[ Chapter Ten—run away ]

———————

"Well, this is just great! We're pretty much dead if she decides to bite us!" Kate threw her arm at me, her golden eyes a piercing glare.

It was at that moment that for whatever reason I took note of her perfectly manicured nails. Ruby red glittered, but the sun was now completely set leaving us all basked in darkness in the middle of nowhere.

Most people would be nervous about that, but not our small group, because we were the ones that people should be nervous about. We were the monsters hiding in the dark.

"Girl, you need to chill," I snapped, "I have been living with the Cullens for over a month, don't you think you would all be dead by now if you were in any danger?" My answer made Kate shut up, the female vampire simply pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

Garrett barked a laugh causing me to look at the male vampire with a raised brow. The hell?

"Ha! I like your fire, werewolf," the vamp smirked, turning his head toward me, "What's the story? I'd love to hear this one, can't be any better than little Nessie's."

Edward snorted. "It is."

"Ooh, don't leave a brother hanging, go ahead and tell me." Garrett placed his hands in his pockets, golden eyes gleaming as he looked over me with something akin to curiosity.

"We're cousins," Bella explained, and Kate suddenly turned rigid, looking to me in a new light.

"Oh my God, no way..." the blonde trailed off earning a confused look from everyone except Edward who smirked.

"Yep," the mind reader said as Kate's mouth fell agape.

"Little Jaclyn Swan? From the wedding fourteen years ago!" Kate looked astonished, her voice holding a new soft tone.

"Uhm, yeah, did we meet? 'Cause I honestly can't remember," I shrugged, Kate sighing.

"Yeah," she muttered softly, "we did meet, you met my entire family actually." Kate shook her head, closing her eyes for a second before reopening them. "You know what, I'm really sorry about this, I had no right to act as I have, I hope you can forgive me and let us start anew."

I was not one for grudges.

"Hey, I'm not holding anything against you," I smiled in a kind manner, my sweatpants feeling extremely airy.

"So..." Garrett coughed, "it looks like you two actually do know each other, but how about that story?"

Kate slapped his shoulder lightly, while I snickered. "Carlisle, you can tell it if you want," I told the blond doctor, deciding he was probably a better storyteller than myself.

"Are you certain?" Damn, Carlisle was always so polite.

"Be my guest," I shrugged, listening as Carlisle recalled my background story of the past few months I had told all of the Cullens just a few weeks prior.

"So you have no clue who changed you?" Kate furrowed her brows earning a nod from me.

"Nope," I rocked on my heels, "kind of just woke up like this one day."

"That means there is another werewolf somewhere in America, Carlisle," Garrett said, his eyes wide in concern, "do you suspect more are being turned?"

"Doubtful," Carlisle hummed, my eyes flicking back and forth between the two, "we would have heard something by now surely. I suspect it was a freak incident, her creator no doubt understands the importance of staying low in fear of the Volturi."

Garrett hummed as Kate sighed, both looking to me. Garrett walked forward, a friendly look in his eyes.

"You are one of a dying breed, Jackie. Most likely one of the last werewolves to exist in this day and age..." Garrett nodded, but before he could go any further with his statement, Alice gasped.

Our attention was on the fortune teller, her dainty hand grasping Jasper's forearm. Alice's golden eyes were alight with a fire that meant she was having a vision, an intense one at that.

Carlisle was on her other side, comforting her by placing an arm gently on her shoulder. I tilted my head at the interaction, in some ways Carlisle and Alice's relationship was very much like a father and his youngest daughter.

"Santiago and Afton," Alice breathed, I did not recognize the names, "they're coming."

Alice shook her head, blinking rapidly as she pulled herself out of the vision.

"What do you mean, they're coming, Alice? How the hell did you miss them?"

"You try watching every possible future, Edward," Alice spat, though her tone was frantic, "it's not exactly easy!"

"No matter," Bella cut in, standing near me, "how did they find us and how much time do we have, Alice?"

