but better)))

a.n. ahhhhh im so relieved we're finally at this point in the series bc ive had this chapter prewritten since like february. ive always been lowkey obsessed w alec volturi bc i always like the "bad guys" in movies no matter what bc im naive & believe theyre somewhat redeemable

anyways my alec volturi is played by lestat de lioncourt (Stuart Townsend) from the movie Queen of the Damned ((if u got netflix check it out its a good vampire move and lestat is very hot))

fun fact: 10 years ago i memorized every single line of the movie twilight so i could recite it as i watched it for the bajillionth time

Q: What would you change about the twilight saga movies?

A: I wish it had been made into a tv show instead so they could focus on aspects of the series like the quileute tribe, the denali sisters, the cullen's past (esp jasper duh), the volturi, theres just so many possibilities