Temper, Temper: Chapter One - Obedience

"Get up". Felix's voice was full of mocking order. When the figure in his room remained seated, his arm lashed out, grabbing her roughly so she obeyed him. A bloom of auburn hair cascaded out with the force of the action, when it settled, her frown was revealed.

"Come on Flower, your presence is required in the big boy room" Felix traced the lines of her harsh, confused expression before holding her chin tightly. "Remember what I said about behaving Alex"

"Yeah, yeah I get it" Alex snarled out, ripping out of his grasp and walking down the marbled floor at a steady marching pace. For a moment Felix watched her, and then quickly stalked her side, watching her like a predatory lion.

Losing focus along the journey Alex pulled a hair clip out of her pocket and stuck it onto her lower lip, toying with the metal subconsciously. She wondered what could be important enough for her to be called into the main room; she only tried to escape three times last week.

When they came to the big doors, Felix took the chance to anger her by tearing the hair clip from her lip, striking a triumphant smile and pocketing the clip as his own. Alex said nothing, but another angry frown met Felix as he bent down to her 5ft 4 frame.

"Remember…behave"

His sentence was incomplete when Alex barrelled past the doors, ignored Felix and strode into the middle of the room, before pivoting her view from the group of strangers and instead to the Volturi.

"It seems, my dear, that you have visitors." Aro didn't even pause to let the statement sink in as he gushed on with his dramatic speech. Alex didn't care though, she struck her hands in her pocket and swung to and fro on the balls of her feet. "The Cullen's have had somewhat of an interest towards why it's a vampire residency at which you-"

"It is not by choice people" Alex interrupted the speech. Felix's angry expression, along with the other Volturi guard's outrage was a fuel for Alex, and her smirk made Jane burst out.

"How dare you-"

Caius was quick to join in, "We will not allow such disrespect in these Royal halls"

Aro was nodding his head with a calculating expression and he adding, in the usually slick voice "Felix…put the dog out"

That was when Alex's expression faltered, only briefly, Alice noticed though and she winced at what was bound to happen next. It was all well and good enjoying the brief moment of 'one upping' the Volturi when it came, but consequences always came. Over the silence, Felix's footsteps clacked towards her unmoving figure.

He leant down past her face and whispered quietly, "I'll give you a head start darling". The fact he whispered was irrelevant, the room of supernaturals all heard but the reaction of each group were completely antithesising. The Cullen's tensed forward, wishing to intervene but the Volturi were sitting back waiting for the show. Yet, Alex smiled.

If anyone were to blink, the flash transformation of the slender girl into a large silvery wolf would have been missed. The canine snarled before bounding past the doors, with Felix following a moment after. A score of snarls, growls and crashes echoed into the hall providing audio to the fight, where vision was missing. They soon died down though, until a pitiful whine ended it.

Felix was the first to walk back into the hall, the conflict having obviously boosted his spirit as a toyed with a smile at the victory. Meanwhile the wolf was at his heels, head bowed and hidden partly by the vampire's leg.

"As I was saying, the Cullen's have proposed to take charity on your pet-"

Alex, growled lowly only to have her scruff grabbed disciplinary by Felix, bringing her head closer to him.

"… Felix, since the obedience we enforce daily has seemingly been overlooked on this case" Aro delicately touched his fingertips together; Felix's expression was failing in attempting to mask the urge he felt to oppose Aro's words. A nod signalled his allowance to speak.

"Mater, forgive me but she is mine. She will learn. I don't doubt this for a second" Felix argued objectively.

"I admire you case brother." Aro cast his eyes to the floor, pondering this newest and unusual circumstance. Who knew the Cullen's would get involved in such a trivial matter of an unruly Volturi pet. "She was rather useful in the Hortensia coven mess…" He continued vacantly while the Cullen's cast nervous glances back and forth around their family and the wolf.

Finally, after a tension filled, silent few minute Aro sat up straight and cast a stony look towards the only person alive in the room, Alex.

"Two months Carlisle. She can leave with you for one month, and if you think that you can teach the dog some manners, the Volturi shall not intervene again. If she fails, any test we see fit to test this, Felix can take over completely and it'll be his decision what action to take"

Felix whispered very, very quietly in her ear, making her shiver. "I'll see you soon"

Alex's head was spinning; she was stood up now paws planted firmly on the ground straining away from Felix's grasp which was gradually taken away. It had been two months since she had been captive here and she could not wait to be free.

Carlisle nodded his head "We accept"

The wolf's eyes were darting all over the room, but she began to move, slowly at first, she brought her paw up, swivelling it around before lashing around and launching into a full speed run towards the back exit. Why would she wait for these strangers? Vampire strangers no less. No Alex was leaving all this behind her, going back home – she could easily outrun the Volturi in two months and even if she couldn't, what would be so hard about this 'test' that she couldn't past.