I crossed my arms, understanding that these two were Volturi guard.

"They were coming back from an issue in Germany, they weren't going to cross paths with us but when the explosion happened in caught their attention. They'll be here in minutes..."

"We need to get Jackie out of here," Bella rushed, Carlisle, agreeing with her.

"Alice, can we avoid them?" The leader questioned.

"No, once they get here and find the vampire bodies burning, they'll want an explanation. At least one of us needs to stay otherwise the Volturi will definitely be paying us a visit within the next few weeks," Alice rushed, suddenly flashing behind me and forcing her way into my backpack.

"What are you doing?" I frowned when Alice pulled out a perfume bottle that I definitely did not remember packing.

What the hell? Do I really smell that bad?

"Yes," Edward cringed making me hit him upside the head earning a short laugh in reply.

Immediately, Alice began spraying the perfume around, Carlisle taking to explaining what was happening to me.

"They will pick up on the werewolf scent, we've grown used to the smell because of Jacob, but naturally your scent opposes and repels vampires. In other words, if we are not extremely careful they will smell that you have been here," Carlisle explained while Alice finished spraying the perfume and quickly put it back into my backpack.

"Alright, assuming they're going to take us to Volterra to speak with the Kings about what happened?" Bella was looking to Alice who nodded in confirmation, "I personally think it's best that Carlisle, myself, Jasper, and Kate go—"

"What—?" Edward started to disagree, Jasper right behind him before Bella cut in.

"No, hear me out, Alice is the most valuable one here, they want her the most, always have and always will. Alice, you going to Volterra is practically waving you under Aro's nose, I'm not sure he'll accept you declining his offer of joining a third time. Carlisle, you're the leader and the Kings like you the most. Either Kate or Garrett needs to come because they are the reason we're here in the first place, the Kings need to know that."

"Jasper, you're power to influence emotions will make them less suspicious and not as inclined to kill us. I'm a shield. Now, I've been working on this for a few months, and it's not perfect but it might work. I think I can shield certain thoughts for you three," Bella looked to Carlisle, Jasper, and Kate, "making it so Aro will be blind to any thoughts or memories concerning Jackie."

Bella rounded on me and Edward. "Jackie, obviously you're not coming, but I want you to be safe no matter what. So Edward, even if your gifts would prove to be useful in Volterra, I think it's more important you're with Jackie to make sure nothing happens to her... please..." she stretched the last part, seeing the unsure look Edward was throwing her.

In the time I had been with the Cullen's, Edward's protectiveness over Bella was apparent. He loved her very much and would do just about anything for her, including laying down his own life without a second thought.

Leaving Bella to go to Volterra on her own probably destroyed Edward, but Bella had a point. Her plan was just about the only thing that made sense, anything else would no doubt end up with us getting caught. We had to be smart.

"The ultimate con," Garrett smirked with a humorless chuckle, "I'm ready to pull it off."

Carlisle nodded in agreement, "Bella has a magnificent plan, it's best we follow it as we have no time to think up any other, and I fear no other plan would work. The Volturi are not easily fooled, so our lying must be perfect," Carlisle warned, all of us nodding in agreement.

In seconds, Bella and Edward were hugging, Kate and Garrett were kissing, and Jasper had his hand resting against Alice's cheek. Carlisle and I were the only ones without partners.

"Be safe, Jackie," I was slightly surprised when Carlisle engulfed me in a fatherly hug. "Remember, you are apart of our family as much as anyone else."

I smiled at his words, hugging the blond man back. "You too, Carlisle, I don't wanna hear any shit about you being killed 'cause of me, got it?"

"Of course," Carlisle chuckled pulling away.

I was spun around by Bella and pulled into a tight embrace.

"You're my little sister and I always love you." Bella rubbed my back as I rested my head on her cold shoulder.

Yet, her coldness was endearing, the perfect counterpart to the heat always radiating off of me. Bella and I were the exact same height, so it was easy to hug each other.

