The Unwanted Imprint

Chapter 38

It was raining heavily when Diana left that night. Sources of hers had told her the hotel that the Cullens were staying at, and the rooms that they had taken.

Diana knocked on the door of the hotel room, and it was Esme who answered the door. "Can I help you?"

"My name is Diana, I...I'm a member of the Volturi. I've come here with information about Nichole."

Jacob was at Esme's side in an instant. "How do we know that we can trust you?" He demanded. "How do we know that you don't have a whole bunch of other bloodsuckers with you, waiting to take us out?"

"You're a wolf, use your damn nose. Besides, if I had others with me, I wouldn't have been nice enough to knock on the door. I've come with a message from Nichole."

Esme quickly ushered Diana inside. "Is she alright? Is she hurt?"

"No, she hasn't been injured in any way. She's been doing everything that Aro has asked of her...and that's part of the reason why I'm here."

"This is about the wedding," Alice spoke up. "Isn't it?"

Diana nodded her head. "Aro's original plan was for them to get married next week, but it's been bumped up to tomorrow night. Listen...I want to help you get Nichole out of there. There's going to be a lot of vampires that you're going to have to fight against...do you think that you're up for it?"

"More than up for it," Emmett responded. "We're gonna kill every last vampire in that place."

"Steady there, big boy," Diana said, holding up a hand. "Let's just focus on getting Nichole out, you can take your rage out on the Volturi another time. Now, the vampire that's going to prove to be a real problem will be Jane."

Carlisle nodded his head. "I remember her, and it's safe to say that she hasn't changed her ways at all?"

Diana nodded her head. "No, she hasn't. She's jealous of Nichole, especially now. Aro appointed me as Nichole's bodyguard so that Jane wouldn't try anything."

"So then what are you doing here?" Jacob demanded. "You should be there with Nichole, making sure that this Jane bitch doesn't hurt her."

"Aro has Jane so busy with wedding preparations that she won't have time to do anything. Now, if we're going to get her out, I think that we should do it tomorrow night, right before the wedding."

"Isn't that cutting it a little bit close?" Rosalie asked.

"It is, but it's your best chance of getting in undetected because everyone is going to be busy making sure that everything is ready for the wedding. Aro has always been a grandiose person, so he's going to make sure that this is a big affair. I can sneak you in tomorrow night. The wedding is going to be at eight tomorrow night, you'll need to meet me outside the building at exactly seven, and not a moment later. I'm going to make sure that Nichole is ready, she already knows that I'm helping you to get her out, and she knows to be ready at a moment's notice."

"Why are you doing this?" Jacob asked. "You're one of them, why would you care about a human?"

Diana sighed a bit. "Because I'm sick and tired of doing everything that Aro tells me to do, things that only harm innocent people. I joined the Volturi because I thought that their mission was to keep the vampires of the world safe, but now I know that their only goal was power."

"What matters now is that you're trying to do the right thing," Esme said. "And after all of this is over, you're more than welcome to come back with us."

Diana smiled a bit. "Nichole had said something like that. Your offer is generous, and I will gladly accept it if everyone is in agreement of it."

"If Nichole trusts you, then I think that we can too," Alice said with a soft smile. "Welcome to the family."

"Thank you. I should go before anyone realizes that I'm gone. Remember, seven tomorrow night, don't be late." Diana disappeared into the night.

"Are we sure that we can trust her?" Jared asked, and Carlisle sighed. "We don't really have a choice. She's our only ticket in, and if Aro really plans on marrying Nichole tomorrow night, then we have no choice. Besides, I believe that her intentions are sincere, and Nichole has good instincts when it comes to people. If she trusts Diana, then so can we."

Esme looked at Jacob, who was pacing in the room. "This is going to work, Jacob."

"It better," Jacob muttered. "Because I'll be damned if I let Nichole get married to a bloodsucker. Uh....no offense to you guys."

"None taken." Esme smiled. "Besides, Aro is more of the type of vampire that you and your pack fight against."

"Good, so then I wouldn't feel bad ripping his head off of his shoulders."

"You wouldn't feel bad doing that to me either." Emmett protested, and Jacob laughed. "That's only because you're annoying."

"Finally, I'm not the only one who said it," Jasper said, causing the others in the room to chuckle.

"Once we have Nichole back, we're going to have to go somewhere other than Forks," Carlisle said. "That would be the first place that Aro would look for Nichole. And he would look, he isn't the type to let go of what he wants very easily."

"He can't exactly look for her if she's dead."

"Jacob, our goal here is not to kill Aro. Our goal is to get Nichole out. Now, as I was saying, we'll have to take up residence somewhere else."

"You could come to Cairo." Benjamin offered, and Carlisle shook his head. "I'm afraid that would be too emotionally painful for Nichole."

"Well, wherever you guys go, I'm gonna have to go, too," Jacob stated.

"Of course, I know that you can't be away from your imprint for very long."

"Jacob, you and your friends should get some rest," Esme said. "You're going to need it for tomorrow."

"Well, this should be fun," Leah muttered. "Just hope that we get to kill some vamps along the way."

"Don't worry, you'll get your fun in," Emmett said, and it seemed like he agreed with her statement. "We're going to have a lot of fun tomorrow."