TEN YEARS LATER

In the beautiful town of Volterra, there lived a sixteen-year-old girl, well, young woman. However, this young woman was not like any other young woman in the small town, but the future queen of the vampire race. As the young girl walked down the narrow streets of her hometown, she couldn't settle the feeling of something pending in the air, but she just shook the feeling and adjusted her red cloak being careful not to drop the freshly baked bread and other items in her hands. On this day, Saint Marcos Day, the people of Volterra gather in the middle of the main street to look at floats, decorations and give offerings to the Saint to celebrate the banishment of all vampires.

Reniece always loved this holiday for some reason, it was this day when she felt happiest, and it would explain why she always went all out with her offerings. She bought wine, strawberries, grapes, pretzels, strawberry pies, and roses all from the local grocery shop, however, she prepared and baked the bread personally.

Reniece hummed and then sighed in contentment, a slight warm breeze making her longs curls wave behind her. She continued to walk past the familiar homes that had existed way before she was born, even though, the neighborhood she lived in was old and dangerous, it's beauty was never taken.

It's been ten years since Reniece met those three men that night, and since then her mothers never let the girl go anywhere by herself. She even walks to school with her best friends every day, Naomi and Kevin. The reason why they were unable to go with her to the festival was that they were busy celebrating Saint Marcos in their way.

Once the girl gets to the end of the neighborhood block, her hazel eyes subconsciously searched the crowded street to settle on a young woman and young man standing by a blue Mercedes Benz, appearing to be waiting for someone. The caramel-skinned girl began making her way towards the car and halfway the young woman who was leaning on the car made eye contact. The young woman flashed a smile as she went to meet the girl in the middle. Her dark brown hair swung from side to side as she ran.

When the young woman reached the younger girl, she gave her a warm hug before pulling away, her chocolate brown eyes shining with happiness.

"Ehi, Renéece! Sei pronto per partire?" The young woman who went by the name of Mary asked, the sweet tone of her voice was lighter as she took her red cloak that was hanging on her arm and slipped it on. ("Hey Reniece! Are you ready to go?")

"Sì, avete organizzato tutto voi ragazzi?" ("Yes, did you guys set up everything?") Reniece smiled. "Hai la tua offerta?" ("Do you have your offerings?")

Mary made a positive hum nodding her head. "Si. Ho le mie offerte sul sedile posteriore." ("Yeah, my offering is in the backseat.") She said before suddenly gasping making Reniece jump. "Oh! Aspetta di vedere l'hotel che Javier ha prenotato per noi. È così bello!" (Oh! Wait to you see the hotel that Javier picked. It's so beautiful!") Mary squealed. She grabbed Reniece's hand and drags her towards the car when she was meet with an impatient looking Javier.

Mary was the fiance of the son of one of the most influential businessmen in Italy, so, that meant Javier was used to having everything at his beck and call. When they reached the car, Reniece greeted him in her native language which caused him to roll his hazel green eyes and walk to the driver's side of the car, getting inside she opened the door and slipped into the passenger's seat before closing the door.

"Caio." Renience greeted again, it was aimed at Javier, who still did not return her reply, the only thing he does is glance at the girl through the interior mirror before pushing the 'start' button to the car and driving off. Reniece raises a perfectly arched eyebrow a the driver's rudeness.

'Ill-mannered dick...' Reniece thought.

She never could understand why Mary would dating someone like him. He was arrogant and shallow, it was completely different from Mary who was sweet and soft-spoken.

Reniece sat the basket of baked and bought goods on the empty space next to her, however, she kept her hand on the handle as she did not want it to fall. The second the goods were secured, the car accelerated. Javier pushed a button on the car roof and immediately the top of the car unhooked from its primary, rested position, and folded itself until the insides of the car were exposed.

Her life was not the only thing that has changed. When she was younger the girl used to have thin, small legs, a flat chest, and brown doe eyes, which of course was because of being unmatured.

Now, at sixteen years old, she had an hourglass figure with thick thighs that stuck out to the male species (in other words, plus size), beautiful 36 double D breasts, a deep dimple on her right cheek, and her eye color slightly changed into hazel- brown.

Reniece and Mary were ecstatic about the trip to the town square, well, Reniece was more than them. Reniece always felt an intense pull to the Volterra castle and she didn't know why, but ever since she was six years old she always had an ache in her heart. The girl couldn't remember what happened to her for those pains to manifest.

As years went by and Reniece developed into a young woman, the pain developed as well, especially at night. She would see flashes of blonde, or occasionally, black and brown hair. It looked like the body of men, but each of them was built differently. One was muscular, the other lean, and another was athletic. They seemed to be intimate with women who had different body types, some she sees regularly, and others she never saw before. Although, those erotic flashes didn't come until her sixteenth birthday.

It was so severe that Reniece was house written for a whole year and had to finish school online. The doctors thought she had a heart deficiency, however, that theory was wrong because, after a series of tests, trials, and errors, they found nothing wrong with her.

