𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 ,, - Caius Volturi

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋 - 𝟎𝟖.

   𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐀 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌, her hands trembling. She was zoning out as she thought about the scene that she had just witnessed. Of course, she knew that vampires weren't the kindest but she didn't know that he was insane. She remembers the look in his eyes, a smirk on his face as he watched the vampire burn in front of him.

Caius looked like the devil himself.

The more she thought of it, she realized that she held zero knowledge of the vampire world and its structure. She wanted to know more but she was fearful. Alora was afraid when she first arrived but that was nothing compared to how she feels at this very moment. Her mate was the devil and she was his pawn. What did Caius want with her? Was she going to die? If she stepped out of line, would she end up like the man who had burned in front of his eyes? The human had no idea and it terrified her.

   "I told you that I'd come to you when I was done. That didn't mean come find me." Her heart drops as she hears a voice in the doorway. Caius stood in the doorway of her bathroom, his eyes glued to her form. Alora's eyes went wide as she lifted her gaze from the wall in front of her, now staring up at him. He could hear her heartbeat quicken and by the look on her face it was obvious that it was quickening for a different reason. She was timid.
   "Did that scare you, hm?" He questions, taking a step closer to her. The sight of her sitting there on the bathroom floor sort of made him feel guilty but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had no reason to feel that way.
   "Did you paint the perfect image of me in your head? Did you imagine me as someone I'm not?" It wasn't his fault that she was scared. He never told her that he was a good person nor has he ever tried to be. She had been drowning in her daydreams and hadn't let herself face reality.

He was a monster.

   "I..." Alora's words fail her as she attempts to speak and he can't help but chuckle at this. She quickly stands up, backing herself against a wall. He doesn't move, only watching her feeble attempts to distance herself. It wasn't as if she could ever truly distance herself from him. He would always be right there.
   "That vampires intentions were to bring us down. We are protecting our own and that scares you? Is protecting one's family something to be ashamed of?" Caius didn't want to scare her but he felt insulted by her response. Did she not like him for who he was? Did she want him to change? That would never happen. He wouldn't ever ask her to change the way she acted. He loved everything about her so could she not love everything about him as well?
"I didn't realize how vampires were." She whispers, her voice barely audible to the human ear but Caius heard it loud and clear. If this was any other human he would've laughed in their face. But this was Alora Miel.
"Vampires are soulless beings, Alora. We are demons from the deepest pit of hell. You knew this, didn't you?" Her mind wandered back to the conversation that her and Alec had. The boy had confirmed that vampires had no souls and deep down she always knew that. But the weight of his words didn't truly settle until she witnessed what he meant by that.

"You... You're a monster!" Alora shouts, her lower lip trembling. Caius didn't feel sorrowful emotions but as she spoke it was almost as if his undead heart had just cracked into two. For the first time in a thousand years, he felt sad. For the first time in his life, he simply walked away. Caius watched her for a moment before turning around and exiting without a word. It was unlike him. He loved having the last word. Arguments made him giddy with excitement. So when he walked away, it was unlike anything he'd ever done before. He walked in silence through the halls, his expression blank. This woman scared him. Why did she have any power over him? He was frustrated and so he did the only thing he knew how to do.

Murder.

Caius didn't wait for the prey to come to him like usual. No, today he decided to hunt. But he didn't just hunt for a meal. It was a mass murder. Currently, in a desolate wooden area, there lay a pile of bodies. If Alora thought killing one vampire was bad she would've been horrified to see what he had just done. Most of these humans were still filled with blood. He didn't hunt for a meal, he hunted for victims. Humans were the prey and he was the predator, the top of the food chain. Caius didn't realize how long he had been out of the castle until he sensed a presence behind him. As he turned around, he made eye contact with a lower member of the guard.

They let their eyes rake over Caius' form, noticing the blood dripping from his mouth and coating his hands. The look in his eyes was lethal.
"I... Master Marcus wishes to see you. Do you want me to clean up?" They stammer, their eyes now glued to the rather large pile behind Caius. He doesn't reply for a moment, only glancing behind him and raising a brow at the pile of humans. He didn't realize how many he had killed.
"Yes." That's all he needed to say. The lower ranking guard member instantly rushes towards the bodies, digging deep holes in the ground with their hands. Caius pays them no mind and flees the scene, making his way back towards the castle. As he enters the castle there is blood dripping from his mouth, leaving a trail on the floor. He may have looked scary but he knew that there was one person who'd be able to see through his facade. Alora would look at him, truly look at him, and she would see that in reality he just looked like a beaten up puppy. But not in her current state, though. Currently, she'd freak out and throw some more comments about how wicked of a being he is.

"Marcus." Caius calls his name as he enters the man's study, wiping blood off of his mouth with his sleeve. This white button up was drenched in red. Marcus took notice of this, his eyes squinting a microscopic amount.
"Is she mad?" Caius sighs, taking a seat on the sofa nearby. He lounged back on it, squeezing his eyes shut. The thought of her being mad at him was the better option.
"No. She's horrified." It irritated him. Why was she making him sad? She was just a stupid human. Marcus had of course heard their entire conversation. Everyone in the castle did for the most part. Vampires have excellent hearing. What he didn't expect was for Caius to take everything out on random humans.
"It will pass." Those words weren't of any comfort. Yes, she would move on eventually but she would never see him the same and the cycle would continue to repeat. He was a leader of the Volturi, murder was a requirement. Although he did like Alora, he wouldn't stop for her. He wouldn't change who he was for her.
"I know." Caius murmurs, clenching his jaw. The fact that she made him loose his mind and influenced him to grow furious and sloppy. Mass murdering people in a small town was an amateur move. He started to beat himself up, not believing that he had lost his temper that horribly.

Marcus opened his mouth to speak but as soon as he felt a gust of wind blow past him it was obvious that Caius wasn't willing to converse any longer. The blonde vampire, the murderer, stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom. He stared into his reflection and after a while, he saw what Alora saw.

He saw a monster.

But unlike her, he didn't hate it.

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AUTHORS NOTE | Two chapters within a few hours, wooohoooo. I'm deciding to publish this now instead of waiting since I genuinely hate having chapter drafts, it confuses me sm. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!