"Do you want to come inside for a little bit or do you want to go home?" Rosalie asked Bella as she joined her on the porch.
Bella checked her cell phone seeing that Charlie had texted her back telling her he hoped she would feel better and that he would be home late because he was working on a case.
"Yeah I don't mind coming in if that's ok with you."
"Great then follow me. I'll take you to my room. I mean not take you to my room for anything inappropriate but so we can have privacy. The walls are soundproof. Not that we are going to do anything that we need soundproofing. Just well, I mean..." Rosalie stumbled over words.
"I understand. Don't worry I know you are the perfect half gentleman." Bella said with a wink.
"Yes of course I am. Follow me it's this way." Rosalie led Bella through the house towards her room. She stopped in front of a door at the top of the stairs and explained. "It isn't much but it's mine so I like it."
"I'm sure it's fine. My room is a disaster with all the boxes I still need to unpack. I want to redecorate it and need to paint and get some shelving so I'm sure your room looks a lot better than mine." Bella reassured her.
Rosalie opened the door allowing Bella to walk in first. Bella looked around slowly taking in as much as she could. It was like she stepped back in time into the bedroom of a high class woman from the 1930's.
The wallpaper was a cream color with an intricate gold flour-de-lis pattern. There was a window seat overflowing with assorted pillows next to which was a black walnut vanity with a brass mirror and a matching chair. A bookshelf built into an entire wall was overflowing with books and finally Bella settled on the last piece in the bedroom. Rosalie's bed. It was black walnut like her vanity with a headboard made of brass that was molded into the shape of various roses. The night stands on either side of the bed matched with roses for knobs.
"This is amazing Rosalie." Bella exclaimed. "Is this how your room looked when you were human?"
Rosalie sighed sadly. "Not quite. My parents didn't spend that much money on my comfort. It's not because they didn't have any mind you, it was because of how much of a disappointment I was. My room was in the servants quarters on the third floor. I had a bed and a table with a chair. I had nice clothes, not as nice as my mother's or my two brother's but nice enough that I didn't embarrass them in front of their peers. Esme actually decorated this room with original pieces from that time period. Each of our houses has a different variation. This one is my favorite."
"I'm sorry Rosalie. You didn't deserve to be treated like that because of how you were born. You're no less beautiful than you would be if you were born with the body of a regular woman. I find you no less beautiful." Bella said grabbing Rosalie's hand and pulling the shorter girl into her arms.
Rosalie let herself sink into the hug enjoying the feel of Bella's strong arms around her. It was strange that she felt just as comfortable like this with Bella as she had when riding on Bella's tiger. Bella carried the sense of safety and home in both her forms and Rosalie found that she enjoyed both of them equally. She knew she wouldn't have felt that way before she went hunting with Bella but after seeing her in her tiger form she realized Bella wasn't just a person who shifter into a tiger. She was every bit of a tiger as she was human. One didn't over power the other. They both just existed in a perfect blend that made up Bella.
She pulled back and said." Let's sit down on the window seat."
After they both got comfortable Bella looked out the window taking in the view. The window looked out over the forest and from where she was she could just make out the small rocky half mountain that housed the mountain lion and her cubs. She pointed it out to Rosalie.
"Thank for that by the way." Rosalie explained as Bella looked at her in confusion."For taking me with you to meet the cubs. I had a lot of fun. I never really thought of what it was that I actually fed on but after seeing that small family of mountain lions today I can honestly tell you, even if you were to ever go away I will never feed on another cat again."
"Is that because you like cats?" Bella said with a sly smile.
"Yes, I like cats." Rosalie agreed with a chuckle reliving her earlier blunder.
"That's good because this cat likes you and so did the mountain lion and her cubs. She forgives you by the way for trying to hunt her." Bella told Rosalie.
"This sounds so outrageous when I think it in my head but Bella can you talk to animals and do they talk to you? Is that how you know?" Rosalie asked the question that had burning a hole in her mind." When Alice asked you, you said kind of, but what does that mean?"
