A/N: Thank you everyone for your awesome reviews! I gave you guys a little gift scene at the end of this chapter as thanks. I had most of this written before I started school and work, so it'll be a long time before you see the next one. But there will be a major time jump, like when Bella and Victoria first joined the Amazons, probably not as big as that time jump though. We're close to Bella and You all know who meeting for the first time. That's probably what's going to take a while to write, I have to be very careful with how that goes or I might have a mutiny on my hands from all of you.
Anyway, I got all of your suggestions for Rosalie's mate, sorry I didn't reply to everyone, it was just very overwhelming. Everyone had good reasons as to why a certain person should be Rose's mate, so I had to make a decision based on my story line. And... Well, you'll have to find out. It's actually one of the people I originally picked out, so it's good.
So, what's going on in this chapter, the Volturi and surprising events unfold within the walls of the castle. It was very chaotic, and all over the place, but what part of this story hasn't been, I mean really.
And now, for Bella's simple, but brilliant plan, review, s'il vous plait
Chapter 11
"This isn't going to work," Maria hissed from her hiding place near the Volturi castle.
"Shut-up Maria, of course it's going to work," Bella retorted, "Everyone is in position, and this is so going to work, don't be such a downer." It'd been over a month since the Wild coven had shown up at Didyme's doorstep and decided to help the ancient vampire get back to her mate. They spent much of the time spying on the Volturi and figuring out their habits. Bella had also been spending a lot of time with her 'aunt' Heidi, and has been catching up on the language and culture that has changed over the years. They've started building a great relationship between them, and while they didn't have a familial bond or even a coven bond between them to tie them together, they knew they would be great friends.
"Bella, are you sure you have enough energy to keep your shields up on everyone?" Victoria asked her daughter, looking worriedly as Bella's eyes started to glow. She had been constantly using her shield for the passed few weeks to keep their scents hidden from the Volturi guard and other vampires wandering the streets.
"I'll be okay," Bella murmured, "Just make sure not to wander to far away so I can recharge if I need to."
"I'm not leaving you," Vic murmured, "Is everyone is position?"
"As far as I can tell?" Maria, "Heidi is going to lure Chelsea and Afton outside, while Zafrina uses her illusion to make it seem like they're still inside. No one will notice they're gone until it's too late."
Bella nodded, "It's the safest plan as far as I can tell. I'm hoping that Chelsea will have wrapped so many people in her gift that when she is torched, they'll be free and won't fight back."
"We just have to worry about Aro and Jane then," the redhead said.
"Doesn't Jane have a twin brother?" Maria asked.
"Right, him too."
"And Caius," Bella added, "Grandma told me he's a hateful and vindictive vampire, extremely blood thirsty. From what Heidi's told me, most of the Volturi are like that. Apparently she has to lure tourists in once a week just to keep up with their demands, why do they need to feed so much and why they don't just go hunt themselves is beyond me."
"So it's not just animal drinkers that get you into a snit, but human drinkers as well," Didyme said, appearing behind the Wild coven. She had been present for one of Bella's many rants on the evils of animal drinkers, which had gotten even more impassioned since the… incident as it was being referred to as. Bella had started to feel better since meeting Didyme and hearing her story, but her heart still ached for Tanya, even if she wanted to claw her eyes out at the same time.
"I dislike those who pick on the innocent," Bella replied, "Animals don't hurt that many people a year and many are necessary for the environment. Tourist don't do anything wrong either other than annoy locals. Everyone is a tourist at some point in their lives." The brunette huffed, "I eat criminals who prey on other people, so they're free game, and other people living on the fringes of society."
"Don't forget those already dying," Maria said, never taking her eye off the entrance to the castle, waiting for the signal from Heidi.
"Yes, and the dying. I mean, who wants to die slowly anyway? Just a quick bite and a gulp and it's all over for them," Bella commented, "Though I don't think I could eat a little old woman, or a little old man. I would feel so guilty."
"Hush, all of you we're supposed to be watching for Heidi," Victoria hissed.
"Did you just tell me to shush?" Didyme asked, looking at her oldest descendent.
"Didyme, Mom, whatever, you've partly lost your marbles. Wait until after we get you and Marcus back together and mostly sane to scold me," the redhead said. She caught sight of the tall figure of the Volturi 'fisher' walking out of the gate, followed closely by two other vampires. "There they are," she whispered. Vic turned towards her daughter and gave her a look.
