A/N: Worship! I want worship! Worship and reviews! I don't know how I did it, but I (technically) wrote three chapters in three days and I want to be rewarded for my awesomeness in doing so. Not only that, but I actually wrote a lot every time! Seriously, I don't know how I ended up on this roll as I'm still struggling with writer's block, but it happened, and here we are. I love the roll I'm on, and you must love it too. If you don't, I'll do something to make you regret it. Something evil! Yes, that's right, be afraid! My wrath is super scary!
Chapter 18
Bella watched, wide eyed, as Rosalie came at Kate with intent to kill. Not the fake intent Kate had used on Bella earlier, oh no. This intent was real, Rosalie's entire body vibrated with murderous intent, and Bella could feel how seriously Rosalie wanted Kate to suffer. Bella knew she should intervene, but every instinct in her screamed not to go against Rosalie. That somehow, putting herself between Kate and Rosalie would make everything worse.
Weren't they supposed to be cousins? Bella was pretty sure vamps only picked family based on who they got along with, but Rosalie definitely didn't seem to get along with Kate at all. At least, not in the moment.
How could someone so murderous also look so hot? Damn it, being away from Rosalie for so long had definitely gotten to her. Bella was stuck, frozen to the spot out of worry and lust, and it was pathetic.
"Uh, Irina, a little help here?" Kate called to her sister as she narrowly dodged Rosalie's clawed hand, which had been aimed at Kate's face. The younger vampire totally wasn't kidding around, huh?
Irina snorted, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back against a tree. "I told you not to fight the wolf, this is your problem. I refuse to get involved."
"But I can't even fight back!" Kate complained, dodging the infuriated younger vampire once again. "You know Tanya will have my head if I hurt her, there's no way to end this."
"Don't worry, sister," Irina said sweetly. "I'll at least make sure that Rosalie won't permanently kill you."
"Oh, how reassuring," Kate said with a roll of her eyes. "Really, Irina, the amount of love you have for me never ceases to amaze me." Kate flipped over Rosalie when Rosalie lunged at her, taking a second to glance over at the still frozen wolf. "Come on, Bella, help-"
"How fucking dare you say her name?" Rosalie snarled. She appeared to work herself up into an even angrier frenzy, and suddenly Kate had to focus all of her attention on dodging. Who would have guessed Rosalie would become so infuriated just from hearing Kate say Bella's name?
Fuck. Bella was going to have to intervene after all, wasn't she? She knew she was going to pay for this later, one way or another, but she got up with an annoyed grumble anyway.
"Bella are you alright?" Jared asked, and Bella realized with dread that her pack had arrived. Thankfully, they stayed on their side of the border. Bella hadn't broken any rules by being on this part of the Cullen territory; it was the only way to get back to La Push territory from Forks hospital, and as Charlie was in said hospital, Bella technically had reason to be here. However, none of the other wolves had any excuse for crossing the border, and if they did, Bella knew it would be another shitstorm with the Elders.
All of the wolves had some mix of emotions swirling inside of them; from worry, rage, and fear. Mostly, they felt confusion at seeing Bella standing there, mostly unharmed, as two golden eyed vampires duked it out, a third lounging off to the side like she didn't have a single care in the world.
"We felt your pain," Jacob explained anxiously. "Who were you fighting? What's going on? How badly are you hurt this time?"
"Did the Cullens break the treaty?" Paul demanded furiously, ready to fight.
"Did we break the treaty?" Embry asked with clear worry in his tone as he took in the entire situation.
"Of course not, Bella isn't that stupid," Jacob tried to defend his best friend's honor, but it fell flat.
"Hey! I am not stupid!"
"Yeah you are. Do you think anyone in La Push forgot that stunt of yours last year?" Leah reminded him dryly. Every wolf knew what had happened except for Collin and Brady, and they all grimaced at the memory.
"Our poor school," Sam thought morosely. "It still hasn't recovered."
"Neither has Forks' jail cells," Quil added, still finding the entire situation hilarious.
"I still don't know where you got all of those fireworks," Embry added.
