Heartbeat [Alec Volturi]

Faith

"— using her to get to us. Since when does the Volturi care about humans?"

"Babe, you should've seen him —"

The argument stalled as the front door abruptly shut behind Alec, Jasper, and I. Alec stood firm behind me, just close enough to assure me of his presence. It was clear we heard the end of their conversation, and likely that both Jasper and Alec were privy to it long before I was.

However, the increasingly awkward atmosphere originated more from the fact that they'd gathered as a welcoming committee in the small entryway rather than from the topic of their argument. Emmett was the only familiar face and he beamed at me while throwing his arm around a fuming blonde beside him. She didn't push his arm away, which I expected of someone as upset as her. Instead, she gave in to his wordless comfort. Though, I suspected, only slightly and with a great deal of reluctance.

"Saffiya," Jasper's accent revealed itself in my name. "This is Rosalie."

Rosalie refused to acknowledge us, but her profile alone caught me off guard. Before I could reflect more on her appearance, Emmett demanded my attention.

"How's it hanging, Kid."

I smiled at him to keep from sharing my displeasure at the nickname. Although, the word slipped into his sentence more casually than Felix's attempts. Jasper continued the introductions.

"And Alice—"

I could physically feel Alec holding back a complaint in the form of a growl as I was swiftly taken from him by a bubbly brunette. The rest of her family had noticed Alec's restraint, though she paid him and her family's trepidation no mind.

The girl, Alice, grinned and held both my hands. She reintroduced herself with a bright face, "I'm Alice."

"Saffiya," I offered politely. "It's wonderful to meet you all. Thank you for...having us."

Now cognizant of the boy behind me, Alice slowly lifted my hand, guiding me in a slow twirl. Shining gold eyes examined me with unexplainable glee. "Oh, you're just adorable! Don't you think so, Rose?"

The blonde previously arguing with Emmett turned at her name. Finally having her full attention, I was able to take her in with greater detail. 

All vampires were beautiful and Heidi stood out as the most outwardly alluring of the Volturi members. This young woman, however, made headlines in a different way. She was captivating. An independent, elegant aura inspired an admiration of the vampire. A perspective that I'd reserved for women like Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn. She was Helen of Troy, beautiful. The face that launched a thousand ships. I hadn't met many vampires yet, but she definitely gave Heidi a run for her money.

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "She's not a doll, Alice." Her eyes flickered to me, and I realized that I was still staring. She hissed, "what."

"Aw, babe. I think she's starstruck."

A gentle squeeze on my arm released my tongue and I stumbled to apologize. "Sorry. It's just, I don't think I'll ever get used to the vampire..." I substituted the many adjectives for beauty that rolled around in my head. "Differences."

Rosalie jumped on my sentence. "You will," she promised in a bittersweet voice. Narrowing her eyes at Alec, she continued somewhat snidely. "You don't have a choice."

Alec hissed, "Careful, Cullen."

"The hypocrisy is underwhelming." Alec's body tensed even more and I left Alice to move in front of Alec. My lack of subtlety to place myself between the two was clear, though worth it to hopefully encourage a more moderated tantrum from my...companion.