The brunette rolled her eyes and grabbed a hold of one of Didyme's hands, drawing energy. "We'll stay here," she said, "While you, Maria, Kachiri and Heidi take out the two nitwits down there. I miss all the fun."
"Just can't afford you losing concentration," Victoria said, "Zafrina and Senna are counting on you to keep them hidden while they keep the illusion going in the castle."
"Yes yes, I know, it was, after all, my plan," Bella snorted, "Now get out of here, you have a couple of nosey vampires to decapitated and burn."
Victoria and Maria slinked off towards where Heidi was with the other two vampires. They were joined shortly by Kachiri and they stuck to the shadows created by the tall buildings and the flickering street lights in the darkness of twilight. "Do you feel kind of bad that we're basically killing two vampires when all we need is to kill one?" Maria asked.
"Everyone knows if you kill a vampire, you kill their mate too," Victoria replied, "It's common sense, leave no one to seek retribution."
"How did Heidi even get them to come out?" Kachiri asked.
"She's very persuasive," Victoria returned.
They crept towards the three vampires standing in the shadow of the castle. It seemed like the two who had their cloaks on and hoods up, Afton and Chelsea, were bickering with Heidi in Italian. The tall vampire caught their eyes and discretely nodded signaling to take out Afton first.
Maria and Victoria grabbed the male vampire while Kachiri and Heidi took hold of Chelsea. Afton put up a quite a fight, hissing and biting, getting a few good scratches in, but he was no match for Maria, who fought in wars for decades. Victoria's gift aided her in evading Afton's deadlier swings, so what she lacked in experience, she made up for in skill. Soon, the struggling vampire was subdued and dismembered; lying in pieces in the alley they forced the other vampires into.
They turned and saw Chelsea spitting and hissing furiously, eyes dark due to rage, but twisting and rolling from fear, most likely because her gift wasn't working. Heidi held the struggling bond manipulator while Kachiri tugged and pulled her off her head. The girl obviously relied on the use of her gift too much because she didn't know how to fight them off of her. When the two vampires were lying in pieces in the alleyway, Victoria stepped out and motioned Bella and Didyme over.
Heidi handed Didyme a box of matches. "If anyone deserves to light the bitch up, it's you mom," she said, taking a step back. Bella gave the ancient vampire's hand a light squeeze before stepping out of the alley along with the other three vampires.
Didyme stared down at the vampire and her mate that kept her from hers. "I hope you enjoyed your existence and that following Aro was worth it," she murmured before dropping a lit match on the bodies. She watched as the last of the vampire flesh in front of her disappeared into a cloud of purple smoke and walked out of the alley, feeling lighter than every. "I feel better," she said once she reached her companions.
Heidi opened her mouth ready to say something when Zafrina and Senna rushed out of the castle. "You guys have to come see this," Zafrina said, "You're never going to believe this."
The eight vampires rushed into the castle, passed the confused secretary who was looking around like she didn't know what was going on and down into the throne room. They burst through the doors and found complete and utter chaos. One of the kings was sitting on his throne weeping; one boyish looking vampire was tossing around a creepy little girl vampire. The other two kings were fighting with women who looked like they were trying very hard to decapitate them.
"That's Marcus," Didyme whispered, motioning towards the weeping king on the far right, "Aro and Caius are apparently about to be decapitated by their wives Sulpicia and Athenodora?"
"And Alec looks like he is about to kill his bitch of a sister," Heidi wondered, "What is going on?"
With animalistic roars, the two women ripped Aro and Caius's heads off and tossed them away from the bodies. Alec subdued his sister, but didn't decapitate her. When the two queens of the Volturi roared, the guard present in the room calmed down and finally noticed the newcomers in the room.
Marcus looked up slowly, his sobs subsiding and spotted Didyme standing at the entrance of the room, looking at him with love and longing. "Marcus?" She whispered, taking a few hesitant steps towards the man.
