Bella

I stroked Dylan’s wet, matted hair soothingly while he thrashed around in pain, the venom eating through him like acid as it slowly, painfully transformed him into the very thing he’d longed for since he was a child.

It was only his second day. He still had many torturous hours to endure. The horrible screaming had ceased, but there was no mistaking the anguish that he was all too aware of. In a few short days I’d get my chance to live through this hell. Aro had refused our request to fly back to Forks and had informed me that I would be transformed once Dylan completed his conversion. Carlisle had tried to sway him, but Aro was not letting me out of his sights.

He’d agreed to let Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie go, but Edward, Alice, Jasper, and I stayed as per our agreement. Most of the Denali clan were traveling with them to offer their help, but Tanya and Irina were sticking around. Gee, I wonder why? A certain bronze haired god couldn’t have something to do with that decision, could it? Have I mentioned how much I loath that woman with her runway model looks and her drool worthy sex appeal?

I brushed a kiss across his forehead. “It’ll be over soon, Dylan. Just hold on a little longer,” I encouraged as I got to my feet.

Leaving that room had been such a relief. I had no idea how I was supposed to endure the transformation if I couldn’t even bear to witness it. I’d gone there in an attempt to distract myself from Alice’s vision and it had worked, but the fear and concern were again eating at me as I left Dylan’s side.

I glanced around the corridor. We were in an older part of the castle. Nothing cheery about this part of Volterra. I was deep underground and the walls were damp and musty. This was what I’d been expecting upon arriving here. I’d been shocked by the white and gold gleaming marble halls, but pleasantly so. This…this place reeked of funk and old blood. I smelled it immediately, my stomach heaving as the coppery scent filled my lungs making me gag, but I’d since become desensitized to it.