Run Little Rabbit

Chapter Twenty Eight: A Conferring of Mates

After that not at all confusing action from Sulpicia (it was hella confusing) I composed myself and went down the all too familiar halls to find Didyme. It had been months since I'd last seen her and I missed her dearly.

I held my breath with anticipation as I walked towards the garden. My eyes lit up with joy when I saw her, sitting among the flowers, long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. She looked so pretty, like a flower in bloom herself.

She jerked her head to the side when she sensed me come in, a lily flower held up to her nose. "Bella..." she breathed out, and it was all I could do before I raced towards her on legs that threatened to give out. She rose up and caught me in her delicate arms and held me to her as I sobbed happily into her neck. "I thought I would never see you again," she breathed out, inhaling my scent.

"Me too. I'm happy." I clutched onto her hard, knowing I couldn't hurt her no matter how hard I clung.

"You silly girl, you shouldn't be happy to be back here," she admonished though she didn't seem too upset right now.

"I'm happy to see you," I breathed out.

She pulled away from me, and looked into my eyes, before she kissed me softly on the lips. I melted into her kiss, it easing any confusion or fear Sulpicia's abrupt deliverance of me here had brought.

"How...I thought you were gone, for good. The worst thoughts ran through my head, such as if what if they had killed you, and I..." she trailed off, unable to finish.

"Sulpicia let me go."

"She let you go? Just like that?" Didyme blinked owlishly.

"I know. It didn't and still doesn't make any sense to me. Especially since she came back for me. Seemed she had a change of mind," I said wryly.

"More like a change of heart," Didyme stressed and I could see something was pulling her mood down. Before I could ask she moved away, tugging me down on the grass next to her. We were sat in a patch of lily flowers. They seemed to shine in the moonlight streaming through the glass hole that connected up top to the surface world.

"Didyme..." but she wouldn't let me speak.

"I just...can I keep kissing you Bella?" she asked me, looking so sweet. I wouldn't dream of refusing her.

"Of course," I told her and leaned in to meet her lips.

Slowly, her hand came up to cup my cheeks. The kisses were chaste, a gentle meeting of the lips as I let my eyes slip closed. And in the midst of the lilies, we kissed for minutes without end.

Despite being stuck back here, I could not hate it right now, not when I got to see Didyme again. The caged prized flower of the Volturi.


"What ever possessed you to call upon this meeting?" Sulpicia drawled as she, Didyme, and Athenadora met up in an alcove in the library once Bella had gone to sleep.

Athenadora had called it. "I think you know why."

Sulpicia didn't say anything to this, twisting her lips up instead. Didyme nodded her head. Athena looked angry but she kept her speech restrained for now."

"As much as it pains me to bring this topic up, neither of us can continue to avoid it. For our own sakes," she said with a weary sigh. "It has come to my attention that Bella has a mate bond with all of us. But, it's not concrete," Athenadora said slowly so they could all grasp this.

"Get to the point," Sulpicia spat out, impatient.

"It means that Bella has the potential to cement her bond to one of us, two of us, or all three. She can choose ultimately who she wants as a mate."

"And how does she go about that?" Didyme asked calmly but with a hint of possessiveness in her voice.

"I'm...I'm not sure, the text became vague at this, mentioning something about a flower opening for the first time," Athenadora shrugged. "This could mean many things as the flower is symbolic of many things."

Flowers, Didyme thought privately. She was a specialist in that area. "What kind of flower did it say?"

"It didn't mention the type; you're free to look it up yourself if you don't trust my word."

"No, I trust you," Didyme said, making Athenadora blink her eyes in shock. "Why would you? We are all enemies for Bella's hand."

"I don't...I don't mind sharing her if she happens to be in love with you too," Didyme admitted with a tinge of sadness. She didn't want to have to share Bella but if it would make her happy...because if Bella had another mate it meant she loved someone else as equally much as she loved Didyme.

"What?' Athenadora blinked owlishly again.

"She loves you, you know. I can tell. And I would never ask her to give up something she loves."

"Even if she doesn't love you?"

Didyme frowned lightly, a line in between her eyebrows. "Don't be absurd. She loves me too."

Because Sulpicia had been quiet for too long, she spoke up now. "I'm not willing to share her with you two bitches. Bella is mine."

"She doesn't even love you!" Athenadora snarled as Didyme growled lowly.

