Lily woke in the morning alone and in her bed. She stretched and smiled feeling better than she had in some time. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. A knock came at her door and she wondered if that was what had woken her in the first place. "Come in."

Demetri popped inside with a grin and a tray in his hands. "Hello, Mistress. Good morning Mistress. I have breakfast for you, Mistress."

"Are you trying to see how many times you can say Mistress just because I told you that I hate being called that?" she asked with a lifted brow. She tossed back the covers and got out of the bed.

His grin only widened. "You wound me, Mistress. I would never do such a thing, Mistress."

"You're an ass," she said with a smile. Really she was thrilled that she seemed to have made a friend in him and Felix both. "Where are the kings this morning?"

He dropped into one of the chairs, throwing a leg over the arm. "They are currently in Aro's office on the main level."

"Don't go anywhere," she ordered and disappeared into her closet. She shut the door behind her so she could get changed. She put on a pair of black leggings and an oversized cream sweater that had belonged to Emmett. It hung off one shoulder. She decided to skip shoes. Her backpack sat on the shelf. She got into one of the hidden pockets and retrieved the Volturi crest she'd taken from the man that killed her father and slipped it into the waistband of her leggings.

Emerging from the closet, she padded over to the bathroom to do her morning routine. When that was finished, she put her hair in a messy bun and added a red floral head scarf tied into a headband.

When she headed over to the table, Demetri's eyes followed her. "That was fast for a human."

She shrugged. "I'm low maintenance."

He merely hummed and watched as she made herself a breakfast sandwich from the food on her plate. She wrapped a napkin around it and took a bite. "Mmm. Good stuff. Now, where can I get some coffee and how do I get to my mates?"

Demetri was on his feet in a flash. "I'll take you to them and then I'll get you some coffee." He stopped when they got to the door and looked down. "Don't you want to put on any shoes?"

"No."

He shrugged and led her through the castle while she nibbled on her breakfast. Finally, they were in a hallway that ran parallel to the throne room. Three doors stood there, each with her mates' initials. Demetri stopped in front of the one with an A on it and knocked on the door. "I'll get you some coffee," he said and hurried off.

"Enter," Aro called and Lily did her best to open the heavy door without messing up her breakfast. Realizing it was her, Caius immediately helped her to open the door, though he rolled his eyes while doing so. Despite that, they looked happy that she'd sought them out. She sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk and pulled her feet up on the seat before proceeding to eat her breakfast.

Aro arched a brow as he ran his eye over her from head to toe. "We do have a dress code for the common areas of the castle."

"Good for you," she said between bites.

The corner of Marcus's mouth kicked up in a smirk. Caius looked pissed off, but he always looked that way. Aro stared at her, clearly not amused with her response.

She finished her sandwich and wadded up her napkin to toss it in the trash. When Aro just continued to stare at her, she sighed. "Look, I'll wear dresses and be respectful and formal when there's a need. I don't need to wear a dress to eat breakfast with my mates."

Aro and Marcus smiled when she called them her mates. Sappy bastards. She could have sworn Caius's smirk even softened a bit. Demetri popped his head in to deliver her coffee and disappeared just as quick. It was a large mug made just the way she liked it. Go, Demi.

She took a breath to steel her nerves and looked between the three men again. Though she barely knew them, it didn't feel like that. It felt like she'd known them forever. She was about to trust them and she could only hope it wasn't misplaced. "I need to ask you something."

"Of course," Aro said.

"The first time we talked you said you were under the impression I was dead. Explain please." She bit her bottom lip while she waited for the response. Maybe she'd get answers to all the questions she had about that night.

The brothers exchanged a look before settling their attention back on her. "We do not wish to cause you distress," Marcus said.

"I appreciate that, but this is important to me."

Surprisingly, it was Caius that spoke. "Part of our agreement with John Montgomery was that we be kept aware of your location so we could occasionally send a guard to keep tabs. Check-ins so to speak. Two guards were sent to observe and report back. Given your location at the time, it was more difficult for them to keep a close eye without being seen so they were stationed on a rooftop across the way."

Lily sipped her coffee and kept her gaze locked on the blond king, while his kept moving between her and his brothers.

