Three months passed in a perfectly defined blur.

They had moved on from the cabin, partially because Bella's impulsive bursts of anger had torn it to shreds. She knew her anxiety and grief were feeding into her outbursts, but there was no escaping that. They were now camped in a dense thicket, at the edge of a sizable clearing.

Just in time for her combat lessons with Leanne.

"Never let someone get their arms around you." That was Leanne's favorite line.

Bella shrieked in frustration every time she failed to accomplish that in their ensuing lesson.

"If you go for the obvious kill, consider yourself already dead."

But the obvious was so hard to resist; it was like her instincts took control of her limbs.

"Immediate decapitation is preferable, but ripping off the arms is almost as effective at incapacitating them."

Bella then found out what it felt like to have your arm ripped off. That had led to an actual fight between herself and Xavi, and she had gotten the upper hand. If Leanne and Jamie hadn't intervened, he would've been headless.

They were unforgiving, each training promising pain and frustration. Bella found that suffocating every thought, every instinct other than pure survival was necessary if she wanted to live much longer.

And she wanted to live, she realized.

Then other lessons began. Lessons with less obvious answers.

Jamie demanded that she learn how to extend her shield to protect him. Xavi was more involved with this particular process, considering he had a talent of the mind. He called it compulsion, and could persuade almost anyone to do as he wished.

Almost anyone.

Their lessons devolved into physical fighting more often than not. Xavi hated being thwarted, and Bella hated failing. After one particularly vicious altercation, while Bella was nursing a deep bite on her jaw, Jamie began to laugh.

"You'll see how valuable Xavi is when we are building our army back up."

Army.

It reminded Bella what she was a part of now, and made her wonder if she truly did want to succeed in helping Jamie.

But she didn't have much of a choice. The punishment for failure was usually painful, and Jamie wasn't always laughing after one of their fights.

"You need sufficient motivation."

They had added two more newborns, which meant Leanne spent all her time corralling the newer members while the three of them continued their shield practice. It also meant Jamie had more muscle at his disposal.

Corrinne and Michael, the two newest additions, each held one of Bella's arms. They were slightly stronger than her, and their grips would have snapped her bones had she still been human.

"Now, lovely Bella. Xavi here is going to assist in this exercise. As soon as you shield my mind from his influence, I promise to make them stop."

Bella stayed silent, but fear pulsed through every dead nerve in her body. Protesting would be futile. Begging would probably entertain them. So she hastily tried to search her brain, her body, her skin, somewhere the shield might be so that she could manipulate it.

She cried out as her arms were suddenly twisted. She was sure her left shoulder had popped from its socket.

She screamed and struggled for freedom as Michael's teeth found her neck. Trying to find the shield while fighting them at the same time was not working.

But there was only one way this would end. She knew Jamie would let them tear her apart.

He continued murmuring instructions, but Bella fought against all her instincts, which were screaming at her to fight back. And maybe she could've won, but it would be worse in the long run.

So she surrendered to their savage attack and searched her mind frantically for any anomaly, anything that would help her.

It felt like a band, like something stretched skin-tight around her form. She lost track of time, but eventually she could stretch it. It recoiled and resisted her attempts, but just as she felt a chunk of her flesh being torn from her shoulder, she forced it out to where Jamie stood, watching her with narrowed eyes.

It just reached him.

"Stop," he ordered. He looked surprised for a second, then broke into a wide grin.

Corrinne released her at Jamie's command, but Michael was too far gone. Bella, rage boiling in the pit of her stomach, wrenched her arm from his grip and twisted him around with the other hand. Within two seconds, he was pinned to the ground under her knee, and she ripped his head off. It screeched at the separation, but Bella was seeing red.

"Bella, that's enough now," Jamie said, as if he were a parent scolding an unruly toddler.

He came over, took the severed head from her grip, and handed it to Xavi, who dragged the rest of Michael out of the clearing. Presumably he was reassembling him. Corrinne, fearful and impulsive, fled. Leanne cursed and followed to drag her back.

Once the rage receded, the pain made its presence known again.

"Agh," Bella groaned, clutching at the worst of her wounds. The bite at her neck, the dislocated shoulder.

"There, there, love. I knew you could do it."

Jamie shoved her shoulder back into place, and Bella growled.

"YOU COULD HAVE FOUND A DIFFERENT WAY!" She snapped at his hand, which had lingered on her shoulder.

His hand twisted up so fast to grip her hair, she yelped in surprise. He yanked so that her head fell back. She didn't fight.

"Don't you raise your voice at me." His tone was menacing, but it softened as he continued. "And you are never to leave my side again, do you understand? You keep that powerful little shield up. Always."

He kissed her cheek then, lingering. He maintained his grip in her hair, but licked the bite at her neck. She felt his venom seal it up.

"Lovely Bella." He released her head, his hands wandering to her waist now that she was settling down.

"Say you forgive me," he demanded, swinging her around to push her against a tree. The trunk cracked at the impact, but stayed upright.

"I forgive you," she whispered against the bark.

"Good girl."

Sometimes she enjoyed the intimacy, but at that moment all she could think about was her lingering pain, and the fact that she would be forced to be at Jamie's side for the rest of her existence. She was still unsure how she felt about that.


Bella's first confrontation was as awful as she had imagined it would be.