"I love you too, Bells. And I swear if you die," we pulled apart, Bella smiling at my tone, "I'll kill you."

"Got it," Bella smirked as we stepped away from each other aware of how time was literally of the essence.

"No, for real, I will bite your corpse and everything—"

"As entertaining as this is," Edward grabbed my shoulder, pulling me toward where he, Alice, and Garrett were standing, "we need to go now, we have no more time to stall."

Looking over Bella, Carlisle, Jasper, and Kate, it was extremely saddening. However, it still did not hit a part of me that this was a life and death situation. If those four did not lie well enough we were all going to die.

All because they associated themselves with me.

Kate gave me a nod, an acknowledgment. Nodding back toward the blonde, I gave the rest of my newfound family a smile before Edward was steering me toward the wheatfield.

"We're running this way, I just picked up on Afton and Santiago's thoughts, they're coming from the opposite direction and the wheatfield should mask your scent."

"All right," I nodded, mentally cursing when I realized that it was Edward, Alice, and Garrett I was running with.

Edward and Alice were some of the quickest in the family, there was no way I would be able to keep up with them.

"You're won't need to," Edward read my thoughts and suddenly pulled me onto his back earning a yelp in reply. Alice and Garrett nodded at him before speeding off, Edward casting one last glance at Jasper, Bella, Carlisle, and Kate.

"Stay safe," he murmured before racing off, myself gasping as the wind hit my face at immense speeds.

Holy shit.

It was in these moments that I wished I had control of when I shifted because if I did then Edward would not need to carry me as I would be plenty fast enough to keep up myself.

——————

We had run for a little less than an hour, sticking to less populated and more shadowy areas of the streets. Garrett made a good point of saying that we should get away from the Tuscany area, so we were heading up North toward Trento.

Alice commented many times that the future beyond Carlisle and Aro greeting each other was evading her and she was not sure why. It alarmed us all to say the least, and yet there was nothing more we could do unless one of the four in Volterra contacted us.

Us contacting them first was simply a recipe for disaster.

It was because of this unsteady future that Alice finally suggested we stop so she could try and get a better read on the future.

We stopped at a small hotel bordering Trento and a small town titled Belluno. Edward easily bought us a suite for the night even though we really did not need one—I was the only one who slept after all and even then I doubted would be getting much sleep.

Nevertheless, I was gifted with my own bland room in the suite. Various images of who I supposed were Italian leaders and old fashioned artwork scattered across the walls, the bedside lamps were bolted to tables, and the long draping curtain flowed elegantly.

I had just finished with an hour-long shower, something which I was in dire need of. The hair on my body grew quickly with my werewolf genes, so it came as a relief when I was finally able to shave it off.

Perhaps laser hair removal surgery would solve this issue.

A towel was on my hair as I shifted through the few items of clothing that were in my backpack. I had not been planning on being gone more than a day or two, so I truly had not packed more than three spare changes of clothes.

However, this time I was smarter with my choice of clothes in case we were forced to fight any other vampires.

I was proud to admit that I have exactly eight different pairs of Lululemon leggings, four of which are colored. While I had brought every pair of leggings with me to Maine, only one plain black pair made the journey to Italy with me.

Those leggings along with a random pair of Vans was my go-to choice. After that, I put on a graphic tee that showcased some band I had never heard of, but the style of the tee-shirt called to me.

Pulling the towel off of my head, I lazily tossed it in the corner before zipping up my backpack. Quickly, I haphazardly put my hair into a ponytail before grabbing my backpack and walking out of the room that had been deemed as my own.

"Jackie," Edward acknowledged in a bored manner, "you're supposed to be sleeping."

Garrett, Edward, and Alice were sitting around. Garrett and Edward were watching the news while Alice sat in between them, her eyes sharp and focused.

"You think I'm going to be able to sleep with this shit going on?" I scoffed while taking a seat at the small table in the kitchenette of the hotel suite.

My backpack was left by my legs as I sat back in the wooden chair.

