Chapter 11

Neither B or Kate was sure about how long they stayed like that, holding each other, but it didn't really matter. Both enjoyed the comfort, the calming presence of the other, the way they felt when they were in each other's arms.

Really, what is going on with me? B thought. While she figured anyone would warm up, and even come to like and trust someone after all she had been through with Kate, wasn't she warming up to the vampire a little too fast? Not to mention that B was starting to suspect that it wasn't just like that had B seeking out comfort from the vampire like she had been doing. Something was seriously going on inside of B, and not only didn't have any control over it, but she didn't even really know what it was that was going on in the first place.

"Just so you know, nobody in my family is like that. If they knew your story, they'd be as upset as I am," Kate muttered into the side of B's neck, making B shiver, although not from fear. "I understand why you were scared of vampires, why you're still scared of them, but you have nothing to fear from my coven, okay? You're safe here. And if those vampires ever show their faces around here…" Kate didn't need to finish the dark thought for B to understand what Kate was saying. Kate also couldn't have said anything else to B that would have made her feel better than that last sentence.

B opened her mouth to say she might be willing to meet this coven of Kate's soon, but her growling stomach interrupted her. She pulled back to glare down at it as Kate burst out laughing. Who would have guessed that her stomach had actually gotten spoiled, even with Kate's disgusting food.

"I guess all of that craziness wasted your energy, huh? Let me make you something to eat," Kate said, eyes sparkling at the prospect of cooking her mate another meal.

I really need to learn how to cook, B thought as she moved to get up so Kate could go cook, only to find herself getting scooped up instead.

"Kate!" B groaned in exasperation, thumping Kate lightly on the shoulder as the vampire stood, still holding B in her arms.

"Is there a problem, Isabella?" Kate purred, giving B a playful but sexy smile. The combination silenced B, and she looked away with a deep blush, unable to do anything else. Kate let out a laugh at B's reaction and proceeded to carry her to the kitchen, depositing the brunette into a seat at the table. Immediately, B found herself missing the feel of Kate's body.

With that realization, B's eyes snapped wide. Holy fuck, I'm attracted to her! B thought, beyond stunned at the realization. She almost jumped out of her seat with the power of her near freak out, but stopped when Kate glanced over at her.

"You okay?" Kate asked, having heard her mate's increased heartbeat and the uneven thumping of the chair legs as B nearly jumped to her feet.

No. No way was B going to give Kate any sign that B was attracted to her. If she did, Kate would be all over that, and B had no idea what she'd do then. She didn't even know if she could handle a Kate who was armed with not just her cockiness but also the dangerous knowledge of B's feelings.

So B took a deep breath, settled back in her seat, and said, "Yeah, I'm okay. Well, as okay as I can be, given...you know."

Kate nodded somberly before focusing back on her task. B could smell something was burning, but Kate seemed too happy to be cooking that B didn't have the heart to point it out to her.

At least it wouldn't be undercooked and poisonous, B reasoned as she had to once again psych herself up for another of Kate's meals. Still...maybe she could convince Kate at some point in the near future to buy some simple things from the store in the near future. Simple things like the meats and cheeses B had stolen when she had truly gotten desperate. After all, who could mess up a sandwich?

The food was placed in front of B, and once again, Kate sat across from her, watching with unconcealed excitement as she waited for B to eat another one of her meals. B stared at it for a second, unable to even understand what she was being fed, but picked up a fork, stabbed into some strange crumbly stuff, and brought it to her mouth.

"Mm," B said with a nod, making Kate brighten up even further. Damn it, she was never going to be able to tell Kate she couldn't cook, not when Kate kept giving her looks like that. Now that she thought about it, her worry about hurting Kate's feelings or even making her a little less happy once again pointed back to B's attraction for her. It wasn't just lust that made her want Kate, but a romantic attraction too. B was so fucking fucked it wasn't even funny.

