𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 ; volturi kings

CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER IX

Edward swiftly entered the main room of the Cullen family house, prompting a shocked gasp from his younger sister.

Rosalie looked up from the bowl she had been holding, brownie mix splattered over her lavender shirt, as she asked; "wha- what on earth is the matter with you?"

Her brother grasped her arm with an urgency; "have you seen Jasmine? Or Alice?"

"I- Jas was with Emmet earlier- not that it's any of your business- and I haven't seen Alice since chemistry."

He made a frustrated face, turning away from her in a moment of thought.

Edward had gotten a phone call from Bella just a few moments before- she had been absolutely hysterical.

He had been tempted to rush over to her house, wanting nothing more than to hold her, as she sobbed down the phone.

As she had scattily described the situation to him, he had struggled to keep a level head; the minuscule, remaining sensible part of his brain had decided to look for Alice, surely his pixie-like sister would know what was going on.

As he zoned back into the situation at hand, his sister whacked his arm; "stop ignoring me. What's going on, Edward?"

"Charlie's dead, Jas is missing, and nobody knows where Alice is."

"What?" Distress and panic came from not only Rosalie but Esme and Carlisle also, who had just walked in to overhear the conversation.

Well, Carlisle was about as panicked as he could possibly be... Which wasn't a lot.

"Edward." The doctor turned to his eldest son, his voice the epitome of tranquillity. "I need you to calm down. Did Bella say how Charlie died?"

"He was murdered, Carlisle." His words dripped with frustration.

Choosing to ignore his emotional outburst, the blonde continued, "and Bella can't find Jasmine?"

"I'll try and call Emmet, maybe he's still with her?" A false hope laced Rosalie's voice as she attempted to be of some use.

At least it's better than throwing a tantrum she thought.

"And I'll call Alice," Esme suggested, lightly patting her adopted son's arm on the way out.

"I understand you're frustrated."

Edward stood with his back turned, refusing to respond.

"It's only natural- Bella's your soulmate, and she's upset. If you want to go be with her, then that's fine; but if you're going to stay here and help, I need you to keep a level head."

The brunette man-child shoved past him to the front door- "I'm going to go see if they potentially left any scents, call me when you actually have something useful."

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

The smell of peaches and cheap alcohol stung Jasmine's nose.

She could feel loosely-tied, scratchy ropes around her wrists and ankles. The sound of an old clock came from behind, and she slowly cracked her eyes open to survey the room.

Shit.

This was not her bedroom.

The light coming through the thin, grey, lace curtains caused her to squint and, as she brought her hand up to block the sun out, she noticed a dried, red substance coating her fingertips.

Her eyes followed the scarlet trail, which led all the way up to her neck. Suddenly noticing an awkward pain in her throat, she audibly gasped at the realisation.

She had been kidnapped.

Not by some random person, no, but by a vampire.

And they had fed from her.

Gross. She shivered at her train of thought.

The room she was being held in wasn't the stereotypical bad-guy lair. It had cream walls, a large black leather sofa, and a fairly modern tv playing Yo Gabba Gabba.

As if things couldn't be bad enough. She sighed to herself.

It was at that moment that a tall, blonde woman walked in, a bright grin on her face.

"Morning sleepy head."

Jasmine stared at the strange lady for a moment. There was honestly no point in her saying anything- if she asked the typical kidnap-victim questions, the woman wouldn't answer (if she was smart). She then decided that she wouldn't concede with the pleading victim stereotype either.

So, Jas looked up at her captor in silence.

"Huh, a real chatterbox, aren't you?" The woman asked, brushing her hair with a comb.

As she slowly placed the comb down on the side, she smirked at her; "no need to be shy- I'll have you talking soon enough."

She then leaned down, and Jasmine braced herself as the lady bared her fangs.

The tense moment was broken by the sound of the front door swinging open.

"Y'know, Vic, I could smell your snack from the street outside." A playful voice yelled.

"Eh... Her sister's aroma is much more compelling."

"What?" "Bella? Seriously?" Two tones overlapped, both holding a high amount of confusion.

As Jasmine's mind churned over what Vic's words could've meant, a tall, blonde man strolled into the room.

As his eyes met hers, they widened, and all of the blood drained from his face (if that was even possible).

"You- you're Jasmine."

"No shit." The human girl replied, unable to resist mocking the stupefied look on his face.

"What's wrong with you?" Vic suddenly asked- she was picking up on a range of emoticons from her mate, but one in particular: fear.

The sound of Victoria's voice broke James out of his panicked daze, and he glared at her for a moment.

"I need to talk to you. Alone."