--AN: Long chapter guys, are you ready?
--
The wind was fierce against Bella's face even as she tucked herself closer to Rosalie. She couldn't guess the speed at which Rosalie ran but the world around them was a blur of greens and shifting sunlight. Rosalie carried her as though she weighed nothing and the grace she had in her movements made Bella feel as if they were floating rather than running. It was a miraculous feeling and Bella found herself giggling with adrenaline.
Rosalie started coming to a stop making Bella open her eyes to check their surroundings. They stood at the edge of a great wide open clearing surrounded heavily by dense forests on all sides. To Bella's surprise there were still a few rays of strong sunlight highlighting the short grass, it looked mystical as what was left of the fog started to fade.
Bella wasn't all too surprised that Rosalie hadn't let her down yet, even as she proceeded to walk into the meadow. When they were just outside a sun's ray, Rosalie hesitated and placed Bella to her feet softly.
"I'm the apex, Bella. A perfect predator against my prey. Humans fall helplessly under my charm and it's meant to be their end. I am obsessive, borderline possessive of what I count as mine. Nothing can match my speed, my senses, my strength. I thirst for blood. I do not sleep, or eat or drink anything but blood. I am immortal and can't die except at the hands of my kind and fire. We have rulers, Vampire Royalty, we mustn't break the laws. No human can know of our existence unless they are a mate, are to die or be changed under the penalty of death. My family drinks animal blood, I have never drank from a human, but I've killed."
Blla felt her eyes grow wide at the confession, but Rosalie wasn't done. "It's a story for another time, but you need to know this, Bella, know all that's at risk and know I've chosen this, but you must choose it too." Rosalie looked up at the quickly dying light and stepped back.
Bella gasped at the light glow that came from underneath Rosalie's skin. She was incandescent, a star fallen from space. "Of course you look like a freaking angel." Rosalie smirked, but let the comment go, much to Bella's relief. Still, something about what Rosalie said bugged her, and as the sun finally set Bella stepped back into Rosalie's space and looked up at the blonde. "What's the reason then?"
Rosalie smirked, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she looked into those impossibly brown eyes of Bella's. With an over dramatic sigh, Rose relented. "Well of course I'm bringing you to the family as a snack."
Bella gasped and smacked Rosalie's arm as hard as she dared. "Rose! How dare you! I'm walking home!" Bella turned and tried to march away from the laughing vampire but Rose quickly caught her uncasted hand in a soft but unbreakable grip.
Bella turned back around and tugged her hand back, gasping as she fell flat on her butt when Rose let her loose. Bella looked up to scold the blonde but Rosalie was nowhere to be seen. Bella scrambled to her feet and searched the field. "Haha Rose, very funny!" She called out knowing Rose would hear.
"I'll give you a 30 second head start, Bella. The house is to your left, the highway directly in front. Make a choice."
The field rang with the sound of Rosalie's voice and Bella's heart quickened, it seemed Rose was in the mood for games, fine, Bella was always good at thinking on her feet. Her feet sprang to life as she headed straight but then cut left just before the treeline. She couldn't see Rose but she could hear the boom of laughter at her back as she ran toward the Cullen house.
—--
Emmett wasn't used to being patient when it came to his vampire life unless it had to do with Rosalie. Even though Rosalie was responsible for saving his life, and for finding his truest love in Edythe, she had been a hard won friend. Rosalie taught him that having patience was worth it and being Rosalie's friend was worth all the hard fought battles to break through her walls. Then to see this little human come along and do it so effortlessly, well to say Emmett was impressed would be an understatement. He wanted to be Bella's friend so badly it hurt, he was technically the youngest of the family, something his siblings loved to hold over him. Perhaps this was his chance to actually be a big brother, not just the biggest brother.
So yet again, here he was sitting on the front porch waiting patiently for his best friend to finish whatever she was doing to impress Bella, so that Emmett could finally impress Bella. He had arrived with Rosalie's car safely and promptly sat on the front stoop, stubbornly wanting to be the first to greet the pair. That had been exactly twenty-three minutes and thirty-one seconds ago.
