Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter One

~ TANYA ~

…

“Calm down, Irina.”

It’s the only warning that Kate gives their sister, and Tanya hopes it’s the only one she’ll need. They’re sitting shoulder to shoulder with humans, vampires and shape shifters alike, but it’s the latter of those which makes it so difficult for Irina. A slip in control now would probably ruin the day quite extraordinarily, and the Cullens would be none too pleased if every single guest attending this special occasion needs to be murdered because of it.

Tanya takes a peek across the two bodies of Ellie and Carmen, who separate her from her sisters, but she says nothing as she turns her attention back to the ceremony. She trusts Kate to take care of it- to keep Irina on her tight leash, as it were.

Unfair perhaps, considering the circumstances, but necessary.

“Keep it together!” she hears Kate hiss quietly, and her left eye twitches. She barely catches the whispered words, but still, she worries that they might be overheard and that would be bad.

The less people who know that Irina is plotting to murder half the guest list, the better.

They sit toward the back hidden in the shadows. Despite their position as family to the groom, it’s where they need to be. Tanya insists it’s so that those closest to the couple can take the front, but the truth is that Tanya doesn’t think they can handle being any closer than they are now, and she’s still not sure they’ll manage when the time comes to have dinner and… mingle.

The thought alone makes her skin crawl.

Cheers rise up around them, people stand, and Tanya tries hard to keep her focus ahead of her. Man and wife, kiss the bride- blah blah blah, she thinks with a disdainful twist of her lips. It’s sickening to watch as they flaunt their togetherness in front of them as though they haven’t blatantly disregarded literally every single law that exists among their kind.

Never mind the fact that because of their stupidity, Irina is now without her mate.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen, she thinks, watching as Carlisle embraces his wife. Everyone is all smiles and laughter, and she wonders how they can all be so blasé about this entire situation. Dining with humans and shape shifters? It’s a recipe for disaster, and all for what? Tanya’s gaze drifts to the woman marrying Edward Cullen, and her head tilts to the side as she considers her.

Bella Cullen, née Swan.

She intrigues Tanya, truly. She only wishes she could figure out why.

In any case, no one else seems to be really paying attention to the young woman in question. Yes, she looks stunning in her dress- everyone has something to say about it, but there are no whispers about the sweat beading the girl’s forehead, or the way she steps away from Edward’s side as they turn to face their friends and family.

Tanya might mistake it for shyness if not for the familiar spark of something she sees in her eyes as they sweep the people in attendance. Her eyes go right over Tanya though, hidden in the shadows as she is- Tanya expects it and more importantly, she’s okay with it. That’s how she prefers it. She still manages to catch the look in Bella’s eye regardless, although she can’t put her finger on what it is.

When she pulls her hand from Edward’s and Tanya hears her whisper him an apology, her voice trembles with her smile and her heart races beneath her rib cage. It’s not from fear though. At least Tanya doesn’t think so. Being what she is, she’s quite familiar with what that looks like.

She almost sounds… annoyed?

Tanya’s gaze wanders then to Edward’s gentle face, and her eyes narrow. All are apparently oblivious to her anxiety, her reluctance- her frustration it seems, except for Tanya. Even the groom himself doesn’t pick up on it. Either that, or he simply doesn’t care.

“Interesting.” Ellie hums quietly beside her, to which Carmen clicks her tongue in reproach and tells her to hush.

Well, then. It appears perhaps it’s not just Tanya who notices, but her coven as well. Their whispered conversation has drawn the attention of Kate and Irina, and now they’re all watching- seeing what no one else is choosing to.

“She doesn’t exactly look the part of the happy newlywed, does she.” Kate adds.

Irina glares. “What does she have to be unhappy about?”

“Enough,” Tanya orders, softly, and at once their attention turns away from the married couple. She herself does not though. “Now is not the time.”

Irina makes a noise of disgust, asking, “When is the time?”

“Irina,” she warns her, “Be patient.”

There’s a moment of silence, and the longer it stretches out, the more tense Tanya becomes because she can feel it building.

“Easy for you to say.”

It is and it isn’t, but Tanya refuses to be drawn into that argument with her sister. She wants everything Irina wants, but for different reasons. Her feelings for Laurent were neither here nor there- she was indifferent at best when it came to her interactions with him, and yet still the injustice of it all makes her want to hit something, someone- someones.

He was her coven mate, if nothing else, and no matter his reasons, in the end he was upholding the law.

Tanya’s gaze drifts to a couple sitting in the opposite aisle, and her lip curls. Sam Uley- Alpha, leader of the pack, or so she’s been told. He’s not much to look at, really- tall, lanky despite his muscle, but he’s the top dog and there’s obviously a reason for it. Appearances can be deceiving, Tanya reminds herself.

Perhaps with a feeling of being watched, he lifts his head and their eyes meet. The smirk works its way onto her face slowly, unbidden, and the menace behind it is not lost on the man. His own eyes narrow and he turns his head away, toward the woman at his side. He pulls her closer as though to protect her, and Tanya wants to scoff.

The woman has nothing to fear. She didn’t murder their coven mate.

As her attention drifts slowly back to the celebrations, to the woman who is, however unintentionally, the root cause of all of this, Tanya makes an attempt to push her dark thoughts to the back of her mind.

Now is not the time, she reminds herself. That will come later.

Instead, she uses her growing curiosity of Edward’s bride as a much-needed distraction.

Why so unhappy, darling?

…

She and her coven slip away into the shadows before the newlyweds reach the end of the aisle. None of them are quite ready to begin introductions, and so they disappear- silent, unnoticed.

Everyone else is too busy congratulating the new couple to worry about them. They don’t go far- just a mile or two into the woods, following one of the Cullen’s tracks, and when they finally speak, they keep their voices low so as to not be overheard.

Tanya is fairly sure that no one cares enough to follow them, but even so. She doesn’t want to risk it. She keeps an ear on the sounds of the forest around them as Ellie clears her throat.

“Bella Cullen is unhappy,” she says, getting right to the point, “Why?”

She looks to her wife for guidance, but Carmen has no answer for her. In fact, none of them do. Bella Cullen is unhappy, and yet no one knows why.

“What does she have to be unhappy about?” Irina mutters, kicking furiously at a rock by her foot. It sails into the woods with a whistle. “She has her big house in the woods and the perfect family- a loving husband,” She makes a noise of disgust, adding bitterly, “She has her forever. What more does she want?”

Tanya watches all of this with a frown. “It isn’t her fault,” she responds, “She’s an innocent bystander in all of this. Don’t forget that.”

“They left her with knowledge of our existence!” Irina growls, spinning around to face her now. “Laurent was only doing what any one of us would have done, and those dogs killed him for it!”

Tanya is in Irina’s face in an instant, and the set of her jaw is severe as she hisses, “Do not speak to me like that. I am your sister, and I am on your side. Laurent didn’t deserve death- I’m more than aware of this, but do not forget your place, Irina. The girl is innocent, do you understand? You will not take your anger out on her!”

“He died because of her.”

“He died,” she says, “Because he allowed his thirst to overrule his judgement. He wasn’t paying attention, and that is why he died, Irina. Don’t blame the girl.”

“Irina has a point though,” Kate adds, pursing her lips. “The girl has to die, one way or another. Can we trust Carlisle’s word that it will be done?”

Bella was to be changed after the wedding, Carlisle assured them of this, but they could neither provide a time nor a date when Tanya asked for one. After witnessing the ceremony, Tanya has to wonder if Bella Cullen will stick around long enough to be changed.

She takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. “Laurent’s death will not go unanswered, sister. I promise you.” she says, more gently. “But you must be patient, and you need to control yourself. Do I make myself clear?”

The alternative is far too painful to think about, least of all consider an option, and she refuses to speak the words. Still though, the images came unbidden- each more horrible than the last.

Blood, flames, screaming…

The sounds of tearing flesh.

“You will not touch Bella Cullen,” she orders Irina, and holds her hand up when Irina opens her mouth to argue. “It’s not up for debate. I will deal with the girl, as I see fit- not you, not Kate, nor Carmen or Ellie. Me.” She leaves little room for any more argument. “We must return to the house soon, and you will be on your best behaviour.”

Irina’s eye twitches. “You ask a lot of me, considering the circumstances,” she tells her, with undeniable sadness in each word. “What would you do, Tanya- if it had been your mate whose death they were responsible for?”

The question needs no answer. Fire and brimstone- Tanya would burn entire towns to the ground in the wake of her anguish. Women, children, the elderly, she would kill them all, and then she would welcome death gladly. It makes no difference though, she thinks, because this isn’t the fate she will allow for her sister.

She won’t.

With the gentlest of touches, she places her fingers to Irina’s chin. “I love you,” she tells her, searching her face. “Please don’t make us mourn your death also, by doing something reckless.”

The thought is heart breaking, and Kate makes a noise behind her- as though that thought hasn’t even occurred to her until this very moment. Irina’s gaze drifts up over Tanya’s shoulder, to Kate, to Ellie, to Carmen… but they find Tanya’s again in a moment.

“Are you asking or ordering?” she asks.

“Neither,” she whispers, truthfully, “I’m begging you.”

…

When they return to the house, daylight is bleeding from the sky and the Cullens backyard is bathed in the soft, artificial glow of hanging lights. They wind around poles, loop through the rafters of the Cullen’s porch, and wrap around trunks of trees that are hundreds of years old. Their yard looks like something right out of a fairy tale, but it still pains Tanya to see the utter disregard to nature with which it’s done, and she offers them a silent apology for it.

It’s temporary, she reasons. Alice has done a lovely job.

People are mingling everywhere much to her mild disgust, but her coven remains on the edges, in the shadows- watching, pretending to drink from their glasses of wine. They have little to say even amongst themselves, and it isn’t until Rosalie catches her eye that she realises how rude they’re being. Although to be fair, Rosalie looks as though she would rather be anywhere else as well, so she finds it somewhat comforting when the two share this moment of ugh together.

They may not be looking upon the Cullens favourably, but Tanya holds a soft spot for the blonde.

As the hour upon their return ticks by, Tanya notices quickly that there’s no sign of the bride. Edward is here, looking handsome in his suit and tie- smiling so handsomely that he’s unintentionally (or intentionally, who knows) dazzling the humans around him.

He doesn’t appear concerned by his wife’s disappearance, and so Tanya’s gaze drifts- searches the masses, but ultimately she comes back with nothing.

Bella Cullen isn’t here.

Carefully, she hands her near full glass of wine to Kate, who raises an eyebrow in question. “Going somewhere?” she asks, and there’s a bit of an attitude to be heard in her tone. Tanya smiles and shrugs. “Figures. Leave us here to deal with these smelly teenage boys.”

“They’ve yet to be brave enough to accost us, so stop your whining.” she admonishes, and then nods her head toward the house. “I’m going to freshen up.”

Kate’s eyes drift toward the house, and then, like Tanya had before, searches the faces that surround them. It clicks then why she’s going inside. She nods, but says nothing more about it, instead placing down the wine glasses in her hands. She then takes Irina by the hand.

“Come dance with me, sister.” she requests, already leading her toward the dance floor.

“Yes, great,” Tanya hears Irina mutter as they disappear amongst the crowd, “As if these hormonal humans aren’t wound up enough already. Let’s make it a little more unbearable. Great idea.”

Tanya smirks just a little. Inside the house, it’s fairly quiet. The music from outside can be heard drifting through the walls, and there’s the occasional guest or two waiting to use the downstairs bathroom, admiring the artwork hanging on the walls, but as far as crowds go…

Tanya is relieved, because it makes pinning Bella Cullen’s location much easier. She’s upstairs and, by the sounds of her quiet muttering, she’s alone.

Lovely.

