So, your reviews for the last chapter were mixed which is what I was expecting. Here we go some way to resolving the issues Bella has with Victoria and also Rose. It is not clean-cut so bear with me as all I can say is their instincts are over-riding more higher thought processes right now but we are working towards a resolution. In other words Bella is not being a bitch on purpose!

As so many of you were so kind as to review here is the next chapter.

LD x

Xxxx

Previously on Crimson Bonds

There was on-one around when they entered the house. Rose dropped her bag and went straight upstairs, she wasn't in the mood for company. Bella followed after collecting her mate's bag but by the time she reached their room the balcony doors were open and there was no sign of the blonde. Bella sighed and stood there wondering what to do, this was not how she wanted things to be. For the first time in a long time she felt like crying but wasn't physically capable any more, instead she went in search of Kate to see if the elder could help her sort this mess out.

She listened intently and finally heard soft voices coming from the other wing of the house where Irina's room was, as she approached she stopped dead, the smell of s strong in the arousal. She baulked and began to backtrack when a voice called out to her.

"Bella?"

They had heard the newborn approach but it was Tanya that called out, Kate and Victoria were in no fit state to realise what was going on and were laying cocooned in each others arms in the centre of the bed basking in the pheromones the other blonde's were putting out. It had been an intense session for them both and they needed some down-time to recover.

"Um, yes?" They heard her hesitate outside the door, it was obvious she was wary due to the scents she was picking up.

"Everything Ok?" The coven leader queried. The pause told Tanya and Irina everything they needed to know, as did the wave of anxiety pouring off their youngest coven-mate. "I'll go," Tanya volunteered, wanting to leave Irina with her friend for when Victoria began to come round a bit. She left the bed and grabbed her robe before padding over to the door, pulling it open before coming face to face with Bella.

Bella's eyes blackened and her fangs popped involuntarily as she was hit with a full dose of arousal and pheromones from the bedroom causing her to step back and snarl at the unwelcome assault. As she moved she caught a glimpse of the bed and it's occupants. Her vampire vision had no trouble making out the figures of Kate and Victoria wrapped around each other and it was then she lost control, a roar erupting from her chest as she tried to push past Tanya. She didn't know why she was feeling what she was feeling but she knew she needed to be in that room. Tanya was too strong and quick for the newborn to reach her goal, instead she ended up pinned by her throat against the stone pillar opposite the bedroom door as she struggled against her captor.

"Bella!" Tanya roared onto the newborn's face. "Calm down!" Her words fell on deaf ears as the brunette continued to fight her. "'Rina!" The coven leader called and her sister was by her side in a second. Together they sent out a wave of calm and pheromones so strong that should have brought Bella to her knees but all it did was subdue her a little. The sisters exchanged worried glances then re-doubled their efforts, Irina reaching out to make direct contact with Bella's scars to fully manipulate her chi and that combined with the pheromones was enough to stop her struggling altogether.

Once the newborn was under control she slumped to the ground, her head rolled back, purring like a kitten.

"I think we have a problem," Tanya murmured.

"Ya think?" Irina retorted, shaking her head at the understatement. "Where's Rose?" They both listened intently but could hear no sign of the young blonde in the house.

"Bella, where's Rose?" Tanya questioned the brunette, easing up a little on so she could focus enough to answer the question.

"I hurt her, she's gone," the newborn mumbled much to the elders consternation.

"Call her," Tanya urged her sister, "we need to know what's going on." Irina sped to her room to retrieve her phone and quickly dialled Rose's phone but it went to voicemail.

"Damn! What the hell is going on?" Irina growled.

"I don't know, I've never seen Bella that out of control before, not even when she first arrived." Tanya muttered.

"I had no idea they would be back so soon, maybe we shouldn't have told them Victoria was here?" Irina fretted as she eyed Bella and chewed her bottom lip.

"No, it was going to happen sooner or later, best it happens now when we can help than when they are travelling somewhere and chance a meeting." Irina reasoned with a sigh. "I mean, I don't know what's going on with this one but something is fucked up."

"So, what do we do with this one and what about Rose?" Tanya asked her sister, ignoring her uncharacteristic use of the profanity, this was not the way she anticipated things working out.

"I'll take Bella to her room and keep her under until you find Rose, maybe she can offer some kind of explanation?" After dressing quickly and helping Irina to the young one's room Tanya was chasing through the forest hot on Rose's trail, unsurprisingly she found the young blonde at the top of their favourite mountain.

"Rose?" Tanya approached cautiously, frowning when she saw the look on her face. She was obviously very upset but had thrown her walls up and only offered the coven leader a steely glare.

"I need you to come back to the house, we're having a problem with Bella." At that the wall broke and genuine concern became apparent as the blonde panicked.