"A fire started. They smelled it but weren't aware it was in your apartment until they spotted the glow from the flames. One of the guards entered via the fire escape in the hopes of rescuing you while the other stayed on the ground to monitor the crowds leaving by the front door. The guard that entered was believed to have been caught in the flames as well. So, the question remains little human, how did you escape?"

She watched him but didn't answer. All of it was a lie. How could Aro possibly have been misled so? And if they were behind it and knew what actually happened, they had to know that she would as well. None of this made any sense.

"Knowing now that you are our mate, does explain some things," Marcus said.

Her gaze shifted to him. "Such as?"

"Why we agreed to the contract in the first place. Why we agreed to your terms without argument," Aro stated.

"Why we were all incredibly saddened to learn of your loss," Marcus added.

"You were just another human. It shouldn't have mattered," Caius said.

"Why did you or Carlisle not contact us once you had been relocated?" Aro asked. Honestly, she was surprised it had taken this long. She knew it was a question he'd wanted answered since their first phone conversation.

She sat her mug on the table beside her. "Despite what I may have hinted at previously, Carlisle knew nothing of the contract. As for me..." She removed the crest from where she'd tucked it away and tossed it on the desk in front of Aro. "I took that when I took the head of the man that killed my father. I wasn't certain you could be trusted."

Aro's eyes darted between her and the necklace. After a moment, he picked it up and ran his thumb over it before passing it off to Marcus. His gaze hardened as it locked on her, though she didn't think she was the target of the change in mood. "What happened?"

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and turned her gaze away. That night still haunted her. More than it probably should at this point, but it couldn't be helped. After all if it wasn't for her, John would still be alive. That was a hard truth to live with. Her own tale was so different from the one they'd been fed, she needed to make certain that they knew she told the truth. She looked back to Aro and held out her hand.

***

Aro's POV

He took her hand eagerly, always wanting to see whatever she was willing to show him. As he filtered through the memories related to the incident at hand, he found that not only had Bianca lied about what had transpired, she'd been present for it all. He hissed at the realization.

Bianca had long been a member of the upper guard. Her ability to manipulate memories made her a valuable asset. He had been unaware until this moment that she had the ability to manipulate her own to hide the truth from him. And her deception had nearly cost him his mate.

He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand before releasing it and dropping heavily into his chair. Closing his eyes, he pressed a hand to his mouth. He just needed a moment. John Montgomery had been his friend. It was never easy to see a friend die.

"What is it?" Caius finally asked, his voice heavy with impatience.

Aro simply held up his hand asking for another moment.

***

Lily's POV

It wasn't until after the fact that Lily remembered her dad and Aro were friends. She shouldn't have shown him. That had been unnecessarily cruel to make him watch that. She could at least keep him from having to repeat it, so she answered Caius's question instead. "I went to the market that day by myself. It was sunny so dad stayed home. He tended not to worry about me much by that point anyway. It was daytime and I'd been well trained. I thought I saw someone watching me. When I looked again, he was gone. I chalked it up to my innate paranoia."

She shifted in the chair to try to get more comfortable. "John went hunting that night while I settled in to watch a movie. Bastard came in through the window. Liked to play with his food. John showed up before he killed me. I watched him..." she trailed off, not having it in her to say the words just then. "The asshole was still laughing when I took his head off with my sword."

"Sword?" Marcus asked with a frown. A glance at Caius showed him studying her with a furrowed brow.

She made a sound of acknowledgement. "It's in my room if you want to get it. Next to the dresser."

Caius was gone and back in a flash, her blade in hand. He removed the katana from its sheath and turned it. The dark blade flashed green as the light hit at the right angle. He looked to her with a raised brow.

"Specially made and tempered. Something about the metal and magic and witches and to be fair I wasn't really paying attention. It was a gift." When he just continued to stare at her, she smirked. "Test it."

He ran his thumb along the blade and jerked his hand back in surprise when a slice appeared in his flesh. He blinked repeatedly as he watched the wound heal then he slid the blade back into its sheath. "Perhaps I should hold onto this for the time being."

And she immediately put the block up cutting off her side of the bond because he still didn't trust her and damn it that hurt. Marcus's head snapped to the side to look at her. "Liliana," he said, a warning in his tone.