"Hey...how about we take it easy for a few more days?" Kate spoke suddenly, looking at her with compassionate eyes that made it even harder for B to ignore the ache in her chest. "I mean, you've been through enough. We can just relax around here, go for runs and hunts...normal stuff."

B snorted at what Kate classified as normal, but grinned. "Sounds good. I really would like to work on my reading." While B was quite happy to be able to read everyday things and even books now, she wasn't at as high a level as she wished. There were still words she didn't understand, and while Kate assured her that was natural, having some trouble with some of the words herself, B never wanted to be hindered by words again.

"What is with you and books?" Kate groaned, flopping back in her chair comically, her generous chest thrusting upwards in a way that drew B's eyes. Damn it, B, behave! she scolded herself. She really couldn't believe that suddenly realizing that she was attracted to Kate had turned her into an ogling idiot.

Keeping her eyes on the plate in front of her, she said, "It's fun. Now that I can read...it's like whole new worlds have opened up to me. It's beyond amazing."

"Cool," Kate said, not sure what else she should say. While reading had done nothing but make Kate feel bored, seeing her mate so happy about something made her feel way too happy about books despite her personal opinion. "But fine. If you want to read, then you've also got to do something I like. For instance, I really need to introduce you to video games."

"How about you introduce me to your family instead?" B suggested, catching Kate completely off guard.

"You hate something you haven't even tried that much?" Kate asked, completely stunned that B would suggest something like that, especially so soon after revealing her gruesome story.

"No, I just want to meet them...to see if what you told me about them were true," B said softly. The moment her eyes met Kate's, she found herself reaching out to place her hand on top of the vampire's almost automatically. She realized what she was doing when her hand was already almost there and jerked it back.

Of course, Kate had seen the entire move, and cocked her head curiously. While she was more than excited to show B her family, she was also confused about the way B was acting. They had held each other for hours only a little while ago, and now it was almost as if B was scared of touching her again.

"So, are you going to call your family or not?" B asked, quirking an eyebrow when Kate just stared at her.

"What, now?" Kate asked, even more surprised than she had been a moment ago.

B shrugged. "No time like the present." The other reason she was rushing this, of course, was to figure out her feelings. Kate had said she had two sisters, and if they really were as nice as Kate, then B wanted to figure out if she was attracted to them as well.

"Okay. Yeah, I'll do it now." Kate reached for her pocket where her phone was, but her excitement had gotten the better of her. The second her hand closed around the phone, it started to sizzle and pop as Kate's electric current fried it. B's eyes widened and she scrambled back as Kate cursed. More concerned about her mate's fear then the destroyed electronic, Kate tossed the phone across the room without another look where, with one last sizzle and pop, it died.

"What...what…?" B asked, completely freaked out.

"Sorry, Kitten, that was my fault. I got too excited," Kate tried to explain as she walked over. In that moment that she had let down her guard, her powers had gotten the best of her, which Kate found ironic. After all, no matter how much she let down her guard around B, instinctively her powers wouldn't activate. Her entire being knew without needing to be told not to harm her mate. She had gotten so used to not having to worry about her ability that she had fried her phone. "Ya see, some vampires are born with gifts," Kate tried to explain, scratching her head sheepishly. "Mine is this ability that, well, I have this electric current running through my body. It lets me electrocute people, and things. Not you, though!" Kate hurried to add. "My power could never hurt you."

"Why?" B asked as she warily straightened from her defensive crouch. Kate had to hide a smile as she realized B was staring more at the phone than her, but that smile disappeared as she realized she would have to explain to B why her powers automatically wouldn't harm her. She struggled for a moment, then came to the simplest explanation.

"Because I care about you," Kate said, and that was that. Or so Kate thought, until she was distracted by B's blush. Damn, B always looked so adorable like that… Kate swept the girl up in a hug unthinkingly, and was once again pleased beyond explanation as her little mate didn't even stiffen in fear of being electrocuted. She did, however, blush even harder.

