A/N: Next chapter has been finished, yay! I felt I was spoiling you guys too much lately, so I decided to make you wait TWO days this time. I like to be evil and make people like that (also I couldn't figure out how to finish this chapter but that's besides the point). Anyway, I still feel like I might be spoiling you guys too much, so I just want to warn you; don't expect any new chapters to suddenly pop up the next day for a bit. I need to pretend to have a life once in a while. Unless some review or whatever convinces my writing muse to harass me until I write again, I won't be in any rush to get the next chapter of any story out. As always, I love you all, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 19

For a moment, the only response to Bella's statement was the pack cracking up in uncontrollable laughter. Rosalie was busy staring at Tanya as the news sunk in. Strangely enough, she didn't feel upset or possessive. Instead, she felt elated; everything made sense to her now. The strange bond she and the Denali leader had shared, the comfort they felt just being around each other...it was all for this. It was because they all needed each other.

"Does that mean you're more upset with me being blonde than being a vampire?" Amusement sparkled in Tanya's eyes, and seeing that made Bella's heart want to do happy flips in her chest. Damn it.

"Well, yeah! Just look at all of the trouble the last blonde has caused me," Bella said, gesturing to Rosalie.

Rosalie moved her gaze from Tanya and arched an eyebrow at Bella, crossing her arms over her chest. "Excuse me?" she asked icily.

"And the blonde before that went psycho and started stalking me and trying to marry me. Do you know how many times I woke up to her sleeping in my bed? She'd break into my house just to cuddle even when I made it clear I wanted to never see her again. It was freaky as fuck, and not in a fun way."

Rosalie and Tanya released twin hisses at the idea of anyone trying to marry their mate but them, but Bella didn't even notice.

"Tell them, Rachel," Bella said, turning to the girl in question for backup.

Rachel grimaced. "Yeah, she was a little...insane. I'm surprised you ever got her to leave you alone. Not to mention that other blonde who tried to stab you."

"See? That's why blondes are scarier than vampires," Bella finished, turning back to Rosalie and Tanya, clearly pleased to have proven her point.

"And a lot more fun!" Kate just had to interject, earning an elbow in the ribs from Irina.

"You're not helping," the youngest sister hissed.

Rosalie opened her mouth to give Bella a piece of her mind, but Tanya put a hand on Rosalie's shoulder, stopping her. The two shared some kind of silent communication that Bella was completely clueless to, but it seemed like Rosalie agreed to let Tanya handle the situation instead.

Bella didn't even have a moment to realize that she might actually be in trouble before Tanya was in her lap, head cocked to the side and golden eyes burning into hers. The older vampire pressed her body against Bella's, and the alpha was aware of every curve of the woman against her. Too aware.

Tanya cupped Bella's cheeks, her lips only inches away from Bella's. Bella didn't dare to breathe; she was so turned on so suddenly it was almost painful. "Does that mean you don't want us, Bella?" Tanya purred.

Holy fucking hell how did Tanya do that? Bella actually felt lightheaded, overwhelmed, and completely out of control. She should answer. She was supposed to answer Tanya, right? Speak, Bella had to speak...if she could just remember how.

"Don't tell me the big, strong alpha is terrified of her own mates." Tanya's cold hands ran down Bella's neck, her shoulders, scratching Bella's collarbone lightly with her nails. Her hands felt so good on Bella's overheated skin. Bella couldn't suppress a shudder of desire. It was Bella that wrapped her arms around Tanya, pulling the woman closer. Bella's wolf didn't have to do anything, and had Bella been able to think through her lust haze, she would have taken a moment to curse herself for her lack of control.

"Bullshit," Bella growled. "You don't scare me, and neither does Rose."

"Are you sure about that?" Tanya asked. Her words were a challenge, a challenge Bella had to win.

"Hell yeah I am!" Bella snapped.

"Really?" Tanya leaned in so that there were only centimeters between her lips and Bella's. "Because it appears that you're too scared to even claim us with words."

"No I'm not! You and Rosalie are mine!" Bella snarled. She was about to prove that by taking Tanya's lips in a kiss, then dragging Rosalie over to do the same to her. Before she could, Tanya gave her a kiss on the cheek and got off of Bella's lap, leaving the alpha stunned. Realization quickly set in; she had been played, and played hard.

