A/N: Bet you guys expected to wait a lot longer for the next chapter, didn't you? I thought so too, and then this happened. Honestly this chapter was a pain, because it ended up longer than planned, and I had to cut it short. Still happy to get it out there and hopefully make a few people happy. Have a good weekend my dudes.

Chapter 10

"Oh my."

Heidi and Bella froze at the sound of Didyme's voice. Once she realized one of the queens was staring right at her, Bella tried to shove herself further away from Heidi as if she was caught doing something wrong. She upturned her own chair, and Bella started to fall, arms flailing helplessly. Heidi was at Bella's side in a flash, scooping the girl up before she could hit the floor.

"My Queen, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Heidi asked. She kept her eyes on the Queen while all she wanted to do was look down at Bella. She heard how fast the human's heart was beating, was too aware of Bella's body pressed against her own. There was nothing more that Heidi wanted in that moment than to look down and see Bella's face. See if she was blushing, look into her eyes to try and read her. Why did Didyme have to come in at such a moment? Heidi needed to know what Bella was going to say. "Didyme?"

Didyme didn't answer, too interested in the bond between the two. Every bond that was created was different, and all were equally complex. However, each bond Didyme had ever seen consisted of three parts; the actual bond that told her what type she was looking at, whether it be familial or mate or otherwise. The vibrancy of the color would tell her how much it was accepted, half belonging to one of the two connected and the other half of the bond belonging to the other. It wasn't too unusual to see one half vibrant with someone accepting a bond wholeheartedly while the other half was dull. In that part of the bond, she could also see how strong the bond was. Then there were the other two parts, each one flowing from one of the people in the bond to the other. For instance, one side would go from Bella to Heidi, and the other would go from Heidi to Bella. In those parts, she was able to tell how much effort each person in the bond was putting into the relationship. Finally, the three parts were combined into a single line that connected the two.

When Didyme had first seen the bond between Heidi and Bella, it was thin, barely there. While Heidi didn't know why she was drawn to Bella so much, through the bond, Didyme could see that Heidi was the only one putting effort in. Sadly, that effort made things worse, and the bond got to the point it was on the verge of snapping. Didyme had been so worried, she had come into the kitchen to take Heidi aside and try to help the vampire woo her mate so as not to lose her.

Instead, she was now looking at the most unique bond she had ever seen. The central part of the bond, the part that told her what the bond was, was already much thicker than usual. Heidi's side was so vibrant it was all but blinding, and while Bella's was by far much duller, at the part closest to Bella's heart, the bond was bright. The girl was holding herself back, but deep inside, she was accepting Heidi.

Then there were the two other parts. Heidi's part of the bond was straight and strong, and it was clear how much she was trying, yet the bond flowing to Bella was also slow, hesitant. Careful. Then there was Bella's. In parts, it was thin, only to flare out into a much thicker bond, then back into a thin one. She wanted Heidi, was putting in the effort, only to appear like she would pull herself back. As if she was at war with herself, one side of her wanting nothing more than to put in the effort and strengthen the bond, while the other side of her wanted to stay away from Heidi and never have anything to do with her again. The bond would abruptly halt then start again, as if Bella was fighting herself and the bond every step of the way.

However, that wasn't the truly strange part of the bond. The strangest was the way the bond twisted and turned, wrapping around the two as if trying to pull the two closer. At the same time, there were chains, not from Bella but from beyond her. The chains wrapped around the bond, choking it, while the bond itself was pulsing as if trying to fight it. Finally, there was another part of the bond, a fourth line. This one seemed to embrace the rest of the bond and envelop Heidi in light. It weakened the chains and seemed to strengthen Heidi herself. Didyme couldn't even figure out how to explain it. Couldn't begin to figure out what some of it meant for the two.

Regardless, two things were clear. One; Didyme had to figure out where those chains were coming from and destroy them. Two; Heidi and Bella's future together was going to be a special one.

For now, Didyme was going to focus on those chains. It certainly wasn't healthy. The only question was how?

That was when she came up with an idea.