Before anyone could register what was happening, Marcus was in front of Didyme, crushing her into him, meeting her mouth with his. "Okay, this is awkward," Bella said after a few minutes when it didn't seem that the two reunited mates were going to stop anytime soon. The brunette looked over to the dais again and saw the two women smiling at each other and holding hands. She walked over to the two of them and decided to introduce herself. "So I'm Bella," she said, placing a hand on her chest, "And you know my grandma over there, Didyme. What exactly happened here?"
"Grandma?" The blonde woman said in amusement, "Anyway, I'm Athenodora."
"And I'm Sulpicia," the darker haired woman added, "I was Aro's wife and Dora was Caius wife."
"They had us trapped under Chelsea's power so we wouldn't know that we weren't their mates, but each others," Dora picked back up.
"Well that's twisted," Bella replied blinking before turning around to face the boy who was fighting the angry looking girl. "And Alec was it? Why were you fighting Janet? Isn't she your sister?"
Alec let out a chuckle, "Jane, her name is Jane. Aro had Chelsea wrap me up in her power to keep me away from my mate. Did someone execute Corin too? Her power was also used to keep us trapped."
"Yes, she needs to be executed as well," Sulpicia ordered, "She was used to keep us and Chelsea complacent so that we would never leave, never question anything." Two large vampires ran out of the room and came back a few minutes later.
"Corin and Santiago have been dealt with my lady," the larger of the two vampires said.
"Thank you Felix," Dora said, "But why did you destroy Santiago?"
"I've never really liked him," Felix replied, "Plus, he was in the area of Corin so Demetri and I thought, two birds, one stone."
"Well that's a time saver," Bella commented, before turning to look at her aunt, "How did you lure Afton and Chelsea outside then Heidi if this other vampire kept her wanting to stay here?"
"I am that good," Heidi replied, flipping her hair. "But no really, I have no idea."
"I can explain that," Zafrina said, "My illusion kept her and anyone really, from noticing that Heidi was using her power to lure the two out of the castle, and your shield armor kept the gifts of those in the castle at bay."
"Mhm," Bella murmured. She glanced back over at Didyme and Marcus and it didn't see like they had come up for air yet so she turned her attention back to the bodies of the kings on the floor and the short girl Alec had a hold of that was glaring holes into her head.
"Alec you never did answer why you were trying to kill your sister Janet?"
"My name is Jane you…" The girl's voice cut off as Alec twisted her head off.
"Sorry," Alec apologized, "A side effect of Chelsea and Corin's power is that some of my memories were suppressed. She's the reason why our parents died and we were almost burned at the stake. Her craziness almost got us killed, and did get us trapped here for hundreds of years." He fumed, "Jane was always a little unhinged. She could use her power as a human, and enjoyed torturing people. She basically tortured our parents to death, and when the townspeople found out, they took both of us and tried to kill us. The rest of the story is pretty self-explanatory. Aro changed us, and by the time I woke up, I was already wrapped up in the two bitches' powers."
"Yikes," Maria murmured, "And people thought I was crazy when I was running the Southern Wars."
"Who says you're not crazy now?" Heidi interjected. The two of them had developed a strange relationship when everyone was busy planning the downfall of the Volturi. They were friends, but they also could get under each other skin like nobody else could.
"Nobody asked you fisher!"
"Bite me shorty."
Victoria walked over and hit the both of them on the head. "I can't tell if you're supposed to be my sister right now or another child, and I don't really want to deal with another one at the present. I have one, and a half I guess, and that's plenty," Victoria hissed, "So behave, both of you."
"Who's the half?" Maria asked, rubbing the back of her head.
"Maria!" Vic seethed, "Shut-up."
Bell turned to look back at the two vampire queens who were staring at her family, gaping. "Ignore them," Bella said, "They're always like this. So what's going to happen now?"
Dora smirked in amusement, "Well, we're going to light these two idiots up, and if Alec has no objections, possibly Jane as well."
"I don't know about killing her right away," the boyish vampire replied, "Maybe just keep her beheaded for a while down in the dungeons or something and see how she feels later."
Sulpicia nodded, "All right, Felix will you escort Jane downstairs and make sure she can't put herself back together, and Demetri will you take Aro and Cauis's bodies out to burn?"
"Yes milady," they replied, briefly looking at each other for a moment before setting out to do what the queens of Volterra asked of them.
When they left, Bella turned to her mother. "They are so gay," she said.
"Bella," Vic chastised.
