Ok, that took a while, sorry. Writers block and a lot of loose ends to tie up in this chapter. Actually I ended up splitting it into 2, the second is 80% finished as a result so I will get it to you asap. But, once again the 'Next On' has been scooted to the next chapter, sorry.
Hope it was worth the wait, work has been too busy to accommodate any writing time which has added to the delay.
Review and let me know what you're thinking, we are pretty close to that big 1000 mark so if we make it that far I promise to have the next chapter up at the weekend. I have no shame, modesty is lacking too ;)
Enjoy, Lil'D
Xxxxxx
Bella and Rose walked out of the water hand in hand.
"Victoria," Rose commented as she caught the nomad's scent lingering. She was no longer around but had been, until a few moments ago.
"Rose," Bella cautioned her mate who turned to the newborn.
"Hmm?" The blonde was distracted by the traces of Victoria's presence, she was curious as to why she had followed them.
"You need to relax, that can't happen again," Bella warned the blonde. Rose heard her, loud and clear. "It's not safe. When aren't you safe, Rose?"
"When my mate is attracted to another," the blonde muttered petulantly causing Bella to stop dead, jerking her mate back towards her and issuing a low growl and shoving the blonde on the shoulder, demonstrating her irritation.
"She interests me," the newborn confirmed. "Yes, I may have a slight crush but if you could see through your possessive jealousy you would realise, should realise, especially after that!" She paused to gesture towards the sea. "After that -. Baby, I'm all yours and always have been! You ridiculous, pouty, incredibly hot, silly vampire!" Bella raised her hands up in sheer, bemused exasperation. She got it, she did but there was no doubt in her mind that Rose was behaving like an insecure teenager. Bella would admit that she had a little reason to but -. "Seriously Rose, grow up and get back to your sexy, confident self!" Rose turned golden eyes to the newborn as Bella hit her shoulder with the heel of her hand in frustration.
"You want to know why I find her a teensy bit attractive, intriguing, hmmm?" Bella purred as she slid her arm around the blonde's waist and Rose leaned into her lover's body. "I think maybe I see a lot of you in her. You're both more experienced in many things compared to me, both withdrawn, mysterious but have depths I'm only just beginning to see." Rose blinked at the admission. "But Rose, you're my mate. You are the one I want to get to know better, unravel," the newborn murmured as she scraped her teeth across the blonde's shoulder, bare where her shirt had been ripped off. The action caused a whimper from the blonde. "Do you understand me?" There was dominance in the growl, Bella was asserting her alpha and Rose's beast awakened at the challenge and they stood, eyes black, fangs down, staring each other out.
It was a stand-off, unlike most mated pairs there was not a dominant partner, they were equals but it was the blonde who looked away first, realising that she was being extremely immature and belittling their bond by acting the way she was.
"I'm sorry," Rose apologised and Bella felt the wave of sincerity and some guilt pass through their bond.
"Ok," Bella smiled and leaned in to place a soft kiss on her mate's lips before tugging on her hand. "Let's go back before it gets light, we're a little -, um, naked," she stated in a giggle and Rose looked down at their clothing to see that really all they had on between them was the blonde's ripped shirt and Bella's socks and sneakers. It was actually pretty comical and she threw her head back and let out a bark of laughter, feeling most of the anxiety leave her as well.
"Come on," she smiled at the newborn and tagged her before jogging off, traversing the sheer cliff in a single, magnificent leap.
"Damn!" Bella muttered to herself before letting out an appreciative growl and speeding after her.
The next evening Victoria hesitated before jumping down to the young one's balcony, if they had any sense they would have detected her presence when they emerged from their coupling and she wondered on her reception today.
"Why were you watching us?" Victoria blinked at Bella's question, she had been expecting it from Rosalie and was surprised by the abrupt words from the newborn.
"So you were safe, I picked up a scent on the edge of the city. We may have company." Victoria announced calmly but Bella's eyes narrowed and she looked to her mate. They held one of their silent conversations and the nomad flicked her eyes back and forth as she tried to keep track of what was being discussed. She had no idea how they did it but a resolution was reached quickly.
"Thank you," Rose surprised the red-head by speaking. Victoria frowned, very unused to thanks of any kind so she blinked then looked away.
The rest of their trip passed by quickly. Victoria showing them several ruins that had been lost to human history that greatly impressed Bella. Rose less so as she wasn't really one for the jungle, preferring the forests of the more temperate regions but despite herself she found the expeditions enjoyable and the scenery tolerable plus it made Bella happy which was always a good thing.