"Is she alright?" They were already running, Rose setting a brutal pace.

"She's Ok, for now. Rose, what's going on, why weren't you at home with Bella?" Tanya came to a stop just before they reached earshot of the vampires in the house. "She said she hurt you but we had to knock her our pretty hard so she wasn't making much sense."

"What did you do?" Rose growled right into the coven leader's face. Tanya allowed the action but only because she knew how upset Rose was.

"She lost control, it took us a lot to get her to calm down." A brief but pertinent description of events.

"What happened?" Rose growled, "she doesn't just lose control!" Tanya paused, as Rose paced, wondering how much information to give her.

"I'll show you," she reached for the young blonde's hand and pulled her towards the house, they entered through the balcony door of Tanya's room and Rose followed her out into the hallway, it was then she was hit by the smell of pure lust. She cricked her neck, trying to decipher the exact scents, a low growl rumbling from her chest when she detected Victoria's as the dominant essence.

"You bedded her?" Rose queried, knowing the question was not one her elder was obliged to answer.

"We did. Bella reacted extremely violently when she saw Victoria with us, she completely lost control and it took both Irina and I to calm her down." Rose's shoulders sagged at her words, she looked broken.

"Did you hurt her?" She asked quietly, all anger gone.

"No, just knocked her out, pheromones, she's actually probably feeling pretty good right now." Tanya confirmed, confused about Rose's reaction to the explanation she had just given. "She's in your room," Rose nodded and they went to check on the newborn together. Bella was completely blissed out as she lay curled around Irina who looked up as they entered.

"She's a lot calmer now, I've eased up and she's stayed calm," the other blonde informed them then looked between her sister and Rose. "What's wrong?" Something was obviously bothering them both.

"Where is she?" Rose growled. "Where's Victoria?"

"She's a little incapacitated right now," Irina smirked as she thought about the red-head and her sister still lying in her room.

"Where's Kate?" Another growl.

"Also unavailable." Rose scowled.

"Tell me exactly what happened," Tanya sighed at the young ones demand but relented, hoping that Rose may be able to shed some light on the newborn's overwhelming reaction.

"She," Tanya sighed, "she obviously wanted to talk to one of us, she tracked us to Irina's room, she seemed Ok until I opened the door, the scents were strong then she saw Victoria with Kate and completely lost it." Rose couldn't even find the strength to growl, instead she just slumped ungracefully down against the wall where she had been standing, landing in a heap, her head resting on her knees.

"Rose?" Both sisters were incredibly concerned by her reaction but it was Irina who spoke.

"She promised, she promised this wouldn't happen but I knew. I fucking knew it!" The blonde whimpered in such an uncharacteristic show of emotion that Tanya was by her side in a second.

"Who promised Rose? What are you talking about?" The elder blonde didn't touch the young one but knelt next to her.

"Kate! Kate promised me," was the only response she got.

"I don't know what you mean honey," Tanya was confused, Irina too as she watched from the bed, now Rose was upset it was taking all her efforts to keep Bella under.

"Kate promised that Bella would never leave me," the elders frowned at that.

"Why would Bella ever leave you? She loves you." Tanya reassured the distraught youngling, frowning as she exchanged a look with her sister.

"She loves me?" Rose snorted. She's my true mate?" Tanya nodded an affirmative to both questions. "Then why is she so jealous of Victoria being with you. With Kate? Only a mate's bond causes that kind of reaction!" She snarled and lashed out with a fist, crashing through the plaster until her hand met stone. Both elders were startled by the action. Rose was the calm one, this was seriously out of character but they could now see the young blonde's issue. Bella's too.

"There was a chance this might happen," Irina began with a sigh. Rose turned black eyes on her coven mate, her fangs showing as she curled her lip in a snarl.

"And still you welcome her into our home?" She roared as she leapt to her feet and began to pace at the foot of the bed, flashing frequent glances at her mate.

"It's -," Irina began. "It's complicated. We didn't' know until we-." Tanya paused.

"Until you fucked?" Rose filled in the blanks with another snarl.

"Rose!" Tanya stood and stared down her charge, conveying her full status as Alpha and Rose growled but dropped her eyes, too upset to bother challenging her. "We didn't know before that. Listen, I'd rather Kate were here to explain to you but you must promise me you'll listen until I'm finished, then you may ask questions." Rose agreed reluctantly, only a curt nod but stayed silent, her eyes fixed on her leader.