She takes the stairs one at a time, a casual stroll- humming to herself as she goes. She passes closed doors that she assumes are locked (for safety of secrets, one would hope), and the walls that surround her are refreshingly bare of anything personal or damning. Their house has been transformed into what could be any other average, boring home.

So, the Cullens retain some brain cells after all. That’s a relief.

“Get it together- Jesus fucking Christ-”

Tanya tilts her head as the muttering becomes clearer. Admittedly, the girl has learned a thing or two, having been among their kind. Her words are indecipherable to anyone much further away than Tanya, and there’s certainly no risk that she’ll be overheard by anyone else.

She, and now Tanya, are the only ones on the upper level of the house.

“It’s one night, Bella. Just get out there, smile- pretend this is what you want-”

The door is ajar when she reaches it, and she just can’t help herself. With a single finger, she gently pushes against the door, and it swings open silently. “Now why ever would you need to pretend?” she asks as way of greeting, scaring the ever-living shit out of the poor woman, who curses and jumps almost as high as the ceiling. Bella Cullen’s wide eyes meet her own- caught, like a deer in headlights. “I thought I heard someone having a midlife crisis from downstairs, so I thought I’d better come see if I could offer some assistance.”

There’s a long, drawn-out moment of silence in which neither of them blink, and Tanya uses the moment to take Bella Cullen in more closely. Soft face, but a strong jaw is the first thing she notices. The second thing she notices is the immediate flush that’s drawn to Bella Cullen’s face.

“Who the fuck are you?”

She’s pretty when she’s angry.

They’re the first words Bella Cullen says to her. Possibly not the smartest or the most elegant, but certainly the first. Lucky for her, it amuses Tanya more than anything else, which appears to piss the young woman off even more.

“I’m sorry,” she continues to say, clenching her fists at her side. “Did I say something funny?”

The poor woman looks about ready to burst a blood vessel. A bad idea in the presence of an immortal, blood drinking creature of the night.

“Forgive me for caring about Edward’s bride.” Tanya says, offering her a smile that is anything but genuine at this point.

“Is that how everyone is going to refer to me now? Edward’s human, Edward’s bride- Edward’s this and that.” Bella pauses to jab a finger violently into her own chest, growling, “I have a name- I’m my own person. I’m not his fucking property.”

Well, now.

“My apologies, Bella.”

“See, you even knew my name- that’s the worst part,” she says, glowering at her heavily. “What do you want?”

“I heard you from downstairs.”

“That doesn’t explain why you came looking though, but sure, whatever.” she mutters, rolling her eyes and turning away. “Vampires and their lying bullshit. You’re all the same.”

Tanya’s eyebrow creeps almost to her hairline in surprise. “Rather brave of you to speak so freely,” she says, “Might I give you a word of advice though?”

“You’re going to give it to me anyway, so why ask.”

Oh, Tanya thinks, the attitude…

Tanya isn’t sure if the girl is brave or just stupid. She watches on in silence as Bella walks over to the two glass doors that open to… well, nothing. No balcony, no rail, no ledge- only a drop from the second story into the trees. Only instead of a dark forest beneath them, right now there’s people and music. Little do they know that right above them, they’re being watched by the very person who should be down there celebrating with them.

“I must say- I'm surprised,” Tanya says instead, surprising them both. Bella looks away from the window, watching as Tanya comes further into the room to sit on the large bed that takes up the majority of the space. It clearly belongs to the now married couple, she thinks, but it smells suspiciously clean. “You’re not at all what I expected.” she adds, speaking slowly- picking her words carefully.

She’s not quite sure what to make of this young, human woman.

Bella scoffs. “What, am I too irritating for you?”

Tanya crosses her legs and lounges back into the mattress like she belongs there, and she lets her gaze wander slowly, purposefully downwards, taking in everything that Bella has to offer. Her tongue slips out to wet her lips. Bella has changed out of her wedding gown and is dressed in a less formal, but no less beautiful black dress that falls to just above her knees.

It hugs her arse very tastefully, if Tanya does say so herself.

“Oh, darling,” she says, adding the softest of purrs to her voice, “Irritating is not how I would describe you.”

Tanya doesn’t know what she’s doing, but the words come of their own volition. She can’t stop. She can’t help herself because Bella Cullen is doing things to her and she’s not sure how to deal with it.

It’s acceptable to flirt with her cousin’s new wife, isn’t it? The answer is most obviously not, but it’s hard to reason with herself when Bella’s body immediately begins to respond to her words. When Bella speaks next, she appears to be somewhat out of breath.

“How would you describe me then?” she asks, when no more explanation is forthcoming.

Bella Cullen wants her to keep talking.

Bella Cullen wants to hear more.

Tanya’s following smile is predatory. She can’t exactly give her an answer though, not with the sheer number of gifted immortals outside. All it would take it for Alice to notice their absence and turn her focus to them, and then for Edward to home in on her visions like a hawk its prey.

Tanya doesn’t need that sort of attention, especially not when tensions are already so high among her coven.

“Won’t you come closer, darling?” she murmurs, “Perhaps I will tell you all you want to hear.”

What are you doing?

She can’t stop the words from leaving her mouth, and it should irritate her- it should be terrifying, but all it does is leave her utterly confused by the sheer want coursing through her undead veins. Bella comes to her willingly, drawn in- hypnotised.

Only vampires can’t really do that, so it’s no excuse for what’s happening. Bella is coming to her because she wants to. She stands before her, over her- alive, her heart pounding, her blood pumping, but a mere mortal in comparison to Tanya, because she wants to.

Tanya’s never felt so weak beneath someone's stare before tonight, and isn’t that ironic, she thinks.

Stop this.

“A little closer.”

Idiot!

Her thighs are touching Tanya’s knees with her next breath, and the reaction to both is immediate. Bella’s eyelids flutter shut and Tanya’s nostrils flare as their desire floods the small space.

“You smell divine.”

Shut up! Stop talking!

Bella’s cheeks flood afresh. “You’re not the first vampire to tell me that.”

Don’t say it.

“I wasn’t referring to your blood.” she murmurs, eyes drifting down. She only makes it to her navel before recognition hits and…

“Fuck,” Bella whimpers, and her flush deepens as Tanya’s dark eyes snap back to her face.

Tanya is grinning now, unable to help herself, and she silences the whispers in her mind- ignores their warnings as she purrs, “My my, Bella- such a dirty little mouth you have.”

“Edward says I should stop,” she responds, and her throat bobs as she swallows. “He says it’s unbecoming.”

There’s no pretending here. She doesn’t even try to hide the bitterness in her voice.

Edward is but a boy who never left the early twentieth century, and Tanya certainly isn’t about to take his advice on anything- least of all how women should or should not speak. She’s not about to say that to the woman in front her though, because Edward is the man she married and, she presumes, the man she loves.

She’s beginning to have her doubts about even that now though.

She sits up a little straighter. “Why do you need to pretend, Bella?” she asks her instead, bringing them back to what started this… whatever this is. They share the same breath now, but Tanya doesn’t reach out to her and neither does Bella. They just look at one another, searching.

“Because I’m not happy.” she whispers.

“Do you want to be happy?”

Eyes desperately search Tanya’s own. “More than anything.”

Tanya wants to offer her hand. She wants to tell her to take her happiness then, and screw everyone else.

Tanya also kind of wants to kiss her.

Before she can do or say any of that though, a throat clears in the doorway behind them. Tanya recognises the sound and who it belongs to immediately- she barely reacts, but poor Bella jumps in fright. Her eyes snap upward, over Tanya’s head and Tanya is reminded of their first meeting some moments earlier.

The cutest look of being caught with her hand in the cookie jar that Tanya has ever seen.

“Yes?” Tanya asks of the newcomer, without so much as a backward glance. Bella catches her eye once more, confused, terrified, all of the above, and Tanya offers her a smile. “My sister.” she explains.

“It’s time we left,” Kate tells her, “Irina is at her breaking point. To stay any longer would be tempting fate. Carmen and Ellie have already taken her to wait for us in the woods.”

“Very well.” It’s not pleasing news, but it’s better than the alternative, she thinks.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Bella asks, her heart rate picking up once more. This time it has nothing to do with desire. “I don’t even know your name.”

Tanya stands with some difficulty, because Bella seems unwilling to let her leave so easily, but her hands find Bella’s cheeks and her eyes, once more, search. For something, for anything. All the while Kate watches on in silence.

“You would like to be happy?” she asks again, seeking clarification. Bella breath comes out in desperate, frightened short gasps, but she manages to nod her head. “Then leave with us. You will know happiness and freedom.”

“Or stay and be unhappy,” Kate adds, “Whatever you decide, decide now. We must leave.”

Tanya is uncertain the young woman knows what she wants, and she presses further. “Why did you marry him if you’re not happy?”

Bella looks aside, but her face is still being held by Tanya. “… it was his condition,” she answers, “He refused to change me unless we were married. Now we are, and I’m still not convinced he wants to me to become one of you.”

Her disgust in her cousins, but most particularly in Edward, rise like bile in her throat. “That is not his condition to set.”

Bella Cullen is a human who knows too much of their world. Her fate is sealed.

“If immortality is the only thing tying you here,” she continues, “Then you should know that I will give you immortality without conditions. To do anything else would be irresponsible.”

Kate snorts in agreement behind them. “Not to mention suicidal.”

Bella looks back up and over Tanya’s shoulder. She appears to be thinking hard about it, chewing on her bottom lip so hard that Tanya worries she will draw blood. “What would we tell them?” she asks, “What about my parents?”

Tanya tries to think back to the ceremony and the guests. She knows who Bella’s father is only because he walked her down the aisle, but her mother…

Tanya doesn’t recall her face, and even if she could it would mean very little to her, but their faces- their names mean something to Bella. They raised her and loved her, and Tanya struggles to remind herself of this as she tries to find the words to answer her. It’s difficult, she finds.

Stalling a moment, she tells Kate to go ahead and wait for her with the others.

“I’ll be there soon.”

Kate leaves quietly, but her gaze lingers on Bella until she’s out of sight. Tanya waits until her sister descends to the lower level and leaves through the front door, and then she steps close to the young woman who is so obviously warring with herself.

“I don’t have an answer to that, Bella,” she admits, finally, “I regret that you will have to leave your parents behind, but it’s the price we all pay for this life. That will be no different- whether you stay or whether you leave with us tonight.”

She’d seen it time and time again through her long life- people who are forced into a life of immortality but have trouble letting go of their past lives. They all had mothers and fathers, some even had husbands and wives, children…

Some adapt, and some do not. It’s the grim reality of what they are.

“We bring only death to the mortals we surround ourselves with.” she finishes.

“The Cullens surround themselves with humans all the time…”

The Cullens, Tanya thinks to herself with an internal sneer, are fooling themselves. There is a reason she and her coven remain among the trees these days. Too much risk, too much exposure.

“I don’t agree with the way the Cullens live.” she says simply, unwilling to go any further into it. In fact, she and her coven hadn’t wanted to attend the wedding at all due to the number of humans in attendance. “We weren’t going to come today,” she decides to tell her, “Did Edward tell you that Laurent had joined our coven?” Bella clenches her jaw and nods her head. “You realise,” she continues softly, dangerously, “That he was only doing what any one of us would have done in his place?”

She parrots her sister’s words from earlier.

“Is that why you came? To finish the job?”

Bella is bitter now- angry, but Tanya refuses to soften her warning. She takes Bella by the chin with care, promising, “We intend to make sure that the Cullens follow through with their end of the bargain. They have dragged my coven into their mess with their foolishness. I refuse to let this be our end.”

Bella attempts to remove her chin from Tanya’s grasp. “So, what you’re saying is that I don’t have a choice.”