As the blonde watched Victoria move through the forest she was always struck by how natural their environment seemed to the nomad, she blended with the jungle in a such a way that she seemed a part of it, weaving and leaping and climbing as if born for this. It was then that Rose realised she had developed a healthy respect for the red-head that was not born out of fear but for a vampire that had taken her life, death even, and made it hers, unfettered by human constraints and vampire politics, she was truly free.
The time the three spent together became easier, Rose relaxed as she realised that Victoria was no threat to their safety or their relationship. The nomad was always polite and retained her slightly formal air when she was with them and never encouraged Bella's obvious fascination with her, instead treating her kindly but never reacting less than platonically to the inadvertently suggestive comments that would sometimes escape the newborn. Instead, she would smile and exchange a look with Rose who would always tense when it happened but Victoria would always reassure her. It even went as far as the nomad quietly confirming to the blonde when they were alone that she held a mutual respect for her and because of this would never act on the attraction she admitted having for her mate.
Whilst the confession enraged Rose's protective instincts it also placated her and allowed her to begin to see more to the red-head than a threat to her mating bond. So, she allowed herself to become more involved in the discussions Bella and Victoria regularly held, adding her own opinions and proving she was extremely well educated and intelligent, more so than her outward appearance might suggest. Her insights impressed Victoria who in turn began to alter her opinion of the blonde and a tentative friendship was formed.
Victoria's relationship with Bella was different, the newborn was a whirlwind of emotions and enthusiasm which the nomad found hard to deal with at first. Bella threw herself headlong into everything she did and pulled her companions along for the ride. However, there was also a quieter, more thoughtful side the the brunette that Victoria felt more at home with and it was in these times that she found herself greatly enjoying their discussions and time together. Given her age most younger vampires bored her quickly. Their short lives held little of interest but the newborn fascinated her, both her powers and her personality and the way she absorbed knowledge like a sponge.
She had been so curious that she accompanied Bella on a hunting trip into the city's slums. It hadn't taken more than a few minutes for the newborn to zoom in on her prey, a man in his late twenties picked seemingly at random, or so it appeared to the nomad. They followed him to a bar where he drank for several hours before leaving the premises and walking several blocks to conduct a deal, a deal that involved several children as his mules. Bella growled as she watched him attack a boy of no more than eight, punching him in the stomach when he admitted to not being able to sell all of the previous days drugs.
With that Bella growled and leapt off the top of the two storey building they were hiding on, directly above the group, grabbed the man too fast for the kids to see what had happened and was back with Victoria in less than a second. Victoria watched with rapt fascination as she discovered yet another facet to the newborn's personality as she witnessed a feral snarl as Bella held the man up by his throat, so tight he couldn't scream before pulling him close and sinking her teeth into the pumping, swollen jugular pulsing on his neck.
Bella moaned as she held the man close, he struggled but they always did, his life's blood pumped down her throat, warming her from the inside in a way only human blood could. Her senses overwhelmed by the stench of his humanity but it only added to the experience. Victoria shifted, the sight of Bella feeding coupled with the release of pheromones far too strong for a vampire her age hit the nomad hard and she fought to tamp down the arousal she was feeling, that and the newborn looked utterly primal, intoxicating.
Bella felt the man's heart slow then stop, she opened her mouth and allowed his dead weight to fall so his drained body hung from his throat, still clasped in her hand, it was a decadent display of death.
"I would have offered you some but I was hungry," the newborn purred, a dexterous tongue sneaking out and cleaning her fangs,Victoria transfixed by the motion, her own fangs dropping in response. Bella noticed the change and her beast smirked, it seemed even the controlled elder vampire was affected by her but that wasn't the only thought on her mind.
Rose.
She kicked off the roof with a growl, she wanted her mate.
Rose had felt Bella's satisfaction spike as she fed and now her arousal was high as it always was after feeding from a human. It was a guilty pleasure of the blonde's, to enjoy her mate that way, the way her body thrummed with power, warm and vibrant from the kill. The sex was always on another level too which pleased them both but they would have to take to the forest as the hotel would not survive the onslaught.
With that in mind Rose waited on their balcony, wanting to divert Bella as soon as she saw her. She didn't have long to wait as the blurred form of her mate appeared, racing over the rooftops.
Victoria followed Bella until she was in sight of her mate then peeled off, she wanted to ensure that the vampire she had scented earlier was no longer around and not wanting to intrude on them, again.
xxxx
"What are we doing today?" Bella asked, curious to see what the nomad had planned. She'd been almost excited the day before, she wouldn't explain why but the nervous energy had been infectious
"Do you have a map?" Victoria queried, eyes scanning the room, not missing the scent of another recent coupling, were all mates this insatiable? "Ah!" She spotted one folded on the dining table. "We are going here!" A pale finger landed in the middle of the unpopulated jungle.
