[ XVI ] Chapter 16

My spine tingled in a good way. Genevieve Vienna Montgomery! I never knew you were so bold! My subconscious gasped as she placed a hand to her bosom. I ignored her and tried pulling away, but Caius' hand immediately entangled itself in my hair and rested it against the nape of my neck. His other hand moved to my lower back to push me more firmly against him as if we weren't close enough.

It was a blessing that we were vampires. By now, we would have suffocated to death if we were humans. I never wanted this sweet moment to end, but alas, it had to. Caius was the one who broke apart our kiss and even though we didn't need oxygen, we were breathing hard.

I hummed with a small smile on my face, my hands resting on his chest. "That was. . ."

"Other-worldly." Caius finished for me, a smirk forming on his face. "Come. We must head back or Aro will send a search party. He will not be pleased to find us cuddling in a secluded place."

I pout, causing the God before me to chuckle and kiss my lips chastely. "Fine." I whisper quite breathlessly as he took my hand in his and started running back to Volterra. The sun was up so we stayed close to the shadows. During this part though, we kept our hands to ourselves so we wouldn't be caught up in another amorous embrace.

As we entered the castle, Aro was there to greet us with a large grin. It made me uneasy and I shifted my weight slightly. "Ah, brother. How was your night hunt?"

Surprisingly, Aro didn't move forward to snatch any of our hands and I relax. "It went well." Caius said simply in a clipped tone. Oh great. Cold Caius is back. He turned his gaze onto me. "You can find your chambers, can you not Miss Genevieve?" And back to Miss. My subconscious sighs in sadness. I'm sure when we're alone, he'll let us call him Caius. She comforted.

"I can. Thank you Lord Caius." I bow stiffly and walk out of the room, trying to appear calm. In reality, I was jittery, anxious, and confused. When I reached my room, I felt an unknown presence inside. Tensing up once more, I opened the door slowly, expecting someone to leap and claw at my face.

But no, instead, there sat a beautiful woman in front of my fireplace which was currently alight with bright flames. Raising a brow, I closed the door behind me and the woman turned her head to look at me. Enchanting crimson eyes darted to mine and she smiled gently as she stood. Her movements were graceful and as fluid as water.

"Hello." Her voice, smooth and silky, rang throughout the room. Even though the tone was soft and open, there was an underlying layer of power. Much like Aro's.

"Hi. . ." I muttered, wary of this beautiful woman. I took the silence as time to take in her appearance. Her hair hanging in waves down her petite back was jet-black. She wore a form-fitting silk dress which was strap-less and had a low cut, yet, to my eyes, it didn't seem slutty. "Um, may I go freshen up first. . .? I just came from a hunt. . ."

The mysterious woman grinned, revealing pearl-white teeth behind full red lips. "Of course."

Immediately, I bolted for the bathroom. Splashing my face with water and drying it, I tried to get a hold of myself. Genevieve. You've just kissed one of the Great Kings of Volterra. Are you seriously backing out just because this vampire is a woman? No. After regaining my resolve, I change out of the dirty clothes into more presentable ones. It paled in comparison to the woman's clothes, but at least I tried.

As I exited the bathroom, the woman was still standing there. "Excuse my impoliteness. When I saw you, my mind just slipped from my grasp." She giggled. My eyebrows raised in incredulity at this childish gesture. "My name is Sulpicia, I'm Aro's mate and wife."

Aro's wife! What the hell is she here for? "Uhm. . . I'm Genevieve Vienna Montgomery. . . may I help you with anything?" I blinked.

Sulpicia smiled. "If you may, I'd like to get to know you. The female guards in the castle are relatively dull and I hoped that you would be quite a spitfire. Obviously, you are, since you seem to have caught the eye of The Beast." She purred, not letting me talk at all.

Even though she didn't let me intervene during her small rant, I immediately warmed to this woman. She was also energetic so that couldn't be a bad thing. I walked over and sat down on the couch across from her and the queen sat back down with a cheery smile. "So, how are the Cullens? I haven't seen Carlisle in a long time, is Esme well too?" Sulpicia immediately gushed.

"I guess they are, I mean, they were fine when I left so I'd like to think that the vegans haven't changed anything." I admit truthfully.

"Left? What do you mean?" The queen cocked her head to the side in confusion, silk ringlets spilling over her shoulder.

"One of their members, namely this young vamp named Edward, started to talk about how my gift would be an advantage in their current situation. James, a tracker, was hunting his mate, Isabella because she was a human. I absolutely hate people who use people's gifts so they can fulfill their own needs. So I left." Once my mouth opened, everything just spilled and I couldn't hold back. It was nice to talk about my problems without being judged.

Sulpicia nodded in understanding. "I, myself, have the same tastes." She took my hand in hers and smiled warmly. "Enough of this depressing talk. I shall tell you about the men of this castle." Oh no. I blanched as Sulpicia winked at me with a conspiratorial look in her eye.