Chapter 96: Gathering Storm Clouds

Sophie lowered her head and secretly pressed her lips together, unable to suppress the delight of her small victory. She cast a subtle glance toward Marcus, and for the first time, her eyes carried a trace of genuine admiration. His effortless mediation had accomplished what she herself never could. 

As expected of him, she thought.

Jane looked as though she had given up. She kicked the stool blocking her path even farther aside before turning her back on Sophie and heading for the door. Yet just as she was about to leave the library, she suddenly stopped, as though something had occurred to her. Without looking back, she said, "I was originally planning to take you to the vault to see the werewolf specimens. Unfortunately, it seems you'd rather stare at sketches on old paper."

This time, Sophie immediately reacted. She pushed the files aside, snapped her fountain pen shut with a crisp click, and rose from her seat. In truth, she had already finished copying everything Marcus had assigned to her. Carrying the sheet filled with carefully recorded place names from the English territories, she hurried around the table, respectfully presented it to Marcus, then dashed after Jane and grabbed her arm. 

"Wait! I want to go! I'll go willingly! I want to see the werewolves in the vault!"

Sophie still had little control over her newborn strength. Her fingers tightened only slightly before Jane's elbow snapped with a sickening crack. Jane never even turned around. She simply continued walking while Sophie clung to her arm and hurried after her. Bone fractured, venom repaired it, then it fractured again as Sophie unconsciously squeezed too hard, yet Jane endured the entire process without uttering a single sound.

"I said I'm willing! Jane, did you hear me? I really am! We're going to see the werewolves now, right?" Sophie asked repeatedly, tugging at her arm all the while.

Jane deliberately refused to answer, though the corners of her lips quietly curved upward where Sophie couldn't see.

In the end...

She had still won.

As they passed the two guards standing outside the library, Sophie recognized the female guard who had escorted her there and cheerfully waved goodbye. "Bye, butterfly!"

Jane glanced at the woman almost absentmindedly. She distinctly remembered the guard's name was Vera, not "butterfly."

"You really do enjoy giving people nicknames," she muttered.

Keeping her promise, Jane led Sophie toward the vault where the werewolf specimens were stored. This particular vault required an exceptionally high level of authorization. Without Jane's status within the Volturi, Sophie would never have been permitted to enter. After the guard stationed there closed the massive stone door behind them, silence settled over the chamber. Jane walked straight toward the section containing the werewolf displays while Sophie followed closely behind.

Since the specimen had only recently been added to the collection, it stood near the entrance. Jane lifted the white dust cloth covering it, revealing the enormous preserved body beneath.

"Wow..."

"Werewolves are this huge?"

Sophie tilted her head back to stare at the mountain-like creature towering before her, genuine amazement filling her voice.

"One swipe from its paw could've crushed ten of you," Jane replied bluntly, offering no comfort whatsoever.

She moved through the room with practiced familiarity, lighting the oil lamps mounted along the walls one by one. The chamber gradually brightened until every corner was illuminated. With the improved lighting, Sophie could clearly examine every strand of coarse fur covering the werewolf's body. Even knowing it had long been dead, the instinctive terror of facing a natural predator still made every hair on her body stand on end.

"Caius is unbelievably powerful."

That was the greatest lesson Sophie had learned tonight. For centuries, Caius had tirelessly hunted werewolves to extinction, eliminating the vampires' greatest natural enemy. By every measure, he was a legendary protector of his race.

Unlike Sophie, Jane had never cared much for unfamiliar creatures or unknown species. Besides, werewolves smelled utterly revolting to vampires. After lighting the final lamp, she leaned quietly against the wall, simply watching Sophie circle around the enormous specimen from every possible angle.

With nothing more than a little authority...

The runaway had obediently returned to her grasp.

The frustration that had consumed Jane throughout the evening gradually dissolved.

Noticing Jane's gaze upon her, Sophie turned around. Their eyes met almost immediately.

"Jane... there's something I've been wondering about."

"Go ahead."

Sophie' excitement over the werewolf specimen faded as she carefully chose her words.

"Marcus' wife—Didyme. How did she die? Did she encounter one of the vampires' natural enemies?"

Jane looked genuinely surprised by the question.

"Master Marcus rarely talks about Didyme."

"This isn't exactly a secret within the Volturi," she continued frankly. "By the time I was transformed, Didyme had already been dead for over two thousand years. Everything I know comes from stories I've heard."

