Heartbeat [Alec Volturi]

Hush

Alec traced his thumb lovingly over the thin skin below my jaw, testing my pulse. "I cannot live without you."

For the first time, my body fell into fight or flight. And I chose flight.

He was in front of me before I'd even fully turned around, hands gripping my forearms. "No!" It was the scream that comes from your throat with all the power of your gut as if it's been waiting to tear through the back of your throat. To burn you for expelling so wretched a sound. It meant nothing to the ravenous vampire within him. "Don't, Alec. Please don't –"

It was as if my pleas had fallen on deaf ears as he tightened his hold, pulling me in by my waist. He tutted, "I know, baby, just close your eyes." I repeated my cries over and over as he shushed me, pressing a kiss to the side of my head, and dropping to my neck.

"Please, no – please, please!"

I begged unconsciously, desperately, repeatedly for him to change his mind. There was no patient build-up as he nipped the skin over my pulse. He moaned at the thin separation between his fangs and my blood. I tugged against him, nearly collapsing in his arms before his hold transferred to a firmer grip.

His fingers tightened on my torso until two clear cracks triggered a sharp pain that reverberated throughout my body. I yelped, scrambling to get away from him, but still, he refused to let me go. My eyes pleaded with his as they darkened, black swallowing red before his face began to shift and morph into something else right in front of me.

Until it was no longer Alec staring back at me. It was never Alec to begin with.

Travis's lips turned up in a twisted grin, fangs bared, "calmáte ventarrón [chill out*]." His hand trailed purposefully along my spine, and I cried out as he whispered, "don't you want to live forever?"

~•~

Aro's sly, singsong voice spoke up across from me. "You hesitate, child?"

"I'm only thinking." I blew a piece of hair out of my face, scrutinizing the chess board as if there was a possibility for me to turn the game around. I wasn't above cheating, but my options were limited when playing against vampires, and the game was already too far along.

Caius commented sadistically, "a forfeit game is a lost game."

Biting the inside of my cheek, I cursed inwardly. How did he know I planned on quitting? "Not according to the definition."

"Saffiya..." Aro clicked his tongue to hide his humour, a poor attempt at a warning for me. I would never get away with this attitude if it were not what Caius was aiming for. He seemed to enjoy sparring with me, as there was no way for me to win. I'd have no more buttons to push after a day with him. Every bone in my body was willing me to fight back when:

"Check." Aro elegantly knocked my knight to the side and removed it from the board.

My pinkie twitched.

Aro started up what Caius had grown bored of, likely some kind of rude tactic searching for the same form of entertainment. "And how is your Italian coming along?"

I grit my teeth while Aro was looking down, trying to answer evenly so as not to give away my frustration with the constant nagging. "Fine."

He raised his eyebrows, amusement growing. "È così?" [Is that so?]

There was a hostile, mocking scoff, "truffatrice!" [con artist] The scratch of Caius' pen was followed with, "do not fib, Saffiya."

I whipped my head, glaring at the back of his head, "I'm not lying."