"When you first arrived and began to train with Kate she sensed your bond, that you and Bella were linked?" Rose nodded, not seeing where this was going. "She also sensed that you were destined to be mates but allowed you to find your own way through your insecurities." A pause and another nod from Rose. "What she also sensed was that your bond was possibly bigger than just the two of you, that there was maybe a third party that would join you but she couldn't be sure. I agreed with her on the possibility but we had no sense as to which vampire it could be, there was a chance that they had not yet been created, just as Bella was meant to be with you when she was turned." This was confusing Rose but she was intrigued.

"Today certain things became clear, she, Victoria is very similar to you but we did not know this before," Tanya paused and Irina continued the conversation.

"When we first sensed your bond, there was an element that was unaccounted for, we had a sense of it but nothing more, it was a wilder element that was missing. You bring the fire, Bella is still young but also has an incredible strength, both physically and mentally strong and the other element was almost intangible. After what we experienced with her I suspect that Victoria is the missing piece, the air if you will, the wild spirit to bind you together." Rose was speechless, she couldn't comprehend what she was hearing. "I realise it's a lot, especially for you Rose." Rose nodded at the truth of there words. "Bella is younger and still extremely base, we know she has recognised the attraction but seeing her potential mate lying with another vampire must have set off her most primal instincts to make her lose control like that." The words left Rose cold but she did as she was asked and listened.

"Do you feel anything, for Victoria?" Irina questioned softly, sensing the younger vampire was extremely close to shutting down, to shutting them out. Rose shrugged, the vampire was beautiful but she was too focused on Bella's interaction with the red-head to analyse her own feelings.

"But, Victoria is not yet aware of this, she came to see Irina but I doubt that is the true reason for her visit if she realises it or not. When they are all fully recovered we will talk." Rose nodded, she would need the time to process her own feelings.

xxx

Victoria came round slowly, stretching languidly, freezing as she encountered another body in the bed. She cracked an eye and blinked as she encountered Kate's body lying next to her, her movements had disturbed the blonde who opened her eyes and they stared at each other in silence. This was the part Victoria hated, her nomadic lifestyle allowing her to leave when she wanted but last night the sisters had dosed her with so much love and calming pheromones she had had no choice but to remain and now she was alone with her pet.

"I must say you're a highly skilled lover," Kate purred as she stretched out next to the red-head, her satisfied smile belying the languid state of her body. Victoria smirked at the comment, glad to see there was no awkwardness between them.

"Thank you, I must admit being with you and your sisters is a unique experience," the nomad completed her stretch, flinching slightly as as a firm body was pressed against her and a kiss placed on her cheek.

"Any time you feel like doing that again, let me know. Although I may be fighting my sisters for you, they were very impressed with your control," Kate purred. The compliment startled the nomad, she had anticipated the sisters at least trying to intervene in their activities but not that they would wish to participate on their own. "I can see why Irina has befriended you, talents such as your are hard to find. Most vampyre tend to the more violent, destructive games or those based on the sacrifice of humans but they require no skill."

"I agree," Victoria murmured, her experiences had been the same which is why she cherished her contacts with Irina.

"Maybe you will visit more often now?" Kate enquired as she ghosted her lips over the red-head's shoulder.

"Maybe," the answer was non-committal but the nomad thought that she may seriously consider the suggestion. "I need to hunt," Victoria announced and left the bed, Kate watched her lithe body stretch again before searching around for something to wear, her panties were no use to anyone.

"There are robes in the bathroom, feel free to use the shower. All we ask is that you do not hunt close to home," she reminded their guest, actually surprised that she needed to feed again but not questioning the red-head's reasoning. In fact the nomad just needed space and time to review her recent experiences.

"I would like to thank you for our time together," the red-head's words caught Kate by surprise, "it was very satisfying," she confirmed with a nod followed by a genuine smile. "You surprised me, in a good way. I didn't think I would feel as much for you as I do." At that she turned and entered the bathroom and Kate heard the shower turn on.

She rolled onto her back and surveyed the ceiling as she ran over the night in her head and especially Victoria's confession. She knew the words hadn't been said lightly and she was, she didn't quite know how she felt about it. Last night she would have done anything to please their guest, she had felt an intense connection to her Mistress and was glad that it meant something to Victoria, even when the playing had come to an end. Kate could really see what her Irina saw in the nomad and hoped she would become a more permanent fixture.

But, if what they suspected was true, after Victoria's demonstration of power during their encounter, then she would but would be with Bella and Rose and not free to indugle her sexuality as she chose. This could get complicated, she sighed and was distracted when the nomad appeared from the bathroom, towelling her hair dry.

"Feeling lazy?" Victoria questioned as she saw Kate still lounging on the bed.

"Extremely well fucked," Kate smirked, drawing a smile from the red-head.

"Glad to hear it," Victoria purred just as there was a knock on the door and Irina poked her head inside the room.