According to Jane, the Volturi family had originally consisted of six members: the three leaders and their three wives.

Among them, Marcus' wife, Didyme, had been Aro's younger sister. That blood relationship should have strengthened the family, yet instead it became the source of disagreement between the siblings. Aro devoted himself to expanding the Volturi's power and influence, while Didyme possessed no such ambitions. She wished only for a quiet, peaceful life with the one she loved.

Their differences eventually became irreconcilable.

In the end, Didyme persuaded Marcus to leave the Volturi with her.

Out of brotherly affection, Aro respected his sister's wishes. He blessed her, wishing her everlasting happiness alongside Marcus.

Yet just before they officially left the family, after removing their Volturi insignia necklaces, Didyme ventured out alone to hunt.

She never came back.

She was captured and killed by one of the Volturi's rival covens.

"Didyme wasn't particularly gifted," Jane explained calmly. "She had no Gift whatsoever. Against experienced vampires, she couldn't resist at all. Master Aro had always regretted that his only sister was an ordinary vampire. The greatest value she possessed was the fact that she had won Marcus' loyalty. As part of the Volturi, our family's strength could have protected her. Instead, she insisted on leaving... and was reduced to ashes."

Sophie couldn't help sighing softly.

"So... Master Marcus became the way he is now because of that? Did he ever avenge Didyme?"

Jane nodded.

“Aro and Caius personally took revenge. Unfortunately, it changed nothing. Marcus visibly declined afterward. That was when Master Aro finally realized our race's greatest weakness..."

"Our mates."

"From that moment onward, the other two ladies were placed under the strictest protection imaginable."

For three thousand years...Marcus had wandered on with nothing but a withered soul, mourning his beloved.

Meanwhile, Caius and Aro had spent those same three thousand years living in constant fear of losing their own wives. Even hearing the story secondhand, it was chilling.

Standing at the very center of Volturi power, Jane saw Marcus every single day. He existed like the clearest warning imaginable, silently reminding every guard of one lesson. Choose your mate carefully. Remain loyal to your family. Jane had taken that lesson deeply to heart.

"The Volturi rule the entire vampire world," she told Sophie. "That also means we have countless enemies. Only by remaining strong can we protect ourselves and those we care about. If you leave the family while burdened with a weak mate." She glanced toward the preserved werewolf. "You'll most likely end up just like Didyme and Marcus."

Marcus no longer cared whether he lived or died. Neither his own life, nor anyone else's. The only reason his shattered soul still endured was because of the Volturi.

Listening to Jane's version of events, Sophie couldn't help noticing how subjective it sounded. Didyme had become the reckless one who refused to appreciate what she had, Marcus the grieving man carrying endless guilt, and Aro the innocent, well-meaning brother. It was unmistakably Jane's interpretation. Perhaps not an entirely impartial one.

"So," Sophie asked thoughtfully, "how deep was the hatred between that rival coven and the Volturi? Were they especially powerful?"

Jane considered the question for a moment. "I only know they became enemies over territorial disputes. As for how powerful they were or how much they hated us, I don't really know. Either way, they've been dead for three thousand years." "They certainly weren't stronger than Caius." Back then, before the Volturi Guard had even been established, Aro and Caius had destroyed the entire rival coven by themselves.

"That's strange," Sophie murmured. "If they were weaker, why would they dare kill her?"

Jane accepted the logic without hesitation. "Perhaps they believed Didyme had truly left the Volturi after removing her family necklace, making her fair game." "And besides, violence is woven into vampire nature. Killing our own kind isn't unusual in our world."

Sophie was about to continue questioning her when the massive stone door of the vault suddenly rumbled open. "Jane!" Demitri, who should have still been away with Aro, unexpectedly appeared in the doorway. "It's an emergency." "Master Aro has summoned everyone."

Jane immediately slipped into mission mode. Taking Sophie's hand, she walked toward Demitri and asked, "What about Sophie?"

"She comes too." Demitri nodded firmly. "Master Aro's exact order was, everyone."

Having delivered the message, Demitri disappeared into the tunnel almost as quickly as he had arrived. The leaders were already waiting in the Judgement Hall. He still had to notify every remaining guard in the shortest possible time.

Holding Sophie's hand tightly, Jane sped through the underground tunnels toward the assembly hall. According to Aro's original plans, he should have remained in Naples until Chino and Aurora's wedding. For him to abandon those plans and return home early, it could only mean one thing. A storm was coming.