She refused to call it a battle, as the others did. The word brought to mind fuzzy human memories of medieval knights and honor.

There was nothing honorable in what they did.

Jamie's confidence had grown ever since Bella had gotten greater control over her shield. Their ranks had swelled, too, meaning she had become a veteran in the coven.

Bella wasn't sure what her shield had to do with success in a war. Until she picked up on just how paranoid Jamie was, even about his longest companion.

Up until he was safely under Bella's shield, Jamie had never been certain that all his decisions were his own. Xavi was necessary for success, but also had the ability to rule the coven through Jamie without him even realizing it. Or to sabotage Jamie and take over completely.

Until Bella, Jamie had always been suspicious.

If there was anything good about the change, it was that he was more affectionate to Bella. He was slightly gentler, and since he never felt quite safe unless Bella was at his side, their physical relationship grew even further.

Bella didn't mind. Physical pleasure was a nice relief from the constant agony of her current existence.

But the first confrontation changed everything. With his new confidence, Jamie decided to expand his territory northward. The coven had swam across the wide lake and advanced all the way to the Mississippi border, where a large newborn army met them.

It was, of course, the middle of the night, but that didn't put any of the fighting vampires at a disadvantage. Bella knew they were outnumbered, but the influence of Xavi could not be understated.

Xavi and Bella stayed at Jamie's side at the back of their force, and Bella watched as their own creations worked as a unit while their opponents were aimless. More often than not, they killed each other rather than their opponent.

It was utter chaos, and it was only a matter of time before they got drawn into the fight themselves.

Xavi stayed back as much as possible, his need to focus making him not much of a physical asset himself. Jamie, on the other hand, was ruthless and effective.

The moon glinted off of his sandy locks and illuminated his exquisite face. It was like watching an avenging angel.

Her focus got pulled away from her leader, however, as a stray newborn leaped for her throat, going for the obvious kill.

Leanne had trained her well.

She dodged the attack easily, and within seconds, ripped the offender apart.

Easy, she thought, until more and more broke through.

It quickly devolved into carnage. She could feel a surge, as if she had adrenaline still in her body. Her muscles vibrated with energy as she dodged another attack, this time by two hulking newborns. They turned, and she felt her first pang of fear looking into their vibrant, hungry eyes.

"Bella!" Jamie's voice was anxious, and further than she remembered straying.

Her quarter of a second distraction was all one of her opponents needed.

She shrieked as he lunged with his teeth, ducking just in time so he got her cheek instead of her throat. She dropped, kicking out at his legs. He crashed to the ground, and she went to jump on his back and yank his arms when his companion tackled her to the ground, the sound like a rockslide joining the cacophony.

He was twice her size and much fresher, and he had her pinned to the ground.

Panic swelled in Bella's chest, her dead heart aching with it.

I don't want to die!

The savage newborn looked as inhuman as any vampire she had seen yet, his mouth twisted in a snarl, his eyes glowing red. She bucked against him, but he didn't budge.

He leaned down and tried to yank her head off with just his hands. Bella screeched at the pain as she felt her stone flesh beginning to tear.

The newborn leaned down and began using his teeth, and the panic was so strong, it was almost painful.

Bella roared and used all her strength to kick him off of her while he was distracted with her neck, and he rocked back a few inches.

It was all she needed.

She kicked again while grabbing his wrist at the same time, ripping his hand clean off. He roared just as he began to charge. She readied herself for his attack.

Allow him to make the first move. It's better to counteract, especially when they're brand new.

Leanne's voice rang in her ear. But she had no chance to enact her careful strategy. Jamie, with a menacing hiss, charged the newborn from the side, then dispatched him with ease.

Bella was about to protest that that one was hers to deal with, when Jamie ran to her, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her roughly to where Xavi was methodically ripping apart another vampire.

Bella yelped as he pulled on her damaged neck, but Jamie just pulled harder.

"What did I tell you, hmm?" He yanked harder and Bella hissed, clenching her fists to keep from fighting back. "Didn't I tell you to stay close?"

Bella didn't answer, but was distracted by something to the east.

A very subtle lightening of the horizon.

Noticing her gaze, Jamie smiled coldly. "Don't worry, love. We've nearly concluded our business here."

Sure enough, one look out at the battlefield showed that they had won.

Bella almost felt sick at the sight of scattered body parts, some wriggling around, trying to reattach themselves. She clamped her mouth shut, expecting the wave of nausea, forgetting she was incapable of such a reaction.

"Clean this up," he told Xavi, who scowled, before turning his attention to the few vampires they had left. What remained of their newborn force would be instructed to burn their brethren. Depending on the state they themselves were in, the survivors may be added to the massive inferno.

Jamie walked Bella back through the trees, but she wasn't sure where they were going. He pulled her into a faster pace, and soon they were sprinting through the dense woods.

"You need blood," he informed her as they approached city lights. "And this is ours now."

Bella's throat burned.

After their hunt, they moved more slowly back in the direction they had come.

When they reached a small clearing, Jamie grabbed her around the waist and tossed her roughly to the ground.

"Bella, love. This is my land now. And I'm going to fuck you senseless on it."

Bella was not unwilling, and threaded her hands through his hair, pondering how she now existed in the extremes of pleasure and pain.