Hello people, long time no see. Hope you like this chapter.

A big big thank you to my beta rff21 :)

I don't know how long I just sat there, in complete shock. Of all the things that she could have told me she went with 'we are vampires'. She told me that they weren't playing with me and like a fool I believed her.

'We are vampires,' she said with a completely serious face. Both hadn't moved an inch since Tanya had said that, they sat in their armchairs looking like perfect angles or like stone statues that you see in museums. They were looking at me like they were expecting a serious reaction from me. I wanted to laugh at their joke, it was a good one. One that I couldn't have predicted.

"Haha, very funny. Honestly, I didn't see that coming. From all the things that you could have said, you went with that." You could hear disappointment in my voice. I decided that it was the best time for me to go home and drown my sorrows in a bottle of wine. Honestly, I didn't see how I would recover from this heartache.

Before I could even move, Kate decided to speak up. "Bella, we are not lying to you," she said and I could hear the truth in her voice.

"Really? You expect me to believe you? This is the most ridiculous thing that came to your mind," I told them sadly, pain obvious in my tone. "You can tell me the truth, no matter how much it will hurt me"

They had a pained look on their faces, something that bothered me quite a lot. Proof of how hard I have fallen for them. 'How will I get through this?' I thought.

Tanya then got up from the chair. "You want the proof?" she said with eyes begging me to understand. But she didn't wait for my response, she just disappeared before my eyes.

I couldn't believe what just happened, 'how on earth did she just do that?!'. My brain was going overload trying to explain this, but I had no logical explanation. I just sat there, with my mouth and eyes wide open.

And then, with a blink of an eye she appeared again in the same spot as before, like nothing happened.

I didn't move, didn't blink or breathe for who knows how long, thousands of thoughts going through my mind. I should have been afraid, but my body didn't allow me to fear them, not even with Tanya disappearing and reappearing out of thin air in front of me. I felt as safe as always with them.

If I was more aware of my surroundings, I would have noticed that they did have fear in their eyes, agony and fear. They were waiting for me to do something, and they were preparing themselves for the worst. But my mind didn't let me, I just stared at the fireplace that was behind them.

After some time I got up and walked towards glass wall that had a majestic view of the forest, one that I didn't notice so far. Not with the most beautiful women in the world in the same room. I looked at the forest, my thoughts chaotically jumping all over the place. Honestly I was overwhelmed.

I don't know how much time has passed before Kate lost her patience. "Bella? Please say something.", she got my attention, so I turned to look at them. They didn't move form their sits in front of fireplace. Kate looked like she was ready to burst into tears.

I took deep breath and walked to my chair in front of them and slowly sat down.

It took me some time but I managed to whisper with a shaky voice, "Vampires?"

Never in my life did I consider the supernatural actually existing, I mean I did read a lot of fantasy books, but they are all fiction. Are they?

Both Tanya and Kate nodded their heads, confirming my question, other than that they didn't move at all, now that I think about it, they barely moved at all. They didn't blink, I haven't seen them eat this entire time, nor did I actually see Tanya properly eat the entire time I've known her. She was always cold but I just thought that she had poor circulation.

"Vampires? You are actually vampires? Bloodsucking creatures? Sleeping in coffins and burning in sun vampires?" I asked them so fast that in the end I lost my breath. My brain was still not convinced that this wasn't some kind of prank.

"We don't actually sleep nor do we burn in the sun," Kate said with a chuckle, her mood already lightening up. Tanya didn't shift her focus from me, watching my reaction to what Kate was saying.

"You are telling me the truth? This isn't some kind of joke to you so you could get rid of me?" I asked them with a shaky voice, on edge and with tears in my eyes.

Both looked at me like I just said the most ridiculous thing that they ever heard.

"This isn't the way that we wanted to tell you this," Tanya told me with a calm voice. "We wanted to give you more time, so you could get to know us better before learning the truth. But not because we don't trust you, but this isn't something that you say to someone you've known for a week. Not if you want them to believe you and do not run away as soon as they see the proof. But after yesterday we realized that because of our unique situation it is better to come clean."

Even if I didn't believe them at this point her tone made sure that I did. She has some kind of aura that makes you believe her within minutes. At least that was the case with me.

I could see what she was trying to tell me but my brain focused on 'our unique situation' and was not willing to let go. I was refusing to think about what they said earlier about us being mates. What the hell were mates? But I had the feeling that my next question would bring us to this topic.