"And I still don't know why I was the only one who got banned from the only bar on the rez." Jacob couldn't help but grumble. Had he been human, he would have crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.
"First of all, that was before I was a wolf, I'm different now. Second of all, thanks for the vote of confidence Leah, you bitch-" Leah let out a wolfy snort, but was otherwise silent, "Third of all, they still don't have any proof I had anything to do with what happened last year, and I want to keep it that way. Fourth, Jacob, you're not even old enough to drink yet. Your ban is set to end before you turn twenty one, you'll survive. Lastly, everything is fine. No one needs to be a wolf right now but me, it'll only create more tension. Go shift back and get dressed. Find some of my clothes too, while you're at it."
The last was an order everyone obeyed, albeit with wary glances at the three vampires so close to their alpha. Once all of Bella's wolves were gone, Bella focused on Rosalie. She had to stop Rosalie from trying to murder Kate, but how?
Bella crept up on the two slowly while favoring her injured paw, not wanting Rosalie to turn her rage on Bella just yet, even though the alpha knew it was inevitable. For some reason, even though Rosalie had to know Bella was right behind her, Rosalie didn't attack or even give Bella a warning growl. She was focused on murdering Kate, and Kate alone.
Fuck it, I'm going to be screwed anyway. Might as well go for what works. Just like Bella had done to her wolves way too many times to count, Bella reared up on her hind legs and used her body weight to force Rosalie onto the ground. The blonde let out a grunt of surprise, followed by a hiss of fury as she found herself pinned under all who-knew-how-many-pound wolf. Before she could recover, Bella changed her position, sitting proudly on Rosalie's back as she looked over at Kate haughtily.
"I totally just saved your ass," Bella bragged. Despite not being able to use actual words, something in her expression easily conveyed what she had wanted to say.
"Damn, pup, that was unexpected," Kate laughed.
Rosalie snarled in fury and struggled under Bella's weight. For some reason wouldn't use her full strength against Bella to try and break free, which meant she got nowhere. "You're dead, Kate!" Rosalie swore, before doing her best to turn her black eyed glare on the alpha as well. "After I'm done with Kate, you're next, mutt."
"Ooh, are you going to drown us in love, Rose?" Kate asked. "Maybe kill us with kindness? Cause I would totally die if I got to see that-"
"Kate, why must you always-" Irina interrupted to scold, only to be interrupted by Rosalie.
With a hiss, Rosalie tried to lunge at Kate, actually managing to get out from under Bella. Realizing she needed to get an actual grip on her leech to hold her back, Bella jumped on Rosalie again, shifting while in the air to tackle Rosalie in her human form.
"Let's not kill your cousin," Bella said as she wrapped her arms around her imprint despite her broken bones screaming in protest, pinning Rosalie's arms to her sides to stop Rosalie from dragging herself out from under Bella. Damn, Rosalie really wanted to see Kate dead. "C'mon, princess, don't you have any fucking dignity left?"
"What did you say?" Rosalie demanded, turning to Bella. If possible, she looked even angrier than before. Bella was sure she had gone too far and that Rosalie was now going to use their close proximity to wring Bella's neck, but instead, Rosalie froze. She didn't breathe, the only thing moving was Rosalie's eyes as they widened, seeming to darken impossibly further. "Why...the hell...are you naked?"
"Because I fucking shifted, and that's what happens?" Bella said, her tone clearly questioning Rosalie's sanity. She couldn't help but add, "Let me guess, this is all my fault. My naked body turns you on too much, right blondie?"
Rosalie let out a low growl, but to Bella's surprise, didn't say anything. Didn't even give Bella a look that made it clear Bella's intelligence was in the single digits. In fact, she stared at Bella like Rosalie was considering putting her mouth to use on Bella's body.
"I don't know about that blondie, but this blondie is definitely turned on," Kate purred, and Bella turned to find the warrior's dark gaze eating up every inch of naked skin that wasn't being hidden behind Rosalie. Even Irina was staring at Bella with eyes that were almost black, but unlike Kate, she managed to tear her eyes away in an attempt at decency.