Her pack had all been watching, and were now struck dumb by disbelief at how easily Tanya had wrapped Bella around her finger without their alpha even realizing it. Blondes might not have been scary as a whole for them, but this definitely proved that Bella's blondes sure as hell were.

For a moment, everything was silent, save for Kate struggling not to laugh as Irina covered her mouth to try and hide her own giggles. Soon, the silence was broken by Rosalie.

"How did you do that?" Rosalie asked Tanya. Quite frankly, the Cullen was in awe of the Denali and how easily she handled the alpha. "Bella is the most hardheaded fool on this planet, and you…"

"You'll learn how to do it too," Tanya assured her friend. "We have eternity with her, after all."

Eternity with Tanya and Rosalie? Why did that sound so good?

"You know what will happen if you fall in love," a familiar voice whispered in Bella's mind, an echo of a memory that Bella couldn't quite catch. "Nothing but pain will await you. Loving you drains people, Bella. Drains until there's nothing left. It's a burden I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."

The voice, who was the owner of that voice? It was so familiar yet foreign, the words cutting through the alpha like knives.

"I pity the person you fall in love with. Oh, how they're going to suffer."

Stop it, Bella thought desperately. Her body started to shake. She wasn't in love, she wasn't! It was just this imprint bullshit! Just the imprint. She definitely didn't love them, and they didn't love her. They didn't.

"What's wrong with you now, mutt?" Rosalie's voice cut through Bella's fearful thoughts, none of the usual heat behind her words. If anything, Rosalie sounded strangely gentle as she touched Bella's shoulder. Behind her was Tanya, worry clear in her eyes.

Bella looked up into Rosalie's eyes as her shaking stopped. She didn't want to think too much about why Rosalie had such an affect on her. It might drag her back into those fearful thoughts. "None of your business, princess," Bella retorted.

Rosalie narrowed her eyes at the alpha. "It is when you're shaking so hard you look ready to keel over, you stupid dog."

"The only stupid one here is you, you dumb blonde." Bella felt her body relaxing further; there was something about arguing with Rosalie that was strangely calming.

"I'll have you know I've got looks, and brains," Rosalie snapped back. "Which are two things you clearly lack."

"Says the leech who hasn't stopped staring at me for more than a few seconds since she showed up."

"I haven't stopped staring because you're naked," Rosalie hissed.

"Oh, so you admit you like looking at my naked body then, huh?"

"Of course not. Looking at you naked is like looking at a car wreck. It's absolutely disturbing."

"Disturbing because you realize I'm hotter than you."

"Not in a million years, mutt."

Kate sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "Do they always fight like this? They're such children." Thankfully Bella and Rosalie were too invested in arguing with each other to hear her.

"Kate, I say this, not as your coven leader, but as your older sister; shut up before I'm forced to make you." Tanya appeared perfectly calm, but Kate knew she also wouldn't hesitate to go through with her threat, which only made her laugh. Irina rolled her eyes at Kate's antics, but Tanya was too busy watching Bella and Rosalie fight with a smile on her face.

"Admit it, you want this!" Bella said, letting go of one part of the blanket to gesture to her naked body. Rosalie blurred forward to grab both sides of the blanket, making sure to properly cover Bella from pack and horny vampire eyes.

"What I want is for you to get dressed already!" Rosalie hissed.

"Don't worry, we've already seen her naked before," Leah called over from the pack's side of the border, making Rachel laugh.

"Speak for yourself, if I see that I'll be traumatized," Jacob grumbled.

"How long are we supposed to stand here like the third wheel?" Quil added.

"We're not the third wheel, Quil, they already have three people. We're the fourth," Embry piped up.

"I don't want to get dressed," Bella said petulantly, just to piss Rosalie off first. "Not until you admit that you want me."

Rosalie let out a furious hiss. "Of all hills you can choose to die on, must you choose this one?"

"Yes!"

"For the love of-"

"Bella?" Tanya murmured, stepping in before Rosalie lost her last shred of patience. When Bella glanced at her, she found the vampire staring at her with hunger in her eyes, a hunger so strong it managed to catch Bella off guard. "You really should really get dressed. If you don't, I might lose it soon and decide to seduce you right here in front of your pack. I'm sure you don't want that, now do you?"

"Ugh, fine," Bella grumbled, trying to play it cool. She knew they could smell her aroused reaction, but she didn't want them to know just how much a single look from Tanya got to her. If Rosalie and Tanya used that kind of look on Bella at the same time, the alpha would definitely be screwed. "The way you look at me makes me feel naked, anyway."