"So how are you going to talk to your family now?" B asked hurriedly, trying to get Kate's eyes off of her face.

At that, Kate frowned. "I guess...I guess I'd have to go and tell them in person. But I can't just show up at the house with you…" she mumbled as she set B down, clearly troubled. It wasn't that Kate was worried that something bad would happen if she did, she just wanted to make a good impression, and she wasn't sure what her sisters would be doing if they arrived at the wrong time.

"So go see them. I'll wait here," B said, like it was the simplest solution in the world.

For a moment, Kate stared at B in shock. Really? How could B sound so unconcerned? Did B not realize that that would mean Kate would have to leave B alone? Again?

Obviously B did realize it, otherwise she wouldn't be suggesting it, but she didn't seem to care.

"Just go already, will you?" B said, actually starting to push Kate out the door. She knew she was acting a little too desperate, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to see where exactly this attraction was stemming from.

Apparently, Kate was going to torment her a little more, since she dug her heels into the floor. While B could still push her, she really wasn't getting Kate anywhere, and it frustrated her. In the meantime, a part of Kate's mind that wasn't so focused on the thought of leaving her mate was wondering about how strong B was getting.

"Come on. Go," B tried to insist, pushing a little more.

"But…" Kate started hesitantly, making B scowl.

Kate's hesitant feelings about leaving got to B, and B angrily stomped around to face Kate, crossing her arms across her chest. "You don't still think I'm going to run away when you leave, do you?" Bella demanded in a low feline growl, partially distracting Kate from the problem at hand.

Shit, she's sexy when she's angry. Shaking herself out of her hot stupor, Kate held up her hands in a placating manner. "No. No no no, not at all, I swear! I just don't like leaving you alone."

Sensing the truth to Kate's words, B rolled her eyes, rocking back on the balls of her feet, although her arms were still crossed over her chest and now she had a glower on her face as well. "Are you serious? You don't have to babysit me, you know. I'm perfectly fine entertaining myself."

"That's not the problem. I just hate it when you're not around, is all," Kate protested, struggling to find a good way of explaining her complicated emotions without outright saying "It's incredibly hard to push past my vampiric instincts which currently revolves around needing to claim you, protect you, and keep you close."

Clearly Kate didn't do a good job, because B shot her a look that questioned if her mental age really was above that of a young child. "I think you can survive an hour or two without me," B told Kate dryly.

Oh no. If Kate had it her way, she would only take a half hour top. Deciding that the only way to do this without making B question her sanity was to run as fast as inhumanly possible, tell her coven that they were coming over, then running, just as inhumanly fast, all the way back.

"Fine, but I'll be back in under an hour. Just...try not to hurt yourself," Kate said, taking one last breath before she rushed off just as B started yelling that she wasn't some weak kitten who couldn't take care of herself.

Kate really did push herself, and while she couldn't get tired, she pushed herself so hard she felt the burn in the back of her throat get just a little bit longer. Kate knew that she was being irrational, but she couldn't help herself. So many things could happen when she was gone. What if B somehow managed to hurt herself? What if a storm hit? What if the cell phone Kate had fried blew up? What if B got hungry?

So she pushed herself, uncaring of the burn, until she came into eyesight of the giant Denali mansion. "B's ready to meet you all, so we're going to be over in an hour or so! Be prepared and don't fucking scare her!" Kate shouted as she skidded to a stop, then turned around to run back to the cabin as.

Even as she left the Denali house behind, she heard Irina say, "Wait, what?"

"Hello to you too," Tanya added loudly in a dry voice. "Glad to see things are going well."

The last thing Kate heard was Carmen murmuring about how she had better start cooking and Eleazar offering to clean the house up as he laughed, and then Kate was out of hearing range. She didn't stop until she was back at the cabin, nearly kicking the door down, prepared to face down whatever had happened to her mate.