Bella would've said something cocky or flirtatious in reply, had it not been for Rosalie's instincts going haywire. The alpha gasped at the possessive rage she felt from her blonde, followed quickly by the need to destroy anyone who dared look at Bella like that. Bella belonged to her and the only one allowed to look at Bella like that was Rosalie.
The emotions were so powerful, Bella's grip loosened, and that was the only opening Rosalie needed to escape from Bella's grasp and lunge at Kate once more.
"Damn it," Bella growled as she tried to get up, but of course her injured arm chose that moment to give out when Bella tried to use it, losing precious seconds. Before she could recover, a blanket was thrown on top of Bella, a flash of strawberry blonde passing by without Bella even being able to smell her. She managed to grab Rosalie's wrists, stopping Rosalie with a strange gentleness that Bella could never in a million years pull off.
"That's enough, Kate," the new arrival said, her musical voice low, exasperated, yet woven in that was a powerful command. Immediately, Bella knew this was an alpha, just like her. "It's been over a thousand years, surely you've learned by now when you should keep your mouth shut."
Kate ducked her head sheepishly. "Sorry Tanya, I might've gotten a little carried away…"
"From what I can tell, you got carried away from the beginning," Tanya replied sharply, glaring at the blonde as she pulled Rosalie into a comforting embrace to calm her. The woman stroked Rosalie's hair, and Rosalie was soon relaxing into Tanya's body, although she still had her black eyed glare fixated on Kate. Bella didn't feel any jealousy at the scene; instead she felt awe. She had to figure out how the strawberry blonde could control Rosalie like that, she just had to. Maybe she should ask Tanya for lessons?
Like a child being scolded, Kate nodded her head sullenly, which made Irina throw her hands up in exasperation.
"Of course, when Tanya says you go too far, you agree, but any time I do it…" Irina started to complain, but trailed off with a sigh. "This is what I get for being the youngest."
"Bella! We're back!" Jared called out, and Bella turned to find all of her wolves plus Rachel-who was slung over Leah's shoulder, being carried cavewoman style-rushing toward her. Thankfully all in human form and wearing pants, although Seth, Leah, Collin, and Brady also wore shirts.
"Stop," Bella commanded, and all of the wolves froze, less than a foot from crossing the border. She softened her tone, giving them a fond smile at how anxious and protective they all were. "Thanks for taking your sweet time, fuckheads. What's Rachel doing here?"
"She was the only one who couldn't be locked in a closet," Leah explained with a sigh, setting Rachel down to rub her temples. At Bella's incredulous look, she gave her alpha a glare. "This is your fault, you know. You're the one who taught her to pick locks. She told us that if we didn't take her with us, she would just get out of the closet and wander around until she found us. I couldn't let that happen, obviously, and so here she is."
"Here I am!" Rachel said smugly, holding a plastic bag up. "And I come bearing clothes for the alpha! Aren't I the best?"
"Sure." Bella shook her head, unsure whether to be annoyed at Rachel's recklessness or proud. She got up to cross the border so she could get the clothes and get dressed, only for a vampire to suddenly slam into her side, knocking her back on her ass. "What the fuck?" Bella exclaimed among her pack's snarls, looking down at Rosalie in disbelief. Despite her surprise, a part of her couldn't help but be pleased to see the blonde in her lap. Way too pleased, damn it.
"Just shut up and stay here," was all Rosalie snapped. Without another word, she draped her arms over Bella's shoulders, pulling herself closer to bury her face in Bella's neck, breathing in the alpha's scent.
Tanya moved closer to follow Rosalie instinctively, and in doing so, ended up with the wind blowing right in her face. All she had to take was one breath of the alpha's scent, and the older vampire became overwhelmed. The Cullens had explained what the wolves had smelled like back at the house, and Tanya had been prepared for the disgust the wolf's scent would bring. However, this wolf didn't smell anything like trash or wet dog. In fact, Bella smelled amazing. Not in the delectable sense that would make Tanya's throat burn, but in a way that drew Tanya to the girl. This was a scent that called to Tanya, a scent that Tanya would never get tired of. This was the scent of her...