"What? I'm just stating a fact. They're totally mates, apparently Aro had a thing about not wanting people with mates on the guard since Alec was kept from his mate, and those two lover boys were kept from each other," the brunette hummed, "and of course separating Grandma and Marcus and you two up there, just not a very happy place to live, this castle."
"That's going to change, we assure you of that," Dora said, "Especially now that Didyme is back with us."
"What?" The dark haired vampire said, breaking away from Marcus, "Did I miss something?"
"No Grandma, just the execution of four Volturi members and the probation of a fifth, other than that, nothing exciting happened," Bella said, glancing at the ancient vampire.
"Don't be smart with me Bella," Didyme returned. The brunette smiled sheepishly at her grandmother while the ancient vampire just rolled her eyes and moved towards the two women on the dais. "Picia, Dora, it's so good to see you again," she cried, hugging both of the women.
"It's been too long Di," Dora said. She and Sulpicia embraced their lost sister; eyes filled with unshed venom tears.
"Excuse me my ladies," Demetri approached, bowing, "I hate to interrupt this reunion, but I'm sure many of us in the guard are wondering what is going to happen now. While many of us didn't come here by choice, the Volturi served a purpose to keep the vampire community in line. Who's going to do that now?"
Dora and Sulpicia looked at each other. "We can keep the Volturi going," Sulpicia said, "I have a gift, similar to Aro's, but more effective. I can project a person's memory for others to see so that one person isn't making the decisions. If Marcus is okay with it of course."
"I grow weary of ruling," Marcus admitted, "If you and Athenodora are going to be the new faces of the Volturi, perhaps Didyme would consider taking my place on the throne."
"I don't know Marcus," the dark haired vampire replied, "I don't really know how to interact with other vampires that well, I've been alone for so long."
"It'll be okay Mom," Heidi said, "You're doing wonderfully right now, and with your gift to make people feel happier, you can totally do this."
"Yeah Grandma, three Queens instead of three Kings, it'll be revolutionary. I mean, women are gaining equal rights all over the world, why not in the vampire community as well?" Bella squealed, "This is so exciting!"
"Kachiri, Zafrina, Senna, will you stay?" Didyme asked, "You guys are some of the oldest vampires in the world and we would greatly benefit from you're experience."
Kachiri shook her head, "I'm sorry Didyme, but this isn't our place. Our home is in the rainforest, protecting it from intruders. Your place is here, ruling the vampire world." The ancient Amazonian turned to Bella. "Can you send us home now Bell?"
"I thought her power was shielding, not teleportation?" Felix said.
"Oh, I don't teleport," Bella said, "A friend of mine does. Vanhi!" A ball of flame appeared and the phoenix appeared out of it and landed on the brunette's shoulder. The vampires in the room not used to the bird jumped back in shock. "Hey Vanhi," Bella cooed, "Can you flash the Amazons back home please?"
Of course, Vanhi trilled, disappearing with the Amazons in a swirl of white flame.
"What was that?" Alec asked.
"A phoenix," Bella shrugged, "You get used to her after a bit. Well, other than Maria, who continues to antagonize her for unknown reasons."
"Keeps me young," Maria answered.
"You're a vampire Maria," Vic said, "It's not like we get old."
"Mentally Vic, mentally."
"Should we add another to our ruling party?" Dora asked, "Just to give another opinion and add more diversity and security. Picia and I would like to get away and some point, and I know that you and Marcus want to get away at some point too Di, should we have another ruler to keep the balance in these situations?"
"Marcus can help me when you guys leave," Didyme answered, "But you're right, we do need another." The ancient vampire turned to her childe, "Heidi, would you like the job? As a substitute ruler whenever any of us are away."
"Wha-? Me? What about Vic or Maria, or even Bella, though the latter two are a little crazy?" Heidi blustered, pointing at the Wild coven.
Victoria shook her head, "We'll gladly stay for a while Heidi, but you have to understand that we're basically nomads. While we do have more permanent homes, they're in the Americas. And besides, ruling is just not my thing, it's hard enough dealing with these two."
"And I got my fill of ruling something in the southern wars," Maria said.
"I want to stay with my family," Bella answered, "Vic is my mom and Maria is my very unusual sister. We're a coven, a family, all for one and one for all and all that."