The following silence is high with tension, and Tanya can’t say with certainty that she knows what the young Cullen will decide, but one thing Tanya is sure of? She can’t trust the Cullens to change her, that much has become abundantly clear throughout this entire conversation. Not even Bella believes that it’s going to happen. She releases her chin.

“Stay here, or don’t,” she says, “That is your choice.”

Bella’s eyes become glassy with tears that she refuses to let fall. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispers, “I feel like the worst person on the planet- I mean, who feels like this on their wedding night? Who considers it? I feel so lost.”

The look in her eye, Tanya is familiar with. She’s seen it many times over the centuries, some of which were in her very own reflection.

“You’ll find yourself again, Bella,” she tells her, “Whether you want to do that with my coven is up to you.”

It takes far longer than Tanya would like for her to decide, and all the while she worries that Alice will see, or Edward will grow suspicious and come looking. The fact that he hasn’t already is strange to her- isn’t he wondering where his wife is? They’re supposed to be celebrating with their friends and their family, and Bella has yet to show her face since the ceremony, so surely it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Tanya begins to grow more uncomfortable the longer she waits for Bella’s answer.

“I can’t just leave the way you want me to,” Bella eventually tells her, in the smallest voice Tanya’s heard yet. “I owe it to Edward and the others to at least say goodbye and explain. I’m not like them. I won’t just leave.”

Her decision disappoints Tanya so much that she can’t contain her soft sigh. “I’m very sorry to hear that. I hope that one day you’ll forgive me then, because you will be most welcome in my coven, Bella.”

Bella’s expression turns wary as she takes a cautious step back. “Forgive you for what?”

Tanya’s mind is made.

She doesn’t trust the Cullens.

Tanya listens hard for a moment- nobody has yet to come looking for Bella. The music is loud outside, so much so that Tanya is almost positive that no human will hear what’s about to happen next. It will give just enough cover for the Cullens to take over the situation.

They are, after all, exceptionally well at covering up incidents.

Too fast for Bella to comprehend, Tanya has closed the space between them once more. Her hold on the young woman’s cheeks is less forgiving now, and she processes a flash of panic on Bella’s lovely face before she forcibly turns her head to the side, baring her throat. Tanya’s eyes zero in on the pulsing artery beneath Bella’s skin, and she feels her hunger stir.

“What the fu-” Tanya slaps her free hand over Bella’s mouth, cutting her off. It would do no good to have the immortals attending the reception hear her screaming.

Not yet.

“I apologise for this, Bella.” she whispers, leaning in. She brushes the tip of her nose along the thin skin, and she takes a deep breath. Her eyes darken. “I never said that I would leave you human if you stayed.”

She tries to struggle, just a little- confused, terrified, but she has no hope. Stronger men and women have fared far worse than she under the sheer strength Tanya possesses. Bella stands no chance.

“You’ll have your chance to say goodbye this way,” she continues, “I do hope that you come and find me when you’re ready to be happy.”

With little more preamble than that, Tanya feels her fangs drop with a brief sting that is barely noticeable to her anymore, and she sinks them into Bella Cullen’s throat with the utmost of care. She doesn’t want to the kill the woman, after all. The explosion of warmth into her mouth draws forth a moan from deep inside her, and she fights desperately to ignore the dark voice in the back of her mind telling her to bite harder, to drink faster.

Her prey struggles and it feeds her desires, but she keeps them in check. Only barely though, because Bella Cullen’s blood is exquisite, and so she feeds with the hunger of a starving man but the gentleness of a lover- cradling her struggling body until she grows weak in her arms. Her heart has slowed to the point of near death, and her veins dry up far quicker than Tanya likes.

She could have lived off Bella Cullen for the rest of forever, truth be told.

With a soft growl, Tanya pulls her mouth away and her fangs retract- slip back up into her mouth, out of sight. The young woman in her arms is pale with death, hovering on the brink, and Tanya hopes that she’s strong enough to hold on long enough for the venom to take hold.

It would be a shame if she weren’t destined for their world.

Tanya lays the woman on the bed and props her head up comfortably on one of the pillows. She steps away. “You’re one step closer to your happiness now.”

She brings a thumb to the corner of her lip, catches the drop of blood there, and pops it into her mouth- watching, waiting…

A muscle in Bella’s leg twitches out to the side- rather violent considering her proneness and her so very faint heartbeat, but relief floods Tanya’s body. Painted blood red, her lips stretch into a slow smile as she comes closer and presses a kiss to the side of the young woman’s cheek.

She lingers, breathes in the last of woman’s human scent and the beginning sweet stench of decay, and murmurs, “I’ll be waiting on the other side for you. Come find me, Bella.”

She’s about to pull away and take her leave, but she hesitates for a moment as a thought occurs to her. Bella’s mouth opens just enough for Tanya to hear a soft groan- the beginnings of the change, and she needs to leave.

Now.

“I’m glad it’s finally done.”

It’s not often that Tanya is taken by surprise, but it appears to be the theme of the day. She lifts her gaze, and there, standing in the doorway where Kate had been before, is Rosalie Hale. Her expression lacks any telling signs that she’s either pleased or unhappy about what she’s found, and Tanya takes this as a sign that maybe she has time to escape still.

“You should leave before she starts screaming.” Rosalie murmurs, so quietly that Tanya barely hears her. It’s for her benefit, she knows. Her amber eyes are dark as she scents the room, and they fall to Bella’s form as the young woman begins to shift in discomfort. “I’ll look after her. Leave.”

Tanya nods, then leans down to Bella’s ear, whispering, “Come find me. If you’re lucky, I might even tell you my name.” She straightens and makes for the door, offering Rosalie one last grateful nod, adding, “I couldn’t risk leaving her human, Rosalie. I hope you understand.”

Rosalie drags her eyes away from Bella for a moment. “More than anyone else in my family, yes. Now go. The dogs will eat you alive for this.”

Tanya isn’t sure if her warning comes out of concern or not, but she finds it equal parts touching and amusing. She smirks. “They can try.”

Rosalie offers her a hint of a smirk in return, and then steps aside so that she can pass. With one last glance in Bella Cullen’s direction, Tanya makes her brisk exit down the stairs and out the front door. She removes her heels and leaves them neatly at the edge of the woods for the dogs to find, and then she begins to run, hoping she and her coven can make it far enough ahead that they won’t risk being caught.

She doesn’t stop when she’s within proximity of her coven, and they don’t speak. They simply join her in her hurried trek through the woods.

“Is it done?”

Kate doesn’t need to specify what it is.

“It’s done.”

Irina still doesn’t look pleased, but Tanya ignores that for the moment because very soon the hounds will be nipping at their heels. If they’re lucky, one of them will stray far enough away from their own territory that they can risk allowing Irina off her own leash.

If not, Tanya thinks, well… revenge is a dish best served cold anyway.

Fleetingly she has to wonder if Bella will come looking to serve her own. It would a shame if she did- because actually hurting the woman isn’t high on Tanya’s list of things she wants to do. There’s something about her that intrigues Tanya, and she can’t deny that there’s a sense of heavy disappointment weighing her down.

She would have liked for Bella Cullen to have chosen differently…

A howl sounds from far behind them, and then another answers to the left and then moments later to the right, and Tanya picks up her pace with dangerous precision. Thoughts of Bella Cullen can wait, she tells herself.

The chase is on.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

~ BELLA ~

I’ll be waiting on the other side for you…

The melody that drifts to the upper level of the house from downstairs is depressing, she thinks, mournful. Edward plays it as though there’s been a death in the family, which she supposes yes, technically there has.

Her own.

Bella Cullen, murdered on her wedding night, reborn when they should have been celebrating their honeymoon.

… Come find me, Bella.

There were no speeches, no cutting of the cake… although that's really the least of her worries if she really wants to get into the nitty gritty details surrounding the whole affair.

If you’re lucky, I might even tell you my name.

Is it sad, maybe even slightly pathetic that this is what bothers her the most right now? Not Edward’s melodrama over what he calls their cousin’s betrayal, but this- this woman with her beautiful face and her enticing words…

And her magical disappearance act.

Bella wakes not to her face nor her softly spoken words, but to Rosalie’s. Of all the people she would have expected to watch over her, never in a million years would she have thought that Rosalie might put her hand up.

Rosalie.

Rosalie, who sat with her for three days. Rosalie, who held her cold hand to Bella’s forehead as she thrashed beneath her feverish dreams. Rosalie , who murmured her reassurances that it was almost over. 

And then there’s Edward. Her husband now, she supposes, although it hardly feels like it.

For three whole days she burned, feverish, begging for death. And where was he? He came to see her once, Rosalie told her, but refused to return after admitting that it was ‘just too difficult’ to see her like this. Instead he sat at his piano and played aloud his grief, his anger, for the whole house to hear. 

For three whole days.

Sulking, Rosalie had told her after her first hunt- one that Edward refused to take her on when she rose from her fevered state, terrified but at least not alone. But only because she had Rosalie.

Bella can’t believe it at first. Not Edward. He wouldn’t do that to her.

It takes only a few days of witnessing his behaviour for herself to realise Rosalie is telling her the truth.

Bella turns her gaze from the window that she’s been looking out for what must be hours now. Rosalie is there with her still, reading a book… keeping Bella grounded in reality. They talk occasionally, but mostly they do just this, which Bella appreciates.

Rosalie won’t tell her who the woman with the beautiful face is though.

She won’t tell Bella who’s venom it is that flows through this new, powerful body of hers.

She won’t tell Bella who it is she needs to thank for this. Neither will the rest of the Cullens, but most especially Edward. He shuts down all talk of them when it comes up-

When he’s managed to shoulder his way through his despair long enough to listen. But that woman… 

She intrigues Bella.

Do I really want to thank her though? Thank her for what- for this cloud of misery that shrouds the Cullen house now? For hearing the music that she once loved but now makes her wish she could just get up and run from? She wants to run away from it all- all except for Rosalie, of course.

She’s never been more grateful to have the blonde vampire in her corner. She’s never had that before, not until now. But she is so, so grateful for it. For her.

The piano music slowly dies out to what is apparently the harrowing end of Edward’s story (go figure), and Rosalie, feeling Bella’s eyes on her, offers her a look that Bella suspects mirrors her own perfectly. They say nothing though and the silence is a nice change, as is Edward’s quiet departure into the woods a few moments later.

Alice drifts by the closed door. “He’s gone hunting,” she says. “Carlisle will follow him to make sure he doesn’t do anything rash.”

Anything rash, she means, as in what? Seek revenge for Bella now being one of them? Yes , she thinks bitterly, how dare the Denali Coven do what Edward was too cowardly to do himself.

“He’s acting as though I died,” Bella murmurs. “I’m beginning to think he might have preferred it.”

Finally she speaks the words, not worrying that he might overhear her admit the bitter truth. She expects someone in the house, maybe Alice, to come to his rescue, to offer excuses for him, but the house is eerily quiet.

Maybe they’ve all come to the same conclusion themselves.

Rosalie closes the book and sets it down in her lap, listening should Bella wish to continue. But what else can she say? What else is left to say?

But she knows exactly what she wants to say.

“I don’t want this.”

Rosalie tilts her head. “Bit late for that, don’t you think?” She delivers her words with a mirthless smile. But that isn’t what Bella means and she struggles to find the right words.

“I don’t mean this,” Bella explains, motioning to herself in a way that shows how frustrated she is with the whole situation. It’s been two weeks but that isn’t the problem. She isn't the problem. “I always wanted this, Rose, but it was his condition that we get married first. Not mine.” She returns to gazing out the window. The same window she looked out the night that beautiful stranger sank her fangs into her throat and changed her life forever. 

She didn’t want marriage as a human, but she did it so that she could be where she is now- be one of them, be a part of their world, be a Cullen.

It’s where she’s always meant to be, she’s sure of it. Just now she’s thinking it might not be with the surname Cullen.