Her feet skidded on the marbled floors until the more working class end was insight, and those doors that led to freedom. When they opened, and the world outside visible to her, the forestry that framed the Volturi palace in sight, Alex sped up. She was covering so much distance now, and only when the soft greenery of the forest was surrounding her did she steady her speed.

It was like looking at the world through new eyes. Smells were more potent, stronger, each particle of scent telling her a story, the colours of the forest more beautifully arranged. Alex laughed inside her head, "Damn I love running" she thought, jumping over a huge fallen log and coming to a skidding halt as she landed. That smell; there was a vampire right infront of her, one from the coven of strangers. He was suddenly joined by more, and they were all smiling.

Alex backed up a little, realised she was boxed in and snarled ferociously. Her lipped raised over her teeth in warning, Alex couldn't believe were these blood suckers got off on. Rescue her one minute, try to take her away the next, "They'll be missing a few limbs if they do try" Alex stated internally.

"She doesn't want to come with us" Edward Cullen vocalised for the rest of his family, Alex's lip relaxed in her moment of confusion; how the hell is this leech saying what I'm thinking. It was another of those special vamps, the ones with the 'gifts'. Upon this thought, Alex growled again, again showing her teeth in warning.

"Look Wolfy doesn't want to play ball, let her go, she fancies her chances at outrunning them, then let her!" Emmett was the second to speak; Alex pricked her ears towards him,

"Yes, I agree with the muscly dude. Here, here, pip pip and off I go" Alex watched the one vampire who spoke first, willing him to communicate that thought. Edward gave a small side smile and mumbled his sentence, "You made a friend Emmett" Alex was beginning to walk off, the right, her back never turned on the vampires' but she had waited to long for freedom and wasting time here was not sit right at all.

"Follow her Emmett, maybe she'll listen to you" Carlisle ran a hand through his blonde hair, took his wife's hand and sped from the clearing instantly. Alex barked a single threating, angry bark and ran, full pelt in the opposite direction. This vampire wouldn't have a chance at keeping up with her at this speed, and if he decided to track her, by God she would make it damn near impossible.

For three days, Alex didn't see or smell a vampire and it was a welcome relief. She almost forgot what they smelt like, almost. She was close to home now, out of the country and gradually getting back to the place she loved most.

"You run fast wolfy" A deep voice came from above her. Emmett was in the trees, leaning on one of the high branches with a small smile on his face. Alex looked up him, stunned by his arrival and frustrated. She huffed out the air in her lungs, lowered her head and begrudgingly continued on her journey. Dirt collected around her paw prints; she was dragging her paws behind her, it was pointless trying to outrun him or lose him now that he was that close to her.

A tremor ran through the earth as Emmett landed heavily on the ground behind her and followed her closely, right by her side. Obviously they walked in silence, Emmett was no mind reader like Edward and Alex couldn't talk as a wolf, but every now and again Emmett would interject a random comment;

"Very green around here"

"There's seven of us, well eight if you count Bella I suppose-" He then described at great length what every member of the Cullen's looked like, any 'gifts' they had, how 'Eddy' always bet on the wrong baseball team and more pointless info at random intervals.

Alex put up with it, though; she growled every now and again if his monologue got tiresome and he respected that and cut the pieces shorter.

When Alex stopped, Emmett looked around. The woods they had just emerged from were lush and green, full of a ferns and bushes that cushioned the slim path they had kept to for the past hour. A small house was in the distance, a solitary residence. Not one for geography, Emmett found himself question what country they were in, he made to keep pace by the wolf at his side. Warning growls made him hesitate and when she snapped her teeth to enforce the order, Emmett remained in place and watched her hurriedly lope down the hill.

When the pale girl came back up the hill, clothed in simple grey joggers and a large varsity t-shirt Emmett prepared himself for the tirade that was coming, she had the same angry expression as in the Volturi.

"You're still here" Alex stated, pushing her red hair back with a shaky hand. Emmett was cut off when he made a move to speak, "You should know a couple of things. Number one-" Signifying the number she held up her finger, "I am not coming back. Number two, if you think I am coming back you are insane. Number three, I would like you to leave"

Emmett, smiled, they were in Wales. Now that she was talking, her accent came strongly through in her voice, even more when she was angry.

"I'm not going to leave" He paused, choosing the words he was using carefully as he saw her hands curl into tight fists. "You have two options here, no more and no less. You can stay here, the Volturi will come, you can say they won't be able to find you or whatever, they will. They'll put this test on you and they'll do anything to stop you from passing. Or you can come with me, and have people help you and actually have the chance to be free"

During his speech, Alex was at a loss for words, when you saw Emmett's appearance you did not expect him to be so eloquent. For a long time she was silent, pondering over his words continuously. The vampire was patient, sliding down the tree and settling comfortably on the floor as he waited for her decision.

She inhaled, very deeply, enjoying the fresh air filling her lungs and turned around, facing into the forest as she began to walk down the path again. Smiling Emmett followed her,

"Back to Forks we go"

In the distance, Alex stuck her finger up at him making his laughter deeply boom around the foliage again.