For a moment, she thought she was blinded. There was too much and her eyes did not know where to focus or what to see as she struggled to make sense of it all. She could see every colour in the rays of sunlight drifting through the treetops, could see the dust motes suspended in it. If she focussed on the trees, she could even see every detailed vein of every single leaf.
A sound next to her startled her out of her contemplation. It seemed boomingly loud in her highly sensitive ears and she shrieked, launching herself in the air and away from it as her traumatized brain immediately went into survival mode and urged her to flee whatever it was.
Before she knew what was happening, she was tackled to the ground and a weight settled over her, pinning her wrists and covering her entire body so she couldn't move. A second shriek died in her throat as the smell of her attacker reached her nose. Marcus. Her struggling stopped immediately and he released her when he felt her still and settle before easing her over onto her back.
"Beloved," he breathed.
Everything in her ached as she took in the sight of his face, only inches away from her own. He had always been the most beautiful, wonderful, perfect thing in her world, and now she saw that he was somehow even more perfect than she could have previously known. Every feature and angle on his face was perfectly formed and proportioned, leaving her stunned that such a creature could be hers.
And he was here. She was no longer alone. She wasn't dead or dying. She was here with him. A sob escaped her as she reached up to cling to him, twining her limbs around him with a grace she hadn't known she could have possessed. He grunted a little as she pulled herself tighter, never again wanting to be parted even an inch from him.
"You are safe," she heard him murmuring into her hair as he began to purr for her, the sound soothing her to her core. "I will never let you go again."
"I thought I had died," she whimpered after a few minutes, breaking the peaceful, relieved silence between them. "I thought I would never see you again."
"I feared that as well, tesoro. I felt you being taken from me," he said, his voice quiet and weak. "I thought…"
She clung tighter to him. She didn't know how long they stayed like that as she desperately clung to his body, never wanting to let him go. Another sob was ripped from her chest as she felt him moving and she redoubled her efforts to keep hold of him. He soothed her with a purr, whispering that he was only moving them so he could look at her, could verify with his own eyes that she was fine. She saw his pupils dilate as he took sight of her.
"You have always been beautiful, piccola, but now-" he groaned and ran a smooth hand delicately over her face, looking intently into her eyes. "The gods have truly blessed me."
She stiffened at his mention of the gods as a vague, hazy memory floated back to her of a woman in a meadow. It felt as if it had happened in a dream, and yet it also felt incredibly real.
His purring increased as he saw her anxiety spike. "You are safe," he reassured again, his voice velvety soft. "I am here. I will not allow anything to hurt you again."
She heard something moving through the forest. It sounded distant, although she could hear it perfectly, as if it were happening right next to her. While she knew those soft, steady footsteps did not seem threatening, her anxiety turned to panic and she trembled in her mate's arms.
"It is merely our family, beloved. They are coming to see that you are well. Do not fret. They will leave if you are not ready to see them."
She didn't think she could face seeing any others yet, not after everything that had happened. Her heart was battered and weary and she wanted to stay here alone with her mate forever, but she hid her face in her chest and nodded uncertainly in agreement.
"My love, look at me," Marcus' voice said softly, his hand reaching to turn her chin toward him. "The Cullens and the wolves are all dead. The guard rounded up and killed every last one of them. They will never threaten you again." His voice had turned hard and cold as he told her this and her eyes went wide.
"They're… all dead?"
"Even that mongrel cat they had with them," he said. "And we already have a contingent of the guard seeking out the rest of her pack as we speak. You are safe. You do not need to fear them."
Pain ripped through her. She had known it would happen. She had prayed it would happen. Anything but losing Marcus. But now that it had happened, she didn't know how she would live with herself.
He misunderstood her anguish for anxiety and pulled her closer.
"Come, see your sisters. It will help, and they have been so worried."
She heard the soft footsteps had become closer as they spoke, and she peeked over Marcus' shoulder towards where her acute hearing told her they would emerge from. Both Dora and Sulpicia stepped carefully from the forest as if it were a runway, achingly perfect in their grace and beauty. Both their faces relaxed in relief when they saw her and Dora burst into tears immediately at the sight.