"She felt your fight," Tanya explained. She kept her voice neutral, but the look on her face was anything but. Had Bella not been so focused on the blonde in her arms, she would have seen the wonder, hope, and amazement on the Denali leader's face as she stared at the alpha wolf. "Any vampire would be extra clingy after their mate is injured. It's instinctive. If you cross that border, she can't go with you, which is why she's currently behaving like this."
"She's not my-" Bella started to argue instinctively, but dropped it as Rosalie pulled back to glare into her eyes. "I'm not hurt," she settled for instead. "I'm fine."
"Not to undermine your authority or anything, but I felt your pain in the fight," Seth started hesitantly. "Your arm is definitely not fine…"
"Your arm?" Rosalie demanded, joined by an angry hiss from Tanya, before Bella could finish her groan of annoyance. Realizing that Seth was right, the vampire's eyes snapped to the wrong arm first, searching for injuries way too thoroughly.
"Wait, what's wrong with Bella's arm?" Rachel turned to Seth, grabbing the poor boy by the collar of his shirt and shaking him as hard as she could. "Answer me, Seth, what the fuck is wrong with Bella's arm?"
"Uh, alpha?" Seth asked, glancing over to Bella for help. Sadly, Bella was too busy having to deal with a very concerned and angry Rosalie inspecting every inch of the wrong arm for anything that might be wrong. So far, no one seemed to notice how still Tanya stood, her now black eyes fixated on not just Seth, but Rachel as well. There was something about the human's reaction to Bella's potential injury that the coven leader really didn't like. It made her feel incredibly possessive over the alpha, despite not having even met Bella's eyes and feeling the mating bond yet. "Leah?" Seth turned to his sister, who decided to step in.
Trying to hide the adoration in her eyes as she pulled her imprint away from her brother, and into her arms. "I can't say for sure, but it felt like Bella's right arm was broken. The way it came across the pack link, it felt like it might be broken in multiple places."
Tanya's gaze snapped to the back of Bella's head, while Rosalie met Bella's eyes with a glare. Both felt concern, the need to protect and fix the alpha, but Tanya was able to hide her emotions while Rosalie embraced them.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Rosalie hissed at her mate. She felt a little embarrassed at having been caught examining the wrong arm, but it was overwhelmed by annoyance at Bella for not helping Rosalie help her. Dropping Bella's left arm, Rosalie picked up Bella's right. Immediately, the alpha winced as pain shot through her from multiple places. Yup, it had more than one break for sure.
Seeing Bella in pain was one of the worst things Rosalie had ever experienced. She felt her rage grow again, furious at Kate for injuring her mate like this, but she pushed her emotions down when Bella grimaced. Right, if Rosalie could feel Bella's strong emotions, Bella could probably feel hers too. She had to control herself, she could always make Bella pay for everything later.
"You're not fine at all," Rosalie said accusingly, but her voice was soft, almost gentle, and there was no glare when her now gold eyes met Bella's. "You're hurt. Your arm is definitely broken."
Bella didn't dare breathe, or move, or say a single word. Rosalie was being kind to her. Not just kind, but sweet. Never before had the alpha felt so scared before. Rosalie wasn't supposed to be nice, at least not to her. It was too strange, wrong. Surely this was a setup, or maybe Rosalie had just, Bella didn't know, malfunctioned in some way?
"Bella? What's wrong?" Rosalie asked, her brow creasing with worry as she gently touched Bella's face.
Holy hell was this terrifying.
"It's broken in three places, but I really will be fine. I just have to set everything and it'll heal," Bella blurted out. "So please…" Please, stop being nice to me.
"Kate." Tanya didn't bother hiding her anger anymore at the news. She turned her black eyes on her sister, who suddenly realized she might actually be in serious trouble here. "Just what did you do to her?"
"You did this to her?" Quil shouted furiously.
"How dare you!" Embry started to shake in anger.
"Fucking leech!" Paul snarled.
"We'll kill you!" Brady swore.
