Volturi (The Three Kings L.S)

7- Ready or not

Attarah froze at the sudden voice, every muscle in her stiffening as though they'd been preserved in ice for centuries, her heart flaring as though she was a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Very very slowly, the person walked toward her, she knew who it was but made no move to turn as she heard the expensive leather of his shoes as she moved behind the couch where she sat.

If she were to turn, he would see the panic upon her features, the tear tracks down her cheeks and he'd see that she had a breakdown, she had been doing so well, she had been so happy though one can only be happy for a time, crying was a healthy human reaction, especially if your world had been crushed from a cheap yet beautiful amethyst into powder before being slowly reformed into a gorgeous expensive diamond.

"Attarah?" Caius asked once more though she refused to move, she couldn't look into the gorgeously unique red eyes he possessed with no guilt after the thoughts of his disloyal love she'd experienced, she had questioned her own mate and she felt utterly appalled with herself.

"Baby?" His hands placed on her shoulders from behind and gently caressed her exposed skin, panic evident in his stance.

"Talk to me?" He pleaded as he finally moved into her line of sight, crouching to her level and assessing her for injury before spotting the liquid pain and guilt swirling in the green orbs he adored.

"What happened?" The blond man questioned, hoping for a reaction of any kind and so when she slowly released her stiffened stance and flopped into his chest, he was relieved yet worried still.

"I'm sorry" she whispered and he frowned but still held her tighter as she practically climbed him to wrap herself around him like vines, her legs encircling his waist, hands holding her shoulders and face in his hair.

"For what?" He queried nervously as her breath fanned his extra sensitive skin, sparks flying along his flesh and raising metaphorical goosebumps along with a stiffening situation lower down.

"I doubted you" at those words he pulled his face away from her to get a clear view of her eyed though she misunderstood and rejection washed for her as she stumbled to her feet, tears pooling.

"No..no I didn't" he tried to rush out but failed at calming her, loneliness affected the little brunette in peculiar ways.

"Hey" he whispered softly as she sat on the couch once more, forcing her face into her hands in disgust at herself, she couldn't even control the way she was acting. "I wasn't rejecting you, love, I was curious as to why you doubted me."

"I doubted you all." She mumbled and he tilted his head as he sat beside her, his piercing gaze inquiring her. Her mood swings could only relate, in his mind, to the stress of such changes in her life and that could cause a minor depression.

"How so?" She took a deep breath as she stood, walking to the French style patio doors and swinging them open to allow the light to enter along with a gentle soothing breeze.

"I was left alone with my thoughts and I began to wonder if you were going to get bored of me...I wouldn't exactly blame you if you did, I hate myself and I don't deserve you...any of you" she informed as she looked out over the gardens, slowly walking out to the balcony and placing her palms against the thick ledge.

"Why would you think that?" He asked suddenly as he appeared behind her, his chest directly to her back.

"Pardon?"

"Tell me what you hate about yourself" he growled out possessively and she was suddenly airborne. The next thing she registered was the feel of the vintage golden chaise pressing against her back.

"Everything" she mumbled and suddenly felt his lips on hers, what was he attempting to do? He sat up on the chaise and dragged her onto his lap, turning to lay her back against the back of the chaise.

"Any specifics?" He mumbled out as his lips trailed down her throat to the top of her dress as he gently caressed wherever he could reach.

"Um..I hate my body" she stuttered out, vulnerable and at his complete mercy. Caius looked up from beneath his lashes at her as he slid onto the floor on his knees.

"You shouldn't" he smirked and lifted the loose fabric of her skirt, pulling it up as she scrambled to pull it down. Caius smirked as he tightly held the fabric in an iron grip at her mid-thigh, his eyes assessing her legs that were clamped shut before his eyes.

"Now this won't do" he smirked and put a hand on each of her knees, pushing her legs open before she could react. Gasping, Attarah sat up straight as she struggled, his lips trailing along on her inner thigh.

"What are you going to do?" He smirked at her, knowing that she didn't want him to take her in the middle of a public Volturi castle library, especially as she was unprepared. He used her emotions to his advantage as he kissed higher.

"You have to say that I love you and I will stop"

"What?" She gasped in shock and confusion though she received no answer as his lips travelled higher, her eyes widened in fear as she scrambled to find words.

"You love me?"

"Who am I?" He smirked and she frowned, finally understanding his game and knowing that she was going to get him back.

"King Caius Volturi loves me" she gasped, his lips a few centimetres away from her pubic bone.

"And who are you?" He smirked and moved his hands up to grab the top of her underwear, causing her to scream gently and struggle.

"King Caius Volturi loves me, Attarah Swan" she informed and he pulled back, she fell to one side gasping and when she looked up, he was shocked to see tears trickling along her cheeks before she stood and ran away.

Marcus and Aro walked the corridors side-by-side after exiting their meeting, Caius had disappeared a long while previously, claiming to have been bored and they could only guess he was with Attarah so they followed her scent to the room where it was strongest, finding Caius sat on the floor beside the chaise with shocked eyes.

"Caius?' Aro questioned in confusion as he glanced around, spotting a pile of displaced books on the coffee table and an empty mug of something he didn't completely recognize though he thought it to be coffee.

"I pushed her too far, I didn't know my limits and I was angry about her going away with Marcus and I pushed her too far" he rushed out, repeating himself over and over again, the same sentence. 'I pushed her too far'.

"I shall go and find her" Marcus informed as he stood, allowing Aro to deal with that particular situation, he loved Attarah as much as them though he'd had a mate in the past and he knew what to do whereas the other two worked on instinct... Regretting it later.

