It's been too long, I know. I certainly haven't abandoned this or The Collar, just been too busy and tired in my free time to give the stories the attention they need. Here is the next chapter and The Collar will also be posted very soon as the next chapter is almost ready.

Thank you to all of those who have been chasing me for this or asking if I have disappeared off the face of the planet. As you can see I have not but I appreciate you getting in touch.

This chapter covered what I needed but some other elements found themselves in there so please comment and let me know what you think about it as a whole as I do take on board your opinions.

Enjoy xx

xxxxx

"Tell me about yourselves?" Victoria entreated, curious to learn as much about her mates as she could. These beautiful vampires who had accepted her without question, despite her bloody past.

"I don't have much to say," Bella chuckled. "Newborn!" She pointed her thumb at her chest in self-deprecation.

"Yes, but do you have family that still live?" Victoria questioned and sat straighter, extremely intrigued by the possibility.

"Yeah, I do." Bella smiled. "My mom lives in Phoenix so I haven't seen her yet but I, we went to see my dad, that was cool," the brunette smiled and it was mirrored by her mates.

"I have descendants still living in New York," Rose added. "My sister's family," she clarified with a sad smile. Victoria nodded and flexed her arm around the young blonde, a tacit gesture of comfort for the sadness she detected.

"Bella, the small one, Alice, is your maker?" Victoria screwed her nose up as she questioned the fact that she had learned the day she mated with the brunette.

"Yeah," Bella sighed and began to fidget with the nomad's fingers where they were intertwined with her own. "She turned me because Edward couldn't," the newborn growled softly. "He didn't have enough control, so Alice stepped in," she explained.

"They had a strong bond, until Alice rejected her," Rose sniffed, still unforgiving of her sister's behaviour. "She chose her husband despite mating with Bella after her first blood." Victoria's eyes widened, that was in effect a mating ritual, the maker claiming its creation. Rose and Bella were startled when they red-head began to vibrate, so intense were the growls emanating from her chest.

"I know," Rose rested her hand on her mate's chest in an attempt to settle the powerful creature. She didn't think she would go after Alice but one never knew, Victoria was still too much of an unknown to predict what she might do. "But, I came to realise that Bella was meant for me, for us," she corrected herself with a smile. "It was hard for her but we grew closer and with Tanya and Kate's help she learned control and our bond formed. To be honest, I was always jealous of the way you used to follow Alice around," Rose grumbled at the brunette who dropped her eyes in embarrassment.

"It's a difficult bond to break," Victoria murmured.

"Or not," Rose snorted which raised red brows in question but the blonde shook her head, regretting the comment. Victoria was sensitive enough no to push it and had questions of her own.

"If you were being given the choice to be turned, why were you changed so young?" She asked, not understanding. Bella was only just old enough to be able to pass through the modern world without being challenged by it's authorities. Why hadn't she waited?

"The Volturi," Rose whispered. "They demanded that she be changed by her 20th birthday-,"

"Or killed," Bella finished just as softly. Victoria absorbed their words and was silent for a long time.

"Then the right thing was done," she eventually spoke. "You are young but better than dead," she added pragmatically and Rose let out a bark of laughter.

"Gee, thanks," Bella rolled her eyes.

"I for one very much enjoy the way you look," Victoria added with a shrug that had both her mates focusing on the purr in her voice.

"I, um , you're, um -," Bella immediately became tongue tied and her human self would have been blushing deeply as she stumbled over her words.

"What Bella is trying to say," Rose kindly stepped in, "is that you are very beautiful and we are both looking forward to progressing the physical side of our relationship with you."

"Yes! That!" Bella added emphatically causing Rose to chuckle but it seemed it was Victoria's turn to become shy.

"I -, I would like that very much," the red-head confirmed with a nod of her head, hair bouncing as she did so.

"But Bella was such an awkward human," Rose sat up as she spoke as she broke the tension the statement had caused, knowing that they were not quite yet in a position to take that step. She had crossed her legs but was still in contact with Victoria, her thigh pressed against the nomad's.

"She was?" What Rose thought was an adorable blink followed as Victoria expressed her confusion.

"Yes, I was so clumsy and shy," Bella admitted, rolling her eyes as spoke.

"I find that very hard to believe, usually a vampire's poise and gracefulness is enhanced by the change but certain attributes are nearly always present for one to be selected for turning," Victoria reasoned.

"Not me," Bella snorted. "I had trouble walking in a straight line."

"But now you are so powerful, how -?" Victoria was truly baffled, she knew the newborn to be fun-loving and to have such inner strength.

"Come back with us and we can show you?" Rose suggested, hoping that the time time their mate had spent away from them would enable Victoria to stay with them for at least a short time before the hustle and bustle of the Denali house got too much for her.

"Rose!" Bella grumbled, knowing what the blonde had in mind.

"Please?" Rose pouted and Victoria was helpless before her, no amount of blinking could toughen up her heart to the look her mate was giving her.

