*Carlisle's POV

  I loved hearing Elizabeth's voice again. I've been impatiently waiting for my phone to ring but once she finally called, the way she spoke was breaking my heart.'To say goodbye'...? Did I really lose you? "Of course... I'm gd you're ok, Ellie." I got out of myself and ended the call. Even though there was something wrong about the way she talked I was truly gd that she seemed to be alright.

  Felix... I heard of him. It was Volturi's physically strongest guard and an unrivaled fighter. He was dealing with newborn armies in the south when I stayed with Aro in Volterra so I didn't actually get to meet him though. 'My partner' she said... Suddenly my phone disappeared from my hand that clenched into a fist.

  "Ummm... I didn't see why, but you shouldn't destroy your only way of communication with Elizabeth." Alice told me, holding my phone and looking at me quizzically. They just returned from a hunt.

  "What happened?" Jasper asked. He must have felt my anger and pain.

  "It seems that Aro learned of Elizabeth's talent..."

  "What do you mean?" Emmett didn't understand while Jasper looked worried.

  "You know that Edward can read the thoughts of those around him." I started and Emmett nodded. "Well, while Edward is unable to read Elizabeth's mind, she is able to use her thoughts to communicate with those around her. She only began learning to handle her ability but she struggles to control it and sometimes uses it unintentionally when under stress." I expined. "Elizabeth called me a moment ago. She... sounded strange. She mentioned Edward and that she pissed off one of the twins."

  "Don't tell me, Jane?" Alice gasped.

  "Yes. But she said that she's fine. She spoke as if she was already a member of the Volturi. I can only imagine that whatever happened between her and Jane revealed her gift to Aro and he maniputed her into joining them."

  "How can he do that? You're her mate, how can she leave you?" Rosalie inquired.

  "Elizabeth was suddenly thrusted into a world she had no knowledge of. I didn't want to add to it and confuse her any more than she already was thanks to Edward." I paused. "Well, I was about to tell her... but Edward couldn't have timed her kidnapping better." I clenched my fist again.

  "There's a vampire that Aro keeps close to him. She has the ability to break, manipute or even create new bonds between people. He uses her to make the vampires he finds valuable to join the Volturi without them knowing or questioning why they feel loyal to him. Her power isn't able to break the bond between mates but Elizabeth is still basically unmated..." Even though I spent nearly three days by her side through her transition, I had so little time with her before she was taken from me once again.

  "Aro and I are long time friends. However, I can't imagine him letting her go easily once he got her under his influence." I knew he treasured our friendship. But I was also aware of his lust for power and desire to gather vampires with unique talents under him.

  "Whatever you do, we're with you." Jasper stated and Alice hugged him happily.

  I looked at Rosalie. "Count us in!" Emmett announced instead. Rose nodded in agreement and Emmett kissed her.

  "What do you want to do?" Rosalie asked.

  "There's a small vilge called Bulciano about 50 miles from Volterra. We're moving there." I wasn't sure what to do yet. But I could do nothing from across the ocean.

  *Elizabeth's POV

  My room was simple. There was an armchair, desk with a ptop, bookshelf, a closet and a small bathroom with nothing but a shower and a basin. I was used to simple. I had everything I could need here. There was also a robe hanging on the side of the closet. Same robe everyone here seemed to be wearing. Most of the time at least. What surprised me was its colour. I sort of expected to get one, however, I thought it would be gray since I was new. I still didn't understand why Felix's was so light compared to the others around Aro. The robe I was given was as dark as Jane and Alec's.

  I freshened up and wore bck leggins that I found in the closet as well as a long sleeved t-shirt of the same shade my robe was. I tried the robe on but took it off again. No wonder Felix took it off when we went to train. It was quite uncomfortable to move in. When I was putting away my jeans from before, something fell out of their pocket. Oh, right. I have a phone. I quickly picked it up. Careful to not break it I inspected it for any damage from the fall. A sigh of relief escaped me when I didn't find any.

  I remembered that I used the day I became a vampire as a password and unlocked it. I got this for my birthday. Dr. Cullen gave it to me. There was only one number and a name. "Carlisle...?" Why did I use his first name? I was confused. Felix brought me here so suddenly, I didn't get a chance to get Jasper's number. I missed him. I knew I belonged here. As Felix's partner I needed to quickly improve, but it bothered me that I didn't get to say goodbye to any of the Cullens and decided to call them.