"It's hard to explain if you don't experience it yourself. I meant kind of because I don't actually have a conversation with words. It's more like a feeling. Like I feel their intent and can communicate mine. I don't know how it works but it's like I just know. It's an instinct you could say. Like when we met the mountain lion I knew she needed food for her cubs but she didn't want to leave them unguarded. And when she saw you I knew she was scared and I wanted her to know it was ok and then she just did. I wish it was an exact science but it really is just wanting the cats to know something and they do and I think it's the same for them. They want me to know something so I do. I don't read their thoughts or anything. I thinks it's more of a primal thing because of the way their brain works and not having a language that has words to assign to every object and feeling." Bella huffed in frustration. "I'm not explaining this right. Did you understand any of that?"
Rosalie thought about it for a minute. Based on how she watched Bella interact with the lions she felt she understood what she meant. It did seem like she just kind of knew what the lion needed and it hadn't even made a sound. That brought on more questions though.
"I think I understand after watching you with them. Is this something all shifters can do? I've never heard of it before. Is it all animals or just cats?"
"It's only cats. I can't talk to other kinds just those of the cat species. As for if other shifters can do it I don't know. I only knew one other shifter and he didn't have the ability." Bella said a little uncomfortably. She really didn't want to talk about her grandfather even with her imprint. The wound from his death was still raw and she didn't want to lose her composure.
Rosalie knew she should leave it alone but her want to know about her mate pushed the question out of her mouth before she could stop it. "Who was the shifter? Were you related?"
Bella flinched and Rosalie wished she could take the question back. She felt guilty she had caused her mate pain just for her own selfish curiosity. She reached out and took Bella's hand in her own and was about to apologize when Bella spoke.
"He was my grandfather." Bella whispered.
"I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
Bella considered that for a moment and came to a decision. Her imprint was the best person to talk about this stuff with."No it's ok, maybe talking about it with you would be a good thing. I haven't had anyone else to talk to."
"Not even your mother or even Charlie?" Rosalie inquired.
"Charlie doesn't know that much about that side of my family. Just the basic history everyone learns in school and whatever else he has heard. He probably researched the topic when he found out who I was." Rosalie looked appalled at the idea of Charlie doing that so Bella quickly added."Not for any bad reasons. Charlie has been amazing. When he found out about me he was excited to know all he could. Every time we talked it was like he had a list of questions about my life and how I grew up. He even went to your father to learn about my condition."
"That's good. I'm glad you have him. I understand why he doesn't know you're a shifter by why doesn't your mother? Isn't it her biological father that was your grandfather? Why isn't she a shifter? I didn't know it skipped offspring"
"My mother." Bella said sighing. " my mother wasn't a shifter because she was girl." Bella put up a hand to stop Rosalie from asking anymore questions. "In the Shurlong family only the male offspring are shifters. They are also the only ones who can pass on the shifter gene. Before you ask I am the first female shifter to come from my family line since the first duke of Shurlong was recorded during the 12th century in England. There are two versions of my family history. The one recorded for the public and the one that was recorded for the family which is secured in a safe room on my estate with other artifacts and documents that only I have access to."
Rosalie stayed quiet even as the questions began multiplying in her mind. She was fascinated with Bella's history and with the confirmation that Bella's American royal lineage actually came from royalty was mind blowing. Her mate continued to turn out even more amazing with every sentence she spoke.
"The first Duke was a tiger shifter. He had earned his title fighting for King Stephen during the English civil wars. He was known as Gorgen the Agile because of how fast he could kill the enemy and always seeming to come from battle without injury. He was promoted to the rank general and after the war was over the king granted him ownership of Shurlong and the title of Duke.Little did anyone know he fought so well because he was a shifter and even in human form was a better fighter than any other soldier. He found himself a wife and together they built a nice little castle that still stands today. He had one son and one daughter. His son first shifted when he was 14 and his daughter never shifted at all. When the son married and had children only the males shifted while the females didn't. His daughter also married and had children of her own but neither her sons nor daughter ever shifted. While the male's directly related to Gorgen all shifted."