—-
Bella quickly became aware that Rosalie was indeed teasing and the game could have ended seconds after she started to run in the forest clearing, but that didn't make it any less fun. She had no idea where she was because everything looked the same to her in the dying light, it was almost dark but it didn't make her fearful. Bella knew Rosalie's eyes hadn't left her, not once, she could feel Rose's gaze like it was a physical thing. She had managed to keep Rosalie's cardigan clean but her white vans would never be the same. Sitting on a fallen log, she sighed as she looked down on them.
"Don't worry, I'll replace them."
Bella didn't jump as Rose rested her chin on Bella's exposed shoulder; the vampire's cold skin felt wonderful on Bella's overheated body. "You don't have to do that. I'm perfectly capable of buying new shoes." Of course she was, she still had the thirteen-thousand in savings from her Grandpa. She dipped into it now and then, but was saving the bulk for leaving Forks after she graduated high school. Would she do that now that Rose was in her life? Was it still her plan to just disappear the day after graduation? Bella didn't know anymore.
"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"
Bella blinked, and turned toward Rosalie who was now sitting on the log next to her facing the opposite direction. The blonde looked happy, and Bella didn't want her mixed emotions breaking that so she gave her best smile. "Just thinking of all the awkward moments I'm about to get myself into being the only human in a group of Vampires."
Rose smiled softly, her thumb swiping over the back of Bella's right hand as she watched Bella closely. Bella hoped she couldn't see through the front she'd put up.
"What happened before I got to your house? Charlie was home early."
Bella's smile was officially wiped off her face as she looked at Rose, how would she know Charlie was home early? "Rose, you're not keeping an eye on him are you?"
Rosalie shrugged, looking none too bothered. "Of course not. I did have Edythe and Jasper follow him around for a few days. Edythe can read minds you see, though not yours, and Jasper is an empath. Oh, Alice did look into the future a few times." Bella felt, and probably looked appalled because Rose continued. "I told you that I didn't trust him. No one invaded your privacy, I made sure. I just couldn't risk him being an actual threat to you. None of them gave me details, just the assurance that he wouldn't harm you. So technically, I didn't do any stalking. If you want to know more I'm sure they'd tell you."
On one hand Bella was annoyed that Rosalie had basically stalked Charlie and didn't trust Bella when she told Rose that Charlie wasn't the type to beat children, just ignore them. On the other hand, Bella had come to trust Rosalie wholeheartedly, so she believed the blonde's intentions were true and that her privacy was respected.
"No more using your siblings as your own personal spies, okay?"
Rosalie smirked, not looking ashamed at all. "No more spies." It sounded more like 'we'll see' to Bella and she was quickly getting the idea that one had to choose their battles when dealing with a 'justified' Rosalie, because surely that's how she felt, Bella could see it.
Bella leaned against Rose's arm, grateful that the vampire was strong and steady next to her, even if she was gonna be a handful to deal with. "Charlie was sober when he came home, told me so himself. I-I thought, no I think he's on a sober trip. The last time I remember him sober was eight years ago. I was ten."
Rose stayed quiet for a few moments. "Please know that you are always welcome where I am. You don't have to deal with any of this alone. I'm here for you."
Bella laughed and tilted her chin up to look at Rosalie. "Even when I'm old and decrepit and need help getting off the couch?" It wasn't that she didn't trust Rosalie's words, but really, how long did she have with Rosalie until the inevitable happened? people change their minds, do vampires? What if Bella didn't end up being changed, would she have to die? The thought of dying scared Bella so much more now that she had something worth living for.
The look in Rosalie's eyes changed to something more fearsome, like the thought of Bella aging didn't sit well with her. Bella's stomach flipped with nerves. "Bella…I cannot allow you to die. Please forgive me for that selfishness, but I will not allow it. You're…too Important to me."