"Anna-" she gasped, rushing over to them and collapsing next to her brother and sister, clinging to the redhead in relief. "Thank the gods! We were so worried. I am so relieved you are well, we all thought- I thought- Oh, thank the gods."
Sulpicia joined the pile as well, kneeling with significantly more grace and gently caressing her sister's red hair gently, communicating her relief in her own refined way. Anna did not know how long they stayed that way, however Dora eventually stopped crying and huffed in embarrassment when she saw the wry look on Marcus' face. Anna snuggled closer to him, for once not embarrassed by their public display of affection, as she was sure if he released her she would end up running away, screaming the whole time.
Sulpicia's musical voice broke her out of her reverie, offering a welcome distraction. "I knew you would be the beauty," she said softly, a wry smile on her lips as she carefully examined Anna's face.
Anna nearly protested at the absurdity of the comment – her, the beauty? Had Sulpicia never looked in a mirror? Or at her blonde sister? Even with her face contorted with tears, Athenodora was the most stunning woman Anna had ever seen.
She was distracted from her shock once more at the sound of a male voice beckoning to them behind her. She had been so caught up with her sisters and the feel of her mate wrapped around her, she had not even bothered paying attention to her surroundings. She was immediately caught in another vivid flashback of other male voices who had come up behind her and, before her mind had even registered what was happening, as if acting on muscle memory, she was suddenly running, dodging through the trees at a speed that should've been impossible. She didn't spare a second thought for her family and it took her nearly ten seconds to remember that she had left Marcus behind, but by then she was miles away in the middle of a dense, green forest.
"Anna? Anna!" She heard her mate's voice calling to her and she immediately stopped midstride. She heard his pounding footsteps behind her and he stopped a foot away from her. His head whipped around frantically, staring at the place where she was standing but looking right through her as if she were not even there.
"Anna? My darling, no, not again," he looked terrified and her brow furrowed. He was sniffing the air frantically, his eyes darting every which way.
"I am right here," she said in confusion. He startled and his eyes locked on her finally, looking at her as if she was a ghost.
"Mi amore, how did you-" His voice sounded confused, still gripped with anxiety, before he cut himself off.
"Your gift," he said in awe, understanding dawning on his face. He caught her in a fierce embrace and she clung to him once more, seeking the protection she knew he offered. "I could not see you. It was as if you had disappeared.
"It must be your gift, a shield so strong it was present even when you were human," he explained as his hand caressed her hair, pressing her face harder against his chest and rocking her back and forth as if she were a child, comforting them both.
"I-I didn't realize. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she said in a whisper.
He only held her tighter and breathed in her scent deeply in response. She felt the effect their proximity was having on him physically and pressed herself against him and rubbing slightly. Her own body craved the comfort and reassurance of his body, of the act that reaffirmed their bond and settled her heart as no other. She knew she must look a mess – covered in blood and wild eyed, but she didn't care, and neither did Marcus, apparently.
She wanted to feel his skin against hers. What had always been slightly cool and marble smooth to the touch was now the perfect temperature, firm but still soft under her own hands. She wished she could feel all of him, to make love to him without his need for restraint. Before she had even fully finished the thought, she had shed her clothes, startling herself slightly at her own swiftness. His purr deepened and his eyes became predatory as they raked over her body. She was sure if she were still human with blood pumping through her veins, there would be a blush colouring her cheeks, and she looked down bashfully at her own brazenness.
His eyes raked over her form, taking in all the changes to her beloved little body and she looked down to examine herself as well, amazed at the transformation that had occurred in those days in which she had felt as if she were burning alive. Her breasts were firmer and higher, while her tummy, which had always maintained a slight softness no matter how emaciated she had gotten, was now smooth and accentuated the flare of her hips from her narrower waist. She saw his eyes go black as they did when he hungered for her and his purr turned to a growl.
A faint echo of fear ripped through her and she shivered.
His face hardened when he saw it and he seemed to steel himself. "You must tell me to stop if you do not desire this, piccola. I would not force myself on my traumatized mate. I know you must need time to reacclimatize after all that has happened."
