Death's Shadow 4

“I got the most interesting message from Edward Cullen.”Aro told Bella.The pair along with the other kings and their mates were all gathered in the common room the royals had set up so they had enough space for all of them.Hearing the name Bella was immediately on alert.She knew that the Cullen coven were visiting with her coven and hadn’t expected any problems.Bella wasn’t a big fan of Carlisle but would never dictate who the sisters could associate with.If she did they would be very isolated because Bella hated anyone that wasn’t the royals or Tanya, Irina and Kate.The only time she had interfered was when a mated couple named Eleazar and Carmen had shown interest in joining them.Bella knew they only wished for the opportunity because Aro had asked him to keep an eye on them.He wanted Kate for the guard and still held a grudge against them due to the Sasha incident.Tanya had taken the advice to heart and refused to let them join their coven.The pair had tried many times over the years to change their mind but Tanya refused each time.

“Why would Edward Cullen be contacting you?”Caius asked.

“Apparently he wishes to file a formal complaint against the Denali.”Aro hoped that this would be the thing he needed to finally get his chance at the sisters.Kate would be a very valuable asset to have for the guard.He would have forced her centuries ago if Bella didn’t stop him.

“The Denali?”Marcus was very surprised to hear that.

“Yes he said that the Denali have declared war on the Cullens and wishes for us to arrest them for an unprovoked territory dispute.”Aro explained.

“The Denali have never stepped out of line since their maker was killed.Why would they risk themselves over a territory dispute?”It didn’t make sense to Athenodora that the sisters would risk their lives over some land.

“Especially since they have called Alaska their home for almost a thousand years and have never made the effort to expand.They have a few vacation properties but most vampires own more real estate then they do.”Didyme said.

“What do you think Bella?”Sulpicia asked.

Bella took a moment to decide what to say.”Out of the two covens the Denali are more trustworthy than the Cullens.That being the case we should assume anything Edward says is exaggerated.Another thing that should be noted is that Carlisle isn’t the one who reached out.”

“That’s a good point.If there really was another coven threatening them then Carlisle should have been the one to contact us.Not Edward.”If the threat was as severe as Edward was making it out to be then Marcus would expect Carlisle to contact them.

“He might not want to after the way we left things.”Aro really wanted the Denali to be in the wrong but it wasn’t looking likely.

“But then why would he have Edward reach out?”Caius asked.

“He might not know that Edward did.”Athenodora guessed.

“From what we know of Cullens Carlisle has little control over them.Edward specifically.He lets the boy do whatever he wants.”Didyme had heard all about how Carlisle favored Edward.

“It is said that Edward really runs the coven not Carlisle.”Marcus said.

“How do we want to deal with this situation before something happens?If the Denali are innocent then Edward has committed a crime by accusing another coven of trying to take over their territory.”It was a law to inform the Volturi about territorial disputes to keep things from escalating to the point that humans became involved.If someone falsely claimed someone was threatening them then they were punished.Sulpicia was a firm believer in doling out harsh punishments for such lawbreakers to make examples out of them to stop others from causing senseless wars.

“Should we send some guards to round up both covens?”Athenodora asked.

“No, I will investigate.”Bella was going to speak to Tanya and her sisters first to see what they had to say about the situation before she made any decisions.She wanted to know what happened during the visit that had Edward making false accusations against them.

“Are you sure?This isn’t something you are usually involved with.”Marcus didn’t think this was something Bella would waste her time on.

“I haven’t shown my presence much in the last two centuries.It’s caused the new generation not to fear the repercussions for breaking the law.If I find that Edward has lied to us I want to make an example out of him to remind vampires why they should fear you sending me after them.”Bella also wanted to destroy anyone who would put her mate in danger.

“You’re right.We have been seeing more instances of vampires toeing the line of breaking the law in recent times.Edward would be the perfect person to use to remind people that we shouldn’t be fucked with.”Caius was already making plans of how he would punish the boy.

“Him and any of the other Cullens that were in support of him making the accusations.”Athenodora wanted to make sure that all of the people involved were dealt equal punishment.

“That means we will have to bring them to the castle for me to read.”Aro said.

“Or I can beat it out of them.”Bella was more than willing to hurt any threat to her coven.

“If you are going to do that then I want to watch.”Caius wasn’t going to miss out on Bella’s special brand of interrogation.

“Let’s not hurt the ones who haven’t broken the law.”Didyme didn’t want anyone who wasn’t involved to be hurt.It wouldn’t be fair and would make their subjects think they were brutal tyrants.

“They come to the castle then.”Sulpicia said.

“Should we have the Denali come as well?”Marcus asked.

“You should send them an invitation to the questioning as is their right as the accused but they shouldn’t be forced to come.If they were it would set a trend of vampires claiming others committed crimes just to have them brought before the kings.We need to remind everyone that we aren’t their errand boys.If they are claiming someone committed a serious crime they have to have proof.If not physical proof something Aro can see.”Bella not only didn’t want the sisters brought before Aro but didn’t want to have to deal with petty squabbles.

“You’re right if we started going off the word of everyone who accuses someone else of a crime we would be overwhelmed with people trying to threaten others with speaking to us to keep them in line.”Athenodora had no doubt that vampires would turn each other in for no reason other than intimidation.That or hoping they had really committed a crime even if it wasn’t the one they were accused of.

“Do you want some members of the guard to come with you when you round them up?”Aro wasn’t pleased that the Denali were once again slipping through his grasp but he was sure he would get other chances.Eleazar and Carmen were still drinking animal blood so he would have them reach out to the sisters again to see if they would finally let them into their coven.

“I’ll take Jane, Felix, Dimitri and five guards that are almost done with training.”Bella knew that Jane would be upset if she missed out on the opportunity to arrest the Cullens.Bella may not be close to the vampire or her twin but she did have a soft spot for the pair after finding them in their village when they were human.She would have sired the pair herself but they needed a parental figure in their life and she couldn’t be that.Caius and Athenodora could though so she had them each sire one of them.The twins had thrived in their little family and Bella knew that the four of them would give their lives for the others without question.

“I can think of a couple that could benefit from going on a mission with you.”Caius had a few vampires in mind that could use the self esteem boost of being able to claim they went on a mission with Death’s Shadow.

“Arrange for them to meet me in three hours.I’ll ride with them on the plane.We can make a plan while we are in the air.Until then I have things to do.”Bella told them.

“We will have everything ready to go for you.”Marcus said.

“Good.I will contact you if I find out anything I think you need to be informed of.”With that said Bella shielded herself from view and made her way out of the door.She needed to call Tanya about everything that was going on.She knew of course that her mate would never declare war on anyone.If any of the sisters had a problem with someone they told Bella and she took care of it.That made it more than obvious that Edward was lying but Bella didn’t know why he would lie.She wasn’t sure what happened during their visit but something put the two covens at odds.Bella wasn’t to worried.She would get to the bottom of it and kill whoever dare accuse the sisters of anything because not only was Tanya her mate but she had come to think of Irina and Kate as the little sisters she always wanted.She loved them just as much as she had loved her own family before they betrayed her to her specie’s rulers.That meant that she would not stand for a bad word said against any of them.