Bella's heart clenched painfully in her chest. Back in the clearing Rose told her that no human could know of Vampires unless that human was a mate, which she still had questions about, was to be changed, or was to die. Evidently Rosalie too disliked the idea of Bella's death. Bella was relieved but it left a bigger question, would she be changed because Rosalie had grown attached or was it something more. Bella didn't know if she wanted to be changed just because she was a momentary interest. She was getting in deep with her feelings over the blonde, could she handle being around forever and not being with Rosalie? Could she allow herself to give Rosalie her forever, even if it was just as friends?
The more Bella stared into Rosalie's eyes the harder her conviction became. Even if she couldn't be Rosalie's mate, she couldn't stand the thought of not having Rose at all. To give up her mortality to be in Rosalie's life could seem idiotic to others, but honestly to Bella it was starting to make perfect sense. Besides in Bella's mind, she didn't have all that much that she'd be giving up in exchange.
'You must come with me, loving me, to death; or else hate me and still come with me, hating me through death and after. There is no such word as indifference in my apathetic nature.'
Rosalie's quoted words ran through her head, and Bella began to understand the depth of them. For whatever reason Rosalie was choosing this, whatever this was between them, she chose Bella. Rose had said she was obsessive over those she counted as hers and now that she had chosen Bella there was no turning back for the blonde, so maybe Rosalie too thought that whatever this was between could be more.
Bella also knew, at some level, she had already chosen Rosalie too even if it was on a deeper level than Rosalie, otherwise she wouldn't be here right now. So maybe, just maybe Bella's plan for her future could be different now, it was a daring thought but also an exhilarating one.
"If wanting me in your life makes you selfish then I must be selfish too."
Bella's words hung heavy in the air around them. There was so much left unsaid between them, a lot of uncertainty on Bella's part, but she was at least sure of what her heart was trying to tell her. Rosalie grabbed Bella's uncasted hand and helped her off the log. They walked at Bella's pace through the trees, Rosalie gently helping Bella through the terrain now that it was dark.
"If I can't replace your shoes, then can I get you a car?"
Bella stared at the smirking blonde with shock. "No you absolutely can't buy me a car."
Rosalie's smirk widened and she hummed in false thought. "Right, it doesn't make sense since you have me to drive you around…what about a condo, maybe a small house?"
Bella laughed and shook her head. "How is that any better than the car?"
Rosalie nodded. "True, you have my bedroom after all." Bella choked on her own words, why was Rosalie so flirty, but Rose ignored her and kept going. "Maybe we'll get a private island, eventually we'll need some peace and quiet away from the family."
Bella was in complete disbelief at how casually Rose talked about spending money, and about a future together, but was it a future where they were truly together?. But a fucking island? Bella stopped in her stride causing Rose to stop too. She sighed as she looked at the blonde, it was almost pitch black outside but Bella swears she can still see the way Rosalie glowed while in the sunlight.
"You can buy me shoes."
Rosalie grinned in victory, sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight, and wrapped her arm around Bella's waist. She kissed the top of Bella's head and continued their walking. "I knew you'd come to your senses. Now, about the car…" Bella just shook her head and listened to the blonde as she laid out her argument, more interested in the way Rosalie's thumb swiped over her bare side under the cardigan and shirt she wore.
I'm never going to be able to say no to her, Bella thought helplessly to herself as they continued toward the house.
—-
Over the many years that Carlisle had been a father to Rosalie, he dared to say that he had only seen a handful of moments where his daughter appeared to be completely happy and unburdened by her past. She had been accepting of her life as a Vampire, after a few rebellious years, but he knew she yearned for what her life could have been, maybe at times even yearned that if had never happened at all. She was so lonely in a Coven full of mates, the fact that she truly loved her family only went so far.
As Vampires, they only truly yearned for two things: blood and a mate, both of which were essential to a Vampire's existence. The rest of his family had been too lucky in finding their other halves. The Denali sisters were all over a thousand years old and only just last year did the youngest, Irina, find a mate in a nomad named Laurant. Tanya and Kate were still searching. To live mateless was like living with a piece of you gone, nothing quite felt right, almost as if you had a phantom limb.
