Penance ↠ Volturi Kings {2} ✓

Bonus 03

Timeframe: During/shortly after chapter 7 of Penance

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"They've currently got perimeter guards posted everywhere within a three mile radius of the castle. There's no way anyone without a gift like Afton's is sneaking in there undetected," Demetri said, drawing a perfect circle around the Romanian castle.

"I'll send Afton and Vincent on another scout mission as soon as Afton is relieved from his guard duty," Caius said, running his hand through his already-rumpled hair and feeling taut as a wire. Without insider information, he knew the bleak outcome that likely awaited this battle.

"I'll assemble any guard members with gifts even remotely dealing with concealment and prepare to send them scouting as well," Demetri said, staring at the map with a frown on his face. With Demetri's natural aptitude for strategy, it would not surprise Caius if Demetri had came to the same conclusion that he had about the coming war.

"Go, do that and inform Afton and Vince that they are to leave as soon as Afton is relieved," Caius ordered, finally looking up from the map. "I do not think there is anything more we will glean from this map at present."

The door was thrown open before Demetri could reach it. Afton stood in the doorway, his hair windstrewn as if he had just ran a great deal, the expression on his face as if he had seen a ghost.

"Afton?" Demetri asked, clearly bewildered.

"Rowan's gone," Afton said.

Caius' insides turned to ice. For a moment he was certain he had misheard. But Afton looked near-physically ill and Caius found his fingers around the younger vampire's throat, lifting Afton off the floor, before he even realized he had moved.

"How could she be gone," Caius growled lowly, "when you were supposed to be guarding her every move?"

"Said she was staying with Master Marcus," Afton gasped, having the good sense not to fight back, "and ordered me to leave. I didn't want to but she insisted- I never thought- she tricked me-"

"Demetri," Caius said sharply, looking to the tracker. "Where is she?"

Demetri swallowed. "Gods help us. She's in Romania."

Caius dropped Afton with a snarl. "Get Aro, bring him up to speed and have him validate Afton's story," he ordered Demetri. "You, stay here," he said to Afton, storming out of the room.

Rowan's gone. That one phrase repeated itself over and over in his mind. He had planned to go to Marcus, wake him from his frankly ridiculous catatonic state, but his feet carried him to Rowan's rooms instead. The door opened with the barest of creaks into a dark and empty room.

"Rowan," he said, his voice shaking. "Amore."

All the rooms were empty. He knew that, even before checking he knew. Demetri, and even the mate bond itself, had told him as much. The bond, which he had ignored as stress earlier, was too strained for her to be in her wing. Too strained to be in the castle, even in the country. He didn't need the letter she had written him, which he found sitting on her study's desk, to know she had gone to the Romanians. Still, he tucked it carefully into his suit jacket. A strange kind of detached fury washed over him. It wasn't Afton's fault she had managed to leave the castle, not truly. She was with one of two others he should have been able to trust her safety with implicitly.

"Marcus!" he roared, slamming open the door to his brother's quarters. Caius had been lenient, patient even, as his brother struggled to come to terms with Aro's devastating betrayal. But Marcus' inability to move forward from Aro's actions had endangered their mate and Caius' limited patience had finally run out.

He wasn't certain what infuriated him more: that Marcus had let her go or that, even in the face of his full fury, Marcus still didn't flinch. Didn't move.

"She's gone, Marcus, do you hear me? Gone because of you! Because you didn't stop her! This isn't a ploy, this isn't a farce, this isn't some plot to get you back, look at the bond and know that she's gone because you won't wake the fuck up!"

Caius did something that he had never done to Marcus, never in the many millennium that they had known one another: he attacked him, one hand wrapping around Marcus' throat as he slammed his brother backwards.

And finally, finally, after two long months of nothing, Marcus reacted, flinging Caius back over his head and into the wall. By the time Caius had righted himself, which occurred almost instantaneously, Marcus had calmed, looking sickened.

"Gone?" Marcus asked, his voice cracking. "What do you mean, gone? Brother, what have I done?"

"You let Rowan leave. Leave your quarters, leave the castle, leave and go straight into the filthy hands of the Romanians!" Caius spat, trembling with barely suppressed rage.

"No," Marcus whispered, horror written on his face.

Caius clenched his jaw and looked away. "Yes. It's too late now to stop her. We don't have the time to dwell on what we should have done differently. Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Marcus asked, following him through the damaged doorway and into the hallway.

"The library. I sent Demetri to bring Aro up to speed, he should be there already." He didn't have to look at Marcus to see the thunderous look on his face. "You must work together. This is bigger than us now. Rowan, our mate, is in danger."

"He killed my wife!" Marcus spat furiously. "I don't know how-"

Caius had no patience for his brother's vendetta against Aro. "You had better figure it out, then, and sooner rather than later. We have work to do."

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Angry Caius is hawt- ah, hello! Yes, you did get the third bonus chapter barely 24 hours after the second. No, this is not a dream. Seriously, though, with the last of the bonus chapters finished, I can declare Penance, and thus Rowan's story, officially finished. It's certainly bittersweet, but I'm excited to begin working on some new projects with brand new characters for you to enjoy. Thank you for sticking around through it all. Stay safe, stay healthy, and be kind to others and yourselves. Thank you for your faithful support over the years. I love you all!