  Waiting for the call to connect, I thought about Dr. Cullen. Even for how briefly I knew him, he was the kindest person I've met. Wait... Didn't we kiss? Why? As I stared at my wall, confused, thinking about it and holding my phone to my ear, a beautiful but concerned voice came through. "Elizabeth! Are you alright? Did they do anything to you?"

  Why did my chest hurt, hearing his worried voice? "Hello, Dr. Cullen. Yes, I'm fine." I reassured him, pushing my confusing thoughts aside. "Edward kept bothering me and I guess I pissed off the little girl Jane but my partner Felix protected me so I'm good now. Thank you for your concern. I... wanted to apologize for not getting to say goodbye. Could you perhaps send me Jasper's number, please?"

  "Of course." He replied. "I'm gd you're ok, Ellie." Then he hung up. I couldn't help but think he sounded sad. Why did I feel like crying all of a sudden? I was home here, wasn't I? I had all I needed and a partner I could depend on. So why did I feel like there was a part of me missing when I thought about the gentle smile of Carlisle Cullen, knowing that there was an ocean separating us?

  * * *

  "Hey little one, you need to focus." Felix compined as he sent me flying again. We've been training for about four days now but I couldn't get the hang of my 'commanding thoughts'. Unless he managed to piss me off, teasing me about my name or Edward, I couldn't get it to work. On the other hand, whenever he called me Ellie, I would think of Carlisle and lose focus completely.

  "Or should I call you Beth, to get your attention?" He smirked at me as he caught my leg that I tried to kick his side with and then he kicked my standing leg from underneath me. He didn't release my leg from his grip but lifted it above his head, causing me to hang upside down.

  "Don't you fucking dare." I warned him, angry that he was doing it again. Call me Elizabeth! I grabbed onto his waist and kicked his chin with my free leg, making him stagger backwards and loosen his grip on my ankle. With a swing of my legs I freed myself, flipped and nded on my feet. However, he immediately caught me yet again.

  "Elizabeth..." Felix trapped my arms under his, put one of his legs between mine and as he kicked one of my feet from underneath me, he used his huge body to pin me to the floor. "Who is it you keep thinking about?" He suddenly asked, looking deep into my eyes and I froze.

  "What are you talking about?" I tried to feign ignorance.

  "You're a bad liar, little one." He gave me a small smile that looked somewhat sad while he lifted on his elbows. "Your eyes tell me everything, remember?" Felix reminded me as he stood up, pulling me to my feet. I avoided his gaze. Felix saw right through me from the moment we met. It seemed like nothing escaped him. "Are they the reason you pushed me away when I tried to kiss you? The look in your eyes before you did... for a moment I thought it belonged to me." Shocked, I looked up at him and he leaned down to me. "Whoever it is, I envy them." He whispered as his lips touched my forehead.

  As I just stared at him, wide eyed, Felix pced his big hand on the top of my head and lightly ruffled my hair, smiling at me. "Let's take a break. Heidi's bringing food soon. I'll get you when she arrives." And with that he left me alone.

  I walked to my room a little dazed. Wondering about what Felix said and that he could tell I've been thinking about Carlisle. Wait... food? I frowned. "Ellie!" I turned around and saw Felix at the end of the hall. "Heidi's already here, hurry up."

  "Coming." I told him, running to catch up to him as he spun around and set off to the throne room. Not five minutes after we entered the room, a beautiful female vampire known as Heidi walked in with a bunch of people who looked like tourists and closed the door behind them. The moment the door closed, each vampire in the room grabbed onto a person from the group and bit into their neck, drinking their blood.

  I knew what Felix meant when he said 'food'. His, just like everybody else's eyes, told me as much. Somehow, I managed to get myself into a denial about it for the entirety of my stay here. Until now. Now I couldn't tell myself that it wasn't happening when it was taking pce right in front of me and I was expected to take part in it too. All the hearts pumping deliciously smelling blood seemed to be calling me.