"No," she said immediately. "No, I do want you," she insisted further, cleaving herself to him once more desperately as she pressed her lips against his, trying to make him understand and see the extent of her desire for him. His lips were no longer hard and unyielding, but instead, like the rest of him, they had become firm, yet pliable against her own flesh, and she felt him respond with equal fervor and desperation.
They broke apart, although for once not because she was gasping in breath, but merely because he began pressing kisses down the side of her neck.
"I only wish…" she began, and paused, uncertain. "I only wish I had never been with anyone before you. So you did not have to deal with this."
He broke apart from her and she could see his eyes darken, although she could also see him holding back his anger as his hands shot out to grip her on either side of her arms, holding her in place as he looked deeply into her eyes.
"I wish you had never been hurt. I wish I could have protected you from all of this. But I could not, and I must live with that. But do not ever think that I begrudge you anything you have suffered." His grip on her arm was uncomfortably tight, but she found it strangely reassuring. "I nearly lost you. I felt your spirit break from mine, and yet here you are in front of me. How could any of my mate's natural reactions upset me? You are here. That is all that matters. We can deal with everything else."
Her lip trembled and he reunited them in a kiss once again, moving his lips against hers tenderly now.
"I do wish no other had touched you before me," he said, his tone sounding as if this was a great admission. His hands traveled from her arms to skim over her sides and grip her hips, pulling her against the straining erection that was jutting between them. One of his hands moved from her hips to that place between her thighs that was wet and aching and she trembled even more violently. "I wish I had been the first one here. How I would have enjoyed initiating you into the joys of joining together."
His fingers skimmed her slit and she spread her legs wider, silently begging him to continue. Her eyes closed as she listened to his deep, velvety voice that seemed to wrap around her like a blanket. He leaned in close so his lips were pressed behind her ear and she could feel the vibrations of his voice as he spoke.
"I would have started with just my mouth, teasing your sweet flesh and tasting every delicious drop of arousal you gifted me," he growled and his hand mimicked the vision his words were producing as he began to circle her aching clit. She whimpered and pressed herself into his hand.
"I would have spent days doing that, bringing you to ecstasy in that way until you begged me for more. And then…" she gasped as suddenly he had filled her with one finger, pressing against her internal walls in the way that drove every lucid thought out of her mind. "I would have used just one finger, stretching my delicate flower gently," he purred. She cried out at the feeling as his thumb began circling the swollen button at the crown of her sex and curled his finger against her pelvic wall.
"Once you were writhing on my hand, I would have added another finger, stretching you until all you could feel was me," he said, and did just that. She nearly screamed at the joy of being filled by his fingers. His large hands seemed to be made to fit between her thighs and bring her this pleasure. Her legs began to shake, despite the impossible strength that she seemed to have now. Even as an impervious immortal, he could still weaken her to her knees.
"That's it, meus amor," he purred for her, pressing his chest against hers so she could feel it reverberate through her. "Come for me. You are mine. Show me how your body responds to its mate."
She came. Her walls clamped around his fingers like a vice as she squeezed her orgasm out of them. Her rapture seemed to go on forever, her flesh somehow even more sensitive and responsive to him now. After an age, she felt him gently withdraw his fingers and maneuver her to her hands and knees, shedding his clothes as he did so, and then he was there, hard and smooth and pressing into her.
She cried out at the feeling. With how wet she was, he did not struggle to slide inside her passage but he slowed anyhow, allowing her adjustment.
"Ah, my sweet, how perfect your body is," he praised her. "You are so tight, it is like you never want to let me leave, my greedy mate."
She could only whimper in response.
"Once you had taken me this way," he continued, sliding almost all the way out of her and pressing back inside, hitting all the right places to make her shudder and moan, "I would have started the same process here."
As he said it, his finger began circling that place where she remembered him pressing his finger inside in that dream. She startled at the sensation and he pressed his other hand against her neck, gently but firmly pushing her face to the ground and forcing her to arch her back in response.
