Stepping into the Shadows

Pairing: Bella/Demetri

Summary: Bella's world crashes down around her when Edward leaves her in the woods. Her life changes once more the day she sees Laurent in the meadow, but instead of the wolves coming to her rescue it is someone else. She feels a pull to him that she doesn't understand. His crimson eyes and smirk full of dark promises captivates her. He will ruin her that much she knew.

0000

Chapter 1

The soft sounds of his footsteps echoed lowly in the shadowy stairwell of the Volturi castle. Night had fallen over the city of Volterra enveloping the city in its darkness. His eyes focused straight ahead of him as he climbed the stairs of the tower reserved for the highest ranking guards. The paintings and sculptures of various sizes did not hold his interest. The Masters may think humans as nothing more than cattle, but they did appreciate their arts which was evidence in the many towers and corridors of their home. Most of those works were stolen never to be seen again by the humans. Master Aro was a collector in all the ways possible. It was his never ending passion alongside his drive for power.

Demetri came upon thick wooden door leading into his sitting room, and he quickly pulled it open. The furniture was done in earthy tones, and his fireplace already had a fire roaring inside of it. He enjoyed the warmth coming from it even though he never felt the cold. To his immediate right was another solid mahogany door which was open to show his study where he spent most of his time. In front of him was another room containing his bedroom and bathroom with only a shower and large bathtub. Both were big enough to contain five people in it.

His attention was drawn to his bed chambers to pack a bag for his newest mission. Earlier today his Masters received a tip of a human knowing of their existence all the way in the small rainy town of Forks. Demetri's lips curled in disgust that the Cullen coven was so irresponsible to leave a human with the knowledge of their kind. The rule was to kill them or change them. Carlisle Cullen and his family thought they were above the law. He couldn't wait till they could exterminate the lot of them to show they weren't above the law. No vampire was.

As he folded a few of his clothes into his duffle bag for his time in the States he couldn't help, but remember the reaction Master Aro had when the king read the scarlet haired vampires mind. He looked delighted in a way Demetri had not seen in centuries. There must have been something about the one Isabella Swan that held their leader's attention.

"Bring her back here alive, Demetri," was his exact order with a smile curling at the edges of his lips. He was to go alone as his usual partner Felix was in France dealing with another wayward coven. At least they were never bored in their line of work, Demetri mused.

He zipped up the bag leaving it on the couch in his sitting room. Pulling his cellphone from the pocket of his dark grey robes to call on the status of their private jet. After ending the call with the pilot he grabbed his bag from the couch leaving his room.

It was time for him to leave for his latest mission.

0000

She hung the phone back on the receiver located on the wall in the kitchen. Yet again she had gotten the voicemail of her best friend, Jacob's cellphone. It didn't even ring instead going straight to leaving a message. Again she told him to please call her back and she missed him. Shaking her head trying not to feel miserable, but the ache that both Edward and Jacob left in her chest was hurting more as time passed by.

If only Jacob would call her back.

Bella had to find a way to distract her from the pain of losing Jacob. She started to make dinner for herself and Charlie hoping it would distract her with the mundane task. A chilling sensation chased down her spine and her brown eyes darted to the small window looking out in the dark forest that was her backyard. It wasn't the first time the horrible feeling of being watched crawled at her instincts. Of course, she shook it off after a brief moment of panic. It was all in her imagination she repeated in her head.

As she was chopping bell peppers for the fajitas she was making a plan formed in her mind of what she could fill her day with tomorrow. Bella wanted to go to the meadow he had taken her to several times over the course of their short relationship. It was a beautiful place. A small, very small, part of her mind hoped that maybe if she went to the meadow he would be waiting for her there. It was a fantasy she kept locked up in her mind not wanting to hope for something she knew was impossible.

Still she would go to the meadow without Jacob. He was supposed to go along with her, but now he wasn't picking up his phone or bothering to call her back. She would go alone. It felt like to Bella she was always alone. She could admit it was partly her fault since she pushed away all her friends when she was dating him. And when he left she turned down any sign of friendship from the kids at Forks High.

Sighing she rubbed her forehead. It didn't help thinking about things she couldn't change. Maybe she would get lucky and Jacob would call before she left her hike in the woods.

0000

He pulled up his hood as rain fell from the dark clouds of the night soaking him. How he hated this place. The only upside to this gloomy town was being able to walk outside during the daylight hours. But he would always prefer the sunshine of Volterra, and the many other places he had been to over his long existence.