"That's because you are naked," Rosalie replied scathingly.

"Yeah, but I don't usually feel like I am," Bella argued back.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"It does if you're me."

"Clothes," Tanya interrupted. "You should wear them."

"Right," Bella got up to go grab the clothes from Rachel, pulling out of Rosalie's grasp. The alpha felt very lucky that Rosalie didn't tackle them this time as she made her way to the border.

"Damn, Bella," Rachel whistled as she blatantly checked out the exposed skin of the alpha that wasn't hidden by the blankey. "I really didn't get to appreciate how much sexier you looked before, but now that I get to see you up close again...damn."

Bella's two vampires hissed possessively, making it clear that they didn't like hearing Rachel talk about their mate like that.

"Rach," Leah warned, stiffening at the hostility directed at her mate.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I don't know what's got their panties in a wad this time, but don't worry about it. Pretty sure leeches have a thing for the dramatics." She opened the bag as best as she could without jostling her injured hand and looked inside, only for her to look back up at Rachel with a grin of excitement.

"Dude, I've been looking for these everywhere! Where did you find them?" Bella exclaimed. "This is one of my favorite outfits!"

Rachel glanced back at Leah for a moment, then decided it probably wouldn't be a big deal as long as she didn't make it one. After all, wolf possessiveness aside, Leah had done the deed with Bella too. "You left it at my place a while back. You know, after the last time we slept-"

"Dude, enough!" Jacob exclaimed desperately, slapping his hands over his ears. "I really don't need to be reminded that my best friend fucked my sister."

"Did she now?" Rosalie asked icily, she and Tanya glaring at Rachel with so much hostility that Leah started to shake, her instincts telling her to shift and protect her mate.

"Yeah, I've slept with tons of girls," Bella said with a roll of her eyes. "It's not like this is anything new."

Of course, this didn't help in calming Tanya or Rose, but Bella didn't appear to notice in the slightest.

Rachel snorted in agreement. "Just wait until they learn just how many girls you've slept with. I mean, even I was surprised to learn you had your wicked way with all of the imprints in your pack."

"You what?" Rosalie snarled demandingly as Paul, Sam, and Embry grimaced. They had already known, but having it brought up was still hard on them.

"Dude, you fucked both of my sisters?" Jacob asked. His face had paled, and he clutched his stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick." Jared patted Jacob on the back, doing his best to console the poor boy.

"Don't get your panties in a wad, I haven't done anything with them after they imprinted." Bella frowned as she realized the look on Rosalie's face told the alpha that Rose was contemplating murdering Bella. Again.

It didn't matter that the girls now had their own mates, the fact that Bella was around four women who had at one point wanted her, had been with her, while the mating bond was nowhere near complete, made Tanya's beast go haywire. She hadn't made any kind of claim on the wolf, and now she-

Irina appeared in front of Tanya, blocking her coven leader from rushing across the border and potentially doing something she regretted.

"Tanya, deep breaths," Irina coaxed. "I know it's hard, but you don't want to do anything you regret."

Tanya clenched her fists at her sides and nodded. She let Irina wrap her arms around her to comfort her, helping calm her further.

"Whoa there, hold your horses," Kate said as she stopped Rosalie from potentially making a similar mistake. "It might just be me who thinks this, but I'm pretty sure killing your mate isn't a good idea."

"It's just you," Rosalie replied darkly. She hated this. Hated knowing her mate had been with so many other women, yet had fought their own bond so hard. And Bella hadn't even mentioned being surrounded by women who had found Bella at least some degree of frustratingly attractive just like Rosalie did. What made everything worse was how Bella was so totally clueless about the effect the information would have on her and Tanya.

Just a punch or two. Maybe a bitch slap. That was all Rosalie needed, and then she was sure she would feel somewhat better.

What stopped Rosalie from starting another fight with her mate was how all of the wolves suddenly, albeit uneasily turned around, giving their backs to the vampires. No, giving Bella some privacy, Rosalie realized, as Bella dropped her blanket and started to change into the clothes that had been brought.

Immediately, Rosalie slapped her hands over Kate's eyes. "Try to look and I'll kill you," Rosalie promised, able to stare at her mate with open hunger at Bella so long as Bella wasn't looking at her.

Tanya stared too, drinking in her mate's figure, the obvious confidence, feeling no need to cover Irina's eyes as her youngest sister immediately looked away on her own. The only damper on the show was Bella trying to ignore her pain as she had to use her broken arm to get dressed.