"Three Musketeers?" Sulpicia asked.
"It's one of my favorite books," Bella clapped her hands excitedly, "Ooh, and Twenty Years After, and the Count of Monte Cristo… Really all of Alexander Dumas books are amazing."
"I can see a family resemblance," Marcus chuckled, looking between Didyme and Bella, "She shares your exuberance my love."
"Marcus shush," Didyme whispered to her mate before addressing Heidi once more, "Well Heidi, you heard their answers, now what is yours?"
The statuesque vampire thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright, but on one condition, it's only for when one of you is gone and I can do what I please for the rest of them time."
Sulpicia nodded, "We can accept those conditions, and all of you really. You don't have to stay here if you don't like. You're free to come and go as you please."
"I plan to stay my lady," Demetri stepped forward, with Felix right beside him, "Well, we plan to stay. It's nice having a home, though we might leave for vacations and such.'
"But Demetri, what about Amun? Surely you want to return to your original coven?" Dora asked.
"Ah," Bella cried, "You were the tracker Amun talked about, this makes sense now."
Demetri smirked at her before turning back to the queens, bowing his head, "While Amun is my maker, he is also a little on the crazy side, and too far behind the times. I don't think he would accept my mate." The tracker placed his hand on Felix's arm, and Bella mouthed 'I told you so' at her mother.
"I would like to stay as well," Alec stepped forward, "If my mate Renata desires to stay as well. I would also like to watch over Jane, maybe she'll change."
"So Renata's your mate," Dora mused, "No wonder Aro kept you two apart; he couldn't have his shield distracted, but yes, if she desires to stay, you may, all of you may stay if you want."
Various other guards in the room said they would stay if they were allowed to leave. As technology and travel was improving around the world, it was easier to keep in touch if an emergency arouse so the guard didn't need to be present at all times; they could go out and explore the world, much like the Wild Coven was doing. The queens decided it was best not to inform the vampire world of the change in rulers at the present moment in time; the different covens would find out eventually and it would give the three women time to settle into their new roles.
"Vic, Bella, Maria," Didyme started once the guard had dispersed, "Will you three stay here, for a little while at least."
"You're all welcome to stay here as long as you like," Dora added from her position in Sulpicia's lap.
"And I would like to get to know you better," Marcus said, "From your bonds, I can tell that you are my wife's family, blood related or not."
Victoria, Maria and Bella looked at each other for a few moments. "We'll stay," Vic said finally, "Until we feel like it's time to leave anyway."
"Or until Bella decides it's time to kick her mate in the ass," Maria commented.
Marcus turned toward the younger vampire. "I noticed you had a fractured and strained mating bond and I wondered how that happened," the old king said.
"Come on Grandpa," Bella said, pulling Marcus out of the room, "It's a long story."
1 Year Later- Denali, Alaska
"Ugggh," Tanya yelled as one of her many vampire lovers left the house, again unsatisfied. "What is wrong with me?"
"What is wrong this time Tanya?" Her sister Irina walked into the room; her normally amber colored eyes, tinted with more red than usual, glanced quickly over her eldest sister looking for any outer causes of distress or pain.
"Same problem," the strawberry blonde moaned. She got up and started to pace around the room. "I haven't had a release in over a year Irina, nearly two years by now actually. It is starting to get painful, like the orgasm is simply building up inside of me but can't come out." Tanya stopped pacing and glanced around, "Where are the others?"
"Carmen and Eleazar are on a getaway to Spain and Kate's gone to get some privacy with Garrett. He needs to hunt to, so they'll be away for a while," Irina replied dismissively, "But Tanya, I'm really worried about you. This is not normal, especially for a succubus, when did this problem start?"
Tanya sighed and collapsed on the sofa, looking over at her sister. "I think it started a little while after I got back from my vacation in Australia. You know the Cullens were coming, that's why I came back, can't resist flirting with Edward and relieving him of his V-card. Anyway, I started feeling a dull ache in me that seemed to come from my very being whenever I flirted with him. When the succubus tendencies started to get the better of me, I went out in search of someone to sleep with, and I couldn't! It was like I couldn't perform. The second time I tried, I was in such pain that I couldn't even focus properly, so I decided to try again with a vampire and it was worse!" She huffed and threw her head back, "So I decided to give it a little time. The pain went away, so I tried it again and the pain was so excruciating I wanted to walk into a fire by myself."