Edward shrugged, his eyes flickering back toward the television. Huffing, I settled with pulling out my phone.

I had a text from Drake, he was bored and wanted someone to talk to, but seeing my current situation I really was not able to talk at the moment. Another text from Mom, she was wondering why I had not picked up her call that I missed over two hours ago.

I had a Snapchat from my old college dorm mate, we had a streak of 187 days. Not wanting to lose my steak, I quickly took a selfie of me flashing the rock sign before sending it.

"Anything change, Alice..." my attention was caught by the first words spoken since Edward asked me why I was not sleeping.

It was Garrett who was looking at Alice. Alice shook her head "no", opening her mouth most likely to say something before she cut herself off. Her eyes suddenly grew wide and it was like slow motion as Edward turned his head to face her, his right eye twitching.

"How..." he hissed causing Garrett and I to sit up straighter, our full attention on the two adoptive vampire siblings, "did you possibly miss this?"

"I have been focusing on what is happening in Volterra!" Alice snapped, leaping up so fast she was nothing but a blur.

Edward followed her muttering swears under his breath as Alice paced around in a skittish manner.

"What is happening?" Garrett snapped, standing from the couch.

I walked next to him, crossing my arms while raising a brow. Pursing my lips, I looked between both Alice and Edward who were glaring at each other, Alice once again bouncing from nerves.

"Guys—?"

"You need to get out of here," Edward turned to me sharply causing me to jump, "now."

"What the hell? Why?" I snapped, glaring holes into the pale vampire's face.

Edward wasted no time spinning around grabbing my backpack from in front of the chair. He unzipped my bag taking out the perfume and spraying it around the room.

"Long story short, Alice missed the fact that Demetri and Felix on currently in the lobby about to come up the elevator to grab us..." Edward muttered in an angry tone, Alice glaring heatedly at him.

"I have been trying to watch Volterra, damn it! Give me a break, besides it's not like you even noticed their thoughts!" Alice scowled, turning to me with an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry, Jackie, something must have happened in Volterra. Somehow they're playing with my blind spots, they must have been suspicious and sent Demetri to track us," I recognized the names of Demetri and Felix.

Demetri Volturi, the assigned tracker of the Volturi, nobody was able to hide from him once he has encountered them. Felix Volturi, the designated warrior of the Volturi, apparently even more daunting than Emmett.

Both were higher-ranking guards and if Aro sent them after us something must have happened with our family at the castle. The only question was what the fuck went wrong?

"That isn't helping," Garrett scowled as Edward continued to spray around the room, "I can still smell her over anything else."

Edward growled, suddenly turning on me and spraying perfume all over my form. I coughed heavily as the chemicals got into my mouth and nose, the previous fresh scent I had from recently showering disappearing in an instant.

It was supposedly cherry but smelled more like Windex to me than anything. Alice handed me a jacket which I was quick to pull on, Garrett making it a point of pushing the hood over my head.

Once Edward was satisfied with the heavy smell of chemically induced cherry, he pushed the perfume bottle back into my backpack. I huffed as Edward shoved the backpack into my hands.

"Leave out the window, your passport is in your backpack and my credit card and Bella's debit card is in your wallet. Get on the soonest flight back to Maine, we will contact you as soon as we can, absolutely under no circumstances try and call us. I have no clue what is happening, but what I do know is that you cannot be seen or heard by any of the Volturi," Edward pulled me into a quick hug followed by Alice, Garrett giving me a nod.

Edward was quick to push me toward the window, Alice opening it.

"They're coming up the elevator, go," Alice whispered, an obvious sign that it was now possible for Demetri and Felix to hear our conversation the closer they got.

I had no time to ponder on anything as I knew that standing around would do no one any good. If I wanted any chance of us getting out alive then I had to leave immediately. Tightening my straps, I jumped into the window frame looking down.

The hotel was not that tall and we were only on the second story. I would be able to make the jump easily.

Looking back toward my new family, I nodded silently before pushing myself off the frame.

Time to run away.