27 | LIGHTNING STRIKES |

ALEC VOLTURI DID NOT RESPECT HUMANS—they were walking blood bags in his eyes.

But the girl, Aurora, was no ordinary human.

She didn't respect her own life, but was defiantly loyal to others even under the threat of death. He was well-aware of her lie, throwing out a random name to keep him from finding out the true identity of the vampire who broke the law. He heard her pulse quicken as she revealed the vampire's fake name. He chose not to call her out on it. Not yet at least. She was certainly brave which amused Alec greatly.

Alec was known as the emotionless shadow, the numb witch twin. If Jane was the psychopath, Alec was the sociopath; somewhat less unhinged than Jane, but worse because he had no feelings.

It took a single glance at the girl, Aurora, to change it all.

His curiosity was piqued for the first time in a millennia.

She was unexpectedly fiery with an uncanny strength, not physical of course, that fueled Alec's interest by the minute.

"Aurora," Alec sounded the name out pensively. He regarded the girl with a raise of his brow. "It is not a name typically heard of nowadays. It does not roll off the tongue so easily."

It was like he was almost blaming her for having a weird name, even if there were worse out there. "Sorry?"

"You're forgiven." Alec tapped his chin. "Hmm, I'll call you...Auri?" They both grimaced at the cringy sound of it. "No...Ora? Little One? Doll? Sweetheart—why is your face like that?"

Her expression had convulsed in pain, in reminder of the person who used to call her that same goddamn nickname. She was already feeling horrible and she didn't need the reminder so she pretended to be oblivious to what he meant. "Like what? I get that I'm human, you don't have to remind me how much uglier I am compared to you—I get it."

Alec shook his head, his gaze set on her. He was confused by his own concern for her. "Your eyes...they turned...sad."

He didn't remember that peculiar emotion himself, having not felt it in a millennia, but the girl, her fire and sparks, had dulled instantaneously when he called her 'sweetheart'. Alec Volturi was no idiot—he was probably the most intelligent vampire on the guard—he could put two and two together. Aurora, the peculiar human, was heartbroken.

How strange.

"Why does it matter?" she said bitterly, tightening her jaw.

He shrugged. "It doesn't."

"Why haven't you killed me yet?" Rory broke the silence that had prevailed. "You know who told me your precious little secret, I'm no longer useful to you now."

"Most humans would be grateful of my mercy," Alec raised a single brow perfectly. "You are not like other humans."

"I apologize, oh great, merciful Alec Volturi, please accept my most humblest of gratitudes as I thank you for not eating me," Rory said sarcastically and fearlessly despite Alec's darkening glower. "So what now? You're just going to keep me here? Like I'm some sort of pet?"

"Like a pet," Alec laughed softly. It was like the sound of an angel's harp coming from the devil himself. He reached out to grab Rory's chin, ensuring their eyes were level. He saw something in her eyes. Something he wanted to know. "You are my pet. I like that. My new name for you."

Rory grimaced, but didn't argue, her life (and chin) in his literal hands. There was only so much she could rebel against.

Alec smirked at her silence, "Ah, you like it as well, don't you? You are not protesting." He crossed his arms proudly.

"It's better than Auri," she sneered and rolled her eyes.

Ring ring

Rory reflexively searched for her purse, but the sound was coming from Alec's coat pocket.

Rory opened her mouth to question who was calling, but then the now familiar tingling sensation of Alec's paralysis ability hit her. She could see, but she couldn't speak, move, or hear anything. It was probably a vampire on the line, possibly another member of the Volturi coven?

Alec's expression remained unchanged as he answered the phone. "Jane."

"Dove sei, fratello mio? It is nearly dawn, we were expecting you hours ago," Jane's childish bell-like voice conveyed a deeper message than her words. You should be here right now. I am not happy.

Alec withheld his sigh. "I got caught up," he explained, staring at Rory as he spoke. "I'm hunting a new meal as we speak. A very special one indeed."

Rory narrowed her eyes.

Alec could imagine the sadistic smile on Jane's face. "I thought we weren't supposed to play with our food, Alec?"

Members of the Volturi normally waited for Heidi to bring in the daily catch of unsuspecting tourists. However, it wasn't uncommon for many to hunt in nearby cities. Alec preferred to select his meals, he liked the good hunt. Jane was right, he wasn't normally gone for as long.

He needed to return to Volterra, but he didn't want to leave Aurora.

"Times are changing, my dear sister," Alec observed the way Rory challenged his stare. "I'll be back soon."

"Perfect. Have fun, brother."

Alec gave the human her senses again as he ended the call. "Ciao."

Rory sighed in relief as the tingling sensation faded. "Who was that?" she asked curiously, her head tilting.

"None of your business," he said flatly.

Rory "I could read lips you know."

"I shall blind you next time."

She rolled her eyes. They sat quietly for a few minutes before she attempted to breach conversation once more. She was trying to figure him out. "You have a sister?"

He wrestled with telling the truth. What the hell? It's not as though it was a secret. "Twin."

She was taken aback by his honesty. "Oh. I thought it was more fellow vampire coven thing, not like an actual biological sister—not that one is more legitimate than the other. Families come in all sizes."

"Jane and I were both turned just before we turned eighteen. Aro...rescued us from death," he said. Alec spared her the details. She was, after all, a stranger. A deeper part of him knew he wanted to protect Aurora from the actual horror of his pathetic human life. He ignored that part of himself.

"Death?" Rory knew life expectancy was low in the 1200s, but what would Aro have saved them from?