"You're going down!" Collin added.
"You messed with the wrong wolves," Sam added darkly, wanting nothing more than to rip into the leech.
"For you to do this to our alpha...to my best friend…" Jacob trailed off, eyes starting to shine with the wolf inside, the wolf who needed to get out and destroy the leech who had hurt Bella. Who could have killed her.
Leah would have added her own two cents, had she not suddenly had her hands full with her mate as Rachel not jumped forward, shouting, "Yeah, our wolves are going to fuck you up! Prepare yourselves, jackass!" Rachel looked ready to start throwing punches herself, which of course made Leah panic. She had no doubt her imprint would try something that stupid if she got the chance, and she was not going to let Rachel be that stupid.
"This is an act of war," Sam announced.
"Attacking our alpha...that's an obvious breach of the treaty," Jared said finally, a snarl on his face. All Bella had to give was the order, and he would shift and attack.
Seth was the only one who didn't say anything, eyes fixated on his alpha as he shook with the urge to shift. Until Rosalie had started being all nice and thrown Bella into a panic, the alpha had looked relaxed. At ease, as if she didn't view her attacker as an enemy. It confused him, confused his wolf.
"Oh, shut the fuck up, you idiots," Bella said with a roll of her eyes. "You're all overreacting." Everyone in the area froze, eyes turning to her. "Kate and I were training. There was no real fight."
"Training isn't supposed to result in badly broken bones," Tanya hissed, and the way she seemed so angry on Bella's behalf made something in Bella stir. She wanted to turn and look at the woman in confusion, but she didn't. She was currently too overwhelmed by the blonde in her lap and her quick tempered pack to wonder why some leech was getting upset on her behalf. "So, I will repeat myself; what did you do, Kate?"
"I only broke her bone once!" Kate blurted desperately, "And it was an accident! Bella was the one who insisted the training continue, and she was the one who used her injured limb to do that sick ass move to catch me off guard! That's what made it so much worse! Irina and I both told her that we should stop fighting, but she wouldn't let it go!"
"We did try to end it," Irina admitted when Tanya's eyes turned to her, wanting to hear if Kate was telling the truth. "Bella was very adamant about continuing, and it certainly made the injury much worse. I heard it snap again from here."
"You did what?" The fury was back in Rosalie's voice, the glare back in her eyes, and despite that anger being turned back on her, Bella felt relieved.
"Of course she did," Leah grumbled. "We shouldn't expect anything less from our idiot alpha."
The entire pack relaxed, muttering agreements about Bella, and some even mumbling awkward apologies to Kate. It was definitely no vote of confidence for the brunette, and had she not been busy with a furious Rosalie looking ready to murder Bella herself, she would have taken the time to be offended.
Tanya watched the pack, concerned about how easily they accepted their alpha's stupidity. Especially when one of the boys sighed, "It's like the summer of ninety eight all over again."
"Oh yeah, didn't you almost take the blame for how fucked up Bella got that time too, Jacob?" another boy laughed.
Jacob nodded reluctantly. "Apparently no one could believe an eleven year old girl could get that fucked up all on her own." He brightened after a moment, adding, "Until Bella made things right by proving them wrong."
"Totally on purpose, I bet," Leah said sarcastically, and just like that, the entire pack burst out laughing.
"You're all assholes," Bella complained. She started to get up, only for Rosalie to use the blanket to drag her back down, daring her to try and leave again with just her eyes. It was a threat, a challenge, and Bella knew she should take it as such, but she also couldn't help but find Rosalie really, really hot in that moment. It made Bella want to stay there, hold the blonde close, and make the blonde happy while enjoying the moment with her imprint. This served to only piss Bella off once she realized she had almost given in to Rosalie's clear demand.
So of course, Bella and Rosalie did what they did best when together; they started to argue. However, the argument wasn't the main source of entertainment at the moment, as the pack began trading stories of their alpha.
"We really should've known it was something like this from the beginning," Sam complained. "It's like what she did in eighth grade all over again."
"Forget eighth grade," Paul piped up, "Remember when she took on those bikers?"
