Chapter 7
Bella sniffed awkwardly at herself, wrinkling her nose at the smell. She'd taken Victoria's suggestion and washed her clothing the previous night. The scent of bleach was pretty faint, and she doubted it would do much, but surely a vampire would know better than her about such things.
She was in her first class of the day at school. It had been pretty difficult to keep from making any decisions about seeing Victoria, but apparently she'd done well enough so far since Alice hadn't mentioned anything during the drive that morning.
About thirty minutes into the period she had to use the restroom. But instead of heading back to class when she was finished, she found herself walking in the opposite direction, towards the exit and parking lot. She didn't think about where she was going. Didn't put any thought into her actions beyond making a concerted effort not to trip over her own feet. She simply went on her way.
When she reached her truck she looked around, heaving a sigh of relief when she didn't spot Alice anywhere. And when she drove away from the school and headed towards Port Angeles, she wondered if it'd always been so easy to give the pixie the slip. She'd agonized so much over it the last time she'd done it.
It was definitely possible that Alice simply wasn't looking at her decisions. After she'd asked to be turned, it made sense that the pixie might believe she'd stopped thinking about Victoria. But if that were the case then she was sorely mistaken.
Unfortunately for Bella, Victoria had been impossible to get out of her mind for the past week. The woman was an enigma—dangerous and unpredictable, but undeniably more than the monster Bella had once believed her to be. Their day together in the mall had felt so effortless, as if being herself around the vampire required no thought at all. Victoria was unapologetically herself—honest and open with her in spite of her vicious streak—and Bella couldn't deny how it seemed to draw her in, like a moth to a flame. She told herself she was going to see Victoria to learn more about her. But deep down, Bella wasn't entirely sure what was driving her. All she knew was that she wanted to see her again.
Only a few moments after that last thought of hers, her cellphone suddenly began to ring. Her heart grew tense as she picked it up, keeping most of her attention on the road, and the caller id told her what she last wanted to see.
Alice's name was lit up on the screen for only another moment before she clicked her phone off. She'd gotten so far without thinking about her decisions but had slipped up right at the end. At the very least, however, she was already most of the way to the Port Angeles. She doubted the pixie would try and stop her at this point, if she even could get to Bella before she arrived. But either way, she'd definitely have to deal with one upset vampire when she got back home.
With a simple shake of her head, she continued on her drive. When she reached the city she headed for a specific hotel—the one listed on the room key Victoria had given her.
She parked her car in the lot and looked up at the building. It wasn't as ostentatious as she'd been anticipating, not quite at the level of luxury she'd come to expect from the Cullens. It made sense that a nomadic life like Victoria's would hamper most opportunities to build wealth, but it wasn't like Bella minded. She'd never cared for the excesses the Cullens had lavished on her, so this was a nice change of pace.
After entering the hotel she headed upstairs to the second floor. It took some navigating, but she eventually found the room with a number matching her key's. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before raising a fist and knocking.
Several seconds went by with no response. She knocked again, but still nothing.
Bella furrowed her brows and fished the key back out of her pocket, slotting it in and unlocking the door.
"Hello?" she called out. "Victoria?"
Still no answer, and so she fully entered the room, shutting the door behind her.
She looked around for a minute, checking both the kitchen and bathroom, but there was no trace of the vampire.
Confident that the woman wasn't there, Bella went back to the main room and examined the state of it. There was a single bed in the middle of the space—sheets made but untidy—and a television on the opposite wall. A chair sat in the corner of the room by the window as well. Beside the bed was a nightstand with several books stacked atop it in a pile. Bella walked over to it and read the titles, noting that they were a collection of mostly young adult novels, but with one philosophical text she didn't recognize at the top.
She turned around and looked back to the television. There was a DVD player attached to it, and a pile of movies stacked beside it as well. At the very top of the pile, with its case splayed open and the disc missing, was the first Lord of The Rings movie.
So Victoria enjoyed movies? That was unexpected. And looking at the selection she'd picked it seemed like her tastes were pretty eclectic.
While Bella was busy snooping around, a sudden noise from the door made her jump. She turned around just in time to see it open.
Burgandy eyes met her own, and Victoria sprouted a smirk as she shut the door behind her.
"Find what you're looking for?" she asked with an amused tone.
Bella shifted around nervously as she answered. "Uh… you like Lord of the Rings?"
Victoria chuckled as she approached, stopping only a few feet away. "Not sure. I haven't gotten around to watching it yet."
She lifted her hand up, and only then did Bella see she was carrying a paper bag.
"Hungry?" she asked.
Bella furrowed her brows, and the redhead continued.
"I thought you might be here soon, so I grabbed some food from a restaurant nearby." She paused for a moment before continuing. "It's alright if you don't want it. I just thought you might've skipped breakfast."
Bella felt her cheeks growing warm, and so she took the food from the vampire with a quiet 'thanks'.
Victoria glanced around for a second before plopping down on the bed. She patted the spot next to her—just like she'd done in her room before.
"Come sit," she said. "Tell me about your week."
Bella's eyes flickered to the chair in the corner, causing the redhead to stick her lips out in a pout. But instead of sitting away from the vampire like she had before, she moved over to the bed—albeit the other side of it—and sat near the headboard.
