After bidding my sons goodbye and instilling my blessing on my wife’s garden party, I retreated to the East Tower to mull over my decision safely, now that Edward was out of listening range.

I wanted Edward to be happy, that much was certain, but I was just worried how he would go about achieving that. He hadn’t seemed very optimistic at the prospect of trying to find a wife here, and I didn’t blame him. Aside from Esme, Alice, and perhaps Rosalie, the women here were relentless. Edward knew that possibly better than I, due to the extent of his power.

That’s why I had to stay away from him as much as possible in hopes that by distancing myself from him, my thoughts would remain distant as well. It was hard not to tell him the truth, but I worried how he would accept it. I had gotten very good at hiding the truth from him: he saw me as a cold ruler with little compassion for my subjects or the humans we preyed upon, and as much as I hated for him to think so, that’s how it had to be, or they would kill me.

Marcus, Caius, and Aro essentially controlled my life.

I had come to Volterra after two years of stumbling around as a newborn, repulsed by what I was but hunting to stay alive. Aro found me, and brought me back with him to the city.

They had told me they were thousands of years old, had built and established the city of Volterra, and called themselves the Volturi. They had said they were essentially the government of the vampire world.

That sounded legit enough to me, the son of a British pastor, and so I was in. As I lived and studied with them – the humans believed us to be scholars – Marcus, the ruler, became slightly suspicious of me and my ways of hunting. According to him, I was ‘too careful’ with my prey, never using my entire strength, maintaining shreds of self-control instead of completely letting go. Caius and Aro were soon suspicious as well, but Aro found a use for my ‘talent.’

They all had it in their minds that I was to be the next ruler once Marcus’ term ended, and I found myself believing them. I was eager to learn, and found I would do anything to lead this city and society. Perhaps I could use my rule to my advantage, and create a city of vampires that was not dependent on humans for survival. I had fed off an animal once, in desperation, but Marcus, Caius and Aro forced me back into a life of predation on humans. They had no notion of what I had done once, and I didn’t intend on telling them anytime soon.