Yes, it's finally here! Not sure why this one gave me so much trouble but it did. I know it is likely to stir up some comments but they are always welcome.

I also wrote half the next chapter today and it's flowing so much easier so will post it asap. Help keep me on track with those wonderful things called reviews ;)

Oh, not safe for work!

xxxxx

Bella had been anticipating Victoria's arrival. So unsettled that Rose had grumbled and told her to wait on the edge of the forest so that is where she had been for the last half a day.

It was after midday and Bella was getting worried. What if she didn't come? A sigh and after a disgruntled kick at the ground the newborn jumped up and caught a branch, swinging up and jumping onto the limb above.

"Fuck!" She swore as she came face to face with a red-headed tree beast, hanging upside down and grinning at her mate as her mane swung free.

"Greetings," Victoria spoke before spinning effortlessly on the branch and righting herself.

"You scared the crap out of me," Bella scowled as they sat face to face, each dangling legs from a different part of the tree.

"I am good at hiding," a shrug had the newborn smiling at the casual arrogance of her mate. It was a quality the brunette found very attractive.

"Hunt with me?" Bella questioned, her blood lust rising as she locked eyes with the nomad, all plans she may have had being replaced by the excitement of a potential hunt.

"I shall, but you will pick the prey," Victoria countered. Bella agreed with a shrug and took off through the forest as fast as her newborn speed could take her towards the city. Victoria was thrilled by the outcome of their meeting and the chase that followed. Bella was fast but she was faster, the nomad hot on the heels of her mate, never overtaking but her presence so close it spurred Bella on. Having Victoria all but chase her excited the newborn's baser instincts and they arrived at the edge of the city dark eyed and in search of blood.

The nomad followed her mate across the roof-tops, and allowed herself to observe Bella in action with nothing short of admiration, the brunette's senses extended as she quested for a suitable victim.

So young but so controlled and so sure. Every motion smooth and fierce, except where is came to herself it seemed. Victoria knew that she intimidated the newborn but did not wish it to be so. Tonight she was becoming more relaxed but there was still a stiffness that wasn't present in Isabella's interactions with Rose. However, the night was still young, the red-head mused as she inhaled the scent of her mate and the sordid humanity she had sought out. There was time yet.

After reaching the edge of the down-town area of the city Bella paused and extended her senses, hearing raised voices she slipped silently over the rooftops, she had located a potential victim. The young brunette crouched down on the edge of the roof and waited. Infallible eyes observing his actions, instinct confirmed when she saw him taking money from a young woman.

"You select him?" The words breathed upon the newborns neck causing a shiver to run down Bella's spine, the air feeling warm against her skin as Victoria appeared behind her, the close proximity unnerving the newborn.

"I do, he sells women for sex," Bella growled, disgusted by such men.

"Then he is a worthy target," Victoria agreed, leaning in and scenting her mate's neck before grazing it with her fangs. Bella growled at the contact, momentarily distracted from her hunt.

Victoria stayed crouched on the roof as Bella turned, an appraising look on her face, one that the red-head returned, excited by the newborn's predatorial visage. Seeing Isabella's eyes black and her teeth elongated aroused the nomad, seeing her mate so base and primal was intoxicating and it called to her own beast. She watched as the newborn jumped down into an alley behind her prey and the red-head had no trouble hearing her mate call out to the man, easily luring him into the darkened corner.

"Hey there, pretty lady," the man said as he approached. His lame comment earned him a beckoning finger which he followed with a leer and swagger as he stepped towards his death. Bella wasted no time in taking her chosen meal further into the alley, fisting his shirt and casually tossing him against the farthest wall and stunning him with the impact.

Bella stalked towards the man who was now scrambling on the ground, desperate to get away from her, conscious enough to be wary. But, she took her time, mimicking his swagger as she approached him as he sat propped against the garbage stained wall. The nomad tracked her mate, staying on the roof but edging closer to the newborn as she played with her food. This was a side of the youngling that Victoria had not seen before, one of a calculated killer, and it opened up a world of questions for the older vampire.