"How long until your arm heals?" Tanya asked when Bella grit her teeth against the pain, fighting a wince for the seventh time and thankfully last time.

"Shouldn't be more than a week, less if I eat a shit ton of food," Bella said with a shrug. Teasingly, she added, "Why do you ask? Do you care about me, Tanya?"

"Yes," Tanya replied bluntly, without a second of hesitation.

So used to Rosalie's immediate denial, Bella could only blink at Tanya dumbly. It probably shouldn't have, but Tanya's response took the alpha completely off guard. "Oh." Bella had no idea what to do next, and she suddenly found it hard to look at Tanya or Rosalie. Damn it, what was she doing, acting like a shy little kid?

Of course, her reaction led to Paul snickering at Bella's expense, and without thought, Bella elbowed him hard in the stomach; with her injured arm.

"Shit!" Bella growled, wincing at the pain as Paul went flying backward into the forest. The rest of the pack, Bella included, stared after Paul wide eyed as he went through a tree. "And oops."

"Damn it Bella, did you have to do something so stupid?" Rosalie hissed as she stormed over. She almost crossed the border, but Tanya pulled her back last second, despite wanting to go over to her mate and check on her arm as well. "Of course you're the type to keep making your injuries worse.

Bella frowned. "It's not like I meant to." Her eyes flicked over to Paul as he struggled to get to his feet. I didn't mean to do that, either. Had Bella always been that strong? She hadn't thought so.

"Well, now that most of the trouble is out of the way," Tanya said, fixing her eyes on Bella, "We can send Kate and Irina away. Why don't you send your wolves away so Rosalie and I can get to know each other? I'll even make sure Rose doesn't try to bite your head off as long as you're good as well."

"Tanya!" Rosalie hissed, giving the Denali a look of irritation at the betrayal.

Bella swallowed hard as longing overtook her. To be alone with them...damn did she want it. Suddenly, Renee came to her mind, then Bella's mother; reminders of why Bella shouldn't fall in love, but apparently just their faces weren't enough torture for her.

"It's better to be despised by you than loved; at least with hatred, people won't be dragged down with you."

There was that voice again, whispering in her mind, a reminder that she still couldn't quite remember. No, along with longing, Bella felt panic.

No, she didn't love them. She didn't even want them! It was all her stupid wolf, not Bella, who wanted them. Not Bella. Never Bella.

Rosalie and Tanya felt Bella's panic, could see it on her face, but the clear concern they felt for Bella only made her feel worse. Thankfully, before they could say anything to her, Bella's phone buzzed. Roly Poly Fuckwad flashed across the screen. Never before had Bella felt so relieved to get a call from Quil Sr.

"Yeah?" Bella asked as she answered the phone.

"You have a meeting with us and you're late," Quil Sr spat, loud enough for everyone to hear even without supernatural hearing.

"Nobody told me," Bella grumbled.

"Don't you try to smartmouth me," Quil Sr snapped at her. "Just shut up and get over here. Do try not to waste as much of our time as you waste the air that you breathe." With that, Quil Sr hung up.

Low growls rolled through the wolves; none of them liked how Quil Sr had talked to their alpha, and they weren't alone; the vampires looked pissed too, Tanya and Rosalie looking particularly murderous. They didn't know who the man was, but they wanted to make him pay for daring to treat their mate like that. Even Rachel glared at Bella's phone, as if she could personally reach through the phone and make Quil Sr suffer.

"I should've tripped that asshole when I had the chance," Rachel muttered.

"Try living with him," Quil Jr complained. "And sharing a name with him."

"Bella," Rosalie spoke up. "Don't let those pathetic pieces of trash control your life. Tell them to fuck off and ignore them."

"You don't have to go to them," Tanya added, almost pleadingly.

The alpha gave Rosalie and Tanya a weak smile. "Yeah I do." Before any of the vampires could try to stop her, Bella was running back to the rez. Many of her wolves gave Bella's imprints helpless or conflicted looks before following their alpha.

Soon, the four vampires could no longer hear the sound of the wolves running.

"So," Kate said at last. "Are we going to have to kidnap Bella or what?"

Extra A/N: Another person has mentioned I need to make a discord server, so I guess I'm doing that. The link is /sdmjaHTy I really hope I did this right. I'm just a little technology impaired, sadly.