"How is it that you shifted then? Not only are you a girl but you had a mother?" Rosalie asked trying to fit the pieces together.
"My grandfather always said it was foretold that I would be born not only a shifter but a great white tiger shifter that would have greater abilities than any tiger shifter that came before me. He told me legends that had passed down through generations about the white tiger. One of my many great grandfathers actually visited and became friends with a tribe of native Americans who had shaman who was believed to be able to see the future and he was the one that told my ancestor the stories."
"That's amazing. Does that mean you have a bigger destiny than just being a normal shifter?"
Bella chuckled. "I don't know about that. The legends are just stories. My grandfather left me diaries about what he knew of the supernatural world and about basic facts of different species that I have with me. The other diaries from my ancestors are at the estate and I haven't been able to go through all of them yet to know if they left anything of value for me to learn. Maybe the ancestor who met the shaman wrote down what he learned. All I know are the ones my grandfather Arthur told me and he said he learned them from his father. So I'm not sure how accurate they are."
Rosalie mulled over this information. "So your grandfather knew you would shift? He knew you were going to be the white tiger he was told about?"
"Actually he didn't know it would be me specifically. He assumed my mother would have a son that would shift. It seemed the legend stated the son of an only daughter would become the white tiger. So when I shifted it was quite a surprise to them. My poor bedroom barely survived."
"How did your mother not know that you were a shifter? That's the part that doesn't make sense to me." Rosalie asked.
"My mother Rene wasn't the most family oriented person. She had a strained relationship with her parents. It basically consisted of Rene behaving just enough to not embarrass them or the family name and in return they supported her financial. I was a result of a one night stand Rene had with Charlie. She actually was going to have an abortion but my grandparents convinced her that they would take care of me and she wouldn't have to worry about the responsibility. They tried to get her to tell them who my father was because they knew if something ever happened to them Rene wouldn't be the best mother to me. They had hoped maybe my father was a decent man despite the way I was conceived."
"How old were you when they died?" Rosalie asked saddened by the idea of Bella's mother not wanting her.
"They both died when I was ten. I didn't know it at the time but I suspect my grandfather had imprinted on my grandma because when he died she was overcome with grief. She tried her hardest to be there for me but she wasn't the same after he died. She died a couple months later of natural causes even though I'm convinced it was from a broken heart. From what I read in my grandfather's diaries even being away from your imprint causes intense emotions. So I think that even though she was human my grandma accepted the imprint bond and when my grandfather died she felt the loss as intensely as a shifter would."
Rosalie thought this over. So Bella knew about imprinting. Did that mean she had imprinted already? No she wouldn't have agreed to go on a date with her or had been spending this much time with her. That fact that her grandmother had felt the imprint bond was also something to consider. That gave her hope that Bella could be able to accept the mate bond and if not maybe Rosalie could accept the imprint bond. That is if she was Bella's imprint. She badly wanted to ask but was afraid of the answer. So she let her insecurities get the better of her and kept her mouth shut as Bella continued.
" I went to live with my mother after they died. She didn't want anything to do with the estate and wanted to stay in her townhouse in Phoenix. I lived with her there until I found out about Charlie. The first time she took any interest in being an actual mother to me was when Charlie filed for full custody and she realized if he won she would lose out on the monthly allowance she got for taking care of me."
"Why would she be mad about losing out on money? Surely your grandparents left her enough to get by? I don't mean to be impolite and ask about money but isn't your family one of the wealthiest in the country?" Rosalie asked confused.
"My family is very wealthy with both money and Real estate. It's not impolite to ask. You could probably get the information off the internet if you really wanted to know and yes my grandparents left my mother plenty of money to live off of. Unfortunately my mother was used to having unlimited amounts at her disposal and blew through the money pretty quickly. The lump amount was more than she usually got and it seemed like it gave her an unrealistic view of how much of it she could spend. I personally don't know where it all went but I'm pretty sure she used a lot of on showing off to her so called friends renting private jets to take them on trips all over the world. Then there were the vacation houses she bought and the cars. It all added up and the only thing keeping her afloat was the monthly check from the estate."