She started looking through the bag, pulling out a couple of sandwiches, some hashbrowns, eggs, sausage, and a few other items.
"I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I just grabbed one of everything."
Bella sprouted a crooked smile. There wasn't a chance she'd eat even half of it all.
Victoria shifted around to face her better, pulling her legs up and crossing them in a single smooth movement. The grace with which she moved was mesmerizing, and Bella had to work to look back down at her food.
"So what happened with the wolves?" Victoria asked. "I didn't think they were involved with you at all. Besides Jacob at least."
Bella frowned as she finished a bite of her sandwich.
"Alice and Jasper called them apparently," she said.
Victoria clicked her tongue. "Of course they did. Still, I didn't think they'd stoop to that of all things."
Bella shook her head. "It was before they got into town apparently. I don't think Alice would've told them if she'd actually known I was okay. It doesn't sound like they get along very well."
"I'm not surprised," she said. "Honestly, I was pretty confused when I first encountered them in Forks. Shifters usually attack vampires on sight, so this little situation with the Cullens is pretty unusual."
"So all the books and movies got that part right at least?" Bella asked with a smirk. "Mortal enemies and all that?"
"Something like that," she said with a nod. "So what exactly happened then? You made it sound like they were holding you hostage or something."
Bella scoffed as she thought back to Billy's attitude towards her. She shook her head before recounting the events of that Saturday night. She placed specific emphasis on the Quileute elder's holier than thou attitude.
Victoria narrowed her eyes dangerously as Bella finished. "You want me to deal with him for you?"
Bella responded with a sudden choked cough, struggling to breathe as she attempted to swallow her food.
The vampire widened her eyes before suddenly flashing away. Bella heard the kitchen sink running as she kept trying to clear her throat. And a moment later the redhead was back with a glass of water in hand.
Bella took it and greedily downed a few gulps before wiping her lips.
"What are you, some kind of hit man?" she asked incredulously. "No, I don't want you to kill my father's best friend. Even if he is a jerk."
Victoria broke into a smile, an amused glint in her eyes. "Alright," she said lightly. "But just let me know if you change your mind."
Though her tone was playful, Bella caught the unmistakable sincerity beneath it. Would she really do that—end someone's life—just because she asked her to? The thought sent an unexpected shiver down Bella's spine, and not entirely out of fear. A quiet thrill stirred within her at the idea of someone willing to go to such lengths for her, even as her moral sensibilities recoiled from it. Bella quickly shook her head and focused on her meal, trying and failing to suppress the guilt and confusion her reaction brought.
"Enough about the wolves," Victoria said. "What happened after I left last Saturday? Did you three make up?"
Bella furrowed her brows, frowning as she thought about how to answer her question.
"Yeah, I think so," she said after a moment. "Alice is trying to make things up to me in her own way. I'm betting she'll be upset I gave her the slip though."
Victoria hesitated for a second. "You didn't consider just telling her?"
"…No?" she questioned, tilting her head. "She would have just stopped me."
The redhead raised a brow. "And what about next time? Or have you grown tired of me already?"
The vampire tilted her head down, looking up at Bella in an attempt to appear as pitiful as possible.
Bella just rolled her eyes. "I'll figure it out I guess."
Victoria hummed in response. "You could always just stay here and not risk it. My offer stands the same as before."
Bella averted her eyes. "I haven't changed my mind."
"Yet," Victoria added.
She furrowed her brows, turning back to the vampire. "How can you be so sure I will?" she asked. "I don't get it."
Now was the redhead's turn to avert her eyes, and she shifted around slightly as she hesitated. "It's just that…"
"I remind you of someone?" Bella asked, calling back to one of their previous conversations.
Victoria's eyes turned distant, and she stared into space for a moment before lightly nodding.
"You remind me of my sister," she said softly, her voice carrying an unfamiliar vulnerability. "When we were human, I mean."
Bella's eyes widened. "You have a sister?"
"Had," Victoria corrected quietly.
Bella realized her mistake and immediately opened her mouth to apologize, but the redhead shook her head.
"It's fine," she said, though her voice wavered slightly. "She was… stubborn, like you." Victoria let out a faint, almost wisplike chuckle before her expression fell again. "It's been so long, but I… I still…"
Victoria trailed off, looking down with an expression which Bella recognized. Like before, it was the same she'd seen in herself when the Cullens had left her. Empty and lifeless. Devoid of anything, save for a deep, haunting sorrow burrowed deeply into her heart. Just the mention of her sister and she quickly appeared as a husk of the woman she'd been just moments prior.
"No, never mind," Victoria said, shaking her head. "Can we talk about something else?"
Seeing the normally confident woman so broken gave Bella a sudden need to comfort her, but she didn't know what to say. Grasping for straws, she said the first thing that came to mind. "Um… I haven't seen Lord of the Rings either. You wanna watch it together?"
A bit of life returned to Victoria's eyes as she let out an amused chuckle. "Sure," she said. "How about later tonight? It's the extended edition though. I hope you don't mind."
Remembering how long the movie supposedly was, Bella wanted to deny her, knowing she'd need to make the drive home that night. But the almost pleading look in the woman's eyes made her bite her tongue, and she nodded.