Alec laughed scathingly as he reminisced his past. "It was the thirteenth century, my pet. Twins were not celebrated in my town."

"Oh."

Alec pushed ancient memories away. He eyed Aurora scrutinizingly. It was odd how she hadn't mentioned her family yet. Most of his victims brought them up as if he would feel pity and let them go. "Where is your family, pet? Most humans would have begged mercy for their family's sake. Are they wondering where their little girl is, all lost in a foreign city, far from the safety of the tourist plaza?"

Rory pursed her lips. "I'm here alone."

Alec frowned. Aurora couldn't be no older than his physical self. "You're a little young to be traveling unaccompanied. Where I'm from, girls had to be chaperoned with their father's permission to step outside the house. Then again, they also weren't allowed to show as much skin as these modern females do." Alec eyed Rory's dress, especially the way it rode up her tanned thighs as she sat with her back against the headboard.

"Well, you must be a dinosaur because girls don't need a man. I certainly don't," Rory scoffed as she tugged the covers over her exposed legs. It was actually a very comfortable bed, she couldn't help but snuggle in a little. It was still her birthday, after all. She should enjoy the little things, before it is too late anyways.

"You are not betrothed yet?"

Rory couldn't stop the bubble of laughter that erupted from her throat. He sounded so shocked and surprisingly innocent, or as innocent as a vampire could be, by the state of her nonexistent love life. "Surprising, I know."

Alec scanned her again. "You're exceptional. For a human," he added with a sneer.

Rory assumed this was a compliment. She was a little taken aback by her own response. She actually blushed. She looked away from his piercing crimson eyes, settling her head on the soft hotel pillow. "You're not what I thought you'd be," she admitted quietly.

"How did you think of me, may I ask?" Alec had that wicked smirk again, the only other expression he's had since she met him.

"I sort of assumed you'd be more of the sadistic, evil type," Rory said thoughtfully. From what Jasper had described of the Volturi, she imagined some gothic, Dracula-aesthetic and the whole she-bang of a secret world. Not some immortal teenager intent on stalking her for unknown reasons. "You have the eyes of the devil and the looks of an angel."

He chuckled at her prose. "I'm a perfect devil. Tell me how bad I am. It makes me feel so good!"

Rory didn't play into his trap. He didn't push her.

It was quiet once more, only the sound of her breathing filling the room.

She was growing tired, the undeniably comfortability of the expensive bed pulled her into the arms of sleep. She should be more concerned by the vampire watching her.

"Alec," she broke the silence, her exhaustion breaking her sensibility. He raised bis brow in response, indicating her to speak her mind. "What's the real reason why I'm not dead?"

For a minute, Rory thought he didn't hear her. Alec was silent for a long, long moment. She was nearly asleep when he finally responded.

"I don't know."

It was so soft and full of confusion.

Rory wasn't sure she should be feeling any type of way for the vampire.

The moment the girl could no longer fight sleep, Alec Volturi made a decision as he found himself watching the slumbering human. He had to go back to Volterra, but it was not the last time he would see the girl.

He would be coming back for Aurora.

After all, he still had a vampire to find.

Rory woke up in the late afternoon, bruised and most importantly, alone. Alec was long gone. She assumed he went back to his coven.

Maybe he had indeed decided to spare her.

But, as usual, Rory was dead wrong.

On the nightstand beside her, in the most beautiful scrawl of cursive, was a note.

Run, run as fast as you can, my pet.

I shall find you when night falls.

AV

She had to go. Now.

Rory spent a good ten minutes searching every corner of the hotel room in attempt to find her cellphone and purse. She even expected to find the crushed bits of her cellphone.

"Where the fuck could it be?" She searched everywhere, looking under the bed, the dresser, even the ensuite bathroom.

Buzz buzz.

Rory turned her head to the source of buzzing, there, lying perfectly intact on the unmarred side of the bed, was the phone and her purse.

"Rory, you idiot," she muttered as she picked the phone up.

Clearly, Alec had found it first. Shit. He probably went through it, in attempt to find the name which made Rory all too glad she deleted all of the Cullens info months ago in attempt to let go of them.

She found several messages on her phone: her mother called 5 times in the last two hours, her roommate texted her 3 times, and an unknown number left a voicemail.

Rory immediately texted her mother first, leaving a vague but believable excuse, she apologized to her roommate and said she would be back soon, which left the voicemail last. She was reluctant to listen it because unknown numbers gave her anxiety.

She lifted the phone to her ears and was met with the most unexpected shock of her life.

"Rory? I know I'm not in any position to contact you but please. Please call me back as soon as possible. I had a vision of you, Rory, I know he found you," Alice Cullen's bell-like voice apologized. "I'm worried, Rory, we all are and if you don't call back in an hour, we'll come to find you. We all still love you. I'm sorry, Rory."

Alice saw her being held hostage by a member of the Volturi. And it also sounded like the whole family knew about it. Fuck.

She thought of Jasper and wondered if he even cared anymore. Then, Rory became worried because the voicemail was left hours ago, before the sun even fully rose.

That meant one thing.

The Cullens were coming.

➖

a.n IMPORTANT POLL:

do we want rory to have a baby by the end of this novel, yes or no???

let me know in the comments

the next 3-4 chapters are loosely prewritten so its easy for me to give yall quick updates bc ilysm but let me know what YOU want rory's life to become, we all want her to be happy obvi but ultimately how is the question

also how do yall feel about alec volturi so far??