She sighed and dropped the block. She was beginning to think Marcus's gift was almost as intrusive as Aro's. All three of her mate's twitched when her flash of hurt hit them.

"Explain please," Aro instructed.

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. It's stupid."

"Explain, little human."

Her gaze shifted to Caius. "No, I get it. You don't trust me. We don't know each other yet. Even if I was the one that told Carlisle to make the phone call that brought me here in the first place. And even if I did pack up my entire life and move here on two weeks' notice. I get it."

Marcus chuckled and snatched the sword from his brother's grip. "Point taken, love. Try not to kill anyone on our side."

She nodded and laid the sword across her lap. "Thank you."

"How old were you the night John Montgomery died?" Caius asked, looking deep in thought.

"Just turned sixteen."

"And you killed one of our kind? Even with that weapon I find that hard to believe." He turns to the door, looking over his shoulder before exiting. "Put on something appropriate for training."

***

Marcus ran her to their floor and the brothers started bickering before she even had the door to her room shut. Her leggings were fine, but she exchanged the sweater for a skin tight cropped workout top. When she opened the door, her mates fell quiet as they looked her over with darkening gazes. Her eyes returned the favor to Caius as he was the only one that had changed out of his normal suit. He was instead clothed in a pair of dark grey sweats and a red t-shirt. Her tongue traced her bottom lip and he chuckled, a low, dark sound.

He glanced at his brothers. "If you intend to join us, you should change." He turned back to her. "Bring the sword."

She did as he said, but started arguing with him the moment she caught up with him on the stairs. "You want me to slice up your guard just to prove that I can?"

"You are assuming that you can even hit one of my guard."

She rolled her eyes. So damn arrogant. Suddenly, her back was against the wall and Caius leaned over her. His hands were braced on the wall to either side of her head, boxing her in. "What did I say about rolling your eyes at me, Liliana?"

"I forget."

His fingers gripped her chin and he leaned forward until his lips brushed her ear. "Don't test me, human."

She shuddered as his breath caressed her skin. He released her with a smirk and continued walking toward the training room.

She fell back into step with him after a moment's hesitation. "You do realize that none of them are going to try to actually hit me if you're there, right?"

"They will if I tell them to."

"Okay, blondie, whatever you say."

He opened the door to the training room and held it for her. "Don't call me that."

"Okay, grumpy."

She couldn't help but smirk at the growl he released as she walked past. As he stepped into the room behind her, all activity in the room stopped and the guard lined up as if preparing for inspection. Caius arched a brow and looked them over. "Jane, Alec, Demetri, Felix, stay. The rest of you are dismissed."

Lily blinked at him. The elite guard, really? Not only that but it was the only four guards she actually knew. She shifted her gaze to look over the people she had begun to consider friends. Felix smirked at her and Demi gave her a little wave. Hopefully they didn't hate her after she removed a limb.

The door opened and she turned to find Marcus and Aro joining them. They too were dressed in sweats and t-shirts and she hungrily ran her gaze over them, licking her lips in appreciation. "Hot damn, I'm a lucky bitch." Chuckles and a distinct giggle came from the guard at that.

"Liliana," Aro said, his voice a warning about her language, but the corner of his mouth curled up just the same.

Caius cleared his throat. "I have asked the little human to provide us with a demonstration of her combat ability." All eyes turned to her at that point. "She will be armed." He gestured to the sword. "You may engage in full. Jane, Alec, no powers. Do not maim or kill my mate. This is a sparring session, not combat."

Lily turned to him. "I want to make a bet."

He arched a brow. "What sort of bet?"

"If I take down the guard I get a date," she said.

"I'm sure my brothers would be more than happy to take you anywhere you wish to go," he answered.

"Nope. I want a date with you. Just you. And you have to be nice to me."

He just looked at her for the longest moment but she refused to twitch under his gaze. "And when you fail?"

She shrugged. "What do you want, blondie?"

The smile he gave her was a wicked thing and brought anything but happiness. "You move to the tower. No complaints. No arguments."

"Absolutely not," came Marcus's voice, followed closely by Aro's, "Be reasonable."

Lily kept her gazelocked with Caius's as she lifted her chin and gave him a little smirk. "Deal."