Then shortly after the chest pains subdued, she started to have these talents or habits that she did not have before like drawing, listening to none lyrical music, and sometimes Reniece could feel her fingers moving like she was playing the piano. It was the feedback of what someone else was doing.

These strange occurrences were one of the motives why Reniece cherished Saint Marco's day. It seemed as soon as she stepped foot on the courtyard of the Volterra castle her body was filled with contentment and happiness. Unknowingly, her body was responding to being so close to its counterparts.

As they continue their journey to the town square, Mary scrolled through her Instagram feed while Reniece took over the radio, Mr. Patatoe Head by an American artist was currently playing.

Out of all of her songs, Reniece genuinely felt as she could relate to 'Mr. Patotoe Head' because of the message and purpose behind it. Society constantly tells girls that they should look a certain way.

In the music video, one thing that pissed Reniece off was the fact that the girl's 'boyfriend' made her go to see a face surgeon to get a lift and a lip injection when the girl was already beautiful.

After the girl did get her surgery, the dude felt like it was okay to fucking cut her hair while she sleeping, but how in the hell did she not feel him in her hair? Reniece knew if someone, boyfriend, or not tried to cut her hair without her permission, she would beat the literal shit out of them.

"We are here," Javier said. He pushed the button again to power the car down and got out, closing the door behind him before going to Mary's side and opening the door for her. Mary held her hand out for him to grab which he took as she gracefully rose out of the car. Javier closed the door for her before grabbing her hand leading her to a restaurant near the town square.

When Reniece got out of the car and closed the door she followed behind the couple who was already ahead of her. She blushed when she saw the dark brown haired girl pull Javier into a sweet yet short kiss before pulling away. Reniece heard Mary let out a cute giggle as she saw the red tint and flustered expression on the hazel- green-eyed boy's face. Javier took the dark-haired girl's hand and gently twirled her around, looking down at her with devotion. Reniece glanced at the aged concrete ground as jealousy flooded through her body and suddenly she had a lump in her throat. She did not know why she was filled with that negative emotion when the couple was just expressing their love for each other. In a way, Reniece always wanted someone to love her like that, to hold her when they were taking a walk or kissing her just because the person could, but it never worked out for her for two reasons.

One: Reniece had a lot of trust issues, especially, when it came to the male gender.

Two: Being with someone felt wrong.

They walked inside the restaurant and picked a table that was sat at the far end of the huge building.

Once the triad sat down, they picked up the menu placed on the table and read the meals. A moment later a waitress came to the table and greeted them in Italian before asking them what they wanted for their drinks. Xavier had bottled water while Mary and Reniece ordered a glass of beer. In Tuscany Italy, the legal drinking age was sixteen years old, however, people could still drink publicly if they did not go over 0.5 milligrams. Italy was very strict on serious subjects such as drinking. If you get caught above the limit then you can be fined, your car can be confiscated, or imprisoned.

The waitress left to get their drinking before coming back a second later, sitting down two bud lights and one bottled water.

The waitress pulled out a note pad and pen, reading herself for the order. "Cominciamo prima con gli antipasti. Cosa vorresti?" She asked. ("Let us start with appetizers first. What would you like?")

Reniece glanced at the couple across from her as if asking them if they wanted to order their meals first. Javier shook his head and gestured to his girlfriend. "Avrò i ravioli bolliti come antipasto e i gamberi Alfredo come pasto principale," Mary explained as she handed the waitress her menu. ("I'll have boiled ravioli as a starter and Alfredo shrimp as a main meal.") Once the menu was in her hand, the waitress tucked the menu underneath her armpit and wrote down her meal selection.

Reniece went next ordering the fried ravioli with salsa dip, parmesan pasta noddles, and a strawberry iced tea.

"Otterrò ciò che la mia donna sta ottenendo," Javier said curtly giving the waitress his menu without as much as a glance at her. ("I will what my woman is having.")

The waitress frowned at his poor manners, but she bowed her head in respect. "Sì, signor Gomez. Il tuo cibo finirà tra poco." The waitress said before walking away. ("Yes, mister Gomez. Your food will be finished momentarily.")

Reniece grabbed her bud light and used the silver wear spoon to pop open the bottle before taking a sip of the cold liquid. By the time the food was placed on the table, Mary and Reniece were finished with their beers. "Buon Appetito." The waitress collected the bottles on a tray before walking away leaving them to their meals. ("Enjoy your meal.")

After they were finished with their meals, the trio stood up and left the restaurant. Relieve got into the car with the couple following behind as she pulled out her phone and texted her best friends Naomi and Kevin.

Reniece 🥰

What are you guys doing?

Naomi 👩🏿
Cooking pastries for community service. It's for my college resume.

Kevin 🌈

I am at my Abuela's house. She is trying to set me up with a girl and is completely ignoring the fact that I like men. I like this 🍆 not that😺.

Reniece chuckled and shook her head at her male friend's message.

