Hi there! Today I bring you a sweet interlude.

I purposely left it short because I didn't want to steal the attention from this sweet scene.

I hope you like it :)

Enjoy!

THE LOCKET.

Chapter 21.

It had been four days in total that they had been away. But it had been four days too many. The bond was pretty new, and being separated from her had been excruciating. It had felt different than when she went away with the girls for the weekend while she was still human. Felix suspected it had to be related to the fact that she had fully accepted the bond and had consummated it with the three of them.

She smelt like home. Woodsy and sweet. Having her in his arms was heaven. He would never care if they lived in a ramshackle cabin in the middle of nowhere or the most grandiose and luxurious palace; so long as he had her, he was home.

He felt the tug relax when he spotted her walking with the Kindle in her hands and music coming out of her headphones. He was home. She looked happy, and that's all that mattered. She carried his scent in that hoodie, so she hadn't noticed him behind her until he tapped her shoulder.

She was smiling at them, and he'd been so focused on handing over his man card that he'd missed what she'd said. She snapped her fingers in front of his face, her eyes shining with mirth and a beautiful smile on her lips.

God, this woman had him wrapped around her pinky finger.

"Sorry, princess. What did you say?"

"I was asking about your mission. How did it go? What happened?"

They decided to move to her room and continue the conversation there. It was her way of getting their scent in her space. It had really been hard not having their scent in the one place she called hers. He could see it on her face and feel how she let the hoodie swallow her and how Demetri's comforter was sprawled on the bed.

Demetri and Alec took the larger couch while he sat on the lovechair, dragging her into his lap. She sat sideways on his legs, using the armrest as support. This way, she could see all her mates' faces. Felix dropped a kiss on her cheek, unable to stop touching her.

Once they were settled, Felix saw how Bella eyed them from head to toe as if making sure they were not injured. But she was too smart; she knew that there were injuries that clothes could hide.

"Any injuries to report?" She used that no-nonsense tone of voice that left no room for deception. So, either they told her the truth, or hell would befall them.

"I got tackled to the ground by Kane, but he didn't do anything else to me." Demetri reported.

Felix would have snorted at the captain of the guard, who once reported only to Aro. Now that they had this woman, they had two people to report to. Felix now awaited his turn to report to his mate. Gladly so.

Bella nodded, some of that concern lifting from her shoulders, her eyes a bit brighter. She turned to Alec.

"Nothing on my side, darling. I didn't even use my gift." He shrugged.

It had been pretty uneventful. Felix was almost disappointed.

She then turned to him. He shrugged. "I delivered on my promise to you. I killed him after Aro interrogated him. But other than that, I barely lifted a finger."

Bella tilted her head and observed her mates silently for a few minutes. Felix and the other two men exchanged an amused glance, waiting to see what had crossed Bella's mind. She finally finished her assessment with a snort and a roll of her eyes. "You three were expecting something grant, weren't you? You're disappointed it didn't turn out into a bigger fight."

Demetri laughed. "It was pretty boring. I have had more excitement helping Marcus with his books." It was not a secret that Demetri was a man of action who got easily bored and skittish if there was nothing to do. Once, he'd offered to help Marcus with his books, having done some research on some vampires and wanting to kill time. To say Marcus had kicked him out of the library was a mild understatement.

"You're horrible." She shook her head, but they could see the relief flowing through her body.

Alec shrugged. "We did learn something interesting, though."

Bella nodded, eager to learn what had happened.

"You weren't their target. Not even close." Bella's eyes widened. "The entire organization was. Kane wanted to topple down the Volturi in revenge for us killing his mate three hundred years ago."

So they told her everything that Kane had said. From his ill attempts to help David with this task to the sworn revenge he'd tried to carry over on his mate's name.

"Why did he think a newborn army would help?" Bella asked.

"I think he knew it was a suicide mission. I think he was tired of living without his mate and took the opportunity to make his move. He wanted to take down whomever he could with him. I think he knew he would not win nor survive, but at least he made a statement." Demetri explained.

Bella shuddered. Felix understood what that shudder was. It was the same chill that went down his spine at the thought of losing either Bella or one of the guys. They were a tight unit, and losing any of them would be catastrophic.

"I feel sorry for them, either way. Both Victoria and Kane lost their mates, and it drove them mad." She could empathize with them and send a silent prayer for those souls.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes until it became too heavy. Bella needed her mates to touch her in some way. And she didn't feel like sharing them with the rest of her friends, at least for the rest of the day. "Let's put on a movie."

They moved to Alec's room, the best equipped in that regard. Since he loved his video games, he'd invested in a good sound system and a bigger screen. Why he needed these things, being a vampire, was beyond her, but right now, it came in handy. The bigger the screen, the more comfortable their positions to watch the movie.

Finally, Felix settled on the floor, his back between Bella's legs that dangled over the edge of her seat and Bella between her other mates. They were in physical contact, which was what they needed at the moment.

This was about bonding, about easing the strain that they'd put their bond into the last few days. It was not a race to get each other naked and devour each other. While that would provide relief, it would only be temporary. So, this was the wisest option.

Bella groaned when she saw the title sliding on the screen. Felix chuckled as she kicked his side. He'd chosen another horror movie.

"You're a vampire now. You can't tell me you're still afraid of the paranormal."

She huffed. "Remind me again, how old are you?"