"I also remember you being a part of it," Jared said wryly.
"Shut up, Jared."
"What about that time she set herself on fire?" Seth piped up.
"Which time are you talking about?" Jake asked.
"Wait, she set herself on fire more than once?" Seth asked, horrified.
"Of course she did," Rachel added with a roll of her eyes. "I mean, this is the girl who…"
"True, not to mention that shit she did last fall…"
"Last fall? How about last week? Did you not see how…"
"Oh yeah, true, not to mention the time she…"
"What about when…"
The vampires listened as the pack continued to bring up old memories, with very different reactions. Kate was growing more impressed and entertained by the second, Irina ranging from disbelief to horror depending on the story, Rosalie getting more furious by all the danger her mate put herself in. Tanya, however, was stuck in a state of concern, worry, fear, with a dash of protective overdrive. Bella sounded like a reckless individual, one who jumped headfirst into danger and loved it. This was something no sane vampire would want to hear.
It sounded like Bella got into trouble more days than not, and it made Tanya's instincts go haywire. What if something happened? What if Bella got hurt? What if Bella needed her, and Tanya couldn't go to the wolf because of the goddamned treaty?
As her fears and worries swirled around in her head, Tanya found herself remembering every word Rosalie had spoken about Bella, about how infuriated Rosalie had become time and time again. Having heard the stories, seen Bella for herself, Tanya realized just how hard Rosalie had truly had it. How hard Tanya now had it.
"You really are nothing but trouble, aren't you Bella?" Tanya murmured as she gazed down at the girl in question.
Bella stopped mid sentence. Ripping her eyes from a furious Hale, the worked up alpha turned her fury on Tanya. "You don't know shit about me, lee-"
Golden eyes met dark brown, and Bella's words died in her throat. The world fell away, until there was nothing but Tanya, Rosalie, and Bella. Something inside her clicked, and Bella felt whole in a way she never did before.
Mine. Bella's wolf howled in triumph, in excitement, in victory as the truth came out. Just like Rosalie, Tanya was hers. Her imprint, her mate, her everything.
Tanya took a step toward Bella, filled with such love and completeness it overwhelmed the vampire. She knew she had been right from the second she had scented the wolf, but having it confirmed, having the wolf clearly feel the same for her, was different. Better. Oh, so much better. It put all of Tanya's fears to rest, confirming that this girl, no matter how rash and wild and heart attack inducing, was hers. Hers and Rosalie's. Forever.
"Tanya? What's going on?" Rosalie asked, noticing the change in both Bella and the vampire. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is more than okay, Rose," Tanya was quick to assure her. She couldn't stop her wry smirk as Bella's expression slowly morphed from awe and adoration to absolute horror. "Well, for you and me, anyway. Bella, on the other hand..."
"What are you talking about?" Rosalie asked, her lips turning down into a confused frown.
Tanya's eyes flicked to Rosalie's apologetically. She knew without a doubt that Bella wasn't going to handle this well, and that things were going to get a lot more complicated for them because of it.
The second Tanya's eyes left Bella's, the original imprint daze was broken. Bella shoved Rosalie off her lap and scrambled backwards, somehow managing to keep the blanket around her so that no one got flashed.
Rosalie opened her mouth to pissily demand to know just what Bella thought she was doing, but the look on Bella's face made her stop.
"Bella? You good, dude?" Jake asked worriedly. He stepped forward to go to his friend, but Jared put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from crossing the border.
Finally, as Bella took in the sight of Tanya and Rosalie in front of her, she finally found herself able to speak.
"For fucks sake, not another blonde!"
Extra A/N: I know you're tired of me talking by now, but I just have one little question. Basically, I really love writing Leah and Rachel together, sp what do you guys think about me writing a side story in the future on them? You know, one that focuses more on them, I'll start from when the Sam thing happened, then continue along with the story line. It'll probably be like 90% fluff, but it'll also give some backstory, and maybe let you guys read some scenes (like the whole closet incident) that I wouldn't cover in this story. Tell me what you think.