Carlisle had hoped that when Rosalie brought Emmett to the house to save him that maybe he had been her mate. It wasn't to be though, as Edythe was Emmett's mate. He had asked Rosalie about it once, if not the bond of a mate then why did she so frantically save his life? Rosalie was in a melancholy mood that night and told him of a human child from her human life and of his mother. Carlisle understood that Vera and little Henry had perhaps been the only time human Rosalie had been happy.
Carlisle was firmly of the opinion that even in her human life Rosalie had been yearning for the sort of connection only a mate could provide, his daughter just hadn't known it, how could any mortal comprehend such longing. All his children were so precious to him and he wanted nothing but their happiness. At times, some have believed he favored Edythe the most because he relied on her gift so heavily or because she was the first, it wasn't true.
Out of all his children, Carlisle had the softest spot for Rosalie, his Kitten. He wasn't allowed to call her that except in their most private moments but that's what she was to him, a precious ball of fluff surrounded by sharp edges, and fangs, and claws.
Carlisle hears Edythe's small laugh from the corner of the room and shakes his head. Edie knew better than to share private thoughts, at least most times, besides who knew what Rosalie might do if Edythe dared even think about calling her Kitten. Edythe missed a key on the piano and it was Carlisle's turn to give a little laugh as he looked up and caught the terrified eyes of his eldest daughter.
The sound of slow footsteps and a steady heartbeat reached Carlisle's ears and he perked up in his chair but waited inside as he'd been told, only Emmett dared to wait for them out front, he knew Rosalie would forgive him for bombarding Bella first.
"She's here!" Esme cheered from the kitchen before appearing at Carlise's side. He grabbed her hand lovingly and smiled up at her. They couldn't be more overjoyed that Rosalie was finally bringing Bella home.
—--
Emmett bounced off the front step and landed feet first on the ground as he saw his best friend and soon-to-be little sister exit the treeline and step into the spotlights on the garage. He watched their approach and was delighted to see a full blown smile across Rosalie's face, one that didn't dim as the two approached him. He wanted to rush over to them and pick them up in a great big bear hug because it made him so happy, so that's what he did.
—
Bella was so struck with how beautiful Rosalie looked at the moment even in the slight yellow light coming from the garage. The blonde picked a leaf from her hair, scoffing at the offensive thing for even daring to mess with her perfect hair, though it was just a bit wind tossed from chasing her. Rosalie's golden eyes still swirled with a type of savageness that excited Bella. In short, Rose looked like what she should be; wild and free. Rose caught Bella's eyes and smirked at catching her staring.
"You really shouldn't look at me like that."
Bella laughed in confusion, but really she wanted to know. "And just how am I looking at you?" She knew what she was starting to feel, but what did that look like to Rosalie? Did Rosalie know what Bella's look meant? Did Rosalie know Bella was enchanted because perhaps Rosalie too was enchanted by Bella?
Tension suddenly encompasses the air around them as yellow eyes darkened. Bella could feel the way her body wanted Rosalie to step into her space, like she often did. She wanted Rosalie to press against her like the blonde did in the most unexpected moments. She wanted, god, Bella wanted for so much, but it didn't happen.
Before Rosalie could make any sort of movement, Bella felt herself being swept off her feet and surrounded by huge, stone muscles as someone pulled her up and into the biggest bear hug of her life. Her vision went spotty as he hugged just a bit too tight causing a 'oof' sound to escape her lips.
"Emmett you fuck! If you break her I will castrate you!"
Bella breathed in deeply as she was immediately let loose and stood on her feet at Rosalie's vicious threat. Even Bella winced for the poor guy. "Damn Rose…you can't…blame the guy…for being…excited." Bella managed to say in between deep breaths.