"Then I will," Victoria agreed, "but first I would like to know how you became a vampire," she asked innocently, totally unprepared for the change in mood her words wrought.

"Rose," Bella whispered and reached to hold the blonde's hand. Rose herself had shut down at the question but her unmistakeable distress was resonating through their bond. As soon as she sensed this Victoria was on her knees facing the blonde, biting her lip as she anxiously searched Rose's face for any sign of why she was so upset.

"You didn't know," Bella smiled softly at the red-head, reaching out to cup her cheek with the hand that wasn't holding Rose's. "She'll tell you when she's ready." Victoria nodded but even the love and comfort Bella was projecting as she tried to sooth her mates was not relieving the anxiety she was feeling.

This is what she had been worried about. Hurting the ones she loved due to her inexperience of interacting with others on such an intimate level. She bounced up into a crouch, leaning forward so she could scent Rose, fear, Rose was afraid. The knowledge caused a whine to escape, Bella watched as the nomad leaned closer to the blonde, wanting to offer physical comfort but not knowing how.

"It's Ok," Bella encouraged and at her words Victoria gave into her urges and nuzzled against Rose's neck, lightly brushing the sensitive skin there with her nose and cheek, whining softly as she did. The contact snapped Rose from her self-pitying reverie and she reached up to hold Victoria to her, fingers tangling in soft, thick hair as she massaged the nomad's scalp.

"Sssssshh," Rose murmured. "I'm sorry." Victoria pulled back as the blonde spoke, her natural strength unheeding of her mate's grip. "It was violent and I wanted to die, not be re-born this way with all of my memories still intact." Victoria listened intently, her eyes locked on the golden ones of her mate. "I was changed against my will to be Edward's mate, no thought given to the trauma I had suffered, the cause of my death. I wanted a family, children, not this," Rose explained. "Both you and Bella thrive as vampires, I did not until I found Emmett, he has made my life bearable up to the point Bella was turned. Until then I felt as though I didn't fit, except with him." Rose felt the rise of possessive indignation flow from both her mates.

"Enough!" The snarl and unexpected burst of movement startled Victoria and Bella as Rose shot to her feet, glaring at them both, fists clenched by her sides, fangs prominent. "He saved me, if it weren't for Emmett I would have died a second death long before now!" The backlash of her ire hitting her mates hard. "I will Not tolerate any disrespect of Emmett from either of you, do you understand?" Victoria whimpered, so profoundly affected by the blonde's anger, unable to prevent it surging through the bond she shared with Rose that it incapacitated her. It physically hurt and she scrambled away, falling back on her hands.

"No!" Bella cried out as she felt the pain Rose was causing Victoria and pushed back against the blonde, with love, not fear or anger, trying to smother her influence and protect Victoria. "STOP!"

It was only then Rose realised what she had been doing, Bella's alpha command had not swayed her but the force with which it had been delivered had cut through her own pain and anger. Not at the actions of her mates, from those that had wronged her but she had misdirected ot towards those who cared for her. Those who loved her.

When the emotions died down Victoria felt exhausted and with a groan she fell back onto the ground.

"Shit!" Rose cursed as she blurred over to the prone vampire, dropping to her knees by her side. "Hey," she hovered over the red-head, anxiously trying to see if she had done any lasting harm and then the guilt started to build up in the bond. Another whimper from Victoria and Rose realised she was doing it again and threw her shield up, limiting the emotions to a dull murmur. "Fuck!" she cursed again and Bella stepped forward to rest a hand on her shoulder.

"It's Ok, she doesn't know how to shield is all," the newborn reassured the blonde as she studied the red-head on the ground. "Are you Ok? I'm sorry, we should have thought of this," Bella sighed as she bit her lip, the nomad looked a little dazed as her black eyes looked back at them. Rose leant closer, cupping Victoria's cheek as she caressed the perfectly unblemished skin under her thumb, stroking until it met plump lips. Bella watched as her two mates locked eyes, there was no fear in Victoria's eyes now, only love and the newborn relaxed. This hadn't gone as planned, at all.

Victoria was slowly regaining her wits and although she felt as though she had fought a hundred vampires Rose's gentle touch was enormously pleasurable. And soft, so soft. Rose giggled when Victoria let out a very content purr and stretched out on the ground, settling herself in a much more relaxed position.

"I'm so sorry, one day I will tell you what happened but I really don't want to go there today," Rose apologised with a sigh, head dropping to rest on Victoria's, the nomad totally relaxed underneath her. "I'm so sorry for hurting you. I love you and -!" Her words were cut off by a needy mouth as it covered the blonde's, strong fingers clasping the back of Rose's neck, preventing her escape.

