There mysterious girl

Chapter 15

Bella let her mates decide who she would spend time with next, not wanting to choose one over the other. Today was Marcus's turn, to Caius and Aro's annoyance. It was overcast, although quite warm, and he was driving a sleek, black sports car down a highway leading them away from Volterra.

If she didn't know better, Bella might have thought Aro was having an aneurysm when Marcus told him his plans for the day.

"Jane and Demetri may follow at a respectable distance, if you insist," Marcus said. "But we cannot keep our mate locked away now, can we?"

There seemed to be a darker meaning to his words that was not lost on Bella. Aro looked as though he wanted to say more but settled on nodding tersely before he kissed her on the lips and stalked away.

"What was that about?" she asked when he'd gone.

"Aro wants to keep you safe," Marcus said, sighing. "We all do, angel, but that doesn't mean keeping you cooped up in this drafty castle."

The castle had disappeared from view by now, and Jane and Demetri were nowhere to be seen. No car followed them and they seemed alone on the desolate highway.

"Where are we going?" she asked, watching groves of trees and vineyards blur past the window.

"Someplace special to me," he said, capturing her hand in his. "I hope it also becomes special to you."

Their intertwined fingers sparked the now familiar feeling of electricity, tingling where they touched and radiating up her arm. She wondered if her mates still felt it when they touched, or if it was just her. When she voiced this, Marcus smiled, his eyes flicking to where their hands were connected.

"Every time we touch it is like the first time, amore," he said softly. "For a vampire, no other connection compares to what we share. Siblings, coven mates, even if one is paired off with another... nothing comes close to mating."

She nodded, absorbing this. Edward had claimed that she was his mate, but she now knew differently. If she was honest, she knew even when things were still good between them that something wasn't right. His obsession with her blood seemed bizarre even for a vampire. It never made sense to her that he wasn't more desensitized to the scent of human blood, and of course he didn't explain anything to her. It wasn't as though the Cullens kept to their own kind- they attended school for crying out loud! Bella should have known then that his behavior towards her and their relationship was unhealthy at best, but she had been dazzled. And she had wanted to be a vampire.

They drove for another hour, filling the space with idle small talk. Marcus wanted to know more about her childhood, more about her time with Renee who, he suspected, had not been mother of the year.

"She's a free spirit," Bella said, staring out the window. "Nothing like me."

That was true enough. Motherhood had never taken to Renee, who was more interested in dating and pursuing various hobbies than raising her daughter or paying rent on time. They'd had to flee more than one landlord in the dark of night. Bella had taken over the bills and grocery shopping at a young age, while Renee had taken pottery classes and left her home alone for long stretches of time. The weekend she'd gone away with the married father of one of Bella's classmates stood out in her memory.

"Phil?" she said, when he asked about the man Renee had married, the one she'd (finally) shed her role as a mother for. "He's alright. He plays minor league baseball and she goes on the road with him. She's always wanted travel."

Marcus was quiet, possibly sensing a sore spot. Bella wasn't terribly angry with Renee, not really, but thinking about her childhood stung at times.

"How old are you?" she asked, changing the subject.