Irina cocked her head and stared at her sister for a few moments. "Have you tried… well, you know?"
"Touching myself, masturbating," Tanya deadpanned, "Yes, yes I have and that doesn't work either. I don't get aroused, or wet, or turned on, or anything. I just feel empty." The strawberry collapsed back on the couch with a dramatic sigh. "I'm either horny and unable to satisfy my desires, or undeniably empty. It's frustrating."
The pale blonde vampire tilted her head back and forth, thinking. "I think I know what the problem is," Irina sighed, "It's part of the reason why I continue to drink human blood, despite your and Kate's protests."
"What is it?" Tanya asked, "And I know you prefer human blood to animal; you only drink animal blood every now and then to dilute your eye color faster for when our cousins visit."
Irina chuckled, "Yes, snobby bunch they are. Anyway, I feel like I know what your problem is, but I don't think you were honest with me about what happened in Australia and why you really left. You were a bit… well, off when you came back."
Tanya looked over at her sister and sighed, "You're right, I didn't tell you the truth, any of you really." The coven leader sat up on the couch and looked down at her lap, clenching her hands. "It was about a month after I left for my vacation," Tanya started, "I found a female vampire washed up on my private beach. Her name was Bella, Isabella really, and she was an unusual vampire. She didn't sparkle in the sunlight, had the loveliest blue eyes with flecks of crimson in them. She drank human blood, and had to take energy from people, or vampires, in order to supplement her own energy."
The strawberry blonde stood up and walked to look out the large window, "I could tell instantly that she was attracted to me, but she didn't act on anything." The vampire smirked back at her sister, "She was a challenge. I hadn't met anyone, other than Edward of course, that could resist me so I set about seducing her. It was a lengthy project; she didn't really care for animal drinking vampires." Tanya's eyes became unfocused. "It all went wrong somehow though; when I finally seduced her, she confessed her love for me. I mean, I care for her, I found her attractive, a great friend, and an excellent lover, but I couldn't get into a relationship with her. What would happen if my mate came along? What would he say about my relationship with Bella?" She sighed again, "Plus she wasn't very trustworthy, making up stories about her coven and extended coven. I think she was just a nomad secluded from others for too long."
Irina blinked, a suspicion that formed in her mind when Tanya started talking solidified. "And so…" she prompted, urging Tanya to finish.
"And so what?" Tanya asked, "I left. I couldn't get involved with her, not with my mate out their somewhere. I'm still trying to convince Edward that he could be the one…"
The pale blonde vampire shook her head and placed it in her hands. "Oh Tanya," she moaned, "What have you done?"
"What do you mean?"
Irina sighed and walked to the refrigerator, pulling a few packs of human blood out that she had stored away. "Tanya I need you to drink these," she said, handing them to her older sister.
The older vampire looked at the blood in distain, "You know I don't drink human blood anymore Irina."
"I know you don't, but trust me, you need this."
"I don't know how this will help," Tanya said, "And I don't know what this has to with my problem."
"Just drink the blood Tanya."
Tanya looked suspiciously at the packets of blood. "How much am I supposed to drink?"
"Just keep drinking until I tell you to stop." Irina ripped open one of the packets and grabbed hold of her coven leader's head, forcing the blood down her throat. "Stop stalling and just drink it."
The strawberry blonde rolled her eyes and started drinking the blood. Irina forced her sister to drink 8 pints of blood before allowing her to stop. "Oooh," Tanya moaned, "I don't feel well, I feel kind of sloshy. What is this supposed to do for me?"
"Just wait a few minutes," Irina said, "It takes a long time for animal blood to dull the instincts, but it only takes a few minutes for human blood to wake them back up again."
"What do you mean dull the inst-" Tanya started, before a pulsing pain shook her very being. "What is that?" She hissed out, gritting her teeth against the pain.
"Your instincts and senses are waking back up again," Irina said, "It's why I continue to drink human blood. Animal blood dilutes them slowly over time since it isn't what we as vampires are meant to drink. It's painful for you because your instincts rushing back full force and you aren't used to them."
