Liliana returned to the throne room when Alice arrived. When she entered the room, she saw not only the pixie but her cowboy as well. Lily ignored her mates and made a beeline for her soul brother. She wrapped her arms around Jasper and buried her face in his neck as he spun her around. "Hello, princess."

"I missed you, cowboy." She held him a moment longer before leaning back to look him over. "I have to go be queenly now."

"Of course." He released her and gave her a little bow.

She shoved him playfully before hugging Alice as well. Alice took her hand when they separated and led her to a brunette girl with what seemed to be a permanent sneer on her face. "Lily, this is Bella. Bella, this is our sister Liliana."

"You better not have hurt Edward," was the girl's response.

The queen merely arched a brow and made her way to Caius. She settled on his lap and trained her gaze on the human who rolled her eyes when she saw Lily's preferred seat. Oh, she wasn't going to last long at all. Not with that attitude. Not around here.

Caius looped his arm around his mate's waist and pulled her more tightly against him. He laid his lips alongside her ear to speak without being overheard. "What does your brother see in her?"

She snorted a laugh but didn't bother to otherwise answer. Edward was led into the room and released so he could go to Bella's side. Lily just watched it all with crimson eyes. Alice stood near the couple while Jasper stood to one side, hands stuffed in his pockets. It was evident he didn't like the human much.

Edward kissed Bella then pushed the hair back from her face to look her over.

"See, young Bella lives after all. It is most fortunate our queen failed to give in to your request," Aro said.

Edward shifted his gaze to Lily and gave her a nod of thanks. She simply smiled and shook her head. No thanks were ever needed for her doing what was best for her family.

"There are other matters which must be discussed," Marcus said. "First, you should be aware that this human is most assuredly not your mate."

Jasper ducked his head to hide his smirk but not before Lily caught sight of it. Edward jerked in surprise and Alice's eyes went wide. Oh, pixie. Lily sincerely hoped it wasn't one of Alice's visions that brought the two together. Even if Edward was only uncertain, a word from her could have easily pushed him into believing he belonged with the human.

"What would you know about it? Edward is my mate. We're meant to be together forever," Bella demanded, stepping toward the thrones. Edward held her back but she ignored his efforts to get her to shut up.

Lily stood, ignoring Caius' groan of protest as she did so. She stepped down so she stood on the same level as the girl. "My mate has a very special gift that allows him to see the bonds between people. So I assure you that he knows far better than you whether the two of you are mates or not. He's been reading the connections between people for thousands of years."

Bella frowned and shifted her gaze to examine Caius. "But he didn't say anything." She then gestured to Marcus. "It was him."

Lily glanced at Edward. He shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. She rolled her eyes. "It seems introductions are in order. I am Liliana Montgomery Cullen Volturi. I am queen of the Volturi. And these three are the kings and my mates. Marcus, Aro and Caius."

"Three mates?" And there couldn't have been more disgust in her voice if she tried. Though the curl of her lip was a nice touch as well. "Don't you think that's a bit...much?"

"I really am quite tired of your attitude, Miss Swan. Leeway is given for formality as it concerns Edward, Alice and Jasper because they are my siblings. They are family. You are not. You are in the presence of kings. I suggest you start acting like it."

The girl snarled and ran her gaze over Lily. "They aren't your family. You eat people. You could never be a Cullen. They are so much better than you could ever be."

"Oh, fuck me," Lily heard Demi's distinct voice mutter. She resisted the urge to snicker as she stared the girl down.

"That's enough, Bella," Jasper drawled, his accent heavier than normal. Lily darted a glance over to make certain it was still him and not the major. "You're not family. Not even close. You don't get a say in who is."

She shifted her gaze back to her other brother. "She's charming, Eddie. Really. You should have introduced us sooner."

Alice snorted and hid her mouth with her hand to cover her laugh. Lily returned to her seat on Caius' lap. He was quick to wrap his arms around her and rest his chin on her shoulder to watch the proceedings. "Nicely done, my queen."

