Chapter Two

Bella pushed the bike as fast as she was able to take it, her head full of all the excuses Jake had given her in the last few weeks, including the one where he basically shipped her off to her mothers with a smile.

She couldn't tell you if this betrayal hurt more then when Fuckward and the others left or not but this time it was different, she was stronger and that so-called Zombie Phase that she went through was a withdrawal of the Cold Ones hunting mechanisms. That was news to her, but it explained so much, the so-called 'Dazzle' she felt was when Edward was always close to her face, his scent wafting over her. This was discovered when Bella went to New York for research and came across a different type of vampire and then a witch.

The fury then was just as bad now because every single Cullen knew what Edward was doing. The only ones she didn't really hate was Jasper and Rose. Rose made her distaste known and Jasper was held on a short leash.

Hours had passed and Bella had only stopped once to get food and fuel before pushing onwards, she couldn't tell you where exactly she was going, only that she wanted to be far away from Forks and the asshole that lived there. Forest turned to farm and repeat, the lights passing her by as she pushed herself forward.

A scream of frustration escaped her lips as she let go of the bars and tossed her head back to the sky, a therapeutic scream that lasted only a moment before she was focused on the road once more. It was only then her eyes caught the neon sign not far ahead in the dying light, Lust of the Jungle. It was odd, she felt compelled to stop and Bella was no longer one to ignore her instincts, not after what just happened. She only gets hurt in the end every time she does.

Thankfully she had her phone and purse still on her as she left in a hurry and as she eyed the people going in, she could see the dress code of the place was relaxed and hopefully she'd be able to get in with what she was wearing.

The outside of the bar was just a normal brick, the only fancy thing of it was the neon sign but the moment she stepped inside Bella felt as if she had been transported the jungle itself and it had her peeling off her leather jacket as she took a seat at an empty stool at the bar and took everything in.

Vines wrapped around the natural wood that seemed to grow from the ground, it was as if it was grown specifically into the bar top just like everything else. It was enchanting and oddly it felt like home even though she didn't even know what that feeling even was anymore. People seemed to flit past here without a care in the world and though she expected noise everything felt weird.

"It's spelled." A voice stated causing her to jump and turn to the man hidden in slight darkness of the trees that curled in this corner of the bar.

"Sorry what?" She asked confused, blinking as the bartender placed a glass before her without an order and she knew before even taking a sip it was whisky.

The man sighed slightly and looked up, his blue eyes burning with a pain that she easily recognised, a pain that matched her own. "The bar is a haven of sorts, a place for those who need an escape. It's spelled by the owner so the only sound you can hear is the music and those that wish to be heard."

"Magic of course." She sighed and threw back her drink in one go, signalling the bartender for another. Of course, she was pulled towards a magic bar in the middle of fucking nowhere, she was destined to be pulled this way and that by magical creatures why not a bar?

"I take it you are just as sick of it as I am?" the man asked with a slight lit of amusement.

Eyeing him she nodded. "You can say that, just came home to find my partner of two years and childhood friend fucking his new mate in my bed. Apparently, it happened a month ago and he didn't wish to give me up too. You?"

"Well, you see, I have had a horrible life where the women I love tend to play me against my brother, not only play me against my brother but they do it while choosing him over and over. The latest I thought we had a chance until something changed and she had chosen Stephen once more and left me to suffer my fate." He explained and something niggled inside Bella's head. It was a story she could have been told from the witch that helped her overcome the lure of a Cold One.

It was then that the man moved into the light and Bella took him in full, pale skin with raven dark hair and the eyes that burned bright like a glacier. But it was the little peak of pointed teeth and the aura she had come to associate with a predator that had her sighing and throwing back another drink. "Of course, you're a vampire. Long-life indeed then?"

"Take it you've run into my kind before?" The man asked curiously as he took a sip of his own drink. There was something about the woman before him that had him curbing his usual defensive mechanisms and placing up his mask. He could see the pain in her eyes and when he caught her rubbing her wrist, he was even more intrigued. "Ah, not mine specifically but Cold Ones."

The woman snorted. "I was ensnared by a coven, I believed he had loved me and he left me abandoned in the forest after telling me I was nothing but a pet to his family to pass the time. He had used his Allure on me and that alone nearly killed me if a witch didn't help. Before that, a coven of three had attacked and I was lured away from them, bitten and beaten, instead of allowing the change he sucked the venom out."

"And I thought my life was fucked, the name is Damon." He replied, holding his hand out for the woman to take.

"Pleasure to meet you, Damon, I'm Bella." She introduced, taking his hand in her own and something within her seemed that tonight wasn't going to be bad as she thought.

Here amongst the wilderness of this enchanted bar, she found a kindred spirit. Perhaps for tonight, she can let everything go and allow the current of Fate take her instead of resisting for a change.

It seemed that Damon was thinking along the same lines as he ordered another round of drinks for them.


Author Note: What's this? Damon!