"If I could remember what a hangover felt like, this would probably be close," Tanya continued to hiss, holding her head. The pain subsided and Tanya started to breathe easier. Just as she started to feel better, another pain entered her being, stemming from her unbeating heart. "What?" Tanya gasped out, her eyes a deep crimson red, realizing what the pulsing pain meant and the pain whenever she tried to be intimate with anyone else. "My mate… Please Irina, please tell me that I did not leave my mate after she confessed her love for me?" Tanya sobbed, overwhelming sadness crushing into her.
Irina nodded sadly, tears in her eyes for her sister. "I'm sorry Tanya," she whispered.
"Why?" Tanya yelled, "Why couldn't I feel anything?! Why couldn't I feel the mating bond?"
"The mating bond when it first forms is instinctual. You did feel it on some level though, you were attracted to her, and decided to pursue her."
Tanya started pacing, gnawing at her hand. "No no no," Tanya cried, placing her hands on both sides of her head, shaking, "When we finally had sex that last night, I was just looking for a good lay, a good fuck, but the look in Bella's eyes-" The strawberry blonde stopped, unable to finish.
"What?" Irina whispered, "What was in Bella's eyes?"
"She was making love to me," Tanya murmured, "Nobody has ever made love to me before, but I can tell now that that was what she was doing. She was glad to finally have her mate." She screamed out in frustration, sobbing. "She was building a relationship with me, wanting to make what we had real and not just something built on instinct. I am so stupid, how could I do that to her? Do that to anyone?"
"You left her, your mate, after she declared her love for you," the pale blonde vampire mused, "Even if she wasn't your mate, you still shouldn't have done that. What she must think of you now…"
"You're not helping!" Tanya yelled before resuming her pacing. "What do I do now?"
"You find her," Irina supplied, "And you spend the rest of your miserable vampire experience trying to make it up to her, and pray that she takes you back and forgives you."
"I don't deserve forgiveness," the strawberry blonde murmured, "Not after what I did, but I will try to find her and ask for it nonetheless, and spend my days trying to get back into her good graces…" She paused for a moment and turned to her sister, "By the way, how did you know all of this about human and animal blood anyway?"
Irina shrugged, "I don't know. All I know is around 50 years ago, I felt an odd sensation and then I realized that I couldn't feel as much as I remember I used to feel back in our hay day as succubae, when we practically bathed in blood. And if you recall, that is around the time I switched back to the human diet, only drinking the occasional bagged animal blood to keep my eyes from going completely red."
Tanya nodded, "Well I am never touching animal blood again. It has cost me too much already. While I don't much like the thought of killing humans, I'll kill thousands of humans if it means I could have my mate, my Bella back."
The pale blonde vampire placed her hand on her sister's arm sympathetically. "How are you going to find her?"
"I don't know," she admitted.
"Why not go to the Volturi, they do have the best tracker in the world."
Tanya shook her head. "Bella was afraid of the Volturi, afraid they would find out about her power and make her join them. No, I think it's best if I start where it began, in Australia. I'll scour the continent looking for her. Will you tell the others where I've gone?"
Irina nodded, "Good luck sister. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask for it."
"Thank you Irina, for everything," Tanya said before dashing out of the door. She reached the Alaskan coastline and jumped into the ocean, too impatient to wait for a flight to Australia. She had a mate to find, and the swim down their would give her time to think of a way to make it up to her precious Isabella.
So, there you have it. Tanya is now in the know. I know, it was a little odd that she drinks human blood and suddenly she can just tell. From what I can tell, it takes a long time for a vampire to wean themselves off of human blood, and for their eyes to turn gold. I guess it really is kind of like a drug, so, thinking backwards, it would take no time at all for the effects of the "drug" to take hold of their system again. And as for Tanya knowing, well, the mating bond has formed, just now she can feel it and not just the side effects of rejecting it. It was really fast how that happened, but I kind of wanted her to start on her little quest of self-discovery, looking for her mate. *Spoiler alert* She won't find her in Australia, but all of you knew that because you know where Bella is, the one place that Tanya won't go... Ironic, isn't it...
Oh and if anyone has been paying attention to the timeline in the story, what happened 50 years ago to jump start Irina's instincts I wonder... Hmm, something for you to think and wonder about. Leave your reviews and tell me why you think that is significant.
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