A pounce and a snarl and Bella was on him, yanking the man to his feet and letting him struggle and scream, she bit into his throat as he thrashed against her unyielding body. Truth be told Bella had felt Victoria's excitement and arousal peak as she had stalked the man and was giving her mate a little show. The killing was natural to her, when alone or with Rose she fed quickly and cleanly but this was different. Victoria was different.

Victoria watched as her mate fed, her eyes fixed on the ecstatic expression as Bella drank, she could see where her lips met his flesh, hear each pull and sigh as she swallowed.

"Drink," the word was guttural and lisped with the newborn's teeth still fully elongated but her intent was clear, Bella had pulled back to give the red-head access to her meal as she looked up to the roof-line where the the ancient was now perched, directly above her. Victoria took no coercing, dropping down to the ground silently and stepping up to the newborn, an arm slid around her waist, pulling their bodies together as she dipped her head. Human skin tore effortlessly as the vampire bit down on the opposite side of his neck, a shudder passing through her as the first tang hit her tongue. The first taste was always the best.

Bella felt it when Victoria joined her feed. They were connected through the blood and through their bond. He was nearly dead, heartbeat sluggish and all fight gone, Bella pulled back and her mate followed suit.

"Come, we must hide the body," Bella nodded and Victoria led the way back towards the forest. A short run and they were deep in the trees but still many miles from the Denali house.

Victoria held the man loosely by his neck, dangling, blood still pumping sluggishly from the wound Bella's bite had inflicted. The nomad took her thumb and swiped it through the hot blood before tossing him to the ground. Bella froze as strong fingers captured her jaw, holding her in an iron grip but she didn't flinch as her mate reached up and swiped the digit across her forehead then each cheek before releasing her.

They stood with the body between them, broken and contorted on the grass. Neither cared what they had done to him, he was expendable, just another human given in to greed. Bella was curious to know how Victoria had marked her but it could wait. A snap of her wrist and she had the man back in her grasp, holding the barley living creature out to her mate in offering.

"No, you drink. I did not need to feed," Victoria acknowledged the gesture but remained practical. Bella shrugged and casually revisited her mate's bite, tasting the nomad's venom still coating the wound. A couple of strong pulls and the man was dead.

"There are wolves close by," Victoria commented as she stood, observing her now satiated mate. Bella's skin held more colour and her eyes were redder, brighter than a mature vampire's would be after feeding as she stood in blood soaked clothes. It was easy to forget how new the brunette was to this vampiric life but moments like these were a marvel to the ancient, reminding her how truly impressive this young one was. Her young one.

The thought ignited Victoria's possessive instinct and she lunged at Bella, crashing her lips against the newborn's and losing her fingers in soft brunette locks. Bella was taken aback by the ancient's speed of action but when she was kissed so fiercely she did not object, instead returned the pressure of the kiss and her hands found slender hips. Victoria sighed when the newborn slid her fingers into the waistband of her khakis and thumbs stroked her hipbones as Bella relaxed against her, they were similar heights, the red-head a little taller but she was not as tall as Rosalie.

Bella was buzzing, from her feed but mostly from Victoria herself. The blood had heightened her senses and boosted her confidence. She was aroused and no longer felt intimidated by her newest mate, especially the way the red-head's tongue was exploring her mouth. Bella's instincts took over and she surged forward, pushing the nomad up against the nearest tree, the force of her action sounding a crack as the trunk was stressed by the impact.

Victoria allowed this, to be honest it had been only Rosalie that she had ever submitted to before now, completely that is and not just for sexual pleasure as Irina had been given that honour. It didn't matter now though, not when she had Isabella's hot, tight body pressed against her and she could feel every minute movement the newborn made.