  As I stood there still slightly shocked, attempting to fight my urge to sink my teeth into first artery I could get my hands on, one woman from the group, that nobody got to yet, apparently thought that she could find safety with me. "Please, help me!" She pleaded but when I grabbed her arms and groaned with hunger, too te she understood that I was the st one she should seek help from. "No! Let me go!" She screamed, just like all the others, struggling in vain against my hold on her.

  The terrified screams were doubled for me as I could hear their frantic minds. This was one of the reasons I didn't want to feed on humans. The other one being that I didn't want to hurt anyone. I couldn't take their inner screaming anymore. Calm down! In an instant the woman in my arms stopped struggling. She was just calmly looking at me. She smelled so good, my throat burned and I felt myself slowly giving in to my thirst.

  Felix must have noticed my hesitation. "Ellie?" I heard him but didn't move. 'It's alright Ellie...' I recalled Carlisle's soothing voice and closed my eyes. I remembered the way he looked at me the first time he called me that way. I let go of the woman and took a step back. Carlisle was kind and compassionate. He devoted himself to helping people instead of killing them. Would he look at me the same way if I killed this woman? He accepted me the way I was but I couldn't imagine him being able to accept me if I became a killer. I have to get my thirst under control somehow. Ran through my mind. If I gave in and killed a human, I wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes again.

  I felt Felix's hand on my shoulder and looked up at him. "I can't." I shook my head and ran out of the room. He followed me.

  "What's wrong?" Felix grabbed my shoulder, making me stop.

  "Felix, I can't. I don't want to hurt people."

  He looked a little apologetic. "But you have to feed, Ellie."

  "I know, can we... Can you take me outside? To the woods? I'll catch some animal. Please!" I gazed up at him, hopeful.

  My request clearly confused him. "It's not like we can't, but really? An animal?"

  "Yes. Do you know the coven Edward kidnaped me from? Cullens? They feed on animals instead of humans too. Please, don't make me hurt anyone..." My voice got weaker as I hung my head, expecting him to turn me down.

  "You're lucky it's nighttime. They apparently started doing the 'midnight tours' since it's the beginning of fall. Get your robe. You have to wear it when you go outside." He told me, causing me to lift my head in surprise and a corner of his mouth rose up. "What are you waiting for?" He chuckled when I just stared at him, speechless.

  "Thank you!" Grateful and happy I jumped up and kissed his cheek. Stunned, he just stood there as I turned around and ran to my room.

  I put my robe on and met with Felix by the elevator. "You need one more thing." He said when we got in, and pulled something out of his pocket. Surprised and curious, I watched him pce a long golden neckce with a pendant with a big letter 'V' around my neck. "There. Now you finally look like one of the guards." He smirked at me, making me grin back.

  With our hoods covering our heads and mostly even faces, we ran out of the town. "There's a number of national reservations but I suppose the forest of St. Antonio is the pce to go if you want to avoid humans." He informed me. "Let's go. It's a bit of a run to the east from here." About fifteen minutes ter we stopped by a valley surrounded by hills and a vast forest. "Want me to come with you?" Felix offered, although he didn't seem to find my idea of feeding on an animal pleasant.

  "Thanks. No, I'm good. Since we're quite a distance from Volterra, you can go and get some more for yourself too. I know you didn't get much to drink because of me earlier." I felt bad for whoever would end up being his food, but as long as he didn't try to force it on me, I was in no position to judge his way of living. Humans were naturally the source of food for vampires after all. No matter how much I didn't like it.

  My comment shocked him but he quickly recovered and grinned at me. "Works with me. There's about four hours until sunrise. I'll meet you here in two, ok?"

  "Roger that." I grinned back, saluting and then we split up.

  Even though it was the middle of the night, I kept an eye out for any human, possibly wandering through the woods, so the encounter with them wouldn't take me by surprise. I went deeper into the woods, wondering whether there lived mountain lions here as I passed a few hares and remembered Emmett's teasing. Then I caught a glimpse of a bear. Hehe. Where are you now, bear boy? Crossed my mind as I thought how I'd like to show him that I can take down a bear too and stalked towards my prey.

  Suddenly, someone came from the opposite side, gracefully jumping and taking the bear down before I got close enough to do it myself. I was hungry and it pissed me off. Growling, I made my way towards them. They growled too and lifted their head from the animal, causing me to freeze on the spot. These eyes...