"What is she going to do now that she doesn't get that?" Rosalie asked curious.
Bella gave her a humorless chuckle."Probably sue me."
"What?!" Rosalie exclaimed a little to loudly. At Bella's nod she continued. "Your mother will probably sue you to get what exactly?"
"My estate manager Gene and I fully expect my mother to sue me to get what she has many times claimed is rightfully hers. She has made all kind of claims and demands over the years to not only Gene but to myself. My favorite one is that I brainwashed my grandparents and turned them against her to trick them into leaving me the bulk of their fortune."
"You were ten when they died and they raised you, how could she even considered you brainwashed them? You're mother's a piece of work. What will you do if she does sue you? Esme has a law degree if you need representation." Rosalie offered.
"There is no need to worry. She had to sign away her right to sue for more when she accepted her inheritance. She probably just saw the zeroes and didn't even read what she was signing. I'm not quite sure but I think Gene told me about some penalty she would have to pay if she did. It won't stop her of course but Gene will take care of all of it. His family has worked with my family for generations and he was there the whole time I was growing up. I think of him like an older uncle. So I trust him to do the right thing." Bella reassured Rosalie.
"I'm glad you have someone looking out for you. It's still horrible that it's your mother you have to look out for. Hopefully she just leaves you alone." Rosalie said even though she knew Bella's mother probably wouldn't.
"There's not much to be done either way. I'm not worried about it. I have always considered grandma Ellen and grandpa Arthur my parents because they raised me. Rene was more of an annoying roommate. Charlie is trying and is actually succeeding in being a good parent so it was easy to call him dad. He has stepped up more in the last year than my mother did in the seven I lived with her. "
"How do you like living with him here in Forks?"
"It's different. I was homeschooled after I shifted and then just continued when I lived with my mother even when I felt I wasn't a danger to anyone. So being around so many people is strange. It's nice to have some company but living here is better than living with Rene. Plus I got to meet you and your family. "
"Well selfishly I'm glad you moved here." Rosalie admitted shyly.
"That's because you like cats." Bella joked.
"You're never going to let me live that down are you?" Rosalie grumbled.
Bella just shrugged in response. "What about you? How do you like living in Forks?"
"I think Forks is easily my favorite place we have lived. I like that it is overcast most days so we aren't confined to one area for days at a time. It feels good to be able to be apart of society without having to worry about people finding out what we are. The only thing I dislike is going to high school over and over again. As you could tell today I have little patience for teenage drama. But after we graduate it's nice to be able to do what we want for a few years until we have to move on before people start to notice we don't age. Sometimes we even go to college. I've been five different times over the last century."
"What have you majored in?" Bella asked trying to image going to high school and college over and over again. She didn't think she would enjoy it very much.
"I have several degrees in electrical engineering and specialized mechanics. I like to study those because the technology is always changing and even if I know most of it there is always something new. It's high school that is painfully boring and most college electives but going allows us to stay in one place longer so it's a small price to pay to have a few years of stability."
"That's amazing. I don't know if I would have the patience to go to high school over and over again. I've been going for four days and I find it extremely boring."
"It only takes up a few hours of our day. We don't sleep so 8hrs is nothing in a 24hr day." Rosalie explained.
"What's it like not sleeping?I think it would be amazing not to have to sleep or get tired but then again I really enjoy a good nights sleep."
"I think sleeping is something I miss most about not being human. Having a few hours of absolute peace. I miss dreaming even if sometimes my dreams were horrible. I've been awake over 80 years and in all that time I haven't felt that sense you get when you go to sleep that everything will feel better in the morning. I miss that the most. That small time out from the world to regroup."
"That's actually kind of heartbreaking. Something I bet most humans take for granted being something you so strongly yearn for. I wish I could find a way so that it would make it possible for you to sleep." Bella said sadly.
"It is what it is. I used to despise my vampire existence but lately I find that I don't mind it to much." Rosalie admitted.
"What changed your mind?"
"You." Rosalie whispered shyly.