Victoria's expression recovered a bit more, and she smiled gently. "Thank you."
Bella couldn't help but smile back. Victoria met her gaze for a few seconds, the weight behind her eyes a bit lighter than it'd been a second ago. After a moment, Bella realized she was staring and looked back down, a light blush dusting her cheeks.
She went back to her meal, not daring to raise her eyes again. Victoria turned and stared out the window for a few minutes before breaking the silence.
"Do you like art?" she asked, turning to face her again.
Bella hesitated a moment before nodding.
Victoria smiled. "I found this exhibit online the other night. Let's go check it out when you're finished. It's not far from here."
"Online?" Bella asked with a smirk, seeing an opportunity to lighten the mood a bit. "You know how to use a computer? Aren't you too old for that kind of thing?"
Victoria stilled, her crimson eyes narrowing dangerously. "Too old?" she repeated slowly, her tone deceptively calm, but laced with warning.
Bella's smirk faltered under the intensity of her gaze, and before she could react, the redhead was suddenly on her hands and knees, crawling over to her with a predatory grace that sent her heart racing.
Bella widened her eyes and instinctively tried to move away, but her earlier choice to sit by the headboard had inadvertently trapped her. Cornered, she glanced down nervously as the redhead stopped mere inches away.
A low, almost feline purr escaped Victoria's throat, the sound sending a pleasurable shiver down her spine. "Don't you know it's rude to call a lady old?" she asked, her voice silky and playful, but carrying an edge which made Bella's heart seize in her chest.
Her cheeks flushed red, growing uncomfortably warm as Victoria reached up, her cold fingers slipping underneath Bella's chin with unnerving ease. The touch was light but commanding, tilting Bella's head to meet her gaze.
Victoria's scent enveloped her, intoxicating and all-consuming, as if designed to lure her in. Her thoughts grew clouded, and a faint haze blurred the edges of her vision. The shiver that ran down Bella's spine was impossible to suppress, its path trailing downwards, leaving her pulse erratic and her heart thundering in her chest.
Victoria held her gaze for several long seconds, her teasing smile growing more pronounced with each passing moment. It was as though she were savoring Bella's reaction, fully aware of the effect she was having on her. And then, as suddenly as she'd approached, the redhead backed away.
Bella couldn't deny the pang of disappointment that struck her from the sudden distance, but neither could she fully acknowledge it.
Victoria's eyes roamed Bella up and down as she tried to recover, a deep satisfaction present in her expression.
The vampire then broke her gaze, rising from the bed and walking towards the bathroom. "I'm going to shower," she said before glancing back to Bella. "We'll leave when I get out."
Bella watched helplessly as the woman went, still frozen in place. Victoria shut the bathroom door behind her, but despite finding herself alone again, Bella's heart didn't slow until long after Victoria had left.
.
.
The gallery Victoria took her to was quite large, containing exhibits of all kinds. The main building housed various paintings and sculptures along with some more esoteric works. Arched ceilings and white marble flooring made the place exude class, and Bella idly wondered just how much everything in the gallery was worth—building included.
She walked side by side with the redhead as they perused the gallery's oil painting collection.
"This is nice," Bella said.
Victoria nodded. "You should see Italy someday. They've plenty of museums and exhibits to choose from."
Bella perked up, the mention of one of her favorite European countries drawing her interest. "You've been to Italy?" she asked excitedly. "What about Rome? Have you been to the Sistine Chapel?"
The vampire wrinkled her nose in response before looking over to Bella. "Yes, but it didn't quite suit my tastes."
Victoria's eyes met her own, and though Bella wanted to ask what she'd meant, she felt herself unable to voice a reply. Instead, the vampire's gaze made her skin break into goosebumps as the memory of what she'd done earlier resurfaced.
Victoria smirked, as if fully aware of what Bella was thinking, but she quickly broke her gaze and continued walking.
They reached the next painting, and Victoria examined it closely. Bella followed suit as she worked to calm her nerves. It was an abstract painting of some kind, showered with deep blues and blacks, all swirling together into the center of the piece where there were splotches of greens and reds in vague humanoid shapes. Perhaps there was some deeper meaning to the piece, but whatever it was she wasn't seeing it.
As they moved on, Bella felt the tension in her chest relax a bit and she tried to continue their conversation.
"Was there something specific you didn't like about the chapel?" she asked. "The religious nature of it?"
Victoria smirked amusedly, shaking her head. "What, just because I'm a vampire I can't be religious?"
She furrowed her brows, tilting her head confusedly. "Are you? But you kill people."
The redhead suddenly broke into laughter, her bell-like voice drawing multiple people's attention, and she placed a hand on her chest as if to try and reign it in.
Bella frowned and crossed her arms. "What's so funny?" she asked defensively.
Victoria's laughter continued for a few moments before she composed herself, but the corners of her eyes remained wrinkled with lingering humor. "Sorry, it's just—since when do religious people have a problem with killing?"
Bella opened her mouth to retort, but Victoria cut her off with a wave of her hand.
"The answer's obvious. Religious wars, inquisitions, crusades—you'd think they didn't have any rules against it to speak of."
Bella tilted her head, unperturbed by the woman's callousness. "So… that's a no?"