Sulpicia scoffed as if they were being ridiculous. She languidly placed a hand on her hip. "If she has a mate bond with me, clearly it means that she has the capacity to love me if she doesn't already. All I need to do is convince her to my side. And who wouldn't want to come to my side when I can offer her so much more than you too."

It was Athenadora's turn to scoff, only increasing the animal tension in the room between all three of them. Sulpicia was pissed and entitled but holding herself composed for now, putting up a smug front. Didyme was feeling defensive but kept it in, knowing she didn't want to start a fight between not one but two possessive soul mate bound vampires. Athenadora was openly snarling, looking feral. She was a couple seconds away from being set off and Didyme didn't feel like being a savior and stopping her if Athenadora snapped and tried to kill Sulpicia. Didyme preferred Athenadora over Sulpicia because it was clear Athenadora cared for Bella and because of her lack of favor for blood, she wouldn't hurt Bella for blood. But Sulpicia was a snake. Didyme had a hard time believing that Sulpicia had Bella's best interests at heart. Or that Bella could even love her.

"Like what?" Athenadora asked and Sulpicia examined the nails on her hand like this was all boring her.

"Power," she hissed, sibilant.

"Bella doesn't hunger for power like you do," Athenadora argued.

"Not as she is now," Sulpicia said deviously.

Athenadora's eyes flared open in shock while Didyme felt anger rivet her frame. Her hands curled up. "Are you insane?!" she declared, shocking them all with the volume of her voice. "How could you think of robbing her of her humanity? She will hate you for changing her!"

"Not if she's my mate," was the confident answer. "I will make her fall irrevocably in love with me and then she'll have no need for you two or for her humanity."

"You're mistaken if you think she'll ever love you. The mate bond must have made a mistake, but I'll rectify it," Didyme swore, fire blazing in her eyes.

"Cute," Sulpicia patronized.

Didyme snapped her fangs but made no move to harm. She knew better than to attack Sulpicia. The blonde vampiress rolled her eyes at this display. She was trying to come off as unaffected but they all knew if Sulpicia indeed had a mate bond then she felt for Bella as deeply as they all did. It seemed the snake did have a heart after all, finally not shriveled after millennia of disuse. "I should have killed you instead of imprisoned you when I had the chance. You wouldn't have been in my way otherwise."

"I'm done wasting this conversation on you," Didyme finished, deciding to be the bigger person. "I'm going to find Bella and I'm going to cement my bond with her."

"Good luck," Sulpicia sang as Didyme left the room, closing the door on Sulpicia's dark smirk. Athenadora also decided it was time to leave before she snapped and killed Sulpicia. "This will not be a game you win," Athenadora told her with vitriol.

Sulpicia's smile only widened. "I already have."


The next morning I wake up, surprisingly having been able to get some sleep despite being back in Volterra. Maybe it had something to do with the jet lag and with how Didyme had been able to lull me into safety with her touches. I wonder about Athena now. I haven't seen her since we've gotten onto the plane. Is she alright?

I have to ask Sulpicia about this. Summoning up my bravery, and hoping that Sulpicia won't be in an odd mood like yesterday, I head to her quarters. Before I can even timidly knock on the door, it opens by itself. I cautiously step in, my heart racing. Sulpicia is resting on her bed, in nothing but a scanty robe that I have to avert my eyes from.

"Bella, I'm so pleased to see you here," she purred. "You're just in time for my shower. Care to join me?"

My heart jumped at this and my face blushed heavily. Tempting but no.

I refused to let her seduce me.

"I'm here about Athena...is she okay?"

Sulpicia looks at me, pissed off, as if why would I dare inquiry about my mate like this. "She's fine," she said coldly. "On a trip."

"Oh...okay," I stammered. "When will she back?"

"I don't know," Sulpicia shrugged angrily.

I nod my head, figuring I should leave now. I swivel on my heel, hand freezing on the door frame when she speaks, "and don't bother running from Didyme. She's gone."

"Gone?!" I breathe out, whirling around.

"Yes, gone," is the smirk on Sulpicia's lips.

"Why? What happened?" I cry out.

"She was finally given the right to leave this city. But now, she is banned from coming back here. So don't expect to see her again."

My knees wobbled. Why...why had...? None of this made sense. I knew Didyme had wanted to leave for the longest time, but for this to happen so rapidly...something didn't make sense. Or no, something started making sense too much.