"Old enough not to be scared by a ghost." He mocked her.

"How long have you been a vampire?"

"A long time." He still didn't lose his smile.

"As the most recently turned vampire here, there is a lot of shit you can't explain. And I totally believe in evil spirits."

Demetri rolled his eyes. Felix loved to get a rise out of Bella, and she always fell into his trap.

"They are ghosts. They can't hurt you." Felix went on.

"How do you know?" She challenged.

"Because they're not corporeal. How is something that doesn't have a body going to hurt you?" He volleyed back.

Bella rolled her eyes. "It doesn't need a body to hurt you."

Felix turned around to face her. "Explain that logic, please."

Alec huffed, annoyed. Felix, with his love for horror, and Bella, with her aversion to it, could argue for hours about the pros and cons of everything.

"It sucks on your energy. And they don't need a body like yours or mine. They can still physically harm you. They scratch you, they move objects… It's creepy."

Felix observed her silently. She was crazy. He shook his head, amused and exasperated. "You're absurd."

Bella shrugged, reclining back. "You have your beliefs, and I have mine."

Felix looked at his two best friends, seeking confirmation that their mate was crazy. But both men shook their heads. "Cowards." Felix murmured before turning around and resuming his former position.

Still, Felix changed the horror movie in favor of a less creepy show. This time, they settled on watching Outlander. Bella grinned excitedly. She loved this show. It also served that the men in here were gorgeous.

"I worry that you'll change us for a Scottish man." Alec teased, leaning down to whisper it in her ear.

Felix snorted. "You mean change you. She won't get better than me."

Bella kicked him again, to which he chuckled and imprisoned her legs. She was delighted that Felix had returned to his playful, cheeky self. While she enjoyed his warrior side and loved every aspect of her mates, it was nice to see that the softy inside of him that came out with her was returning.

Demetri was still too quiet, but she could see that the tension that had been there was gone. She thought that if they could sleep to recharge energies, Demetri would be curled and sleeping like a cat.

Alec, on the other hand, was his lately usual playful self. She definitely needs to speak with him about his change in demeanor. What happened to make him shed off that mask of self-doubt? She was happy those traces of doubt and shadows lifted off his eyes, but she still wondered what made them go.

"Keep putting on horror movies, and I'll find a replacement quite fast." She flicked his ear, making him growl.

"You can try. You still won't get better than me."

Ugh. Cocky Felix was insufferable. He was right, but he didn't need her to remind him of that, lest his head got bigger.

Demetri looked like he needed to be plugged into some charging device. He looked utterly drained. She elbowed him slightly, to which he shook his head as if clearing some fog and came back to reality.

"Are you ok?" She mouthed.

He kissed her forehead, nodded, rested his head on her shoulder, and closed his eyes. He couldn't sleep, but he could block some of the stimuli coming in.

Bella smiled slightly, looped her arm with his, and intertwined their fingers, softly drawing patterns on the back of his hand in soothing motions – like a lullaby. Her poor mate. He really was drained.

She checked on Alec, but he was focused on the TV, taking in all the plot details. Bella's smile widened. So, she was not the only one to fall under the charm of Outlander. Nice to know. She squeezed his knee affectionately, and he grabbed her hand without taking his eyes off the TV.

"That's unrealistic!" Felix screamed.

Bella rolled her eyes. Felix was the kind of person/vampire who loved to run commentary during movies and basically every type of video entertainment. He was yelling at Jamie, the Scottish highlander, who had decided to sleep on the floor outside the female main character's door in the tavern to protect her from the rest of the men. It was one of Bella's favorite scenes from the show, and her mate was now trash-talking it.

"So, you're telling me that if you had met me a few hundred years ago, and we were all human, you wouldn't have slept on the floor by the door to protect me from other men?"

Alec snorted, to her surprise. She gasped and turned to him. "What?" She demanded softly.

"I wouldn't have slept on the floor. I would have crawled into your bed." And then he had the never to give her a toothy smile.

"Exactly! No man is going to sleep on the floor." Felix added.

Bella sighed, resigned. Demetri chuckled on her shoulder. "I agree, sweetheart."

Bella pouted and crossed her arms on top of her chest. "You suck the romance out of it."

And Felix, God damn him, couldn't just accept his victory; he kept talking. "It's not romance, princess. It's reality."

She shook her head. This is what happens when you see a show about a book series written by a woman with three men. They don't respect the masterpiece that Jamie Frazer is.

"I don't know why I put up with you three." She mumbled pedantically, making her mates laugh.

Alec grabbed one of her arms to kiss her hand, while Felix patted her leg affectionately, and Demetri left a kiss on her neck. She rolled her eyes, this time theatrically.

This is why she put up with them. Because despite them messing up with her favorite show, they were sitting there with her watching it for her. Because the three of them enjoyed horror movies too much, but because she hated them, they decided to watch something she would enjoy, even if they got bored. Because she knew that despite their quips about the show, they were only joking and would never trash-talk it in earnest. And that was only about this particular moment.

Because if she wanted to speak about everything they did for her and everything she loved about them, she had a never-ending list.

In sum, they made her happy. The happiest she's ever been since she was born.

She smiled and rested her head on Alec's shoulder, taking advantage that Demetri had straightened out in his seat. She nudged Felix with her leg in a silent affectionate gesture, and he snorted but patted her leg back.

This, here, was absolute heaven.