"Um why?" Rose queried with a raised brow as she leaned over the map to study it better. "Can't we go here instead? At least there is something there," she grumbled, pointing to a ruin marked on the map. "Or there," she pointed to another ruin.
"No!" Victoria chastised the blonde. "No! Look, can't you see?" Bella was intrigued now and joined the older vampires by the table.
"See what?" The newborn queried.
"The pattern," Victoria replied, gesturing animatedly at the map.
"What pattern?" Bella asked.
"Oh, for god's sake," Rose had grown frustrated after she had stared at the map for a moment. This could go on forever! "Look, this, this and this," she pointed to three ruins, marked on the map, one of which she knew was yet to be re-discovered by humans. "If you take this as a reference point along with the one Victoria found it's obvious there would be a fourth, here!" She jabbed her finger to the exact spot Victoria had originally indicated. "What are you? The un-dead Tomb Raider?" Rose muttered to herself and Bella burst out laughing much to the nomad's chargin.
"A tomb raider? I am familiar with the term and yes, I have technically robbed several tombs and hope to add one more to the list today but why do you laugh?" She was perplexed that a simple description could be found humorous.
"Oh, um, it's a video game," Bella explained, taking pity on the red-head. "Lara Croft, hot chick, dresses like you," the newborn waved to indicate Victoria's minimal but practical clothing. "Except she wears shoes, mostly," she finished with a mumble as she frowned at the nomads habitually bare feet. "And carries knives and guns, lots of guns. You know, pow pow," she mimed pressing buttons on a game controller.
"Pow pow?" Victoria screwed her nose up in confusion.
"PS3?" Bella tried again.
"Peace three?" Victoria repeated, non the wiser. Bella was confusing her but she knew it wasn't being done maliciously, she was just at least fifty years behind today's culture and technology.
"It's a game you play through the television, a video game," Rose explained patiently. "I'm sure Bella would love to show you sometime," she offered with a smile, taking pity on the red-head's confusion
"Sure, I think you'll be good at it, you're very agile," Bella complimented the red-head who smiled not missing the slight narrowing of the blonde's eyes.
"I know!" Victoria purred playfully, she now knew that she could get away with some light flirting. "Irina can testify to that," she finished with a smirk, but was confused when Rose turned to glare at the brunette. What was she missing?
"Rose!" the newborn whined, "Again?" Bella pouted and the blonde was on her in a second.
"Mine!" Rose slammed her mate against the wall before either she or Bella really realised what was happening. "Mine," the blonde whimpered, burying her face in her mate's neck as her rational mind caught up to her mating instinct. Another whimper and she was gone. Why did this keep happening? She berated herself, once again breaking her word to Bella and losing control of her emotions.
Victoria watched the exchange with fascination, she had never seen the blonde so emotional or out of control. Well, instinctual may be have been a better word to use. She stared out of the open balcony doors, her sharp eyes catching a blur as Rosalie ran over the roof-tops.
"It's Ok, she'll be back," the red-head whipped around at pre-natural speed to face the newborn. "It was my fault, she's very sensitive about -," Bella tailed off, biting her lip as she got distracted thinking about her mate.
"You bedded Irina," Victoria was unused to interacting with other creatures but was astute enough to read between the lines.
"I did," was Bella's short but honest reply, the newborn slumped down onto the couch, studying the nomad she had been left alone with, the red-head still standing by the table, her attention now fixed on Bella. They had never really spent any time alone together, it wasn't uncomfortable, just new. "Before we were mated," Bella clarified. "But we had already formed a bond, it was a difficult time for me. For us." It fell silent and Victoria reviewed the information.
"You already had a bond? What kind?" The red-head questioned, intrigued by the new information, she knew they were strongly linked but this had never come up.
"Yeah, like Irina has with her sisters. Rose and I, we're the same. Succubi, they tell us," Bella explained. Until now their conversations had been relatively impersonal, this was new territory for them.
Victoria was fascinated and pulled out a chair from under the table and sat on it backwards, hands grasping the back, chin resting on the top as she stared at the newborn.
"You can do what Irina can?" Victoria was genuinely curious.
"Yeah," Bella smiled. "They taught us. I can feel Rose now. She's not far and she's calmer now. She'll be back soon."
"Isn't that a mate connection, can't mates do that?" Bella shrugged.
"No, we could do this before we mated," Bella smiled. "She's sorry but I think we need some time. Rose, she's very private." Victoria nodded, understanding that completely. "But she's not that sorry," the newborn smirked.
"You belong to her," Victoria acknowledged, not really understanding what that made her feel.
"I do."
"I will go. I'll return this time tomorrow. I would still like to explore with you?"
"We'd like that," Bella smiled as she answered for herself and Rose.