Rosalie clicks her tongue. “You're not happy.” 

The backyard where they were married, where their friends and family celebrated, is bare now. Alice took the decorations down the very next morning after Edward insisted that Bella's death wasn't a celebration.

“I don't think I've been happy for a long time.” she admits.

She thinks she was happy in the beginning, but looking back on it now, it’s hard to remember, to be absolutely sure. Her human memories aren't quite as clear as they were before, and if she can't say with absolute certainty that she was happy then…

Maybe she never was. 

There's silence for a long moment, a moment where Bella becomes lost in an avalanche of very bad thoughts, but then she registers movement in her periphery. It's just enough to drag her out from under it all. Rosalie comes to stand beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

It's that quiet sort of companionship that Bella's come to expect from the blonde.

“You're not happy,” Rosalie says. “So, Bella. What are you going to do about it?”

What is she going to do about it?

.

.

.

“I don't know.” She blinks slowly, as though it’s never really occurred to her that she actually can do something about it now. “What can I do, Rose? Where can I go?” she asks, not expecting that Rosalie will have an answer for her.

The reservation is off limits now. The pack are furious, Jake won't answer her calls.

Her human friends- her parents think she fell violently ill on her wedding night and died (how Carlisle and the others managed to spin that into a believable tale she’ll never know), but that’s a whole other can of worms that she isn’t ready to open right now. 

What can she do?

Bella Cullen is, for all intents and purposes, dead to the human world.

Come find me, Bella.

The beautiful woman with her dangerous words and her sinful smile. Bella blinks again, quicker now because of course the answer is right there. 

Bella wants like nothing else now.

She twists her head, meeting Rosalie’s stare with her own. “I want to know her name,” she tells her, not needing to explain further who she means. She’s sure that Rosalie knows. “I want to know her. ”

She left her the invitation, after all. Bella knows she didn't mishear what she said. 

She wants me to come.

Rosalie grins. “Then I suppose we're making an unexpected visit to our cousins in the North.”

I'll get a name, finally.

Bella’s thoughts grind to a halt. “We?” she asks, not entirely sure she’s heard that correctly though.

The look in Rosalie's eye softens. “Yes, we. You don’t think you’re the only one who wants to get away, do you?” She offers Bella's shoulder a gentle squeeze, but there's so much more behind the simple gesture than just that. Bella's eyes sting. “Emmett and I will make sure you get to Alaska safely, Bella. And who knows, maybe we'll hang around for a little while longer just to be sure you're where you want to be.”

It's the single most touching moment of Bella’s life.

“And if I'm not?” She poses the question.

“Then I suppose we'll just have to keep looking until you are.” She shrugs. “Our cousins can be very persuasive though.”

It takes just that single moment of clarity, of remembering her face and touch and bite- and while Bella’s never considered herself to be attracted to women before, there’s something about that woman in particular that Bella’s body, her mind, couldn’t resist that night.

Doesn’t want to resist now.

Bella looks back out into the forest. “How am I going to tell Edward?” 

The last thing she wants to do is hurt him, but at the same time…

Is she willing to sacrifice her own chance at happiness to avoid it?

No.

“I can be with you when you tell him,” Rosalie offers. “If you need me to be.”

His forced isolation from her the past two weeks have been nothing but hurtful to her. What does she really owe him anyway?

You don’t owe him anything.

But she won’t leave without telling him the truth. She won't do to him what he did to her all those months ago.

She won’t.  

“Thank you, but… I think this is something I need to do on my own.”

Rosalie searches her face. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.” In getting to her feet, Bella’s overcome with gratitude for the blonde, so much so that she almost caves to the desire to pull her into a bone crushing hug. Almost. ”It's better for everyone if we do this away from the house.”

Away from the family. And of course, Rosalie loathes the idea, but other than voicing her displeasure she doesn’t argue the point, for which Bella appreciates.

“You'll tell me if he puts his hands on you,” Rosalie says, pausing with her hand on the door before she can leave the room. It isn't a question. “It will be the last mistake he ever makes, I promise you.”

Bella nods. Edward won't touch her but if it makes Rosalie feel more secure to voice her threats, her worries aloud, so be it.

“He’s in the meadow,” Alice tells her as she passes by her and Jasper’s bedroom. Alice’s door is open, and she wears a look of sympathy on her pretty face from where she lounges on her bed. “Just follow his scent, you won’t run into any trouble.”

Bella offers her a bitter smirk. “You mean I won’t run into any hikers I’ll murder. Good to know.”

Alice shares her look. ”Not today anyway.”

“Reassuring.”

She doesn’t see any other Cullens as she glides down the stairs and leaves through the front door. They must all be enjoying Edward’s absence in solitude, which she can’t blame them for. She’d be doing the same if not for this. 

She picks up his scent easily beneath Carlisle’s stronger one, following him deep into the woods. Carlisle will stay close, she’s sure, and perhaps it’s a good thing. Edward might need his father’s comforting presence after what Bella plans to say to him.

And honestly, Bella’s not even sure what she’s going to say to him yet.

The anxiety is very real as she nears the meadow though, and it gnaws away at her gut like a parasite. She would feel sick if she were capable of it. She can sense Edward now, which means he can hear her- she’s being purposefully louder in her approach than she would have been otherwise. 

She doesn’t want to frighten him off. She suspects he’d be a bit like a deer in that sense- quick to frighten, quicker still to run away.

Her worries are for naught though. She steps out of the trees and he’s there, sitting in a field of colour, his face drawn into one of such self-loathing pity that for a moment Bella almost chickens out and turns right back around. She wants to walk away, she doesn’t want to do this, she thinks. 

She hesitates at the treeline.

“They shouldn’t have let you come out here alone,” he says, breaking the silence. He’s staring out into the woods, spinning his wedding band around his finger. “That was irresponsible of them.”

It's not the reception she’s expecting, but she’s not sure whether that's a good thing.

“Alice said it would be fine.”

He pauses in his ring twirling. “Alice’s visions aren’t always accurate, Bella. You should know that better than anyone after the cliff diving incident.”

Ouch. 

Her expressions shifts, hardens. “Why don’t you blame her for what happened on our wedding night, too, while you’re at it,” she growls. “You know as well as I do that her visions are compromised when the wolves are around, Edward. That isn’t fair.”

How dare he.

“We should be glad that the wolves won’t be around to be a problem now then.” He says it because he knows it will hurt her, and it does. “I’m sorry,” he apologises, almost as an afterthought. “I didn’t mean that.”

He isn’t sorry though, not really. He knows all the right words to say, how to say them, and every time he opens his mouth, he knows what he’s doing. There’s not a single doubt in Bella’s mind. And when he sighs and stands, as though it’s hard for him to simply exist right now, least of all talk to her- his wife - Bella’s hurt is shifting.

The way in which her anger surges as her husband nears her should scare her. It should make her step back, away from him, keep that distance between them because right now, her control feels more fragile than it’s ever been. But that isn’t the scary part.

“I’ll walk you back to the house,” he continues.

The scary part is how good her anger feels, like a breath of fresh air. “No, Edward,” she says, stiffening her jaw. “I came here to talk and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”

“We can talk back at the house.”

She shakes her head. “This is a conversation I’d like to spare your family.”

Her choice of words isn’t lost on him, but at least now there’s a hint of some other emotion in his otherwise morose stare. “They’re our family, Bella.” he tells her.

It doesn’t feel that way. She’s not going to budge though, and she knows better than to think Edward will either. Maybe bringing Rose might have been a good idea, if only to speed things along, to get this over with.

Like ripping off a band-aid.

“I’m not happy.” She chooses to begin with that, because it sums up so much of what she’s feeling right now, but she realises she’s said the wrong thing the second the words leave her mouth. She rushes on before Edward can open his own, to misinterpret and twist her words. “I’m not happy here, Edward. I’m not happy with you.”

Bella doesn’t enjoy the pain she sees flash behind his eyes. “You’re not happy with me?” he asks, thick brows pinching together. “Bella, I realise the past couple of weeks have been hard on you-”

“They’ve been hard on me because of you.” She lifts a brow, not really believing what she’s hearing. 

Does he really not see it?

“Why, Bella?” he whispers. “What could I have possibly done to make you so unhappy? I’ve barely seen you.”

“That! That, right there!” She throws her hands in the air, growling. “You just answered your own question. I’ve barely seen you! You hardly talk to me, you don’t want to be around me. You just sit at your piano all day and night!”

He flinches. “Music is how I deal with my emotions when they overwhelm me. What would you have me do instead?”

She literally cannot believe what she’s hearing right now. “ Talk-to-me , Edward,” she hisses, her hurt confusing her, dragging her away from her anger with him. “I’m supposed to be your wife. Your equal.” The words are so painful, lodging in her throat. “I thought it would be different if I was one of you, if I wasn’t so fragile. I thought we would be happy. I thought you would be happy.”

She’s alive, she’s here.

“Bella, love, I am happy,” he pleads, reaching for her hands, to beg her, to convince her. “But I’m also so angry and hurt and sad for you. You didn’t deserve any of this. What they did to you-”

“You should have done already, Edward.” She interrupts him by ripping her hands from his grasp. “They did what you were never going to do.”

She sees it now, sees it in his mournful stare- the self-hatred he has for himself for what he is… and for Bella’s truth. 

“You were never going to make me a vampire, were you?” she whispers, the truth stealing the breath from her lungs. “Or maybe you would have, but when, Edward? What would it have taken? Even the Volturi breathing down our necks wasn’t going to be enough, was it?”

He can’t bear to look at her now, and he turns his face away. “I would have changed you when the time was right.”

He’s lying to himself now as well, and she wants so badly to cry.

“No, you wouldn’t have. You would have waited until I was at death's door, and even then, I’m not convinced you would have done it.” She shakes her head. “You’ve buried yourself so deep in this darkness that I don’t think you actually want to see the light.”

She takes a step backward, ignoring her bleeding heart as it screams at her to stop, to think about this before she does something she can’t take back.

“Bella, please.”

She can’t.

She won’t.

Her eyes sting with her unshed tears. “I’m done, Edward,” she tells him. “I’m not going to let you drag me into the darkness with you.”

There are no lies, no mistruths. She’s not interested in making him promises this time around.

He takes a desperate step toward her. “Bella, please,” he pleads with her, “I’ll do better, I swear. This isn’t me... I’ll try to make an effort. Bella.”

Try to…?

“You shouldn’t need to try.”

It’s her turn to walk away, to not look back.

And he doesn’t follow her.

Chapter Text

Chapter Three

~ TANYA ~

“Come now, sister, surely you can do better than that.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You can do better,” Kate repeats, a moment before she appears at Tanya’s side. “So here, allow me to help you up.”

She takes a hold of her wrist, and even though Tanya knows it’s coming well before her brain can register it, it’s still a shock when it does. Quite literally. She is lit up from the inside out- pure agony wracks her body, seizes her muscles, locks her jaw, chokes her screams-

The touch is gone a moment later, but the pain…

Oh, it lingers.

But still Tanya struggles to her feet, attempting to bite back the groan that claws its way up her throat. “You dirty, filthy cheat,” she growls out through clenched teeth. “You said you would behave!”

“I lied.” Kate shrugs, hands on her hips as she waits for Tanya to gather herself again. “You’d think after the first few hundred years that you’d learn, but no. You always come back for more.”

Kate doesn’t fight fair- Tanya does know this, but she enjoys these little sparring sessions. Really, she does, where it’s just the two of them without worries, or stress. It’s freeing, exhilarating…

Tanya only wishes that Kate would hold back a little more than she does. It isn’t really much to ask for, she thinks, attempting to shake the ringing from her ears. 

“I hate you,” she grumbles, grabbing either side of her head with a groan, because really, all she’s done is worsen the sharp pain in her head. 

“No, you don’t.”