Rosalie looked at her incredulously. "You must be joking. Bella, you can barely breathe right now." Then she turned back to Emmett like a snake ready to strike. "Her arm isn't even healed yet, if she so much as has a bruise then I'm going to delete your fucking gaming profile off all your damn platforms!"
"Daaaamn!" "I'm sorry!"
Emmett and Bella shared a look at their shared exclamations. Bella felt so bad for the guy that she knew she had to stop Rose before she actually went through with her threats. The fear in Emmett's eyes was enough to tell her that Rosalie didn't make empty promises. Plus, that boy that pushed Bella to the ground still couldn't look at Bella without breaking into a cold sweat and he flat out ran when he saw Rosalie.
Bella approached the angry vampire without fear, encircled her arms very carefully around Rosalie's waist and laid her head on Rosalie's shoulder softly. "Rose, really, I'm perfectly fine. Emmett was just excited. I would rather he be a bit overexcited than to treat me like a porcelain doll."
Rosalie turned her glare on Bella at her words. "You're human. You are fragile."
Bella rolled her eyes and ignored how hot Rosalie looked when she was thoroughly pissed. "No shit, Sherlock. But I swear to everything that is holy I will not tolerate being treated like glass. You just chased me through the forest with my cast on. I think a hug from Emmett is just as safe."
Though Bella could still see a stubborn sort of will in Rosalie's eyes, it was Rosalie's mouth that gave her away. Perfect pink lips curved into her signature evil smirk. "Fine Bella, if you're okay with being around Vampires as they actually are, strength, senses, instincts and all, then I'll be sure to act that way too."
The way the blonde looked and spoke to Bella had Bella thinking she had just stepped into something that she wasn't quite ready for, but it was too late to let her pride say so. "Fine. You should."
Rosalie's smirk widened as Emmett started to subtly shake his head at Bella in warning. "Are you absolutely sure about that Bella? You want to see me in my natural state?"
"No she doesn't." Emmett's insistence was promptly ignored.
"That's what I said." Bella insisted instead.
She didn't expect the laugh that Rosalie let loose, a strong combination of savage amusement and cruel intention. Fucking hell, Bella should not think Rosalie was hot like this but she did.
"Your wish is my command."
Rosalie spun away from Bella, her words still hanging in the air as she appeared at Emmett's side and pushed his shoulder so hard it created a shock wave and broke the sound barrier. Bella watched in amazement as she covered her ears as Emmett's body flew up over the garage only to land somewhere in the backyard with a loud thud. Bella blinked and Rosalie was in her space, nose touching nose. Bella's heart beat skyrocketed in tempo as she stared at the dangerous creature in front of her.
Rosalie took a deep breath and groaned so sweetly that Bella squeezed her thighs together to try and stave off the oncoming arousal. When Rosalie opened her eyes again they were darker, almost copper or dark brown, her sweet breath washed over Bella's face. "Hmmm." Rosalie hummed.
"Was that necessary?" Bella managed to whisper, even though her throat was suddenly parched and other areas were considerably more wet than they had been.
Rosalie smirked wickedly. "Yes it was. He should know better than to touch what's mine without permission."
Bella's breath caught in her throat. "That's kinda possessive, I'm yours, like I'm an object?"
Rosalie rubbed her nose over Bella's. "Never an object, but yes, Bella, you are mine nonetheless, and if someone hurts you, I hurt them back, no matter how slight the wound."
"Jesus fucking christ, Rose." Bella breathed out and closed her eyes for just a moment. When she refocused, Rosalie's eyes were more playful than anything. "It's just not right that you can make vampire possessiveness look hot. It should be a big red flag."
Rose laughed, and this time it was genuine and sweet as she nudged her nose once more against Bella. Then she pulled back and tugged Bella along as she continued to the house. "Oh Bella, you've no idea what you've gotten yourself into."
Bella couldn't have agreed more with Rosalie. She couldn't fathom what she had signed up for, but she had a feeling that she wasn't ever going to regret it. No matter what happens, she'd always choose Rosalie.