Reniece 🥰

Aw. Poor Kevin 😂.

Kevin 🌈

🖕

Reniece snorts rolling her hazel brown eyes as she puts her phone back into her pocket. Then she noticed that they stopped. The pair was looking at the girl with their cloak hoods already over their heads. "Sorry." She blushed.

"No, it's fine. We were explaining that we will have to hike the rest of the way through. The crowd is too tight." Mary said before stepping out of the automobile and going the back seat to grab her offering. Reniece followed and grabbed her basket before stepping out of the car, closing the door behind herself.

The three strolled towards the huge crowd of people where they were met with boisterous shouting. The source of the ruckus was people shouting blessings to the Saint as his parade float drifted past them. Once Reniece saw the monument of the Saint at the distant corner of the crowd, she instantly began to moved people out of her way while saying 'excuse me' in Italian. As soon as she stepped foot towards the statue of Saint Marcus and the castle it was posted in front of, a warm and positive energy flood throughout her body causing her to shudder in fulfillment. Reniece kneeled in front of the statue and sat down the basket, looking to notice many other offerings similar to hers laying about.

She said a quick prayer in her head as she took out the goods she brought and placed them in front of the statue before pressing a kiss on its foot.

'See you next year.' She thought and walked back into the crowd.

Meanwhile, in the castle above her head, there were three men in a throne room, one of those men was the Saint himself, which is ironic giving that he is the thing he was presumed to have expelled from Italy. The kings were doing different activities such as reading or talking to the guard when they felt pressure on their undead hearts making them cease their movements.

"She's near," Marcus whispered in his sorrowful tone, however, the corner of his mouth began to transform into a smile as venom tears pooled in his crimson eyes.

Caius clenched his chest as he tried to fight the bond, however, it only backfired causing him excruciating pain. He believed his mate was still too young to fully be his. He did not want to force her into completing their bond and she ended up regretting not being able to experience more about life, but at that moment all his previous beliefs were invalid, everything inside of him wanted her. He was tempted to get up from his throne and find her, no matter if anyone saw. He could kill them later.

"Fratelli, posso sentirla," Aro said brokenly. ("Brothers, I can feel her.") Intense emotions flooded his body and mind and his milky red eyes gathered with venom as he began to cackle. Aro stood from his throne and walking down the steps with his fingers tips together.

"Please, Aro. I wish to have our mate with us now. I believe she is prepared to live with us." Marcus started.

"No," Caius proclaimed, knowing what his brother was thinking. "She is not ready!"

Marcus' crimson eyes turned the color of ebony as his head snapped towards his brother with narrow eyes. "You. You are the one that is not ready! It is because of you and your whorish behavior that we don't have our mate here in the first place! I gamble that-."

Aro held up a hand to silence him, which the black-haired king submitted with a nod of his head, instead, he settled with giving the blonde man a hard glare. The King began to pace. He needed to think of what to do next and the bickering of his brothers would not help.

The man tried to imagine how she would look now, but he could not come up with anything as he reminiscent about the last eleven years. There were nights when he laid in his empty bed and imagined the girl there asleep against his chest, cuddling closer to him. In the background Aro could hear his brother each trying to persuade him, however, he blocked them out.

The king made his way back to his throne and sat down. Surely the gods would not have let their mate reenter their life earlier than expected if she wasn't supposed to be with them in her transition from a teenager to being an adult. That made the king realize that this was his chance to educate and advise his mate the way he attended to.

"Jane. Alec." Aro called in a chilling tone. He used that unsettling tone when he was conspiring to do something. What he was about to do would indefinitely make his mate upset with them if she ever found out, however, the man felt that by the time she found out their mate would be too in love with them to even stay angry for long. She would forgive them in time. All will be fine.

The door to the throne room opened and in a flashed two young people around sixteen years old appeared in front of the three thrones. The summoned boy and girl bowed in respect.

"You wished to speak with us, Master Aro." The girl said.

The brown haired man hummed with a single nod and his index finger in the air. "Yes, in fact, I need you two to run an errand." Aro said. "I need you two to go to the European Child Protective Services this upcoming Monday, and report the neglect of a sixteen-year-old girl by the name of Reniece Russo, but for now, I need you to disguise yourselves and watch over her. Report back by midnight."

"Yes, Master. Do you have anything we could track her with?" Alec asked.

Caius and Marcus glanced at their leader with an expression of confusion as they saw him nod, standing from his throne. The brown haired king disappeared for a moment before reappearing, this time with an item in his hand. It was a cabbage patch doll with a brown complexion and brown cotton strings as hair.

"This still has her scent." Aro said the man's crimson eyes glinted in happiness and love before it turned stoic and apathetic, flickering over to the boy and the girl. "I expect this doll in the same condition as it is now so, do not be careless with it." He snapped in a frosty tone.

"Yes, Master."

VENESSA MARANO AS MARY

HERO FIENNES TUFFIN AS JAVIER