"Good, I'm looking forward to it," Victoria smiled. "I have something to show you. Meet me at the usual location?"
"Of course," Bella answered with a smile, one which was returned, the nomad suddenly feeling uncomfortable and rising to her feet, then scrubbed her palms on the shorts she was wearing. "It's Ok, go. Rose will understand, she's embarrassed," and ashamed the newborn recognised but that was not the red-head's business. "But it will pass," the newborn explained. Victoria just nodded and took her leave, clearing the balcony onto the roof before a human eye could see her.
"I'm sorry," it was a whispered apology but Bella had no trouble picking it up, despite the distance between them.
"It's OK, I'm not pissed. Come back inside," Bella urged her mate softly and walked through to the bed room, throwing herself onto the bed to await her return. It was only seconds later that Rose appeared in the doorway, head hanging down as she found imperfections in the paint that adorned the intricate door moulding, a diamond hard fingernail picked at a particularly flaky spot.
"Shit!" Rose cursed as she accidentally removed a fairly noticeable chunk of the moulding, sending it flying across the room. Bella observed her mate, she looked like a kicked puppy, not a look that suited her.
"Come here," the brunette sighed and held her hand out to her mate. "It's Ok, I'm getting kind of used to it," she sighed, "but you need to talk to someone about this, it's getting out of hand, baby." Rose joined her mate on the bed, curling into a ball, her head resting in the newborn's lap as she accepted the comfort Bella offered, her scent and touch, gentle fingers running through her hair, reinforcing the soothing calm the newborn was projecting through their bond. "Please, Rose, baby? It's getting a bit much, maybe we should go home?" The question was quiet and Rose could detect the hesitation but overriding concern for her well-being.
"No! No -," Rose sat up so she was resting back against the head board, next to her mate and reached out a perfect hand which was tentatively placed on the newborn's knee, immediately covered by Bella's slightly smaller hand. "I'll call Tanya now." She reached into the back pocket of her jeans where she had tucked her phone, a fumble and it dropped to the bed.
"Fuck! What the fuck is wrong with me?" A blonde head came to rest on steepled knees, golden mane cascading down to the bed.
Bella snatched the phone off the bed and immediately called Tanya.
"S'up homies?" Kate's cheerful voice rang through the tinny speaker of the phone making Bella wince with it's shrill volume.
"Where's Tanya? It's urgent," Bella growled, her alpha making it's presence known under her duress.
"What's wrong? Can I -,"
"Tanya! NOW!" It was a command and all they could hear was static as Kate moved too fast for the phone to hold it's reception then a blur of conversation before the coven leader was on the phone.
"Bella? Tell me." No words were lost on pleasantries.
"Give me -," Rose snatched the phone from her mate. "It's me, I'm so fucked up Tan," Rose whimpered into the handset, Tanya startled by the blonde's admission.
"Rose, what's wrong?" The elder blonde murmured, realising that a delicate approach was the one to take with her distraught charge.
"I keep fucking up Tan," there was a long pause. "I get so jealous, so angry and I know I have no reason to. It's driving Bella crazy," she admitted with a snort.
"Is this because of Victoria?" Tanya guessed, getting right to the heart of the matter.
"Yes, she's beautiful and strong and has so much more knowledge than I do. Bella -," the blonde stopped and looked up at her mate who's brows were raised as the blonde fell apart before her eyes.
"Come home," Tanya suggested as both her sisters listened in to the conversation. "Let us look after you."
"No, Bella -. One more day?" Rose directed the question at her mate and the brunette nodded, appreciating the consideration she was being given. "I know you're looking forward to whatever Victoria wants to show us," the blonde spoke direct to her mate, ignoring the Denali's who were still on the phone.
"Is that wise, Rose?" Tanya, always the voice of reason where her younglings were concerned.
"No, this is for Bella. It's the least I can do for putting her through all this," she explained, eyes locked on black.
"Alright, I mean stay as long as you want but we can help you," Tanya reassured the young vampires, now anxious for them to return to the coven. In the meantime she and her sisters would discuss what might help Rose deal with her issues.
"Alright, bye," the blonde hung up but the action was one of distraction, her eyes focused on the wonder that was her mate.
"We'll sort it out, you should hunt," Bella suggested as she reached out and brushed a strand of golden silk off an alabaster cheek, tucking it carefully behind a perfect if slightly pixie like ear before a gentle tap on the blonde's nose led to a playful snap of sharp, white teeth.
Xxxx
Next on Crimson Bonds
"No, I don't think I will," Rose purred. "You have insulted my mate, you attack us and now you will pay the price. We are Denali's, you will never, ever, harm another with the intent to for yourself on them again, her words reverberated off the nearby rock face but the animals had left as soon as the vampires had entered the area.