"Didyme?" Heidi called for the seventh time when the woman still didn't answer her. Bella peered at Didyme from within Heidi's arms. She didn't seem to realize what she was doing. Didyme's staring had made her nervous, and she instinctively pressed closer to Heidi for comfort and protection. With Heidi, Bella felt safe. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is fine. I simply came in to check on the human," Didyme finally replied with a smile. There was something in that smile that, while genuine and sweet, made both Heidi and Bella nervous. "I'm sorry to interrupt whatever...that...was. Heidi, you and Isabella are required in room seven twenty two in an hour. I expect you to be there on time."

Heidi had to hide a frown. Room seven twenty two was pretty far away from the rest of the castle. Why would she want them there? "Yes, my Queen." Heidi didn't bow, as she still had Bella in her arms, but she did lower her head.

"One last thing. Isabella, I do expect you to eat a proper breakfast before doing so. You will have no excuse not to." Bella could only manage an awkward nod, and then Didyme swept out of the room, leaving two confused women behind.

Heidi offered Bella a wry look as she grimaced, knowing she was about to suggest her own torture. "I suppose it might be best to cook you a new breakfast? I'm sure warm food will be much more appetizing." The smell would also greatly offend Heidi's nose, but she would put up with it for Bella's sake.

"Right," Bella murmured. Realizing that Heidi's arms were still wrapped around her waist, she quickly pulled away and moved to the fridge. She was all too aware of Heidi's eyes boring into her back, but pretended not to notice her staring as Bella went about making breakfast. She still felt the butterflies in her stomach, but now those butterflies were there for a whole different reason.

Eventually, the silence between the two got to be too much for Heidi. She moved closer to Bella, hovering over her despite the smell of the food as she watched Bella cook. "Do you...need any help?"

A blush creeped up Bella's neck. Did Heidi have to ask her this when she was so close? She could feel Heidi's breath on her skin. "Do you know how to cook?"

Heidi frowned. "Well, no."

"Then I think you should probably stay out of it. Once, Edward tried-"

Heidi snarled at the mention of that stupid prick, and Bella immediately fell silent. For a moment, Heidi was overwhelmed with possessiveness, with fury. The idea that Bella still thought about him was infuriating enough, but for Heidi to be compared to him in any way made that anger so much worse.

She's mine. The fairy fucker shouldn't be taking up any space in Bella's mind. Not when I'm here. Heidi gripped Bella's hips and pressed against Bella from behind. She could feel Bella's every curve. Could hear the way Bella's heart stuttered in her chest. It still wasn't enough. She needed to lay some kind of claim to Bella. Heidi wanted nothing more than to mark the girl all over. It was only the reminder that Bella was human and still wary of Heidi to some degree that stopped her from sinking her teeth into her.

"Heidi, back up. Please. I'm still..." Bella trailed off with a soft gasp as Heidi only tightened her grip and pressed closer. The feel of Heidi's hips against her ass made her so light headed, she couldn't even start to freak out once she realized the only reason she wanted to put distance between them was because she was cooking. Not because having Heidi against her was scary and confusing and frustrating-although Heidi herself certainly was the latter two. The reason she wanted distance simply because there was an open flame nearby and Bella was able to remember that she of all people probably shouldn't tempt fate by putting herself in potential danger.

Hearing Bella's whisper only upset Heidi further. Had Heidi been in her right mind, she would have recognized why Bella was asking her to back up. That perhaps the fire was the reason or because Bella couldn't move properly or maybe she just couldn't handle anymore pressure.

However, Heidi wasn't in her right mind. She was taken over by her possessive beast, and instinctually, it appeared that Bella was trying to reject her on some level. Even smelling Bella's arousal wasn't enough to calm her down.

Bella needed to see, needed to understand. Everyone needed to realize Bella belonged to Heidi.

Heidi started to rub her cheek against Bella's, scent marking her. Bella had just enough mind to turn off the flame before something could happen. Her hands found the counter next to the stove, gripping the cool marble for support as Heidi continued to rub against her.

What was Heidi doing? How was Bella supposed to react to this? It was arousing as hell, yeah, but somehow Bella could tell whatever Heidi was doing, it wasn't just an attempt to seduce her. It felt as if there was something more primal driving Heidi's actions. And it all happened because Bella had mentioned Edward.

Possessiveness? Bella knew vampires were territorial, but for some reason, she never expected it from Heidi. At least, she never expected Heidi to get territorial over her. Then again, after what Heidi had said earlier...fuck, Bella had a lot to figure out, but it was too hard to think, especially given Bella's current situation. For now, she just had to somehow calm Heidi down, eat her breakfast, deal with whatever Didyme wanted...and then she'd be able to think. Possibly. Hopefully.