Victoria shook her head. "Even if I did believe in a god, I doubt they'd care much for me. And the feeling would be mutual."
Satisfied with her answer—misanthropic as it may have been—Bella relaxed her defensive posture. They walked to a nearby sculpture next, and Victoria kept unnervingly close to her. The vampire's arm gently brushed up against hers, and electricity suddenly arced between them, the sensation making her jump. Bella did her best to ignore the residual tingling, but she couldn't help the goosebumps which broke out across her skin.
Victoria glanced over knowingly at her, and she spoke up again as they examined the piece. "I prefer small-scale, intimate works. Places like the Sistine Chapel are a bit overwrought, too crowded and grandiose, don't you think?"
"I'm surprised you're interested in art at all to be honest," Bella said.
The woman hummed thoughtfully. "What did you expect?"
Bella blushed slightly, and she hesitated for a moment as she recalled the wild and untamed image of Victoria she'd held before. "…Concerts and nightclubs?" she questioned uncertainly.
Victoria straightened her posture a little, placing her outstretched hand on her chest in mock offence. "How gauche do think I am?"
"I mean… you weren't even wearing shoes the first time we met," Bella said with a raised brow. "And you looked like you'd spent a whole year in the wilderness or something."
The vampire sighed deeply, her shoulders sagging as she did. "Try a decade."
Bella widened her eyes slightly. "Really? But I thought you liked cities?"
"Yes," she nodded. "But James was obsessed with the hunt, and we'd often track nomads in the wild for months at a time."
"Nomads…" she repeated, recognizing the term. "Other vampires? Not humans?"
Victoria smiled ruefully. "He grew bored with humans after his first few decades. Said they were too easy."
Bella tilted her head. "What about me then?"
The redhead paused for a moment, glancing over to her with something akin to regret in her eyes. "You were the first real challenge he'd found in centuries—protected by so many as you were. The most difficult before you was when we hunted that werewolf—ah, I mean a real one, not like those shifters in Forks."
Bella's curiosity grew tenfold at that admission. "You mentioned something about that before. What's the difference?"
Victoria went to answer, but she glanced over her shoulder as another person approached, and so the redhead gently grabbed Bella's hand and led her outside. The outdoors section of the gallery was much larger than inside, and there was a path to follow through the woods. The vampire pulled her along as they walked, examining the various exhibits as they went.
"The Quileutes aren't really werewolves, but shapeshifters. They take on the aspect of their tribe's spirit animal or something. Honestly, I've no idea how it works, but it's not unique to wolves."
Bella quirked a brow, curious over what other shifters might be out there, but Victoria answered her question before she could ask it.
"There's a tribe of panther shifters in South Africa. James hunted one of them down a few years ago."
Victoria's admission incited a sense of wonder in Bella. How different was the world than what she'd once believed? How much of what she'd dismissed as mere fantasy was just as real as the vampire beside her? The thought made her shudder—thrilling and unsettling as it was.
"Regardless," Victoria continued, "real werewolves are much, much worse. Shifters have some control over themselves from what I've seen. But genuine werewolves, or—as the Volturi call them—Children of the Moon, change during the full moon and lose all control when they do. You called shifters our mortal enemies earlier, and it's true that we are enemies, but werewolves are the only true threat to vampires in the world. Unlike shifters, they're just as strong as us."
Bella widened her eyes. "Are they really that dangerous?"
The vampire nodded.
"And James hunted one of them down?" she asked, impressed despite herself.
"Yes, with me and Laurent," she said. Her voice took on a nostalgic tone, but Bella detected a hint of bitterness as well. "He enjoyed the challenge of it all, and we just followed along for the most part. They're pretty much extinct now, so the one we found in Siberia might've even been the last of its kind. And James took his time with that one. I think he found the idea of ending the race himself appealing."
Bella furrowed her brows, gazing off into the distance as Victoria's words sank in. She'd known she was lucky to have survived James, but now it felt even more unbelievable. Victoria's descriptions painted an even deadlier picture of him—his thrill-seeking behavior and obsession with danger. For him to have hunted creatures just as dangerous as himself for sport? That was a bit insane if she was being honest.
Bella glanced over to Victoria, and she wondered how the woman really felt about James. When she spoke of him, she sounded more annoyed than anything. But if Bella was right, then why did Victoria choose to travel with him for so long?
The two of them ventured further along the path. After some time, Bella's legs began to grow tired. She cursed her sedentary lifestyle, only to heave a sigh of relief when she spotted a bench in the distance. Victoria must've heard her since she started pulling Bella along towards it. That was when Bella realized the vampire had never let go of her hand. But despite noticing, she merely blushed without pulling her hand free. It was strangely comforting, the way the vampire's perfect fingers intertwined with her own, and she didn't want to lose the sensation by pulling away. Much to her chagrin, however, Victoria let go as they sat down.
They relaxed into the bench, allowing themselves to sit in comfortable silence for a time. Victoria looked off into the distance, immersing herself in the nature surrounding them—the sights and sounds of the forest. Bella, on the other hand, kept glancing over to the vampire. Her expression was completely serene. Her face every bit as beautiful as the greatest pieces of art Bella had seen that day; far more so even. And Bella tilted her head, unable to reconcile the dangerous, violent woman Victoria made herself sound with her current peaceful state. The dissonance proved too much, and Bella couldn't help but voice her thoughts.
