It had never taken Marcus so long to write a letter. The fact that his brothers helped him only made it that much worse. Predictably, they'd disagreed on what to say and how to say it. He shook his head at the thought as he approached Lilliana's door, tapping the letter nervously against the palm of his hand as he went. While they had written everything down, he thought it might be best to remain while she read it. Then he could ensure that she didn't misinterpret the meaning behind their words. He paused with his hand on the knob. Normally, he'd just walk in but given the current situation perhaps he should knock. He did only to frown when he received no response.

Marcus tried again, louder, wondering if she had her headphones in. When he still received no answer, Marcus opened the door and stepped inside. Lily wasn't at her desk and the rest of her rooms were far too quiet for his liking. "Liliana," he called. Uneasiness settled in his belly even as he strode through the theater room to her studio in search of her. Finding nothing, he headed back to the bedroom.

He froze as he stepped inside. Clothes littered the bed and the floor. His gaze darted around noticing that several of her more precious possessions were no longer in their place.

No. She wouldn't leave them. She couldn't.

He sent a quick text to summon his brothers and moved deeper into the room. He advanced slowly, afraid of missing some clue. Some sign of where she was, where she went. Why she wasn't here where she belonged.

"What is it?" Aro asked as he entered with Caius on his heels.

Marcus didn't answer. He didn't need to as he watched their faces morph as they came to the same conclusion he had.

"Her crest," Caius said, gesturing toward the bed.

Marcus immediately found the flash of gold he'd missed amongst the rest of the mess. He clenched his teeth. The crest went beyond marking her as a member of their coven. It was a measure of protection for her as all vampires knew what it meant. And knew what the Volturi would do to one that harmed one of their own.

He picked it up and ran his thumb over it before passing it to Aro. Her crest was one of a kind, marking her as the queen and their mate. It was definitely hers. The letter Marcus found beneath it held much more of his interest at that moment, however. He scanned through it quickly, his heart breaking more with every word.

"What does it say?" He'd never heard Caius' voice so quiet. So full of fear.

To my Kings,

As I'm sure you have gathered by this point, I have left. I have left the Volturi, Volterra and Italy. And I have left you. I have taken one of my guard with me for protection and company as he seems to be the only one that hasn't turned into a complete ass lately. Recent events have made it clear that I should have given more consideration to how my life would change by accepting my role as your mate. It seems that I am always the one making the sacrifices while getting little to nothing in return.

So, mates, I need a break. I need to leave Volterra for a while. Alone. I need a moment to recenter my world. And if you EVER want me to return, you will not follow. You will not track me. You will send no one after me. Give me my time and perhaps I will return to you on my own. If you think to drag me back, I will resent you more than I already do.

Liliana Montgomery Cullen

A spike of pure agony shot through Marcus that she had dropped the Volturi from her name. Aro snatched the letter to read through it on his own as if Marcus would lie about such a thing. He closed his eyes and rubbed his chest. A tear escaped his eye to run down his cheek. He hadn't felt pain like this since Didyme died. Maybe not even then. After all, he'd loved his wife, but she wasn't the center of his universe like Liliana.

"Who would she have taken with her?" Caius asked still sounding as quiet and dejected as before.

"It will be a simple matter to discover. There are only five members on her guard," Aro replied.

Marcus cleared his throat. "It will be Sebastian. She'd be concerned the others would report to us. Sebastian's loyalties lie firmly with her. Besides, she's been spending more time in his company as of late." How he hated the man more every time he saw his mate in the guard's company. But he'd said nothing, thankful that you had someone you were comfortable with when everyone else seemed to abandon you. He had every intention of convincing you to dismiss the man from your personal guard once things were back to normal.

"We can verify, but I am sure you are correct," Aro agreed.

"Send Demetri to bring her back." Caius' voice finally had some life to it but as usual, his go to emotion was anger.

"Don't be a fool. She'll never return to us if we do that. Besides, she can keep Demetri from tracking her."

"He can track that idiot she's with," the blond snapped again.

"Enough, Caius."

As he listened to his brothers bicker, Marcus' shoulders curled in as if to protect him from the reality that she had left him. Of how everything had gone so horribly, horribly wrong. How could she leave him? Didn't she realize that he needed her more than anyone?

He spent centuries after Didyme died locked in his own head. In his own misery. He spoke only when necessary, rarely smiled and never laughed. And then their mate had twirled her way into his life and he couldn't seem to stop. She pulled him from his lonely existence back into the world.

And now she'd left with little explanation, only a letter warning them not to follow or face the consequences. She left him knowing how utterly devastated he would be. He'd been looking forward to an eternity with her and now he was back to contemplating an eternity of loneliness.

***

Caius watched his brothers without really seeing them. His mind was on his mate and why she would do this without speaking to them first. Had she ever really cared for them as deeply as she claimed? Maybe she'd never forgiven him for turning her the way he had and all words to the contrary were nothing but lies.

Without a word, Caius made his way through her rooms. Finding them completely devoid of life was unsettling. He was used to her leaving a movie or music running in the background. Or work spread across the surface of her desk waiting for her to return to it. Now everything was quiet and dull.

When he reached her studio, he ran his gaze across his paintings that lined one wall. Moments of movement captured in time. Liliana loved them, or so she said, but he could see now that he had failed to capture her utterly. Physically yes, but these had been painted before he met her. They were completely devoid of her spirit, of life, and now they only served as a shitty reminder of the mate he allowed to slip through his fingers.

How could she just leave? Didn't she know that he needed her more than anyone? Someone that accepted him despite all of his stupid mistakes. Someone that calmed his temper and called him out for his shit. And the gods knew that he kept fucking up over and over again where she was concerned.

But she knew that he didn't mean any of it. She had to. She had to know he was beyond sorry for any hurt he'd ever inflicted on her. He screamed in frustration and ripped one of the paintings from her wall. He destroyed it before moving to the next one. And as the third fell in pieces at his feet, tears ran down his cheeks. He ignored them and stormed to his rooms, desperate to get away from reminders of her.

***

For the first time in a very long time, Aro was at a loss. Echoes of Caius' destruction filtered in from the other room and Marcus was disappearing inside himself again. If they were hoping he could hold them together as he'd done in the past, they were going to be disappointed. He ran a hand down his face before making his way to his own rooms, leaving Marcus to his contemplations in their mate's room.

He didn't know what the next step, the next action, should be. To be honest, he was terrified. He was terrified that Liliana was out there somewhere without adequate protection. And he was terrified that she might never come home. How could she leave without even discussing it with him? With them? Didn't she know that he needed her more than anyone?

He spent centuries being disliked and hated because of his gift. Yes, it was intrusive but he liked to think it had done more good than not. Except of course the fact that he was forced to face every thought, every opinion, people had of him. But then there was his mate. She had never feared him. Never thought poorly of him. Well before she even met him, she defended him. She had brought him unconditional acceptance and love and she'd taken it with her when she left.

When he reached his office, Aro placed her letter on his desk before leaning over it with his back facing the door. As he read her impersonal words once more, his tears smudged the ink and he gripped the edge of his desk to keep from sending Demetri after her. From dragging her home whether she wished it or not, knowing she'd never forgive him if he did. Instead, he took a deep breath and pulled out his phone to call his friend Carlisle.