Heidi had moved to rubbing the other side of Bella's face with hers, when an idea struck Bella. Vampires were all about the neck, so Bella just had to…

The vampire let out a snarl, but it didn't sound angry so much as excited when Bella tilted her head to the side. To Heidi's instinctive side, Bella revealing her neck was encouragement, submissiveness. Bella's mine. She wants to be marked by me. Claimed. My mate…

The vampire was way too excited to think things through. She let go of Bella's hips to wrap her arms around Bella's waist, holding Bella against her. Eagerly, Heidi's mouth latched onto Bella's neck, licking Bella's skin over her pulsepoint before finally latching on and sucking on Bella's neck. She wasn't gentle, sucking hard, only pausing to soothe the skin with her cool tongue before starting to suck again. Bella couldn't even stay standing, reduced to a whimpering, shaky mess in Heidi's arms. Still, Heidi didn't stop.

"Heidi…" Bella pleaded in a shaky breath. What was she pleading for? The human didn't even know. She just knew the feel of Heidi's cold, curvy body against her, Heidi's mouth on her neck, the purr rumbling in Heidi's chest, and the liquid heat between Bella's thighs.

Only when the hickey was visible and pretty large that Heidi started to come back to herself. Slowly, the satisfaction started to fade, and as she realized just what she was doing, it was replaced by horror.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit! What had she done? How could she have lost control like that? If her mistake made Bella hate her...Heidi wouldn't be able to live with herself for fucking up like that.

"Damn it! Bella, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" She let out a growl of frustration before letting go of Bella and taking a few very necessary steps back. Once it was clear Bella was standing on her own and not about to fall despite the human's shaky legs, Heidi blurred over to behind the kitchen table. Even with that distance, she couldn't stop staring at the mark she had made. Even through the guilt and horror, her beast rumbled with pleasure seeing it. Bella was marked now. It was clear she was taken. Clear she belonged to Heidi.

Of course, she wouldn't belong to Heidi long if Bella flipped out and never wanted to see her again.

"I really am sorry. I lost control." Bella still didn't say anything, and Heidi put her head in her hands. Shit, this was it. Everything was over.

Once Bella was sure she wouldn't collapse, she finished making her breakfast and walked over to the table. She could see how upset Heidi was so she opened her mouth to try and reassure the vampire, but no words would come out. Her mouth was dry, her heart still hammering in her chest, and she was still way too aware of the wetness soaking her underwear. Her mind was so jumbled she just couldn't manage to get words to come out of her mouth.

With no idea how else to show Heidi it was okay, Bella sat next to Heidi and leaned against her side. There. Now Heidi would know Bella wasn't upset with her. Confused as hell, yes. Conflicted, absolutely. She still didn't know what exactly was going on with Heidi, why she had such a behavior change. Hell, she didn't have the slightest clue what was going on between them at any moment of the day. Still, even after everything she's been through, after everything Heidi had put her through, Bella didn't hate her. She couldn't. In fact, she could even say she liked her quite a bit, and not just because Heidi was way too sexy to be legal.

The moment Heidi felt Bella lean against her, Heidi became a statue. She wasn't sure what to expect, but when Bella started to eat her breakfast, she figured she was probably safe. Was it possible that somehow, Heidi hadn't fucked up after all?

Heidi risked looking up from her hands to glance over at Bella. Of course, her gaze zeroed in on Bella's neck; not just because of the mark Heidi made, either. It was because of the dark red blush creeping up from under the girl's shirt collar.

Again, Heidi had the urge to push it. To give Bella's neck kisses and tease her mercilessly. Despite that, she held back. Just because she might not have fucked up once didn't mean she should risk fucking up again.

Oh, how Heidi would love to fuck Bella. Vertically, horizontally, she really wasn't picky. She just wanted…

Heidi quickly pretended the horny part of her brain didn't exist. She really didn't need to get more worked up than she already was. But maybe just a bit of contact? What harm could that do?

Slowly, carefully, while keeping an eye on Bella's face to watch for any emotional changes, Heidi draped an arm over Bella's shoulders. The human didn't look upset or annoyed; the only thing that changed as she ate was that the blush darkened further.