"Why did you even join James?" she asked.
Victoria glanced over as Bella continued. "From the way you talk about him, you didn't like him very much. And it doesn't sound like you enjoy violence like he did."
Victoria examined Bella, looking her up and down appraisingly before responding. "You're not wrong," she said matter-of-factly. "I might be good at killing, but James was far more vicious than I usually am. He definitely sought out bloodshed more than I would've liked."
"…Do you even like fighting?" Bella asked hesitantly. "You don't seem like you do."
The vampire smirked, her eyes glinting with a teasing light as she drew nearer. Her voice took on a sultry tone as she spoke.
"There is a certain… pleasure to be had from it," she said slowly, sending a shiver down Bella's spine.
Her scent and proximity threw Bella's heart out of rhythm, and she struggled to keep her breathing steady.
Victoria let out a pleased chuckle as she backed away again. "But you're right, I don't often seek it out. If anything, it's more in my nature to avoid fighting entirely. There is a reason my ability is what it is."
The vampire paused for a moment, turning back to the forest before answering her other question.
"As for James… well, he became obsessed with me when he found out he couldn't kill me."
Bella widened her eyes, and her mouth hung open slightly as Victoria's words sank in.
"He tried to hunt you?" she asked after a moment.
Victoria nodded. "My power kept me safe from him, but he chased me for years before finally giving up. At that point we'd come to know each other well enough, so it seemed pretty natural to travel with him. And Laurent joined us as well some years after that. It was my first time being part of a coven in well over a century."
The woman's words struck a chord with Bella, but she also felt a twinge of pity. As isolated as she'd felt after the Cullens had left, she couldn't imagine what it must've been like for Victoria to have spent so long on her own.
Bella placed her hand on the vampire's, speaking with a compassionate tone. "You joined James because you were lonely."
Victoria looked over to Bella like a deer in headlights, her scarlet eyes open and vulnerable.
"Is that why you're being so nice to me?" Bella asked. "Because you want me as a companion?"
Victoria furrowed her brows, gazing down at the path with a distant look in her eyes.
"James is dead. And Laurent is off on his own now, so…" she trailed off before looking back up to her. "As distasteful as James often was, he was still my friend. I want my revenge on Edward… but I also want you to join me."
"Two birds, one stone?" Bella asked.
Victoria nodded, keeping her gaze for several seconds before Bella sighed and averted her eyes.
Bella rubbed the back of her neck as she went to respond. "About that…" she glanced nervously towards the vampire. "Alice offered to turn me. And I accepted."
Victoria's reaction was immediate. She let out a predatory hiss, her lips curled back over her teeth, causing Bella to flinch backwards.
"W-what's that for?" she stammered, strangely unafraid, but finding it difficult to regain her composure.
The vampire's features remained twisted in instinctual fury, but a moment later she widened her eyes, her expression relaxing then falling. She held her hands out placatingly as the realization of what she'd done apparently dawned on her.
"I-… Sorry, I didn't mean to do that."
Victoria looked away ashamedly, and Bella furrowed her brows in confusion before shaking her head.
"It's okay," she said. "Did I upset you somehow?"
Victoria refused to meet her eyes. "It's nothing," she said.
Bella remained unconvinced. There had to be some reason for Victoria's reaction, uncontrolled as it was. The vampire had clearly acted on instinct, unable to reign in her impulses, but what was it that'd driven her to do that? Before Bella could ask, the woman rose from her seat.
"Come on. There's still plenty more to see."
She began walking away, not bothering to pull her along like before.
Bella sat for a moment, watching Victoria's back as she went. Shaking her head, Bella quickly rose from her seat, moving back to the vampire's side as they continued walking in silence.
.
.
The rest of the gallery was rather impressive, but Bella struggled to pay it any mind, too distracted by her companion to focus on much else. Victoria had recovered quickly from her earlier gaffe, regaining her excitement as they finished up. But as they were leaving, she expressed a desire to stay out for a while longer. And that was how they ended up driving around until Victoria spotted an indoor mini golf course.
Bella stood awkwardly near its entrance as the vampire urged her forwards.
"I'm not exactly the most coordinated," she said with a frown.
Victoria put her hands on her hips and looked at her with a flat expression. "It's mini golf. You literally can't mess it up."
"You say that now, but wait until I have a club in my hands."
The vampire rolled her eyes and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her inside. Unable to resist—and honestly not even wanting to—Bella sighed and followed along.
A few minutes later, Victoria stood at the windmill hole, putter in hand as she carefully lined up her shot. Right as one of the mill's sails came around, the redhead hit the ball with perfect timing. It sailed across the faux grass and Bella watched it sink into the hole with apparent ease.
Victoria looked back to her with a bright smile on her face, and Bella couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Yes yes, you're very impressive," she said unamusedly.
The vampire pouted, sticking her lips out and looking up at her pitifully. Unwilling to deal with her sulking for the next several minutes, Bella sighed theatrically. "Alright," she conceded. "It was a good shot."
Victoria's face lit up again, and she nodded. "Of course."