The effects of Kate’s shock will wear off soon, she knows this, once her body manages to repair the damage that’s been done, one painstaking cell at a time. 

Coming closer, Kate takes Tanya gently by the arm in the place she shocked her. “I might have been a bit rough this time though,” Kate admits, rubbing at the fractures in her skin there. “I’m sorry.”

“You enjoy every second of it.”

Kate lifts a brow. “I enjoy winning. I don’t enjoy hurting you quite so much.”

As the tingling in her limbs, in her head, begins to slowly crawl back into the hole with which it came, she can finally think more clearly, and the tightness in her back and shoulders begin to loosen. 

“Ready for round two then?” Kate watches her straighten carefully. “Or are you going to roll over for daddy?”

Tanya scoffs, but the pain is much less now. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” 

She still hasn’t released Tanya’s arm yet, and she uses it now to pull the shorter of the two closer. “ Hell yes, I’d like it.” she purrs, as Tanya melts into her. “It’s been far too long since we had that sort of fun. I’m so down for it.”

Tanya leans in, brushing her nose along Kate’s jaw. “Mm, I bet you are. Dirty, filthy little vixen that you are.” She repeats her earlier assessment, but this time with a very different context- and one that Kate approves of if the noise that leaves her throat is any indication.

“Yes,” she groans aloud, “The filthiest.”

“I know it.” Tanya presses a single kiss there, barely a tease of lips really, right beneath her ear before she gently pulls back. “But-”

“Please no buts. Please.”

Her smile is sympathetic. “It’s not the right time, not while Irina…” suffers, “... mourns.”

Kate groans again, a noise very different from the last. She knows as well as Tanya does, what that’s likely to mean. 

“It’s not that I’m waiting for her to join us again, Kate. I’m not. I don’t think she’s ready for that right now, if she ever will be at all.” she admits, and despite her reluctance adds, “Laurent meant a great deal to her.”

They appeared to be in love, mates, but… Tanya does wonder if they had enough time together to form a real, true mating bond- 

Irina surviving his death suggests no. 

But regardless, the three of them hadn’t been together, truly together in that way, since Laurent wandered into their lives with his dashing smile and his charming words. That speaks volumes on just how deep Irina’s feelings for him went-

How much he meant to her, how much she loved him.

She walked away from us for him.

“I still don’t understand what she saw in him,” Kate mutters as she looks away, but Tanya knows what this is really about, where her anger really stems from. “He was such a little worm of a man.”

Kate is hurt.

Tanya is hurting her by refusing her, again.

“We don’t need to understand it,” she says, rather than agree with Kate’s assessment of the man, “But we do need to support her through this, Kate. We have to, because she needs us.”

Their sister grieves- and how badly would it hurt her for them to return to the house smelling of each other? To allow her to think they’re brushing off her loss? Waving all of this right beneath her nose?

Tanya refuses to do it. 

With a quick touch of their lips, she steps out of Kate’s arms. “Stop pouting. I don’t like it anymore than you do.”

“I hate it.”

And Tanya loves how irritable her sister is when she’s so needy, finding her ridiculously charming in such moods. It’s difficult to remind herself why they shouldn’t just indulge themselves out here, especially when Kate is pulling her in again, touching her the way she is, sliding her hands down her back, down-

Tanya drags her in for a hot, parting kiss. “No more,” she breathes, and takes a much more definitive step away. “We need to get back.”

She does allow Kate to take her hand as they make their way back through the forest to the house though. Small amount of intimacy though it is, it’s all she’s willing to let them have right now.

“So,” Kate begins, “When do you think the new Mrs Cullen will be arriving?” 

Mrs Cullen.

She was wondering when Kate would bring this up again.

“ Bella may not come at all.” She shoots Kate a look, because she knows damn well that it gets on Tanya’s nerves when they call Bella that. “ If she decides to pay us a visit though, I can’t imagine it’s going to be a very pleasant one given our farewell, can you?”

She bit her with every intention of not leaving her human. There was no chance for her to say goodbye to her friends and family, nothing. Tanya took that from her.

Tanya murdered her.

“I saw the way you were eyeing each other,” Kate says, swinging their arms back and forth between them with a mischievous smile. “I suspect her impending visit will be very pleasant indeed."

Tanya shoves her. “She’s married to Edward, if you recall, as you’re so good at reminding me.”

God, she hates it. 

“Yeah, and she looked super happy about it, too.” Kate rolls her eyes. “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, Tanya. You’ll lose every single time. That girl wanted you to throw her to the bed and fuck her into next week, don’t even try to convince me otherwise. I could smell her. ”

“You’re so crass.” Her heart fills with fondness. 

“I could smell you.” 

Even if it’s true, even if Tanya might have wanted that as well, might still want it… she realises it’s not likely to happen. What are the chances that Bella will still feel that way? Tanya killed her, for a good reason mind you, but death is death. 

Does it count as death if she’s been reborn as a vampire?

Maybe. She supposes it’s entirely dependent on the person. Take Rosalie and Edward for example.

Edward.

She doesn’t even want to think about him, about the opportunities he had to fix all of this himself without need of their intervention. But of course, her mind is there now and there’s no stopping it. 

Tanya’s gaze drifts to her sister’s face and back ahead again. “Do you honestly believe she’ll come find us?”

There’s a hope there that she will, but Tanya isn’t ready to entertain it. That hope will grow like a weed the second she waters it. It’s bad enough that Kate’s already planted the seed.

“She’ll come find you,” Kate tilts her head to meet her gaze. “But will you do me a favour when she does?”

Tanya supposes that very much depends on what that favour is, and Kate chuckles at the look she receives in response.

“Don’t take a page from Irina’s book and pretend for a second that you want to be monogamous with her when she does, yeah?” She’s teasing her, Tanya is relieved to note. “I love our sister dearly, but she has some funny ideals when it comes to love. Also, even more important than that? The blue balls might very well kill me the second time round .”

Unable to contain it, Tanya tosses her head back with her laughter. Kate is as dramatic as she is crass.

“I promise not to let you wither away like a shrivelled up old prune.” She wraps herself around Kate’s arm. “Would be an awful waste of such a pretty face.”

“And my winning personality.”

“Of course.”

As if she’s liable to forget.

Back at the house, they part ways. Kate disappears in search of a hot shower, which she temptingly offers to share with Tanya, but Tanya’s mind is elsewhere, and she declines with a playful swipe to Kate’s retreating ass.

It earns her a hard to ignore look from her sister, which is even harder to walk away from. “Tease.” Kate mutters playfully, with a smile full of heat, and promise.

It’s so hard to turn around and walk away, but she does it. She manages- and she finds Irina in the library curled up in the window reading from a thick, leather-bound book. Dull eyes flicker to Tanya in the doorway only briefly before she returns to reading.

“What are you reading today?” Tanya asks, trying to catch a glimpse of the title. There’s nothing on the spine of the book to give her so much as a hint though. “Good read?”

Irina stiffens under her scrutiny. “It isn’t a ‘How To’ guide on killing werewolves, if that’s what you’re asking.” 

Tanya tries to hide her smile. “It’s not,” she says. “And besides, they’re shapeshifters. How hard can they be to kill? Surely not even we need a ‘How To’ on the matter.”

Irina almost shares her smile. “Fair point.”

Surely it means something that they can joke about this.

“I just came in to check on you,” She props herself up against the door frame with her hip. “We missed you today.”

It would have been nice to have her join them.

“You all worry too much,” Irina murmurs, dropping her gaze. “I'm doing okay, Tanya. Really.”

She wishes she could believe her. 

“We love you,” she says. “It’s our job to worry.” 

Irina is doing better, but she is by no means okay, Tanya knows this. As her sister returns her attention to the pages in front of her, Tanya wishes she could do more to help her through this. 

“Please go join Kate,” Irina tells her, speaking up in the newfound quiet. She’s wearing the smallest smile as she peers up at her over the pages of her book. “She’s probably lonely in that big ol’ shower by herself.”

“She’ll live.”

“So will I.” 

Tanya purses her lips. “If I get in that shower with her, Kate will get the wrong idea.”

She’s already disappointed her enough for one day.

“It doesn’t need to be the wrong idea, you know.” Irina closes the book for a moment but leaves her finger on the page she’s reading. “Tanya, I’m not going to burst into tears if you fuck her in the shower.”

“I don’t-”

“Yes, you do.” she interrupts. “And it’s okay to want that.”

Grinding her teeth, she looks aside, away from her sister’s piercing stare. “It isn’t appropriate.”

“My loss isn’t yours. There’s no reason for either of you to suffer, especially not when it comes to this.” Irina explains to her gently. “Ellie and Carmen haven’t let it stop them, and nor should they. And look,” she stretches out an arm, palm up, “It hasn’t broken me. I’m still here.”

They don’t share the same bonds with Ellie and Carmen that they do with each other. 

“That isn’t the same and you know it.” 

“Tanya, for goodness sake,” Irina mutters, realising that Tanya isn’t going to budge on this. She places her book down as she unfolds herself from the seat, leaving the comfort of her cushions and blankets behind so that she can step into Tanya’s arms instead. “You’re as stubborn as you are thoughtful, do you know that?”

Tanya offers her a weak smirk as she encircles Irina’s waist. “About time you took notice.”

“I love you; I miss you, and I hurt- of course I do, but I’m okay, Tanya.” She lays her face in the crook of Tanya’s neck, laying a soft kiss there. “I always take notice.”

“You’d better be including me!” Comes Kate’s hollered response from the downstairs ensuite. “I’m a fucking delight worth noticing!”

Tanya’s amusement comes with a chuckle. “With impeccable hearing,” she whispers to Irina, and then at a more normal level, “Or exceptionally big ears."

They both ignore Kate’s indignant grumbles, but her efforts do lighten the mood. 

“I might go join her after all,” Tanya begins, pulling away just enough to search Irina’s face for any signs that the idea might bother her. “Would you like to…?” she asks, trailing off.

She’s not expecting Irina to say yes, but Tanya hopes that she will. It would be nice, she thinks, to share this with both of her sisters after everything that’s happened.

“It doesn’t need to be anything but a shower, Irina.”

Irina looks over her shoulder at her book, but appears to shake the thought from her head. “I think…” She meets Tanya’s eye again. “I think a hot shower sounds like a lovely idea.”

“Are you sure?” She can’t quite keep her surprise to herself. “You don’t need to do this. You have nothing to prove to me, to us.”

“I’m not trying to prove anything. I want to do this. I’m… I’m not ready for more than this though.” She’s unable to maintain eye contact with Tanya as she admits it. “But it would be nice to be held again.”

It’s the comfort and the intimacy she wants, which is perfectly fine with Tanya as she doesn’t intend for their shower to move beyond that anyway, with or without Irina. 

She cups Irina’s cheeks, her touch ever so gentle as she draws her eyes back to her face. “Of course we’ll hold you. As long as you want us to, we’ll never let you go.” 

It’s a promise she intends to keep.

Chapter Text

Chapter Four

~ BELLA ~

Saying goodbye is hard.

Harder still is the thought that as she does it, she has no idea when or if she’s going to see them all again. The Cullens… her family-

Saying goodbye hurts.

“Never again, Bella.” Alice had promised her, addressing her unspoken fears. Alice had hugged her tight, just as she had that first time Bella visited the Cullen house. “We’ll see each other plenty, don’t you worry.”

And of course Bella believes her. It makes leaving hurt a little less- a sting that only continues to lessen with the distance she, Rosalie and Emmett put between them and the house.

“I’m sorry you have to leave because of me.” She says the words that have been laying heavy in her chest since the moment Rosalie informed her of their plans to come with her. “You shouldn’t have to.” 

Emmett and Rosalie are ahead of her, leading the way through the familiar tracks surrounding their home as they venture deeper, to new places, new experiences- but the blonde slows at her words. 