Bella was relishing the surrender, she knew it was by choice not force that she was being given control but she was making the most of it while it was being granted. Hands roamed, exploring dips and curves, massaging, pinching and scratching as she went. The sounds Victoria was making encouraged her to be bolder, to slip those hands under cloth to find the smooth perfection beneath. The nomad was enjoying the attention very much, the newborn was fiery and strong and it was nice to be on the receiving end of such passion. Her time with the Denali sisters had been about power and control, not this. She was unwilling to put a name to the emotion she experienced when she thought of Rosalie or young Isabella but her heart knew.

"Gods, I want -," Bella moaned into the kiss. "Fuck," a shove and she was on her back, skidding across the clearing, only coming to a stop when she hit the corpse of their kill. Before she had registered what was happening Victoria was on her, straddling her hips and pinning the newborn to the ground, the red-head looking down on her. If Bella didn't know better she would have been scared by the fierce creature above her, teeth bared and skin smeared with blood, wicked glint in her crimson eyes. As it was Bella was excited, curious but excited, she could feel Victoria's arousal through their bond, pulsing in time with the throb in her sex.

Victoria scented the air and stretched her neck in a leisurely roll, lips curling in a smirk when she detected her mate's arousal, when coupled with the recently spilled blood it was a heady combination. Hands grabbed possessively at her hips and the red-head rolled her own in response to the action, bucking up in an effort to increase the contact.

"You are exquisite," the nomad purred as she bent to sniff at the newborn's neck, Bella freezing as she felt Victoria's nose nudge her jaw, encouraging her to tilt her head further to the side which she did, exposing her neck fully for her mate's attentions. Victoria had already marked Bella when they had completed their mating bond and now she played with the invisible scar with the tip of her tongue. On one hand she was pleased that Bella only carried three marks, on the other she was enraged that one belonged to another. It was something she had yet to come to terms with, even if the small one was responsible for creating one of her mates.

The nomad ignored Rosalie's mark, that had a right to be there, instead she zeroed in on the one called Alice's and with a growl pierced her mate's marble skin, teeth sinking smoothly inside Bella's neck, the newborn mewling with pleasure as Victoria took the first pull. Although she was loving the attention Bella had submitted until now, submitted because she was still wary of the ancient, now her confidence had grown she wasn't going to be compliant any longer.

With a flip and a growl Bella rolled them over, Victoria still embedded in her neck, now that the red-head was underneath the newborn Bella teased her neck with the tip of her tongue, aiming her bite just below Rose's mark. As she entered the ancient's neck Victoria tensed under her mate, this was something she hadn't known she had been waiting for but now that Bella's fangs were slowly sinking into her it was all she could focus on as she was pierced with white heat. Bella felt it too, felt what Victoria was feeling and it only intensified the moment for both of them as their bond resonated with the unique combination of their chi. This was different from what either of them had felt with Rose, different but still incomplete without her presence.

Bella felt her passion rise even though Rose was missing, the human blood pumping round her body and that of her mate was a heady combination and she couldn't help but grind down against the ancient under her. Victoria was also caught up in feeling, she was past thought so when she felt the pressure on her sex she wanted more, hips bucking up against Bella in an attempt to increase the contact. When Bella felt legs wrap around her waist and Victoria's arousal spike she began to rock against the other vampire until they were full on rutting, driving each other on, laying in a pool of blood spilled from the corpse.

Victoria had never felt anything like it, she was able to feel Bella's climax approach as well as her own, she knew exactly what the newborn needed to push her over, just as Bella knew what she needed, the newborn quickly switching the position of their legs to improve the angle so they were now riding the others strong thigh. Hips thrusting at inhuman speed they came together, jaws and sex clenching as they lost themselves in their bond.

Xxx

Next on Crimson Bonds

"Fuck!" Rose's cry startled the Denali's who had been relaxing in the living room whilst Rose had retreated to the room she shared with Bella.

"Should we check?" Irina sniffed, directing her question to Tanya, the most neutral party where the younglings and Victoria were concerned. The eldest sister paused and reached out to the young blonde via her chi.