Another roll of Bella's eyes later, and it was her turn. She inwardly cringed as she tried in vain to suppress her nerves. It was such a little thing—mini golf. Surely she couldn't mess it up that badly.
Bella went to line up her shot, and Victoria watched on with a smug expression. She took a couple of practice swings to make sure she'd actually hit the ball, but when the vampire began looking impatiently at her, she sighed once again.
She readied herself, pulling her putter up before swinging. The club came down and hit the ball with an overly loud 'smack'. Rather than roll along the course like she'd meant it to, the ball sailed up, hitting the windmill before bouncing back towards her and smacking her right in the face.
"Ow!"
She grabbed at her nose, wincing from the pain.
Victoria walked over with an amused expression. "I guess you were right," she said with a chuckle. "But uncoordinated was an understate-"
The vampire cut herself off mid-sentence, right as Bella felt a wetness at her fingertips. She pulled her hand away from her nose to see it coated in red. It wasn't much blood really. About the same amount as the paper cut on her birthday.
Bella froze, her heart seizing painfully as she looked over to Victoria, whose eyes were brimming with desire.
There was a brief silence between them as neither made to move. And then, with deliberate slowness, Victoria inched towards her, closing the distance. The woman licked her lips as she neared, causing Bella to flinch slightly backwards. And the redhead reacted by freezing in place again. She furrowed her brows before reaching into her back pocket, pulling out a white cloth. She reached over to Bella, grabbing her hand and wiping the blood from her fingers.
"I'm sorry if I scared you," she said calmly, as if trying to sound harmless. "I just wasn't expecting that."
Bella's frozen heart began to beat once again as the vampire moved onto her face, patting the blood away from underneath her nose.
Bella hesitated, staring into Victoria's focused red eyes for a moment before speaking. "How are you okay? The last time this happened to me…"
Victoria hummed thoughtfully, hand cupping Bella's cheek as she finished up. "Don't get me wrong, you smell delicious," she said with a sultry tone.
Bella felt the vampire's breath on her skin as she spoke, her full lips so close that she could almost…
The vampire continued before Bella could finish her thought. "But I'd be far too upset with myself if I hurt you, and I've too much pride in myself to lose control like that." She chuckled, sprouting a teasing smile. "Besides, I'm sure I'll get to taste you someday."
As prone to blushing as Bella had been lately, this time was something else. Her entire face turned scarlet and steam almost seemed to come out of her ears.
"T-That's… You…" Bella stammered.
Victoria laughed out loud—a deep, joyful sound which helped distract Bella from her embarrassment. But only a little.
Bella covered her face with her hands. "Shut up," she wined.
It took several minutes for Bella to calm down, and Victoria wore a smug, amused smile all the while. The woman was obviously aware of the effect she'd had on Bella, clearly reveling in the feeling.
After somewhat recovering, Bella crossed her arms and averted her eyes from the vampire.
"Aw, come on, don't be like that," Victoria said. "Here, let's try again."
Bella furrowed her brows, confused until the woman picked up the discarded club and placed it in her hands. Victoria wrapped her arms around Bella and held the putter along with her, the vampire's fingers wrapping around her own.
Bella's face rapidly grew warm again, but she did her best to suppress her blushing this time. It was made that much more difficult, however, as the woman's body pressed into Bella's, enveloping her in a cool sensation which drew in her body heat.
"The trick isn't in hitting it, but in how you hit it," Victoria said as she guided her hands. "You have to angle it just right."
Bella allowed the vampire to line the shot up for her, relaxing into Victoria's arms with surprising ease. For some reason it just felt right to be there. But after the vampire positioned her as she wanted, she slowly let go and backed away. And it took everything Bella had in her to let it happen. To not try and hold Victoria there, keeping in her embrace.
"You've got it," Victoria said, seemingly unaware of her inner struggle. "Now just hit it like you did before. Though not as hard, obviously."
She rolled her eyes, ignoring the urge to move closer to Victoria again as she did what she was told—swinging her putter forwards. The noise from the ball was more subtle this time around, mirroring Victoria's earlier shot. It rolled across the ground, narrowly missing the windmill's fins as it passed through the tunnel underneath, before reaching the hole and promptly sinking in.
Bella blinked several times, staring at the hole in disbelief. She looked hesitantly over to the vampire who held a pleased expression.
"See?" Victoria raised a brow. "I knew you could do it."
"…I guess miracles do happen on occasion," Bella said ruefully.
The vampire rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "Come on," she said, grabbing hold of Bella's arm. "We've got seventeen more holes to go."
.
.
Mini golf wasn't their last stop of the day. Victoria dragged her all around town to various entertainment venues. And while she'd thought she'd misread the woman before—given her interest in art—Bella's original wild impression of Victoria clearly wasn't that far off. The vampire had brought her to a bowling alley—which of course she excelled at—the mall again, and even the arcade. She was like a hurricane of energy, and so childish at times to boot. But unlike Alice, who'd similarly dragged her around Port Angeles in the past, Victoria always made sure she was having fun, and they quickly left a place when she wasn't. It was almost too much for Bella to handle, but being around the redhead was strangely energizing.