“We're not leaving because of you, don't flatter yourself.” She shoots Bella a playful smile over her shoulder.

She and Emmett take off quite often, she'd explained to her while helping Bella pack- usually to places far further than Alaska. But it still doesn’t sit right with Bella, that this time it isn’t a vacation abroad that’s calling them from their home.

Their family.

“But Esme…” she says, trailing off. God, the look on her face as she stood out in the driveway to see them off. Bella won't ever forget it.

“Esme will be fine,” Here, Bella's almost positive that she spies a smirk on Rosalie’s face, but the angle makes it hard to be sure. “Besides, once the initial sadness wears off she'll be grateful for the reprieve that comes with our absence.”

Bella's nose scrunches up at the way the blonde purrs her words, as though it’s something dirty. Which in this case it is.

“Lucky her.” she mutters.

This time there's no mistaking the curl of Rosalie’s lips. “Our assistance comes at a price.”

“Nice, babe,” Emmett laughs, carrying from up ahead. “Very punny. I approve.”

The price is being forced to hear the pair coupling in the woods like animals- something Bella’s become unfortunately accustomed to hearing since becoming a vampire.

“I think I’ll miss my human hearing more than anything else.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Rosalie teases her, and then to Emmett, “And I wasn’t trying to be punny, Emmett. Your mind is just perpetually in the gutter.”

He winks. “Sure, Rosie, and I’ll pretend to believe you- but look at us! Running through the woods together, getting to know each other!” He pumps both hands in the air. “Isn’t this great?”

Bella clears a fallen log that rots into the forest floor, landing on the other side with a crunch. “I would have thought you and Rose knew each other pretty well already,” Bella says, amused despite the disturbing image she paints for herself.

“Never mind that,” He waves her aside. “This is what we should have been doing all along, Bella!”

“What, running away from our problems?” 

“Is that what we’re calling him now?” Comes Rosalie’s somewhat caustic reply. 

Emmett, however, just snorts, his poorly suppressed laughter making the dimples in his cheeks deepen as he looks back to her. “I prefer to call him the Sullen Cullen personally.”

Bella fights her own grin. “And I’m sure he loves that.”

“I call it how I see it,” he responds. “He needs to untwist his knickers if he wants a cooler nickname.”

“Oh yeah? So, what’s mine then?” she asks. “And before you answer, think carefully. Because unlike Edward, I’m here to earn myself something good ."

She presses ahead, passing Rosalie easily so that she can catch up with Emmett, whose face flickers with momentary surprise before it settles into something more playful. “ Ohhhh , you want to play, Bella?” His thick arms flex with the possibility of a challenge. “Let’s do this then. First one of us to reach the other side of the river, what do you think?”

“What do I get for winning?” She poses the question. “Better be a cooler nickname than Missus Sullen Cullen.”

“Way cooler.”

“Good. Don’t want to have to kick your ass.”

The look he levels her with tells her just how little he believes she’s capable of that. “ Getting your ass handed to you -by me- is a sure way to get a cool nickname.”

“I could take you.”

Rosalie chuckles behind them. “Awfully confident, aren’t you?”

The power thrums through her limbs, so yeah, she's pretty confident- just… maybe not about the ass kicking.

“Come on, I thought we were going to race,” she taunts the large vampire. “Unless you're having second thoughts, which ya know, fair because you're going to lose.”

Her confidence in that is unflinching.

“Other side of the river, right?” she checks. “Any other rules?”

“No rules,” he purrs. “But Rosie gets to call the winner cause this is gonna be close.”

Bella sincerely doubts it, but she allows him his dreams. There’s no harm in letting him enjoy the moment a little while longer, and it’ll make her victory all the more sweeter.

“Other side of the river, no rules,” Bella confirms, nodding in agreement. “Count of three?”

He grins. “Rosie, count us down?”

Behind them both, Rosalie’s words are barely audible over the sound of her sigh. “You’re both utterly ridiculous, but fine,” she says, each word laced with a fondness that Bella’s not even sure she’s trying to hide. “One race.”

“But, baby, we’re travelling. Why do we always need to be so serious?”  

“One race, Emmett,” she says. “We’re not going to keep our cousins waiting.”

It looks for a moment like Emmett might want to argue her point. “Okay, fine. One race.” he agrees, and shares a look with Bella, whispering loudly, “Can we really keep them waiting if they don’t know we’re coming?”

He’s poking his wife, which Bella considers a rather brave venture considering he's married to Rosalie fucking Hale, who can practically melt steel with a single glance. However, the look Emmett receives for his cheek is decidedly softer than that, which is lucky for him.

Bella doesn’t think she’s ever looked at Edward that way, with a tenderness so unforgiving and unshakable. 

The look, she realises, is real, genuine love .

Rosalie begins to count them down as the truth of it rushes Bella.

She's never felt that.

Yes, you have, her subconscious argues. You felt it, you saw it. 

Her face swims behind Bella’s closed eyes. But it wasn't love she felt- it was attraction, indignation, lust. Still more real than anything she felt with Edward.

You said no to it, to happiness, to her.

Not that it did any good. She took Bella in her arms, she put her sinful mouth on her, and she didn’t care for Bella’s refusal, not even slightly. 

What have you got against your own happiness?

Her eyes open, and again, this woman is all she can think of- that and the butterflies in the pit of her stomach, the longing. There’s this need within her to thank her, to hate her, to kiss her, to hit her. All these emotions raging through her poor body, fueling her, telling her to move faster, get to her quicker.

She’s waiting.

But is she really, or is it just her own jealousy for what Rosalie and Emmett have that makes her think it? 

When Rosalie calls three, Bella takes off beside Emmett and propels ahead of him through the trees with the ease she expects. The sheer excitement at the prospect of winning this little game is unparalleled, moving her faster.

Or at least that’s what she tells herself.

It’s definitely not the thought of seeing her again, because that would be the real prize, wouldn’t it? But she isn’t ready to fully embrace whatever it is that she’s feeling for this woman, and so instead she pushes it far away, burying it in the deepest recesses of her mind.

It’s a problem for future Bella. 

“I thought this was going to be close!” she shouts back over the rush of the wind in her face, laughing as Emmett’s snarl reaches her ears. “Oh Emmy, are you a sore loser?”

Present Bella intends to win this race and hand Emmett his ass on a silver platter, because she will not be a laughing stock among the Cullen siblings like Edward is.

Their mad dash through the woods takes them off those familiar tracks, deeper into the shadows of the unknown. The trees thicken, scratching uselessly at her skin, snagging her clothes in an attempt to slow her down, hinder her lead, but she only laughs.

Those same trees are pummelled by Emmett as he thunders behind her, but she’s still winning. She still has this.

She can hear the rushing water before she sees it. The closer she gets to the river, the more moist the air smells. Water has a funny smell about it, she’d decided early on in her change. Totally undetectable to the human nose, now it smells fresh, earthy.

She likes it- it calls to her, forcing her to move faster.

The sounds and smells grow louder, clearer, and before she knows it she’s launching herself over the rocky embankment of the river to the other side. She begins to lose her footing the second her feet sink into the slippery mud, almost going down and making an even worse mess of her clothes, but then Emmett is making a splash beside her- grabbing her by the arm.

He steadies her, grinning. “I fucking love mud.”

“And now because of your huge ass we’re covered in it.” she mutters, but his grin is infectious. It’s probably the most fun she’s ever had. “I’d say that’s a solid win though,” Bella continues. She gratefully accepts his support as they begin the trudge up the embankment together. “Nice try though, big guy. You never stood a chance.”

“Rosie hasn’t called the verdict yet.”

Finally at the top of the embankment, they both turn their sights on the blonde as she joins them, waiting for her decision even though it’s blatantly obvious to everyone that Bella won this. Emmett is just grasping at straws now.

“I can’t call a verdict,” she huffs, rolling her eyes as though it should be obvious. “You both took off so quickly that I was never going to see who got here first.”

“ Babe, come on!”

“Why’d you let us race then?” Bella asks, sharing another look with the man at her side. Is Rosalie for real right now? His face says yes. “What a waste of time.”

Rosalie passes by them with a lift of her chin. “For you maybe, but I quite enjoyed my moment of peace and quiet, brief though it was.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bella throws her hands in the air, annoyed that they wasted all this time, that she wasted this win for nothing, but Emmett’s hand is quick to land on her shoulder, gentle. “ What?” she snaps, and instantly regrets it. Her expression softens. “Sorry, I just-”

She stops herself. She doesn’t know what she wants to say, but Rosalie is getting further away now, and Emmett makes a motion that suggests they should follow her before she leaves them behind.

Which she totally would.

“Come on, speedy,” he says to her, smiling. “Let’s get moving, eh?”

She-

Wait, what?

But he’s already walking on ahead, and she’s still standing there trying to comprehend what his words mean.

“Hey, what did you-”

“Rosie doesn’t like to be kept waiting!”

She huffs. “But you didn’t answer my question!”

“Didn’t hear a question,” he says, and she sees his shoulder lift in a shrug. “You hear a question, Rosie? No? That’s what I thought- no question, no answer. Let’s go .”

It’s the closest thing to an admission of winning that she’s going to get from him, she realises, grumbling to herself as she begins to trudge after the infuriating pair, kicking the mud from her shoes. It’s not fair, but with a growing smile she realises it could be worse.

He could be calling her Sullen.

***

They make their way further North over the course of a week.

She doesn’t know how only a single week could make such a huge difference in her, but it does. The freedom she feels travelling with these people, her friends-

Bella feels the shift in her like the coming tide, only this is a tide that’s not going back out. It’s here to stay, she can feel it.

She feels changed, and she can’t quite believe that she isn’t dreaming.

But they’re close now, Rosalie tells her that morning. They’d kept to the parks and reserves as much as they could, but it was unavoidable that they would need to tiptoe along the outskirts of some towns here and there. Bella does her best to simply not breathe as they do this, and for the most part that seems to work. 

Emmett only needs to grab her arm once to stop her from mauling a young girl playing in her garden on the one occasion they accidentally venture too close to a town. It’s very nearly catastrophic, and Bella is left feeling only slightly horrified by what nearly happens. 

But only because it’s a child that she almost kills.

They travel deeper into the woods after that, climbing higher into the mountains as they go. The scenery is unreal, like something from a fairytale book with sweeping hills and thick foliage, so like what they’ve left behind and yet not. The snow capped mountains take her breath away. It’s so vastly different, but it feels the way Forks had felt to her once.

Like it could be her home, if she let it.

She knows the instant they hit the Denali coven’s territory. It smacks her in the face with the full force of a sledge hammer.

“They scent their territory,” Rosalie tells her, reading into the way Bella’s body physically recoils at the scents assaulting her. Even the blonde’s nose scrunches slightly. “It’s to warn off other vampires, to tell them the area is claimed.”

It’s overwhelmingly strong, but Bella wouldn’t say it’s entirely unpleasant despite how it takes her by surprise. Bella cuts Rosalie a quick look. “We don’t do that?”

“Carlisle doesn’t believe we need to,” Rosalie responds dryly. “I’m inclined to disagree given the whole fiasco with the nomads though.”

Emmett inclines his head. “Maybe if we had, they wouldn’t have wandered into our territory as far as they did.”

Bella senses something there, and she casts her gaze aside. “They wouldn’t have…”

“Been allowed the opportunity to attempt to kill you, no.” Rosalie finishes for her, and Bella can feel her eyes on her, staring at that mark on her wrist that nearly changed everything. 

There’s blame in her tone, not toward Bella, no, but toward Edward and by proxy Carlisle for allowing everything that led to that moment. 

For not letting the change take hold right then and there.

There’s animosity there, and it’s a whole can of worms that Bella doesn’t want to open right now. 