"What did you do?" I barked out. Sulpicia stiffened at my tone of voice but rose from the bed like nothing. I finally noticed the glass and bottle of wine in her hands. Had she been drinking? Could she get drunk? She seemed a bit drunk now that I looked. How much had she to drink to be drunk?

"What did I do?" she echoed. "I did the right thing!"

"By sending them away? Why? They were my mates!" I screamed at her face.

"I refuse to lose you!" Sulpicia whispered harshly. She looked so pained by this concept. "But I don't...I don't know how to win you over. I'm not...I'm not a nice person. I can't be kind like Didyme, and I can't be understanding as Athenadora. All I've known is battle and belittling. But I know you don't like any of that. I just don't know...I just don't know how to change myself so you like me. Because I don't want to lose you."

This was a lot to take in, especially from a drunk Sulpicia. "Uh..." I didn't know what to say. My mind was whirling. So then my thesis about her finding me because of mate bonds...was shaping up to be true?

"I can't afford to lose you," she repeated again, more to herself than to me.

Where was all this coming from? Sulpicia had sent Athenadora on a bogus quest, banned Didyme from ever being in Volterra again, and now she was...trying to pour her heart out to me? I was pissed at her, at what she had done to my other two lovers but I couldn't help but feel pity in my heart at her sad state. For her to show up drunk and hurting, in front of the pathetic human was a low for her.

"Sulpicia...maybe I should go-"

"No!" Sulpicia panicked before calming down when she saw it had startled me, approaching me at vampire speed. "No," she said more softly, trailing a finger down my cheek. "I..." she gave a bitter short laugh here, moving off of me and drunkenly staggering up to the window that looked out over the underground city. She pressed her head against the cool glass.

"I...I refused to believe this was true. I thought it a cruel trick of fate. Karma, getting back at me for all the miserable deeds I've done. For how I treated you and your kind. But...even though it pissed me off to no end, fighting it hurt me even more. These things for vampires are a curse on our otherwise boon of plenty." She shuddered as she took a deep breath, hugging her arms to herself like a scared little girl. I was barely breathed, afraid to miss a word she said and yet I wished I wasn't hearing this because I was afraid of what she wanted from me. "I can't escape this and I don't want to; I've never had a true mate before," she turned to face me, eyes lidded and looking sultry with her loose curls and her lips slightly parted as she leaned against the glass.

My eyes opened in slow realization. "You're...you're my mate too?" This was un-fucking-believable. This couldn't be true. Could it? How could I have three mates? All vampires? Was this why Sulpicia had let me leave? Trying to prevent her bond from me but being unable to truly stop it?

She snorted in bitter amusement. "Yes, talk about cruel. But even if I didn't want this to happen it has and I would be stupid to let my pride get in the way of my sanity. Refusing this bond would only drive me insane. And, I refuse to lose to the other two." She approached me, swaying her hips and placed her palms on her my thighs, leaning in close enough that I could smell the liquor on her breath. Her dark red eyes searched my face. She swallowed. "Bella, teach me how to be yours."

I couldn't breathe momentarily, her statement wildly turning me on. But I had to think. I had to...think responsibly here.

"Sulpicia, we should talk about this when you've sobered up."

For a second I thought she would rage, would take my lips against this wall anyways, but she pulled back. "Very well."

"And I want Athenadora and Didyme back," I said bravely.

She blinked. Her lips pursed.

"They need to be here," I said, lightly pushing her off and she relented. "I...I can't keep having my heart jerked around like this anymore. I...I need to make my choice," I concluded, the words pouring out of me. It had to be done. Three mate bonds, all with varying vampires whose personalities would never mesh...I had to make my choice.

She grit her teeth. "So I can lose you?" she scoffed. "I think not."

"It doesn't matter who I choose in the end. If you truly claim to love me, then you'll grant me this one wish." I pleaded gently now, doing something so bold as to reach out and cup her chin. I looked right into her bright red eyes. "Bring them back. Let me choose my mate."

She swallowed thickly but nodded her head yes.

It was decided. I would make my choice, and finally, pave a way for my future with whoever was by my side.

A/N: We've finally reached this point. The concluding sections of this story. Bella is going to make her choice on who her mate is going to be (by banging them). And you guys get to decide who that mate is for her. Let me know if Sulpicia, Athenadora, or Didyme should be Bella's choice and I'll write a chapter on them. (I'll write something for the other two too, but let me know who y'all think the first mate pick for her is.)