With her in the position he desired, he pushed his fingers to her mouth. "Suck," he commanded. She obeyed, lathing them with her moisture. Even knowing what he was going to do with them, she did not protest or try and stop him. While it scandalized her, she could not hold back the giddy ecstasy at the taboo of the act, or the pleasure she knew would follow.
"Good girl," he praised, groaning as he felt her tongue circling his fingers, unable to keep from imagining the same mouth on his cock.
He withdrew them from her mouth and brought them back to her tight back passage and began pressing one finger inside her. She exhaled softly at the feeling of fullness and the bite of pain that accompanied it as he slid inside her ass to the knuckle. He held it there, full and hard inside of her while he continued fucking her until finally she found herself wiggling against him, craving more.
"Please," she begged, when he did nothing further. She felt his purr erupt at that, and then he was pressing another finger inside of her rear and gently began fucking her ass with them, pressing them in and out every time his cock withdrew from her. She nearly screamed from the overfull, overwhelming sensation.
"Such a good girl," he praised, "How sweet you are to allow me these liberties with your body."
She felt her orgasm beginning to ripple down his cock, urged further by his filthy words.
"Come for me," he encouraged, his voice roughening. "Come for your mate. Show me how your body craves this."
Her orgasm seized her then, emptying her of all her words and feelings and existence until all there was was Anna and Marcus, his cock and fingers inside her until she was filled to bursting with him.
The next thing she knew, she was on her side on the ground, her mate settled behind her with his limbs around her, holding her fast to him and purring, although it had a strangely tonal quality to it. It took her a moment to realize that she was purring as well, a higher pitched rumble exiting her chest to join with his. She sat up, startled, and her purr stopped abruptly.
He gently pulled her back down to rest with him and wrapped himself around her once more. "It is a perfectly normal thing to purr with one's mate. There is no need to be alarmed."
She settled again, pressing herself more firmly to him and huffed playfully. "I sound like a little kitten."
"My little kitten," he agreed, and ran a teasing hand through her hair as if to pet her. She could not help but purr then, the high pitched vibration filling the air with the unmistakable sound of her pleasure. This was surely going to become embarrassing, she knew.
After a few minutes, Marcus began disentangling himself from her. She looked up at him forlornly as he readjusted his clothes and held out his robe to her to wear after ruining her clothes.
"We must return closer to the guard, beloved. While I am sure we have eliminated the threat in this area, I will never again risk your safety so carelessly."
She nodded obediently and closed the robe around her, covering herself in the billowing fabric. It smelled of him, which calmed her immensely. She could smell him all over her, even beneath the fabric, seeping out from inside her and leaking from her pores. While this mortified her on a superficial level, on a deeper instinctual level, it gave her an unwavering sense of calm. All those around her would know that she was his. His bonded mate.
He gripped her hand and grinned at her for a moment before setting off at a run, tugging her behind him as he raced through the trees. She giggled in response, this time taking the opportunity to truly experience the feeling of running at her new speed. She was a blur through the trees, and yet it was no trouble to swerve and avoid them. Her feet hardly touched the ground. Instead, she flew. She had never felt so free before and her giggle turned to a full delighted laugh. Much too quickly, they were back in the clearing where they had fled from so swiftly before.
Caius, Aro, Athenodora, and Sulpicia were still there, sitting quietly together in a group. They looked up as they heard their siblings burst through the trees, all of them taking on a similarly fond smile at the disheveled and joyful look on both Anna and Marcus' face.
"I am glad to see the two of you solved that," Aro said, a slight smirk on their face as he immediately smelled exactly how they had solved things.
"Quite! Although I, for one, want to know what just happened! It was like you disappeared from under my hand!" Dora exclaimed.
"As predicted, my mate is gifted," Marcus told them. "She seems to have the ability to evade detection by all senses. Essentially, she disappears."
"Marvelous," Aro breathed. "Truly extraordinary. We must summon Eleazor at once to learn more."
"Later," her mate said warningly. "I believe we have had enough excitement for now."
"Of course, of course," he replied off-handedly, then turned to her. "Have you fed, sister?"