Victoria had become dazzled by the beauties she was staring up at, so much so that it was an unconscious move that pulled the nearest one down to her mouth. She wanted to taste that beauty, wrap herself in it to numb the residual ache that was left from the earlier barrage of negative emotion. As soft lips pressed against her own she couldn't help but let her teeth graze the sensitive skin she found there, the sensation amplified by her teeth and making her groan with pleasure. Rose took the hint and once she had recovered from her shock she melted into the kiss, following Victoria's lead but paying special attention to the older vampire's fangs. A roll and Rose found herself under the red-head but she was certainly not complaining as the kiss cane to a natural end, both vampires dark-eyed and aroused.

Bella stood above them, head cocked as she watched her mates interact as she basked in the vibes of aroused contentment that radiated back to her. This is how things should be, her beast rumbled, sending it's approval back through the bond to her mates, completing the circle.

When the kiss broke she waited, needing to see that both Rose and Victoria were settled and calm again. She was young, no longer naïve, and knew that their relationship was likely to take some getting used to, by all three of them. Throwing such strong personalities and chequered pasts together was an incendiary combination and clashes were likely, if not unwelcomed by the trio.

"We have a proposition for you," Bella spoke when she knew her mates were calm but her words were directed to Victoria. The nomad rolled off Rose and sat up, the blonde shifting so she could rest her head on Victoria's outstretched legs. The action took the red-head by surprise but the pleased smile that graced her beautiful face and similar look on Rose's was heart-warming to the newborn who was observing their actions.

"We have a lot to learn about each other, Rose and I had years to do this," Bella explained to Victoria who nodded her acknowledgement of the fact. "Well, you see Rose and I thought -," she tapered off, biting her lip as she thought of the best way to continue. "We -."

"We want to date you," Rose butted in when she saw Bella struggling, words were still not the newborn's strong point.

"What?" Victoria was confused. "What do you mean by 'date' we are already one, are we not?" Rose took pity on her unsocialised mate and continued her explanation.

"We want you to have the time to get to know us, slowly so that things like today can be avoided. " she paused. "We should have realised that you have no shield against us as yet, it can be easily taught," the blonde quickly reassured the nomad. "But, what makes us who we are cannot be learned in a day. Even the baby newborn has depth," she teased Bella who kicked out and tapped Rose on the calf with her sneaker. ""We, Bella and I, thought that getting to know us one on one might be easier than all this, all the time, until you're more conformable with the situation?"

Victoria took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of her mates and the forest around her and gave the proposition some thought.

"What is a date?" She asked, unfamiliar with the term and possible protocol surrounding it.

"Oh, um," Bella looked at Rose, they hadn't considered that the concept would be an unknown to their mate. "A date is where two people spend time together to get to know one another before committing to a relationship, or even after they have in order to enjoy each other's company," she clarified at the mild look of bemusement that had appeared on the older vampires face.

"But why?" A shrug as the concept escaped the red-head. "I love you and we will be together," another shrug as she stated the irrefutable fact.

"Yes, but you should know us as Bella and Rosalie, not only as your mates, we are more than that, as are you," Rose added. "It will allow us to focus on you and you on us but if you don't want to -"

"No!" Victoria blurted. "I do, please? I just -. I do not know how to behave, socially," she confirmed sadly. "I want to take care of you the way you deserve but some things are new to me, I don't understand," she finished pathetically and it broke the younger vampire's hearts to see their strong bond-mate reduced to such insecurities.

"We will help you and through us you will be introduced into the modern world," Rose reassured the red-head, smiling up at her.

"Yes! There is so much cool stuff I want to show you!" Bella was practically vibrating with excitement at the thought of sharing such things with Victoria.

"We both have our own interests we would like to share and in turn learn about yours. It will give us time to adjust to each other's personalities but you are also free to spend time with one or both of us whenever you want," Rose explained. "There is no place for jealousy in the bond, we both want to help you to adjust and not do expect this to work perfectly from the start."

"And of course you are welcome at home, the house I mean, whenever you want," Bella added, toeing the ground shyly.

Victoria took another deep breath as she considered what they had said. It all seemed like a good idea, take things slowly and give her a period to adjust. Her mates waited quietly as the red-head was silent.

"I agree," she eventually stated after weighing up her options. "I accept your proposal," she answered with a smile.

"Cool!" Bella exclaimed as she bounced into the air, throwing a fist-pump as she did.

"Oh little one!" Victoria laughed. "My company is not so valuable as to warrant that level of excitement!" she teased.

"I beg to differ," Rose sat up and threw the red-head a wink. "It's exhilarating." Victoria baulked at the sexy burr thrown her way by the blonde. "I can't wait for my turn," leaving Victoria wondering what on earth she was getting into.

Xxxxxx

Next on Crimson Bonds

"Why the hell are you moping around?" Kate questioned the young blonde as she threw herself down on her favourite couch, the one she and Bella favoured that is.

"She's missing hot vamp one and two," Irina chuckled only to have a growl and a pillow thrown at her.

"Oh, it's date night isn't it?" Kate realised, grinning. "They'll be back before you know it. Well, Bella will." Rose just scowled, not liking the fact that Victoria rarely spent more than a few hours in the house at a time but understanding why it must be so hard for her mate.

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