The sun had long since set by the time they were finishing up. Bella was ready to head home when they got back to the hotel, but Victoria's next words reminded her of what she'd forgotten.
Victoria sat behind the wheel of her car—one she hopefully didn't kill someone for this time—and was driving them back to the hotel when she spoke up.
"Do you like popcorn?" she asked.
Bella turned and furrowed her brows, causing Victoria to stick her lips out in a pout.
"For the movie," she said. "Don't tell me you forgot."
It had slipped her mind in fact, but Bella didn't try to pretend otherwise. "Ah, yeah sorry. I kinda did," she said, causing Victoria to roll her eyes.
It was already so late. She really did need to head home, but the memory of Victoria's devastated expression from that morning kept her biting her tongue. A few more hours couldn't hurt, could it?
They stopped at a convenience store on the way back, and Victoria headed in on her own. She came back out several minutes later with an assortment of candies and other snacks in her hands—popcorn included.
The attention Victoria was lavishing on her was a little excessive at this point. But in spite of that, Bella was still quite flattered.
During the rest of the drive, Bella kept glancing over to the vampire. Victoria's hair and eyes glowed in the night, their fiery hues contrasting starkly with her alabaster skin, a face so beautiful that it would make the greatest artists despair, lamenting their life's work as wasted. She was so utterly, devastatingly beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her. And this perfect woman—fierce and deadly though she may be—was choosing to spend time with her of all people. Was sitting so close to her…
Victoria glanced over, meeting Bella's gaze with a contented smile.
The vampire's eyes were so utterly captivating. Bella couldn't tear her gaze away, and in that very moment, everything shifted—the truth settling over her with undeniable clarity.
She was crushing on Victoria. Hard.
How had she ever convinced herself otherwise? It'd happened so quickly—just like with Edward—but the pull felt just as strong, perhaps even stronger. Yet some part of her wondered, was it just Victoria's vampiric allure at work? It didn't feel so shallow. No, whatever the reason, Bella's feelings were undeniably real.
But to fall for someone so dangerous—and another woman at that? It was like she couldn't help but further complicate her already messy life. She'd never considered her sexuality before, but looking at Victoria now, how could she not feel something? It would've been madness not to.
Bella remained silent for the rest of the drive, the weight of her discovery slowly settling in. They arrived back in the hotel room at half-past eight, and Victoria went to work setting things up while Bella heated her popcorn in the microwave. When she exited the kitchen, Victoria was sitting on the bed, cross-legged by the headboard. She smiled at Bella, patting the spot beside her, and Bella knew she'd not be able to sit away from the vampire this time. She'd be stuck, mere inches away from Victoria for hours, but now with the knowledge of her budding feelings.
Bella's heart picked up the pace, but she did as she was urged to, climbing on the bed and sitting next to the redhead.
Victoria flashed her a pleased smile, but Bella nervously averted her eyes, doing her best to relax into the bed. Her quickened pulse thrummed in her ears, and the vampire started the movie.
Bella had read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the past, and while high fantasy wasn't her go-to genre, she'd definitely appreciated Tolkien's masterpiece. However, the movie version of Fellowship was an altogether different experience than the book.
Despite Victoria sitting next to her the entire time, Bella rapidly became engrossed in the film. The vampire kept glancing over throughout the movie with a contemplative look in her eyes, but for once, Bella hardly noticed.
Around two-thirds of the way through the movie, Bella began to feel drowsy. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she began yawning more and more as the movie came to an end.
When the credits began to roll, Victoria shut the television off, turning to Bella with concern in her eyes.
"You should get some sleep," she said.
Bella shook her head in a sluggish manner. "Can't," she said, eyes half-lidded. "Gotta get home… Charlie will be worried…"
Victoria smiled gently. "I'll let your father know where you're at. Get some rest, okay?"
Bella wanted to protest, but her body betrayed her. She laid back and rested her head on her pillow. The warmth of the bed gently enveloped her, and her mind already began drifting off.
"Mhm… g'night," she muttered.
The vampire chuckled, her almost musical laugh lulling Bella further into sleep.
"Goodnight Bella."
Victoria watched as the human fell into a deep sleep. So trusting was Bella that having a predator beside her all day had hardly fazed her—rather, she'd clearly enjoyed herself—and Victoria couldn't help but admire her boldness.
Bella's face was peaceful as she slept, blissfully devoid of the nervous tension Victoria often inspired in the human. Her chest rose and fell with a soothing rhythm, and Victoria listened to the steady beat of her heart, savoring the sound as something precious—irrevocably lost to her as own heartbeat had been half a millennia ago.
Despite herself, Victoria was growing attached. It was foolish, really, to become so entangled with a human of all things. But there was something about Bella which drew her in. In truth, Victoria had struggled to stay away during the prior week, despite knowing how reckless it would've been to visit. Bella needed to seek Victoria out on her own—otherwise, she'd lose her leverage over the human. She knew Bella's curiosity would lead her to Victoria eventually—which, of course, it had.
As much as Victoria reveled in the effect she had on the human—the not-so-subtle stares, the way her pulse quickened when Victoria drew near—something about Bella's behavior was puzzling. It wasn't just the obvious pull she felt towards Victoria, but something deeper. The vampire reached over, brushing a lock of hair from Bella's face as she wondered; what was it about Bella that made Victoria feel so… alive?
