Innocent Intentions || Volturi Kings {1}

VI

"Say it." Aro demands, "in the eye, with sincerity as we discussed." He sounded like a father instructing a naughty child.

Ariana sat once again a fluffy blanket wrapped around her cold form after falling asleep on Marcus and cuddling all night into the early morning. She had been summoned by her other two mates, reluctantly Marcus managed to pull her from the warm covers.

She tried, really did. But the smirk still found it's way onto her face, the sleepiness that still enveloped her body wasn't helping with the pure smugness she was displaying in front of a king of the vampire world who fumed. If it was a cartoon she was sure there would be steam coming out of his ears.

Clearing his throat Caius began speaking through gritted teeth, "My love I am truly sorry for my awful behaviour." He smiles but it's tight not a spec of sincerity anywhere in sight.

"I don't appreciate the tone but I suppose I can accept it." She grinned his way her arms folded as she relaxed back into Marcus' body completely missing the look of longing and zealous painting Aro's pale features.

"Now that's dealt with, Alec please bring your Queen some breakfast." Aro smiles at the boy who appeared at the call of his name and disappeared at the end of the sentence.

"I do want to talk to the three of you." Ariana took in a sharp breath realising that what she wanted to say would be harder than she thought. "I need to leave."

The silence in the room was deafening, you would be able to hear a pin drop and you definitely heard Alec enter the room and place the breakfast on the brown coffee table, "Thank you Alec." the tone of Aro's voice had a shiver running up Ariana's spine.

"What do you mean my dear?" There was a crazed look in the raven haired king's eyes as if to say she was never leaving.

"I need to go home." She stated as if he was some sort of idiot.

"I'm not sure you quite understand the gravity of being mated to a vampire let alone three." Marcus said gently as if trying to calm a small child down, his arm tightening around her waist.

"Explain it to me then." She frowned up at the red eyed man who stared down at her with want.

"The mating pull will begin the instant we are separated. Your body will ache, and you'll miss us more than you've ever missed anything in your life. If it goes on too long the pain will become excruciating, some even die from it." Marcus explained with a pained expression beginning to form on his face at the thought of it.

Ariana couldn't believe what she was hearing, in fact she didn't want to believe it. It was like one of those stories a mother tells their child to get them to behave. But in this instance it was to get her to stay.

"But I need to, I have a mother and friends who are expecting me to return. I have a job waiting for me, I did not just spend the last seventeen years of my life working my ass of for my dream job to then not take it." She ranted before standing up and beginning to pace the room. Her thoughts were running ramped, she'd wanted this since she was five and had worked from then on to get it.

Passing every exam with the highest mark you can get, never having friends or fun because of all the studying. She wasn't about to throw in the towel for three wealthy vampiric overlords no matter how good looking they were.

"Calm down cara mia." Marcus ever the voice of reason, released his soothing words along with a purr that instantly had Ariana's shoulders untensing. "We understand this is difficult-"

"No actually it's simple. I have a life that I'm leaving behind to what? I give up the job I've been dreaming about my whole life to become a human queen of vampires with probably zero respect from every vampire there is." She snaps watching the brunette's eyes flicker to black then in a few blinks they're back to red.

"You will be respected." Aro spoke through gritted teeth, his face showing restraint.

"Not really the important part of that sentence." She scoffed running a hand through her hair.

"Bellisima, if you leave will you return to us?" Marcus asked careful to keep his voice soft as he looked at her. She stopped her pacing to stare at him, but he simply waved his hand as if to say it matters not.

"I don't know." She spoke before he could talk, she felt the room tense, all three pairs of eyes boring holes into her head. "I mean I obviously have an attraction to all of you and I know you're my mates even though I still don't fully understand what that means but I can't turn my back on all I've worked for. I mean would you turn your back on all of this?" she gestured to the room she was standing in and the silence ensued.

"Of course we wouldn't. And we don't expect you to either." To the kings shock, Caius was the one to answer and a respectful answer it was. He could see she wasn't going to back down so to keep her in their lives they must instead.

"You don't?" She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, rather expecting to fight them on this matter. She didn't expect them to heed so early.

"However I would very much like to find a way for us to be in your life." Caius' body was stiff just like his brain was, trying his hardest not to lash out or say something insensitive. All he wanted was for Ariana, his adorable precious little mate not to leave his life. She'd just got here, she couldn't leave.

"Well I suppose when I do go to my job I could see if they'll allow me to work from here or transfer to a site in Italy. Other than meeting with authors I don't actually have to work in my office...." Ariana felt like an idiot, as she was saying this all out loud she realised she'd freaked out much too soon. The job wasn't for another seven months and yet here she was causing problems.

"I'm sorry, I just realised how stupid this all is. My job has allowed me a year off before I start, so I have seven months left before I actually go to work for them and I've made you all-"

"Tesoro there is no need to apologise. This is how life works as I'm sure you well know. There are worries and sometimes things don't work out they way you hoped. But we will do what we can to make it work. Now about seeing your mother and friends, do you wish to go home now for them?" Marcus took the initiative this time, after an exchanged look with his blonde brother seeing his patience running a little thin.

"No, I can just FaceTime them." Ariana sat down finally stopping her spinning brain from going crazy.

"Well," Aro started, his hands clasped together, "if at any point in the next seven months, if you're going to stay that is, you wish to go home or would like to work out a concrete plan for the future do tell us and we would be happy to help you in any way we can." The raven haired king sighed gracefully, his hands tightening wanting desperately to see what his mate was thinking.

"I do want to stay."