"Marcus?" A sweet voice asked as he neared her bedroom, he turned to see her wearing what the humans call onesies, it was fluffy, her curls escaping the hood that she had pulled up.

"Attarah my dear" he smiled gently and stepped toward her with increasing hesitance, though she did not reject him when he did finally wrap an arm around her, she returned the embrace, feeling like a little teddy bear in his arms.

"Are you tired?" She nodded, he was slightly shocked by this but it was eight in the evening, the meetings had run over extensively and she hadn't had the best sleep recently.

Marcus picked her up from beneath the arms as a parent lifts a child and her legs wrapped around his waist, her face burying into his neck as her hood concealed her completely.

The oldest appearing Volturi king carried his mate back down the hallway, her heart rate decreased to a gentle patter as they walked and he smiled when her breathing evened out, her body falling into a well-needed slumber.

Finally reaching his room which proved to be further away than he first suspected, Marcus kicked the door open gently and walked inside, spotting his brothers on the couch beside the bed and he walked to the aforementioned furniture.

As Marcus went to set Attarah on the bed, she pulled him down beside her and curled into his chest, her head resting in his chest. Smiling down, the king stroked her curls gently between his fingers with a smile adorning his features.

"What exactly did you do Caius?" Aro queried as he watched his little mate snuggle into his brother affectionately with a soft smile on her sleeping features.

"I just kissed her and she didn't like it" he lied gently and both the brothers looked unconvinced, reaching over Aro took his hand and read what happened before pulling back with a frown.

"Caius!" He suddenly yelled in outrage, they all knew that they were only to move at her pace and there he was forcing her to do something she didn't want, Aro wouldn't accept it.

Though amongst the breakout of yells that suddenly began between the two hot-headed kings, they failed to notice a little brunette awakening and sitting to stare wide-eyed at them whilst Marcus scrambled to calm both parties and the onlooker.

"Brothers! Control yourselves" he yelled and Attarah almost jumped out of her skin, her heart slamming continuously against her ribcage as all three men turned to stare at her.

Her eyes widened largely and she slowly pulled the covers up over her head in a hiding motion though her hair escaped the confinement of the quilts. Since she was a child, she'd done that and old habits stick with people.

"Just go and cool down brothers" Marcus informed and they left, turning to his mate he could feel her shaking from beneath the sheets, he knew what was wrong with her at that moment, she'd never seen any of them act violent and they were suddenly shouting and screaming at one another.

Her heart was torn between who's side to stand on when it came down to a fight as they were both her mates and she loved them equally.

"Sleep my darling" Marcus hushed and her eyes fluttered closed to wonder where Marcus would take her the next day, for once dreaming happily about the endless possibilities of living eternally with the men she loved, even if they all acted hotheaded at times, she loved them irrevocably.

Marcus smiled down at his beautiful mate before sliding out from underneath where she lay and making his way to the wardrobe, stepping inside and grabbing the handles of the suitcases inside, one his and the others hers.

When back in the room, Marcus lent the large cases against a wall and placed a pile of clothes in the desk for her which he'd been given by Miranda, they were casual though still immensely expensive.

Marcus had planned to take her to England the following day, to a high-end hotel which was secluded and beautiful, the weather was to be rainy most of the time though not entirely cold which he was thankful of, he didn't want her to freeze. 

"We're going to have a fun time my love" he whispered as he rejoined her on the bed.

---

Attarah awoke and glanced around groggily to spot Aro and Caius sat one either side of Marcus' desk though the owner of the room was nowhere in sight and she sighed, throwing an arm over her eyes to shield from the light blinding through the room.

"Attarah?" The voice of Aro spoke in a question, almost as if he wasn't sure if she'd awoken or not though she had. Staying as still as possible, she attempted to even her heartbeat and breathing, she didn't want to talk to them, she just needed a few hours to process everything.

"I know you're awake" a voice spoke directly beside her, and she screamed, rolling off the bed and backing away from Caius, leaving him standing in shock, her heartbeat rocketing.

"Please, I just need time" she pleaded as he unfroze, his features hardening to hide his pain.

"I'm sorry Attarah" he pleaded in return and Aro watched on in equal shock at the scene, Attarahs fear blatantly obvious. Eventually, she managed to come to her senses somewhat and she moved to Caius, hugging him softly, somewhat stiffly, evidently still quite unforgiving for the previous day's events.

"It's okay, I just needed a while to get my head around things, when I'm back I know I'll be better...I'll be okay, I promise" she spoke gently, softly as though she was speaking to a broken child which in a way she was, Caius was vulnerable at that point.

"I love you" he informed and she smiled gently.

"I know" she whispered and kissed his cheek before walking to Aro, caressing his face before giving him a peck before they left with slightly happier expressions to what they held when they entered.

As quickly as they exited, Marcus entered, standing before where she had moved to sit on the end of his bed. He smiled gently and she returned it, however hard she tried to conceal it, he could see her excitement.

"We leave at nine my love, the jet is ready, if you get changed, you can eat on the plane okay?" He smiled when she nodded vigorously and stood up, kissing his cheek before accepting the pile of clothes from the table that he now held.

"I'll be quick" she promised and he smiled.

"You've got an hour" he informed and she finally chose to assess his outfit, his hair was tied up and he was wearing dark grey jeans, a shirt and dress shoes. Classy yet somehow still modern, she loved it though he could evidently look gorgeous in anything.

"I'll be back soon" she smiled and rushed into the bathroom, he heard the shower running in no more than five minutes.

When Attarah finally emerged from the bathroom she found Marcus sat waiting for her in the same place she left him. She wore high waisted blue jeans which increased her waist, she also wore a light pink top and rose gold striped superstars with a lilac rain Mac.