Unable to fit the pieces into place, Victoria shook her head with a quiet sigh. Her gaze lingered on Bella's serene face before she finally reached out, carefully slipping her hand into the human's back pocket to retrieve her cellphone. But as she pulled away, Bella's hand shot out in her sleep, grasping Victoria's arm with surprising strength and pulling her closer.
Victoria froze, her crimson eyes widening as the human shifted, wrapping both her arms around the vampire without waking.
Bella nestled her face into Victoria's side, her warm breath brushing against the redhead's skin. "…Victoria," she murmured softly, barely audible, but loud enough to elicit a shiver from the vampire.
Victoria remained frozen, electricity racing through her body as Bella nuzzled even closer. Her mind sounded out a warning—any abrupt movement she made could easily endanger the human—but the thought barely registered. She wouldn't hurt Bella. She couldn't. Even the faintest notion of causing her harm was a sheer impossibility, one her instincts refused to entertain. Her affection for Bella ran far deeper than she'd allowed herself to admit.
…Affection? The word felt hollow, inadequate for the swell of emotion surging through her. No—this was something more.
The finality of that truth hit her like a freight train, leaving her breathless. Something profound shifted within her, something irrevocable. It settled over her with a weight she hadn't felt in centuries—a connection far stronger than any she'd ever known before, one that now bound her completely to the human in her arms.
Her fingers moved on their own, weaving gently through the human's hair. Bella groaned softly at the touch, leaning into her hand, her contented expression sending a pang through Victoria's chest.
Venom began pooling in Victoria's mouth, her instincts roaring to life, urging her to bite—not to feed, but to turn. To claim. She clenched her jaw tightly, forcing the thought away. Turning Bella by force wasn't what she wanted—not now nor before.
For several minutes, Victoria stared helplessly at the sleeping human, battling her impulses. She focused on Bella's heartbeat, on the delicate rise and fall of her chest, letting their rhythms anchor her. Slowly, her instincts faded into the background, and she released a heavy sigh.
Victoria carefully worked an arm free from Bella's grasp. The human shifted in her sleep, murmuring unintelligibly and tightening her grip around Victoria's waist. A bittersweet smile tugged at the vampire's lips as she extracted the hand holding Bella's cellphone.
Stuck as she was, Victoria shook her head, smiling fondly as she flipped the phone open. She navigated through Bella's contacts until she found the one labelled 'Charlie'. Victoria had to admit she found it strange that the human referred to her father by name, even in her contacts, but perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised.
Regardless, she selected his number and put the phone to her ear, listening to the line ring as she waited for the call to go through.
The sound abruptly stopped after a moment, and a gruff voice came from the other end.
"Bells?" he asked, tone filled with worry. "Where on Earth are you? The school called me earlier—told me you skipped class?"
Victoria attempted to sound friendly as she responded. "Apologies, but Bella fell asleep. I thought I should call you to let you know she's okay."
The line fell silent for a moment before Charlie responded. "…Are you Victoria?"
Bella had mentioned her? A warm feeling stirred in her chest at the thought.
"I am," she said simply.
An exasperated sigh came from the other end. "Are you the reason she's been acting so strange lately? Did she really skip school to spend time with you?"
"Probably. I'm sorry about that," she said.
"No," he denied. "Don't apologize. I haven't seen her so lively in months, good or bad. Whatever it is you're doing, please don't stop. My little girl hasn't been the same in so long."
The line fell silent for a moment before he continued.
"Though I'd ask if you could keep her from skipping school again. Lord knows her grades have been suffering enough already."
Victoria hummed, hesitant to agree, but unwilling to antagonize her mate's father.
The thought brought her up short. Mate. The word reverberated through her mind, unbidden but undeniable. She'd avoided it before, thinking it premature, but now that she thought it, she couldn't suppress the thrill it sent through her. Her eyes fell to Bella, curled up against her side. Yes, Bella was her mate. Even if the human didn't know it yet.
Victoria smiled fondly before finally replying. "I'll try to convince her, but you know how she is."
He chuckled. "Yeah, she got her stubbornness from her old man," he said, pausing for a moment. "Well, don't let me keep you. Thanks for letting me know she's safe. And thank you for taking care her for me."
"Of course," she said.
The line went dead a moment later, and Victoria flipped the phone closed, placing it on the nightstand beside her.
She returned her attention to Bella, brushing away the lock of hair which had fallen across her face again. Victoria's thoughts lingered on Bella's admission back in the woods—how she said she'd accepted Alice's offer, not hers. At the time, Victoria's reaction had baffled her just as much as it'd confused the human. But now the reason was clear. And she would be damned if she let her mate be taken in by the Cullens. Their animal diet wasn't simply distasteful to her—no, repulsive was more fitting. It was shameful to settle for such foul, low-quality food when Bella deserved better. She deserved to live her life to the fullest, unshackled by the Cullens' ridiculous restrictions. And Victoria would make sure she had that.
Her gaze lingered on Bella's peaceful expression, soft and unguarded in her sleep. Agonizing over how to make her see reason, she resolved that she would find a way. Bella would come to understand, and she would choose her. All Victoria needed was time.