Minutes pass in silence as they make their way further into the Denali territory, before Bella begins itching for something to distract her from the tension that clings to them.

“Hey, do you think they’d mind if we…” 

Rosalie looks over, her expression wary. “If we what?”

Bella shrugs. “I want a rematch with Emmett.” She wants a definitive win. “I figure they’ll hear us coming long before we reach the house, so there should be someone out there to call it, right?”

“You’re never going to get over that, are you.” It isn’t a question, but Bella huffs anyway.

“I won.”

Emmett laughs. “Where’s your proof, speedy? ” he asks. “I don’t see any proof, do you, Rosie?”

Rosalie shakes her head. “I refuse to be dragged into this.”

“Right there!” Bella says in the same moment, pointing a finger at him threateningly. “That’s my fucking proof, Emmy.”

The pet name doesn’t seem to bother the big vampire, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop Bella from trying to piss him off with it regardless. She only needs to try harder.

“Nah, I don’t think so.”

Bella grinds her teeth. “Rematch then,” she demands. “Right now. First one to reach the house. Rose, which direction?” Rosalie shoves her chin in the direction they’re going. “Good. First to break the treeline wins bragging rights for both races.”

“No rules?” This time he checks, but Bella thinks nothing of it.

“No rules.”

It’s a gamble but she’s fairly confident it’s going to pay off. With a sly sort of shrug, he agrees, and once again, Rosalie begins to count them down.

“Three,” 

She wants to win this.

“Two,”

Bella catches Emmett’s eye and bares her teeth.

“One!”

Bella will win those bragging rights.

Chapter Text

Chapter Five

~ TANYA ~

Tanya hears them before she sees them. It’s practically impossible not to.

“Oh, looks as though we have guests,” Kate purrs, lifting her head from beneath the spray of the shower. Her soaked hair is plastered to either side of her head, and she pushes it out of her face with poorly concealed excitement. “I didn’t expect them to come so soon. Do you think it’s her?”

“Possibly,” Tanya hums, shooting her sister a thoughtful smirk. “Or perhaps it’s those pesky shifters who have come looking for Round Two?”

Irina growls. “Cowardly beasts.”

She’s right- it’s not them. Their stench would have carried on the wind to them long before they heard them. “Are you ready for this, Irina?” she asks instead, knowing the truth on who their guests are very likely to be. “We can send them away if you aren’t.”

It hurts her to say it, but for Irina… she would do it. Even if that means turning away Bella Cullen in the process.

“I’ll be fine,” Irina mutters. She’s the first to leave the shower, reaching for her towel. “I don’t see that I have much of a choice.”

It’s true. They’re already here.

But… 

Kate watches them, eyes flicking back and forth between the pair as she waits for a decision to be made.

“I will turn them away, if you wish it.” Tanya says with finality. “Just say the words.”

For Irina, she reminds herself, but Irina surprises them both with a soft shake of her head.

“It wasn’t her fault,” she says. “They’re here for a reason, whatever that may be. We’ll hear them out. I’ll be fine.”

There are shouts in the distance that draw nearer, unintelligible even to their sensitive ears, but the taunting tone of the words are unmistakable- and all three of the sisters tilt their heads in the direction in the hopes they’ll catch more.

Kate grins. “Great, that settles that then. Sounds like they’re… racing?” she asks, posing the question to her sisters. “That’s unexpectedly brazen of them to do within our boundaries. Who do you think came with her?”

“It won’t be Edward,” Tanya answers, following Irina from the shower and taking the offered towel with a grateful smile. Kate shuts off the water behind her. “There’s no way he’d be allowing it.”

Not after everything that’s happened.

“ It’s improper. A lady shouldn’t run through the woods,” Kate rolls her eyes as she mimics him almost perfectly, before eyes brightening, she adds, “I’m betting on-”

She doesn’t get to finish- outside there’s an almighty crash of bodies as one presumably slams into the other, a snarl that clashes with deep laughter.

Tanya meets both of her sisters' eyes. “Emmett,” they chorus.

Kate snorts. “Knew it.”

Of course. Only Emmett would think it wise to challenge a newborn. It’s a wonder he can laugh at all.

“I won! Ahaha! I won! Did you see, Rosie? I won!” 

Dressing quickly, Tanya doesn’t bother with more than a shirt and trousers- she doesn’t have time if she has any hope of preventing the massive blow out on her front lawn that’s about to happen.

“You didn’t win!” Comes the snarling reply, followed by another crash. “You cheated, you big fucking ape!”

Kate pauses while buttoning her shirt. “Uh oh.”

“Unexpectedly feisty,” Irina notes.

Tanya doesn’t have time to add to their commentary though. She hurries from the bathroom, her feet bare and her hair dripping onto her clean shirt. If this gets as messy as she expects it will, she’s going to need to change again after all of this. She makes it as far as the front porch before she hesitates.

“Ellie,” she says, spying the woman hanging off the porch railing with Carmen at her side. “What are you two doing?”

Tanya can feel her excitement crackling in the air around them. 

“Her control is remarkable,” Ellie responds, seemingly unable to tear her gaze from the pair squabbling in front of their house. “Look, she hasn’t even gone for his throat. Not even once!”

Carmen tuts. “Only barely.”

Attention drifting to the vampires in question, Tanya agrees with Carmen’s assessment of the situation. Bella Cullen is…

Well, she’s a lot of things- most of them unbelievably lovely with just a single glance, but most concerningly… she’s barely holding onto her control. It’s a feat in and of itself of course and Tanya is quietly impressed by it regardless of the situation, but it’s concerning nonetheless. Emmett should be in a world of trouble right now, but her control, her finesse-

Ellie is correct.

Bella Cullen is remarkable.

“Not quite what I said.”

Tanya looks to Ellie, trying to hide her surprise. She hadn’t even realised that she’d said that last part out loud. “We should be stopping this.” she says instead, and this time Ellie does turn her head toward her, but only for a moment.

“Why?” she asks her. “She’s in control of herself, is she not?”

Carmen places her hand over her mate’s arm, urging her to be gentle with her words. “We will intervene if need be, Tanya. Do not worry so much. Look instead, see what Ellie sees.” 

Tanya doesn’t like it, and indeed what sane individual would? She’s crossed her fair share of out of control newborns, fought some even, and she’s not keen for history to repeat itself in her front yard, especially not when that newborn is Bella Cullen. But Ellie and Carmen’s history suggests that they have likely seen more, albeit in a shorter number of years, and she trusts them at their word.

Always.

Even if her gut instinct tells her to break this up. “Fine, but if they destroy my garden, you’ll be tasked with the landscaping labour,” she mutters. “I’ll be having nothing to do with it.”

Returning her attention to Bella, she finds that it’s too easy to forget about potential labour and damage costs. She’s so busy watching her, drinking in every inch of her, the way she twists out of Emmett’s hold and manages to catch him in the shoulder, slamming him into the grass…

She hardly notices when her sisters join them outside, or when Rosalie wanders up the stairs of the porch with far more confidence in her stride than she has any reason to, considering the circumstances of their unannounced visit.

Okay, so maybe Tanya is paying attention to things other than the way Bella Cullen’s shirt rides up her back.

“They’ll tire themselves out sooner rather than later,” Rosalie tells them. Emmett’s jeers start up again, even as Bella makes him eat dirt. “This right here,” she motions to the pair, “I’ve been putting up with it for six days. Do you have any idea what that’s like?”

“You cheated!”

Tanya shifts to make room for Rosalie at their impromptu viewing platform. 

“It’ll be nice to have other people to talk to.” she adds.

Not that there’s much of that happening. Irina is watching the scene unfolding on the lawn in silence, her expression… unreadable, a stark contrast to Kate’s own expression, which is much less welcoming.

“Wouldn’t have picked you to be the chaperone,” Kate begins, tilting her head in Rosalie’s direction. “Draw straws, did you?”

Tanya shifts her gaze to them momentarily before returning to Bella. She remembers Rosalie’s words the night Tanya bit Bella. “Or perhaps Bella has found a friend in our dear Rose, Kate. Play nice.”

Kate considers it for a moment as she follows Tanya’s gaze, but it’s Irina’s touch on her arm that convinces her not to open her mouth again. Looking away is not quite an apology for the bite to her words, but it’s close enough. They all settle into a tense but otherwise comfortable silence, until a particularly loud grunt tears from Emmett’s throat.

“Lies and slander, I tell you,” he taunts her, even now. Bella slams her arm down across the backs of his shoulders, forcing him back down. “Ow, fuck, Bella!”

She makes muscling him to the ground look so easy. “She’s incredible.” 

Rosalie lifts her eyes at Tanya’s words, searching for something in her expression, but when she doesn’t find it (or maybe she does, who knows) she looks away again. 

“Yes,” she says finally. “She is.”

High praise, Tanya thinks, coming from someone such as Rosalie Hale. Perhaps she and Bella have become closer after all. Jealousy churns in Tanya’s stomach.

“Why are you here?” she asks her, but silence answers her. “You must have come for a reason, Rosalie.”

Tanya doesn’t like the way Rosalie is watching her. “Bella wanted to come,” she answers, carefully. Too carefully. “And so here we are. You invited her, Tanya, if you recall.”

Her expression darkens at the suggestion. “I recall.” 

It’s not as though she’s unhappy about Bella wanting to be here, but she needs to know why.  

“Well, good.” Rosalie purses her lips, holding her tongue no doubt. “Perhaps you can ask Bella herself once she’s finished wiping the floor with my husband.”

“Cheating bastard!”

Tanya tries not to smile. “She is doing a rather good job of that, isn’t she?”

“Remarkably, yes,” Rosalie smirks. “They do get along very well though, don’t let this fool you. Emmett has always liked the company of women who can kick his ass.”

Tanya doesn’t like the implication there, even if it’s unintentional.

“Pretty and feisty,” Kate smirks Tanya’s way. “You sure know how to pick them.”

“Never! You admit it- you lost! No rules, remember? I won, fair and square, belly-bear!”

Tanya’s gaze drifts back down to the pair in her front yard, and her earlier jealousy simmers down as she watches as Emmett manages to wiggle an arm out of Bella’s hold despite her best efforts. Her shirt, a testament to their rough week of travel, begins to ride up her back further as she adjusts her hips over his ass, pinning him, desperately seeking to stop his wiggling.

The muscles in her back are firm, rippling- and Tanya feels her desire for this woman stirring .

“I know what I like. And her, ” she murmurs, hunger flashing across her face as Bella snarls down at him in absolute fury. “I like very much.”

.

.

.

Kate leans forward, “Do you think Emmett really had a clean win?” 

Tanya doesn’t even need to think about it. “No way.”

Tanya knows that this is likely just the calm before the storm though, and so as hard as it is, she knows what she needs to do. She turns to their other sister, who still hasn’t spoken a word to their guest.

“Irina, come with me?” she asks, holding out a hand. 

Irina lifts a brow but takes her hand. “Where are we off to?”

Tanya casts her eyes over the pair ripping up their front lawn one more time. “I suspect someone is going to end up with an injury that requires blood,” she answers, smirking. “There are plenty of others here to break those two up, if need be. You and I, however, should go grab the inevitably injured party some take out.”

She doesn’t want to leave Bella, but Irina needs her as well- and maybe, just maybe, Irina will feel more comfortable talking away from prying ears. Tanya hopes so at least.

“Bring me back something tasty, will you?” Kate casts them both a look that suggests she understands why Tanya chose to ask Irina to accompany her. “I’m preferable to blondes or brunettes. Female, if you can find them.”

Tanya rolls her eyes. “ Furry take out, Kate.”

“You disappoint me so.”

“Yes, yes, I’ve heard it all before.” She shoves Kate playfully on her way past her. “You’ll all have this under control, yes? I’d like to come home to a standing house please.”