Oh, this was nice, and Bella seemed to think so too. Maybe Heidi could try to push things a little further after all? Just a little bit more touching…

Bella let out a gasp and swatted Heidi's hand when it started to wander down the front of Bella's shirt. "Heidi! Not in front of my breakfast!"

"My hand moved on its own! I swear I didn't mean to do that!" She honestly only wanted to feel Bella's skin a little as it calmed her, but Heidi's horny hands apparently had their own ideas. Heidi moved her hand from where it had nearly touched Bella's cleavage, but didn't take her arm off of Bella's shoulders. Thankfully, Bella didn't seem to mind.

"Sure it didn't, you pervert," Bella grumbled under her breath. Of course, Heidi heard her.

"Hey, I may be a pervert, but-"

Bella turned to look over at Heidi when the vampire didn't say anything else. She arched her eyebrows at the vampire, prompting her to continue. "But…?"

"Fuck it, I've got nothing." Heidi sighed in defeat, but perked up when she heard Bella laugh.

"That's what I thought. You're the biggest pervert I've ever met, and it's about time you own up to it."

"Just eat your breakfast, Bella."

"Fine. But only because I'm hungry now, and I know Didyme only gave us an hour." Having said her peace, and feeling a lot less off kilter, Bella went back to eating her food with a lot more energy. And, quite frankly, with a lot more attitude.

Heidi found herself letting out a soft laugh at her mate's audacity, unable to keep the smile off of her face. All of her worries washed away as Bella ate, and despite the disgusting smell of the food, Heidi's smile didn't falter once.

When Bella finally finished eating, she found herself playing with the crumbs on her plate. Strangely enough, she didn't want to get up, even to wash her dishes. She just really didn't want this moment with Heidi to end.

She still might not actually care about you. Possessiveness and kindness doesn't mean that she wants to keep me around. And there's still your family. The Cullens. You're not going to stay here.

Bella had to tell herself this more than once to finally bring herself to get up. Heidi did too, and she followed closely behind Bella. It was like she craved the closeness as much as Bella did.

Shields up. Don't you melt just because she's Heidi and acting like this. Sadly, Bella's walls were nowhere to be found, and every time she looked into those red eyes...saying her heart melted or stuttered or even stopped felt like too much of an understatement. Luckily for Bella she had something else to keep her eyes on; the dishes.

Once the dishes were dried and put away, Bella still couldn't turn around. Wherever Bella's fire had gone, she could really use a reappearance of it. "So, um...we have to go to room seven…"

"Seven twenty two, yes," Heidi said when Bella seemed to struggle with the room number.

"Did Didyme say why? I mean, clearly she didn't say it at a human volume, but maybe at a vampire volume?"

Heidi frowned, cocking her head in confusion. "No, she didn't. Why would we go out of our way to speak too quietly for you to hear? You're right here, and whatever Didyme wants concerns both of us."

Bella met Heidi's eyes, and she could see the sincerity in them. Yet it only made Bella more conflicted. "I mean, don't you have vampire things to talk about from time to time? Obviously you don't want the human to hear."

The frown on Heidi's face only deepened. "It would be rude to talk about things right in front of you. Unless the situation calls for it, we would obviously go to a different room to talk." "The situation" of course included taunting certain little bitches that were way too close to her mate, not that she would bring that up now.

"Oh." It was weird how something so normal in the Cullen house was considered weird and rude here, of all places. This was the Volturi castle, where they barely ever spent time around humans except when it came to eating them. "Well, we should probably get going, huh? We don't want to be late."

"Yeah." Heidi could tell that Bella was used to being kept in the dark by vampires, and she didn't like it. The Cullens weren't the Volturi; the only secrets that they had that should have been kept from Bella was them being vampires, and they had clearly broken that one. There should have been no other reason for them to talk too low for Bella to hear, yet it was clear they did it often. No matter how she felt about it, she didn't say anything to press Bella; she could tell Bella didn't want to talk about it.

"So, um...Heidi." Ugh, why was she acting like a socially awkward teenager? Oh yeah, because Bella was one. Sadly, the revelation only made her internal embarrassment stronger. She couldn't wait until she wasn't a teenager anymore. Maybe she would just magically gain maturity once she turned twenty?