"That brings us to issue number two," Aro said as he stood and moved to stand near Alice. "Hello, Alice dear."

"I'm issue two?" the pixie asked, surprised.

Aro chuckled. "No. I'm simply greeting you. The issue is that Bella here knows about us. You know the law, Edward. She must be turned or killed." The law also stated that Edward should be killed for exposing vampire kind but they were ignoring that part.

Bella pushed her way in front of Edward to stand between him and Aro. "I won't let you hurt him."

"Really, Miss Swan. The dramatics are unnecessary. It isn't Edward who is in danger of being hurt. It is you," Marcus stated sounding extremely bored.

"I choose to be turned. Of course, I want to be turned," the girl insisted.

Lily's gaze immediately found her. "Oh, that's really not up to you. The coven will need to take a vote."

"So, they get to vote on whether or not I live?"

"Technically we are only voting on whether to add you to the coven," Jasper interjected. "If we vote no, we can always see if another coven will take you."

The girl looked absolutely horrified. Lily just kept telling herself that it would be mean to laugh.

"May I?" Aro asked then took Bella's hand without giving her a chance to answer. He released her abruptly. "Interesting. Jane."

Lily expected her siblings to protest the use of Jane's powers but none of them said a word. Jane scowled when Bella just stood there, not an ounce of pain affecting her. Her guard would be in a bad mood later.

Aro clapped his hands together. "Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating." He glanced back to his brothers and his mate.

Lily arched a brow. "Don't even think about it. I don't care how nice of an addition she would make to your collection." There was no way she was letting him make this girl part of the Volturi regardless of her gift. Aro's face fell and Caius snickered behind her.

"You have five days after your graduation from high school to begin the transition," Marcus interjected. "Should you fail to do so, the Volturi will intervene. If you tell anyone of our existence, we will end your life as well as theirs."

He seemed to have rendered Bella speechless. Finally.

"Get her out of here," Lily ordered. "I wish to speak with my siblings." She moved over to Aro's throne since he wasn't using it. She really needed to talk to them about getting her own throne in the room. They were reluctant because they preferred her in their laps regardless of how unprofessional it looked.

"You're dismissed," she said to the guards that lined the walls. They were under no threat from her siblings and no longer had a human to intimidate. Once the room had emptied of everyone but her family and the elite guard, she sighed. "What are you going to do with her?"

Edward raked a hand through his hair. "I won't promise her forever if she's not my mate."

"I can tell you right now that you've got 'no' votes from me and Rose. Lily?" Jasper glanced at his sister.

Her brows shot up in surprise. "Me?"

He grinned. "You're still part of the coven, princess."

"Then I vote no. I'm sorry, Edward but from what I've seen here, I just don't think she'd be a good fit."

"Don't apologize to me, I'm voting no, too."

She nodded. "Emmett will vote however you want him to as long as you talk to him beforehand. Have a serious talk with Carlisle and Esme. Tell them how you're feeling. That just leaves Alice."

The pixie shrugged. "I wanted her to be part of the family but she doesn't get to be mean to you, Lils. You were around a long time before her. We love you. I'll go along with whatever the family decides."

"So, death then?" Caius asked making it clear he absolutely couldn't care less.

Lily shook her head. "No. Carlisle won't allow that. I might have a solution that would make everyone happy however. I occasionally get correspondence from covens wishing to take in new members. I have a letter on my desk right now from one in Brazil. They're small. No powers amongst them so her presence wouldn't make them overly strong."

Her raven-haired mate to her hand in his and kissed the back of it. "Well thought, cara mia."

Jasper grinned while Edward nodded thoughtfully. "If you could put us in touch with them, that would be great."

Lily mirrored Jasper's grin. "Of course, Eddie. Now, you are all welcome to stay for as long as you like, but Bella has to go. No irritating humans in the castle."

His lips twitched. "I'll take her home. She's here because of me. You two stay if you want."

Alice bounced a little on her feet and clapped her hands together. "Can we?"

Jasper hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her into him. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Yes, darlin', we can stay."