Nevertheless, I asked them, "Our unique situation?"

And just like that, with my question I could feel them becoming more nervous. It was like they were both waiting for the other to answer. What were they afraid of? That I would run and never come back?

Kate decided to speak first. "Well... you see…" she started to stutter. Gone was her cocky, sure self. I didn't know her for long to know that this was a rare sight to see.

Tanya decided to save Kate from this situation.

"Bella, there are few things that you need to know about us, or about vampires in general. We are creatures with strong primal instincts, it is what makes us so dangerous. The world's greatest hunters if you will, with very few things that can actually destroy us."

She didn't continue, she paused so I could ask them questions if I wanted to.

I didn't have any at the moment, but as soon as she started to talk about something able to destroy them, I felt myself getting upset. My very being was against the thought of them being in danger. I started to frown.

If I was watching them more carefully, I would have seen the little knowing smiles on their faces as they saw my reaction.

But Tanya soon continued, "You don't need to worry about us, our skin is almost indestructible, not to mention that we are immortal."

"Immortal?" I quickly asked. I knew that vampires in fiction were almost always immortal but I was still surprised to hear that. Deep down I felt relieved. They were safe.

"Yes, from the moment we were turned till our destruction we do not age. Our bodies are frozen in the state they were when we were turned, with skin harder than diamond, bodies turned to stone," Kate explained to me.

I still couldn't believe that we were talking about this. Maybe I was going to wake up and all of this would just have been just a crazy dream. One can hope.

"I will go on," Tanya said. "But please, if you have any question or would like to say something, just interrupt me."

Kate smirked at that and said, "You are the only one who is allowed to do that," which earned her a smack in the head from Tanya.

I let out a little laugh at the scene, Kate was rubbing her head while Tanya looked like a pissed mother at her toddler. But it did intrigue me to hear that, what an odd thing to say.

"What do you mean 'I am the only one allowed to do that'?" I asked them curiously, emphasizing on the word 'allowed'.

"I will answer your question but maybe you will understand better if you know more about us in general, if that is ok with you?"

I just nodded for Tanya to go on.

"As I said we are… creatures, with what we like to call our inner beasts. They are responsible for our increased primal instincts, what drives us to be a little more aggressive or possessive. I know that you heard me growl at some point, so that would be an example of our beast showing up."

Tanya paused, leaving me the opportunity to ask questions if I wanted to but I was preoccupied with processing what she had just said.

"Our beast also allows us to form deeper and more meaningful bonds between family members, friends, and partners. We love, care, and hate more deeply than you could ever imagine, because of our beast. One of the side effects of our beast is also the ability to emit pheromones, which helps us mark our territory, repel potential wanderers or show our strength to our enemy; the more powerful your beast is the stronger the pheromones you release. But they also come in handy to calm down your loved ones if needed or to get them more arouse-" I didn't let her finish, my mouth voicing the question that came to my mind instantly.

"Is that what happened to me yesterday when I broke down? Did you do that to me, did you release your pheromones on me?" I tried to hold back the accusing tone of my voice, but you could still hear it. I didn't like that they did that to me without my knowledge. I didn't like that someone had that kind of power over me, to shut me down completely. Even if I knew that they wouldn't abuse it.

They both looked like they were ashamed of what they did to me. I could see pure regret on their faces. Kate was the one that tried to explain their actions.

"Bella, we are truly sorry for what we did. It wasn't an easy decision but one that was made in complete desperation. We couldn't watch you melt down in front of us, our beasts didn't allow it, and we knew that talking to you in that state and after what happened wouldn't go well. We promise you that we won't abuse that power over you." Her promise was clear to hear and it was the one that I believed in.

Kate then continued, "We don't want you to think that pheromones are bad. It's quite the contrary, with the people you love, as Tanya said, they are a powerful tool. All the good side effects of pheromones like calming down or offering support, compassion or showing your… partner how they affect you are very important. We heavily rely on them to deepen our bonds."

It was a lot to take in, honestly I couldn't comprehend how it was possible to do that through smell. I felt a headache coming through and even with me waking up recently I felt like I could sleep again. I was exhausted.

Tanya decided to finish explaining their world to me. "You see, even when our beasts play a major part in our lives, vampires are herd creatures that prefer to live in what we call covens. Almost none of us live alone, maybe there are mates that live together but even that is rare. Our family or coven is a high priority in our lives, only mates are above it. We take great comfort in our covens."