"Yes, Bella?" Don't look at the mark you left on her. Don't stare at her mouth. Definitely no staring at Bella's tits. Damn, was her mate sexy, especially when Bella caught her lip between her teeth like she did. How was it that every time she stopped being serious, her mind just went right to the gutter?

Oh, yeah; it's because she was Heidi. Before now, she never once had to control herself or her more...perverse...urges. Of course, now that she had a mate, she had to behave as much as she could. Not that Heidi really had been behaving all that much...

"How about you lead the way?" Bella asked at last.

Just like that, Heidi's lust got the better of her. "Actually, Bella, it's quite a distance from here. I should carry you. To save you the exhaustion, of course." Heidi's eyes traveled down Bella's form then slowly started up again, imagining how amazing it would feel to have Bella's body pressed against hers again. Then she met Bella's eyes, saw the bewilderment in them and the blush on her cheeks, and immediately started to backpedal. "Actually, maybe-"

"Sure."

"What?" Who would have thought a single word that wasn't even dirty would leave Heidi dumbfounded?

"We don't want to be late, do we? And I know I'm an unathletic klutz. So pick me up and let's go." Bella held out her arms, but Heidi could only stare. Really, the back and forth was driving Bella crazy. It was like one second the vampire was ready to throw Bella against the nearest surface and fuck her, and the next, Heidi was doing her best to make sure Bella knew Heidi have any perverse intentions toward her. Of course, Heidi's actions would soon prove herself wrong, but the fact Heidi was even trying to act like she wanted Bella to think she didn't have any lusty feelings toward Bella for even a second was strangely irritating.

One day, I'm going to stop being so awkward and I'm going to make you admit exactly what you think about and feel about me.

"Well? You don't want to keep Didyme waiting, right?" It was the slight irritation in Bella's voice that jolted Heidi into action.

"Right," she confirmed before scooping Bella into her arms.

Come on, Heidi, you just have to not get horny. You can do it. Heidi glanced down at the human in her arms, trying not to stare at her pretty face or the swell of her breasts. Heidi had to swallow. Okay, don't get visibly horny. You can at least do that much, surely.

The walk through the halls of the castle was done in silence. There weren't many vampires in the halls, and those that were there seemed to go out of their way to avoid the pair. Probably because they knew if they got close, Heidi would rip their limbs off.

Despite both of them struggling with what to say, if they should even say something, the silence was still comfortable. Heidi didn't run, instead walking at a slightly quick human pace. After all, she didn't want to make one of the queens wait, but she didn't want to have to put Bella down earlier than necessary either.

They made it to the room before the hour was up, and Heidi knocked on the door. She didn't want to put Bella down, but she felt it wouldn't be appropriate to approach her Queen while carrying Bella.

"Didyme, we're here." Heidi frowned when there was no answer. "Didyme?" She sniffed at the air, and realized the scent of the queen was stale. She glanced down at Bella, trying to hide her uneasiness, but she could tell something was very wrong. Didyme hadn't been here for at least ten minutes; she certainly wasn't waiting for Heidi and Bella.

"What's going on?" Bella asked, but Heidi could only shrug. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't know what to expect.

"Maybe we should make sure the room hadn't been changed." Heidi hadn't even taken a step back before she heard Didyme's voice from somewhere across the castle.

"No escaping. You two are to go into that room, and that's final." This wasn't spoken lightly; it was backed with all of the authority and power of the queen that Didyme was. Heidi couldn't refuse.

"Didyme isn't here. She ordered us to go inside," Heidi explained, not wanting to leave Bella in the dark. Even now, she wanted to prove to Bella that she was nothing like the Cullens, even in a time like this.

"Oh. That's not weird at all," Bella grumbled sarcastically under her breath. She moved a little closer to Heidi as Heidi took hold of the doorknob.

Heidi was quick to reassure Bella, not wanting her mate to be anxious. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything is fine."

She opened the door to prove her point. Sadly, the second she and Bella stepped inside, the lights came on, and both she and Bella realized how wrong Heidi was.

One look around was all it took for Heidi to realize just how much trouble she was in. This is bad. This is so bad.

Bella's jaw dropped, eyes wide as she took everything in. "Holy shit."

Heidi couldn't have said it better herself.