At the mention of food, the burning in the back of her throat re-erupted and she gasped, clutching at it with her hand.
"Forgive me," Marcus said, looking at her in concern. "I had not thought-"
"I assumed as much," Aro said. "You have both been distracted so I have taken the liberty and procured dinner for you both. They are not the most appealing and they do still smell of dog but," he shrugged in a carefree way, "Waste not, want not, as I believe the humans say!"
Demetri appeared from the trees then, dragging a middle aged Native man with him whose legs sprawled out behind him, as if he were paralyzed, and a once beautiful russet-skinned woman whose scarred face looked as if it had been mauled by a bear.
Anna recoiled, even as the burning in her throat turned to an almost unbearable agony.
Marcus caught her back in a gentle grip, preventing her from going further. "You must feed, my love. It will only get worse if you do not."
He saw the horror on her face and continued. "Do not feel pity for these creatures. They would have sold you to your death if they could have," he told her.
She could only shake her head mutely in response, not trusting herself to open her mouth as she was hardly restraining herself from latching on to the nearest human's throat and draining them.
She saw Marcus give his family a pointed look and, within a second they had all risen and departed to give Anna privacy, although for once she could actually see their lightning fast movements.
Marcus walked over to the woman, grabbing her by the arm and half dragging her over. She had been gagged to prevent her screaming, but it didn't muffle her whimpers and Anna could see the fear in her eyes.
"Just close your eyes, beloved," he soothed. "I will help you. It will get easier."
She moaned slightly as the delicious, rich fragrance of the woman's blood grew nearer and she felt a blood red frenzy cloud her thoughts. The next thing she knew, her lips were around the woman's neck and she was greedily sucking down gulps of her blood. Distantly, she heard the woman's heartbeat slowing as she began to lose too much blood and, with great effort, Anna released her and frantically applied pressure to the wound.
Her mate's eyebrows shot up in shock. "You do not need to stop feeding, my love. Drink more," he urged, pressing the body closer to her mouth again. "Newborns need a great amount of blood to sate them. In time you will need less, but for now do not concern yourself with that."
"But-" she looked at him confusedly. "If I stop now and I close the wound, she won't die, and I don't need anymore, I swear-"
"She will die regardless, my darling. She is the pack's alpha female. She cannot be allowed to live."
"But-" she felt as if her eyes would well with tears if they could.
With a regretful sigh, Marcus snapped the woman's neck with one hand and eased the body from Anna's hands. "I am sorry. You should not have had to see that."
He frowned as he continued, as if he found this conversation exceptionally uncomfortable. "In the future, you may do as you like when you feed, but you cannot allow any of them to go afterward. Keeping the secret of our species is our greatest law, my darling."
She looked down at the limp body at her feet. The burn in her throat had dulled and the pain seemed to have moved to her chest as she filled with regret at what she had done.
He wrapped his arms around her and led her away from the body.
"Marcus, I don't understand. Why can't you just… I don't know, pay people to let you feed from them? You don't seem to have any shortage of funds and-"
"If that is something you require, I suppose it can be done…" He looked reluctant but thoughtful. "Come, let us speak no more of this. I will consider what you have said."
He pulled her into his arms and purred, trying to ease her discomfort. She saw that Demetri and the human man had disappeared and she shivered, a sob building in her throat.
He hushed her like she was a child and began rocking with her again. She whimpered as she clung to him, unable to stop a sob from bubbling out of her. Responding to his mate's upset, Marcus purred in the way he knew calmed her. Hoping his voice would calm her as it had before, he promised her he would find a way to help her feed, that she would not always feel this way, he promised to keep her safe, to give her everything she desired, that he would do anything for her.
Ultimately, at a loss with how to comfort her, as her crying only became more hysterical, she eventually found herself once again urged to her hands and knees with Marcus' fingers pushed inside of her, finally succeeding in making her forget her pain. She gratefully latched onto the distraction, crying out with pleasure rather than pain when he entered her once again. He fucked her until she had calmed once more, her brain lost in the mating high as he drove her to the highest heavens.