While I listened to her talking about how family is important in their species, I found out that I admired that trait. It must be nice to know that you have a safe and loving family to back you up.

"But there are a few things that make our world a little different. Because we have beasts within us and because we are run by our instincts we have quite a strict way of life, or if you want, rules that must be obeyed." Tanya's voice shifted as she was telling me that, it was a voice that I heard her use with her family. It held quite power and authority. Even Kate was listening to her intensely.

"Many years ago, thousands if you will, our rulers saw the dangerous path that vampires were heading to. Vampires weren't in the hiding, they hunted freely, not seeing the need to hide themselves. But humans started to become more and more aware of us and that was something our rulers feared. So they decided to create laws, they were and still are the most powerful vampires that ever walked the Earth so no one in their right mind would ever think about opposing them. And it turned out they were right, I can't imagine what would happen to us if humans knew about our existence. We would be hunted down and that is something none of us want. As you can imagine the most important law is to keep our existence a secret. To do that they decided that there would be no new turning without their permission, and that the new vampire would spend their first few years training to control themselves with them. Also, they highly recommended living in covens, in communities that would take care of their members and also keep them in line. Through the years covens became the natural way of living for vampires and our own adaptability came through. Our beasts developed a system, or a hierarchy if you will, that maintained peace and order in our world."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked her, not able to contain my curiosity. This was so fascinating to listen to. It was like reading a fantasy book with its own world.

She smiled at my question and continued. "Well, now we come to the part of why you are one of the only people on Earth that can interrupt me," she laughed. "You see, when our rulers were deciding on a system of covens as our way of life they needed to know that every member could be watched over and, if you will, controlled so our secret would remain intact. They decided to give one vampire in each coven the responsibility of being the leader of that coven. The person that would be in charge and held responsible for all the members of the coven. That was usually the vampire with the strongest beast. Of course through the years there were unfit coven leaders but they were dealt with quickly and efficiently. Our rulers take their job seriously, and they do not let their people suffer in vain. And as I said our beasts over the years adapted and took seriously the role of coven leader or member. Coven leaders hold quite a lot of power over their coven members, but with their permission of course. You could say that they are responsible for the actions of their coven mates, it is something that is very serious in our world. They guarantee that they can keep their members in control with their lives."

She paused like she knew that I wanted to ask her something.

"And you are the coven leader?" I asked her. After everything she told me, that would make the most sense. It would explain why she sometimes seemed like she was giving orders to others and why she radiated with authority.

"Exactly, I am the leader of the Denali coven. I am responsible for the actions of my family and it is a role that I don't take lightly, nor do they. I have the power to keep them in check, but also the responsibility to keep them safe. Their beasts see me as a leader otherwise I wouldn't be able to hold my position. Of course as soon as I start to abuse my power I would be removed, permanently," she explained.

Kate was looking at her with admiration in her eyes, like she would do anything for her. And when Tanya turned to her I could see the same look, the same meaning, complete commitment. Tanya then reached out for Kate's cheek, caressing it, gently, with great devotion.

Kate took her hand and kissed it, muttering something sweet that I couldn't quite understand. My heart was melting at the sight in front of me. I knew that they loved each other, but this was something else, I've never seen this kind of bond. This devotion in their eyes that held years of companionship.

Kate then turned to me, "I want you to understand how important Tanya is to our life, she protects us, gives everything she has to ensure we have a happy and fulfilled life. She has never done something that could make us question her. We would follow her to the end of the Earth. But to answer your question, because of her position and our beasts' hierarchy it is very difficult to be rude to her or do something that would question her authority over us. And interrupting her, as small as it seems, would be disrespectful to her. Our beasts don't allow us to do that, they have too much respect for her," she tells me. I could hear that she meant every single word she said. As strange as their system seemed to me, I could see that she didn't have one bit of a problem with that. Maybe that was the rebel in me talking, but I didn't think I would like that kind of authority over me.

And it still didn't answer my initial question, on the contrary.

"Then why can I interrupt her, is it because I am human?" I asked them, trying to understand this situation as best as my brain let me.

"Well, yes that is the part of the reason but not really, you could get away with a lot more than that simply because of the fact that you are her mate," Kate said like it was the most natural thing in the whole world. There she goes again with that word; mate. Like that was the magic answer and everything would suddenly become clear to me.