  The moment he saw me, he straightened up and came to me. "Elizabeth..." He breathed out, and reached out to pull my hood from my head. "What are you doing here?" He asked incredulously as he caressed my cheek.

  I felt like I'd been waiting forever for his touch and blissfully closed my eyes, keeping his hand on my cheek with my own. "I came here to hunt." I told him, opening my eyes. This wasn't a memory. He was truly standing in front of me. I lifted my hand to touch his handsome face as he smiled down at me. Then I noticed a drop of blood on his lips and couldn't take my eyes away. After resisting the humans I was so thirsty and I couldn't find a reason to try and fight the pull towards the man himself either.

  "Carlisle..." I didn't know if I wanted to warn him or plead with him, but I somehow tore my eyes from the drop of blood to look into his eyes. Only to be met by the same hunger that I felt and I reached up to pull him to me, licking the drop off his lip before lightly nibbling on it.

  Carlisle groaned and as one of his hands grabbed the back of my head, the other one pressed me to his strong body while his lips covered mine. I purred in contentment when his tongue stroked over my lips, demanding an entrance and I welcomed it. The taste of blood together with his ever present scent was driving me crazy. In my desire to feel him closer I tore his shirt off of him while he took off my robe and pulled my t-shirt off of me just as fast.

  I leaped up to get closer to him and locked my legs around his waist. While we continued to passionately kiss, he grabbed my ass and his other hand caressed my body until it found one of my breasts. Feeling his gentle yet strong hand fondle it, I moaned, wanting more. Unsure when it happened, the hand clutching my ass was suddenly under my pants and I purred again as it slowly made its way towards the center of my burning desire. I called his name as I moaned when his fingers stroked my soft spot and entered me, sending a wave of incredible pleasure through my body.

  "Please, cim me..." I pleaded, baring my throat to him while I moved my hips in rhythm to meet his fingers and felt my nearing climax.

  "Elizabeth, you-" He spoke up surprised and I quickly reassured him. I wanted him like nothing before. And I wanted him forever.

  "Yes Carlisle... I'm yours. Take me..." After today's conversation with Felix I realized how big of an idiot I was. Carlisle was trying to tell me that I was his mate before Edward took me away. All that time I spent reassuring myself that nothing I learned about mates fit on me and Edward, I completely missed the fact that all of it described what I felt when with Carlisle. Not to mention that I have fallen in love with the compassionate and kind hearted man.

  Carlisle didn't need any more urging and I couldn't stifle a scream of pleasure when I felt his teeth pierce my skin. "Carlisle..." I moaned as he licked his mark and continued to kiss up my neck, until his lips found mine again. Then he took a hold of my waist and I let him set me down. We quickly got rid of both of our pants and I looked at him longingly. This man is mine. I thought and jumped into his arms again.

  Feeling his beautiful and powerful body pressed to mine, I wanted everyone to know that he belonged to me and nobody else. Teasing him with my teeth, tracing his shoulder all the way to his neck, I slowly kissed him there. "Elizabeth, please..." He moaned hoarsely and his hold on me tightened. I wanted to tease him some more. To make him completely lose control. But hearing him moan my name while his hard member pressed against my core, my own desire betrayed me and I sunk my teeth into the crook of his neck at the same time he filled me.

  The next thing I knew, my back was pressed to a wide trunk of a tree and I kept pushing my hips hard against Carlisle's as he thrusted into me, wanting to be as close to him as possible. Feeling him deep inside of me, relishing the sensation of him filling me over and over again, I soon screamed in ecstasy of another orgasm and Carlisle's followed right after.

  Drowning in happiness, I gazed into his warm golden eyes and couldn't believe that it was real while he kept holding me close. I love you Carlisle. I leaned to him. Now satisfied, I gave him a soft, loving kiss. "I love you too, Ellie." He said with a dreamy smile. A light breeze brought the scent of the bear's blood to my nose and I groaned with hunger. "Ugh... I need to hurry up. I'm still thirsty."

  "Are you now?" A devilish smile appeared on Carlisle's lips and he pushed his hips against me, making me moan again.

  It took all I had to not pull him into a passionate kiss and go for another round. But the thought of coming across a human while still hungry, terrified me. "I'm serious Carlisle. I won't st another Heidi's 'food delivery' if I don't manage to feed now. I was given two hours..."