"We have a problem," she announced, slipping inside and closing the door behind her. Kate sat up, not bothering to cover her naked body, they had seen it all before, vampires cared little for modesty.

"What's wrong?" Kate asked her sister who sighed and rolled her eyes.

"What's right?" She snorted and flopped down onto the bed next to her sister. "The young ones are back and not happy. Tanya is with them but they are not calm."

"I will leave," Victoria announced, sensing she was in the middle of a family drama.

"Oh no you won't!" Irina countered. "You're in the middle of this whether you like it or not," she sighed again.

"What are you talking about?" Victoria saw understanding dawn on Kate's face.

"Fuck! I didn't expect them to be back so soon. We needed more time!" She growled and the red-head remained confused.

"Well, we're all out when Bella saw us together earlier," Kate's eyes went wide as Irina spoke. "She completely lost control, it took Tanya and myself to calm her down. Tan says she's never ever been that bad. Rose was already upset about," she paused.

"We need to talk before you see them," Irina addressed her friend.

"Talk, about what? I am not a part of this coven, do not involve me in your problems," Victoria growled.

"Please? Just listen, it's important," Irina pleaded and Victoria huffed before nodding her agreement.

"Get dressed and meet us in the living room, we will talk and I will explain what's going on. Kate, Get showered, I can't have you smelling like that around them," Irina instructed her sister before leaving them alone.

"You know what this is about?" Kate shrugged at the nomad's question. "Somewhat," she replied. "But I had no idea the younglings had returned or why they are upset."

"I will dress and listen," Victoria confirmed before leaving the room. It was with some trepidation that the red-head entered the living area of the Denali's home, the sisters were already present, Kate must have showered at vampire speed to have beaten her downstairs. "What's going on. Why do you need me?" She questioned bluntly, she was not comfortable with the situation at all and was itching to leave, she still needed to hunt. "Irina?" She turned to her friend for an explanation, the Denali sighed as she observed her friend, she was agitated and ready to leave but they had to explain before she bolted.

"Ok, I need you to listen and not leave until I finish. Please?" Victoria nodded, although she had a bad feeling. "So, you are aware of my sister's powers?" The nomad nodded, having experienced them several times in the past. "Well, we were taught those skills by our 'mother' and we have taught those same skills to Bella and Rosalie as we have found they share our aptitude and share a similar bond with each other." Victoria absorbed this information without speaking, simply nodded for her friend to continue. "We were not expecting this, it was discovered by accident when we were demonstrating our powers to them on their arrival here. " So far so good, the youngest sister thought, Victoria was on edge but listening, head cocked, so she continued.

"Kate sensed their bond and that the likelihood that they would mate was high." The nomad nodded and gestured for her friend to continue. "What Kate also sensed and Tanya and I agreed, was that there was the strong possibility that their bond was likely to include another. We think their third bond mate is you." Irina finished and waited for a response from the red-head.

Victoria was stunned to silence. Her? She didn't want to be tied down, she didn't want responsibility, she didn't want to be answerable to others.

"No." It was a flat out rejection of the possibility and the sisters exchanged an anxious look. "You can't just select a random vampire and tie them to you," she growled. "I'm leaving." She started towards the front door.

"Wait! Please!" Irina sounded desperate and it was only their many centuries of friendship that stopped the nomad from leaving. She turned, muscles tensed.

"So?" She growled, waiting for some kind of explanation as to why she shouldn't just leave and it was Irina, as her friend, who took it upon herself.

"Listen, it's not just random, we aren't telling you this without good reason," Irina began. "Last night, when you commanded Kate, it affected us all." Victoria nodded, she'd been surprised but accepted it due to the sisters bond. "You shouldn't be able to do that, not to any of us. We think what you did works because we share a similar bond and that when you use your power it's tapping into the same source as Bella and Rose use." Victoria frowned at this piece of information.

"And Bella -," Tanya began.

"What about Bella?" The nomad questioned, strangely concerned about the newborn, her reaction caused the sisters to exchange swift glances. "Well, she completely lost control when she saw you with Kate after she returned." Victoria frowned at the information.

"She sees you as her mate," Irina added softly. and watched utter shock cross the nomad's face. "Rose is another matter, she needed time to accept Bella but you need to talk to her, Bella too." It was all too much for the nomad who roared her rejection of the whole situation and fled, leaving three stunned vampires behind.

Xxxxx

Next on Crimson Bonds

"What of the younglings?" Kate asked another important question.

"What of us?" Rose growled from the stairs, the sisters had made no effort to hide their conversation as it affected them all.

"You heard?" Rose nodded a reply to Tanya's question. "Where's Bella?" She continued, wanting to check up on the newborn.

"Still pretty out of it but she's coming round," Rose grudgingly responded.