"You said that word before, like it should mean something to me, but it doesn't. So please tell me what it means. And if keeping your existence is a secret, why would you tell me what you are?" I asked them, hoping that they would hear the desperation in my voice. I needed to know. From what I just heard, punishment in their world was harsh. Why would they risk it for me?

"You see, we are creatures that are capable of experiencing the bonds between one another like no other species in the world. There are three true types of bonds in our world; the bond between soul parents and children, the bond between soul siblings and the most important one, the bond between soulmates or romantic partners. That bond is sacred in our world, no one is more important than your soulmate, you would do anything for them, even die for them. They are the reason why you were put on this Earth. All vampires dream of finding their one and when they do, nothing and no one will ever come between them. When a vampire finds their soulmate in a human, it is allowed to reveal their secret to them," Tanya told me. I could feel my brain overheating with this information. I knew what that meant but I wasn't ready to verbalize it yet.

I don't know how much time passed with them waiting for me to ask the final question. They were giving me the space to think, but my brain was blank.

After some time I dared to ask Tanya, "And I am your soulmate?"

In my heart I knew the answer to that question, but still I needed to hear her. Not allowing myself to think about Kate. Which I immediately regretted as a flash of hurt crossed Kate's face when she saw that my question wasn't directed at her, only Tanya.

Tanya reached for Kate's hand, offering her silent support. But she turned to me and I could see the happiness on her face.

"Yes, you are. You are my mate Bella, the reason I was put on this Earth," Tanya said before she quickly added the last sentence. "But…. You aren't just my mate Bella."

"You are also mine Bella," Kate said. She also looked happy and excited but you could see she was a bundle of nerves.

This time I didn't let them wait. "I am the mate of both of you? How do you know? How is that possible?" I didn't dare yet to believe that that was true. Even in my wildest dreams I couldn't have foreseen this scenario. Both claiming that I was their soulmate. Could I really have both of them?

"We can tell you 100% sure that you are ours," Kate said. "There is no doubt in our mind." What it did to me hearing them say that I was theirs!

Tanya continued, "The moment we saw you, when our eyes met, the connection was formed, much stronger on our side because your body wouldn't be able to bear the full intensity of our feelings. We have found you, our beasts recognize you as our mate. As to how, we don't exactly know, there is only one case of multiple mates in our history, and it is between our rulers."

"But you two are not mates?" I asked them. I didn't not know how the hell I was this calm. I should be freaking out by now.

"No, we always had a close bond, many thought that we are mates, but no we are not. Now we know that you were the reason for that closeness, my beast couldn't bear to share you with no one else but her, and it goes the same for her. Now we are closer than ever before, our goal in life is the same. Our purpose is the same; loving you, making you happy and keeping you safe," Tanya told me and I had no other choice than to believe her. I didn't understand what kind of sorcery was making me believe all of this, but I believed it with all my heart.

And with that I started to shake and sob, tears pouring from my eyes. I had tortured myself over my feelings for Kate, not wanting to jeopardize my relationship with Tanya, but they were both mine. Tanya and Kate were mine.

There was something in me that didn't let me be afraid of them, that couldn't even let me think of leaving them after they told me they were vampires. I knew that my place was with them. They were mine.

I continued to dry my eyes out from all the stress, happiness and something else that was making me more emotional than usual.

When I heard slow footsteps that were approaching me, I lifted my head up to see Tanya and Kate slowly coming towards me, but they had fear in their eyes and their steps were unsure. Like they wanted to run towards me but were afraid that my tears were rejection.

Which made me cry even harder, unable to articulate what I wanted.

"My love, please don't cry. We can not bear the sight of you crying, we didn't want to upset you," Tanya told me in a pleading voice, after which came Kate's more desperate voice.

"My darling, please forgive us. We couldn't lie to you directly, you deserve the truth. Please don't reject us," she was begging me. True horror could be heard in her voice. "I will leave you two alone, I won't bother you, please don't cry."

Somehow she concluded that she was too much for me and decided to remove herself from the picture so I could be with Tanya.

My heart broke when I heard that. I decided to act before thinking, and not even a second after she said that, I was in her arms. Her strong, safe arms that were holding me like I was the most precious cargo in the world. I was looking her in the eyes, which now held adoration in them. She was waiting for me to do something, letting me decide the next step.

I didn't think too much, I let my instincts do their thing and slowly brought my lips to hers, kissing her.

My soul was shouting 'I am home'.

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