Demetri leapt up into the tree standing outside Isabella's bedroom. Settling on a thick branch that held his weight securely he peaked in through the window into her room. It was surprisingly clean and sparse for what he assumed a teenage girl's space would look like. On the desk was an ancient computer that would have made Alec cry out in despair that something so obviously outdated was used. The witch twin was very adept with the latest technology making sure the whole castle had the latest of everything the humans came up with.

His crimson eyes inspected the girl he had come to observe before taking her back to Volterra. She was thin much too thin to be healthy, but it didn't seem like she had one of those mental issues the frail humans dealt with. Isabella was entrancing, he could admit despite her less healthy looking body. Demetri would bet she would be simply stunning if she ever became a vampire.

After watching her for three days he noticed other males looking on in appreciation of her. Something about their wandering eyes created a white hot fury in his chest, and if he wasn't so controlled over himself he would pluck out those eyes and force them down their throats. Even thinking about it irritated him so he took a deep breath in to quell his rising temper.

Another thing he noticed, and it was the first thing he came to realize was the girl was one of the most delectable smelling humans he had come across. The one singer he drained not included. Although she didn't smell like something he'd like to drink which surprised him. It was probably for the best he mused. Demetri wouldn't want to bring down his King's wrath on him if he were to make a meal out of Isabella.

The most important fact of the sleeping girl was he couldn't catch the tenor of her mind with his gift. He didn't think he would be able to find her through it. Once he had told his leader that piece of information over one of his reports he could almost see the manic smile on the King's face.

Eyes snapped back to the girl when she started thrashing in her sleep. Her muttered cries filling the quiet of the night.

"Please," she begged, "don't go."

The Volturi guard listened intently to the sounds of her pleading. Tonight had been the first time he observed her at this hour. He spent the other nights hunting or reporting to his Masters. They were as interested in this enigma as he was.

"Don't leave," she continued on kicking her feet out. "Edward please."

Demetri almost laughed. She was crying over one of the Cullens. They left her to die and she was mourning them. It was laughable! If Victoria had not come to the Volturi to report the human loving vampires she would be dead at the insane female's hands. Such a weak human, he thought jumping down from the tree.

He would come back to watch her tomorrow.

0000

The dark gray clouds covered the sun giving him the advantage of being able to follow her as she stumbled her way through the woods. Winds ruffled through his long ebony locks. He was behind her so it blew her enthralling scent back at him. Demetri wondered what was the point of her hiking through the woods after all she was very clumsy. She fell a couple times much to his amusement.

But Isabella trudged on her footsteps crunching the leaves and twigs under her boots. It went on like this for a while and he was feeling his patience wearing thin. He was so used to being with vampires who could easily move much faster than was possible for the puny humans. The temptation of snatching her up and taking her along with him back to the castle was looking better and better. The Masters wanted him to wait and watch to learn everything there was to her.

Finally, after what felt like another thousand years of his life passing by she stopped coming to a clearing with dried up yellow grass. It looked barren, and he wondered what was so special about it. What had made her walk there when there wasn't anything to see. He leapt up into a tree noiselessly to have a better view of her. He saw her head move slowly taking in the area. It shocked him when he saw her arms come around her middle and she crouched onto the ground as if she were trying to hold herself together.

Demetri knew this about her already, and it made him wonder what her relationship with Edward Cullen was like. He hadn't personally met the vampire child. The only one he knew in that particular coven was their leader, Carlisle. He remembered the blonde in the time he spent with the Volturi. It amused Demetri that Cullen abhorred their way of life professing that they could live off the diet of animals. Master Aro was fascinated with Carlisle, and even asked him to join the guard.

He grimaced at the thought of having to deal with the blonde on a permanent basis. He could not be more grateful when Carlisle turned down the offer and left the castle. The Masters studied what animal blood did to vampires and came to the conclusion that it dulled their senses and made their thirst even more unmanageable. He wondered how they survived so long on such an unfulfilling diet.

Demetri's attention honed in on a vampire heading towards the clearing. His gift picked up the tenor of the coming vampire's mind easily. Thankfully, Demetri was downwind of him so he wouldn't sense his presence.

It was but a moment later the vampire came upon the clearing Isabella was in.

Curious to see how the interaction would go, he stayed in the tree. Demetri would not let harm befall Isabella, but he could gather information from this meeting between the two of them. From the way she stood up from her crouch and greeted this Laurent by name she knew him.

He held his position listening intently to what they were saying.

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