Kate waves her off, but Carmen gives her the reassurances she needs. “The house and Bella will be fine. Go find poor Emmett something to mend his pride.”

As Tanya leads Irina through the house to the back (best not to interrupt the argument happening in the front, she thinks), nobody argues with the assumption on who will come out on top.

There’s no way Emmett can cheat his way to victory in this, not with so many onlookers.

“She really is something, isn’t she?” 

Tanya wonders whether she should pretend not to hear her sister’s thoughtful murmur as they run, sure that if Irina had wanted it to start a conversation, she would have spoken louder. But as Irina takes Tanya’s hand in her own, she realises this might be as perfect a place to start as any.

“Do you think I made the right decision inviting her into our home?”

It’s been playing on her for weeks now, plaguing her thoughts every time she looks at Irina and sees her sadness, feels her anger. Was it the right choice? Was it even hers to make? As leader of their coven, yes, technically- but that isn’t how they typically run things.

It doesn’t sit right with her.

“I think you wouldn’t have extended the invitation if you had doubts,” Irina answers her, finally. “I think she’ll fit right in.”

And perhaps it’s too early to tell right now if that will be the case or not, but it leaves Tanya feeling hopeful. Maybe Irina is right, and maybe Bella will decide to stay with them.

“If she chooses to stay.” Tanya adds.

Her doubts worry her more than she’d like to let on, but Irina has been at her side for so many years- she knows Tanya almost as well as Tanya knows herself.

“You’re delusional, as always.” The fondness, love, in her voice is unmistakable. “Who would choose to walk away from you, hm?"

Maybe Irina will be okay with the decision after all.

Chapter Text

Chapter Six

~ BELLA ~

“Rose, I’m really sorry.”

How many times can one person apologise? 

“... It was an accident.”

It’s not like she meant to do it, is it? It was an accident- not a particularly unfortunate one as far as she’s concerned, but one nonetheless.

“... Rose?”

Sort of… it was sort of an accident.

“Will you please just look at me!?” Bella cries finally, throwing her hands up into the air. “He was being a shithead, okay, and maybe it wasn’t really an accident what I did with his arm after, but I didn’t mean to rip it off to begin with! Honest!” 

But her pleading is getting her nowhere, and it hurts damn it. A noise rips from her throat that she refuses to put a name to, something high pitched and pathetic, and she hates herself for it.

“Rose, come on,” she tries again. “Please talk to me– I’m sorry .”

And she is, really. Being forced to watch as Rosalie and the others painstakingly piece the poor guy back together like some gory, fucked up jigsaw puzzle gives a person a whole new perspective on things. Namely that maybe she shouldn’t rip her friends arms off as a way to express her anger, because it's unhealthy .

And anyway, who knew vampires bled? And so fucking much. Edward had always made it sound like they were built of nothing but diamond-armoured skin, granite bones, self-loathing, sinew, and venom. He didn’t say anything about blood.

“I don’t even know why you’re so mad,” Bella grumbles in the continuing silence, dropping her ass to the floor with a huff. “It’s not like I killed him. Look!” She points to his smug albeit pinched-with-pain face. “Humpty’s fucking fine!”

In fact if anything, Emmett seems to be finding genuine amusement in Bella’s current dilemma and the icy, sharp peak with which her actions have landed her on with his blonde mate. 

She throws him a dirty look when he sniggers at her over Rosalie’s shoulder. “Oh fuck off,” Bella growls. “I hope it hurts.”

“Feels like sunshine and daisies.” 

“You want me to rip off your other arm and beat you with that too?”

“Maybe I d–”

“Enough, Emmett.” Rosalie flicks his ear using her free hand. “Hasn’t your mouth gotten you in enough trouble for one evening?”

Bella's attention snaps back to Rosalie in a second. “Oh, so you'll talk to him but you won't talk to me?” Bella complains. “You realise he started all of this, right? He’s the one who wanted to race, he’s the one who shoulder checked me from winning. You can hardly blame me–”

“You’re the one who said no rules!”

Rosalie shoots him a withering look. “ Emmett .” 

Bella wants to respond with something childish like ‘yeah, shut your face hole, Emmett’ , but she refrains because she is a goddamn adult capable of adulting. So she keeps her mouth shut and crosses her arms over her chest instead.

The very picture of maturity.

Rosalie finishes up with Emmett, and when it appears that his arm isn’t about to immediately fall off the moment she removes her support, she leans back, turning that quiet, unnerving stare on Bella. “Do you think I’m mad because you ripped his arm off, Bella?” 

“Um, yes?” Bella shifts uncomfortably, dropping her arms. “I mean… isn’t it?”

Now she’s not so sure, and the house- it's so quiet. She isn’t sure where everyone disappeared to after breaking her and Emmett up, but she is sure about one thing- the woman she came here for? The enchanting goddess who bit her? She’s nowhere to be seen. Instead, she leaves behind one of her coven mates to watch over them like they’re a pack of unruly dogs incapable of behaving?

Not far from the truth, Bella thinks, casting Emmett’s mutilated arm a regretful glance. The woman’s face is familiar to Bella though, and although the memories are somewhat clouded, Bella thinks she might have been the woman who interrupted that night in Edward’s room… 

Her sire’s sister maybe?

She peeks her way, but hurriedly looks away when the woman catches her eye with an amused smile. They certainly look alike, in that they’re both fair haired and unfairly gorgeous. Bella doesn’t want to think about that though, so she turns her attention back to Rosalie, who has apparently decided to return to silence.

“Rose?”

It’s not fair.

“My goodness, just look at that face,” the unknown woman speaks up. “How can you possibly stay mad at her, Rosalie?”

And that’s the other thing that bothers Bella about this woman whose name she doesn’t know. Every word out of her mouth she means to torment Bella. 

“She’s just too cute,” she finishes.

Bella’s been doing a tremendous job of ignoring her very existence up until this point, but she’s so fucking close to her boiling point- and she throws her a look that feels almost as dirty as the one she’d given Emmett earlier. She'd like to tell her to fuck off as well.

“Do you really think it’s wise to continue teasing her?” Rosalie asks the woman, coming to Bella’s defence despite everything. “Do you want to be the one I piece back together next?”

“She can certainly try.” 

There’s danger there- Bella feels it in her stare, hears it in her words. She’s not going to be engaging this woman in any kind of fight if she can help it, ever, because she won’t be coming out on top.

“Rose?” Bella queries, tearing her gaze away with some difficulty. “Are you not mad at me then, or…?”

She is defending her from this woman’s teasing after all.

“Am I mad?” Rosalie asks her, raising a fine eyebrow in that way only Rosalie can and utterly destroying all of Bella’s hope in the process. “ Of course I’m fucking mad, Bella.”

Bella wishes she’d had the foresight to get to her feet before this confrontation, and not be sitting on her ass on the carpet like a clueless child as this truthfully terrifying woman closes in on her. “But–”

“But nothing. I’m mad. I’m allowed to be mad.” The air is thick with tension that’s not altogether unpleasant to Bella’s overstimulated senses. “You attacked my mate, Bella. And even if he did deserve it, do you really think that I should be okay with that?”

Closing her eyes against the flurry of emotions that threaten to cripple her, Bella shakes her head, because of course Rosalie is right. She has every right to be angry with Bella. 

“I’m sorry.”

“So I’ve heard.” 

They’re cheek to cheek now, the tension menacing- and it’s not as hot as it sounds. 

Not even close.

It's not.

And they’re still being watched . Bella can fucking feel the heat of the unknown woman’s stare on the side of her face like a goddamn branding iron.

… okay, so maybe this is just a little hot.

Bella shoves the thought from her head with a growl, but it sounds weak even to her own ears, desperate . Rosalie is her friend- what does she even say to that?

Why is her body doing this to her?

Next to her, Rosalie stills. “What was that?” she asks.

“Nothing!” Bella says quickly, and shakes her head, hoping it might shake away the thoughts as well. “It’s nothing. I’m fine, I just- why are you, why am I- argh!"

She needs to focus on something else, literally anything else. Rosalie’s fury did not almost turn her on. It doesn’t– didn’t.

Rosalie pulls back so she can peer down at her with obvious concern. “Are you sure you’re alright?” 

“I’m fine,” she growls out, slapping her open palm against the carpet. “Just tell me how I can fix this, please . Why are you angry with me?”

She even said it herself- Emmett deserved it. She heard her.

“I’m not angry with you– I’m angry with both of you.” She leans back so that she can cut her husband with a glare. “ You should have known better, and you,” She meets Bella’s reproachful stare. “I realise that you’re a newborn and that gives you some leeway in your behaviour, especially when you’re provoked, but if you ever rip his arm off again, Bella, you’d better pray you hand it to me when you’re finished so that I can kick both of your asses with it myself. Do you understand?”

Uh oh.

Bella watches the smile slip from Emmett’s face. “Rosie-” 

“ No .” She holds up her hand. “We’ll discuss this later, Emmett. Privately.”

Bella glances aside nervously- and honestly, she almost feels bad about whatever rift she’s helped to open up between the pair… until she remembers how they got here to begin with. Her anger returns in an instant. But the silence–

God, it’s chilling.

Until Rosalie cracks a grin, which is somehow even more terrifying. Bella swallows thickly, sure her existence on this earth is about to come to a very violent, kind-of-hot, end- a sentiment she’s ninety nine percent sure she shares with Emmett as she catches his eye.

“I can’t say I’m proud of you for managing it, because I do love him and I am mad, but…” Rosalie’s dark gaze flickers briefly to Emmett and back, and she shrugs. “Admittedly he’s not an easy opponent.”

Oh my god- Rosalie… is… 

“I said that I can’t , Bella,” she says, narrowing her eyes at her. “Ergo, I’m not. Do you understand? Get that smug look off your face before I slap it off.”

“It’s what you didn’t say though.”

Rosalie is proud of her.

She rolls her eyes. “You know what? You're lucky I'm not in the mood to hit you right now. And I refuse to feed your newborn ego anymore than I already have,” she mutters, standing from her crouch and proceeding to smooth out the wrinkle in her shirt. “I’ll be back before the others return, but in the meantime both of you behave. If you wreck the Denali's living room, I may change my mind on resorting to violence.”

Change her mind on…

Bella’s not sure if that’s a promise or a threat.

What is wrong with her!?

“Wait!” Bella jumps to her feet, panicked as her words suddenly sink in through the fog of whatever the fuck that was. “Where are you going?” she asks, begs, wringing her hands in front of her. “I’ll help you unpack or whatever.”

Rosalie is surely the safer bet right now, even with her threat of violence. In fact, it sounds–

No. Bella refuses to go there. She won’t.

Rosalie pauses. “Bella. We only bought one backpack with us… we don’t have anything to unpack ,” she says. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Oh, right.” Clearing her throat, Bella’s beginning to wonder that herself. “I’m fine, I just– I can… still come help, right?” she asks, refusing to look at the other two occupants of the room because she just knows what they’re probably thinking. “I can just keep you company or whatever.”

She just doesn’t want to be left alone with the other two.

“Sure, you can come. As long as you’re comfortable helping me take a shower?” She raises an eyebrow as she says it, like she’s not really sure if Bella is going to jump at the opportunity despite the fact that she is clearly joking. 

Rosalie is going for a shower- she doesn’t need Bella’s company for that. Of course that’s where she’s going. Bella feels like a complete moron now.

She drops her ass back to the floor, eyes jumping about the room in an awkward attempt to avoid everyone. “Right, sorry. No, I’m sure you can shower on your own. Shower. Yep. You don’t need me for that. I’ll just… stay here.”

Here. Not in the shower, not thinking about Rosalie taking her clothes off and getting wet.

She’s your friend!

Rosalie’s brows pinch together. “Well, alright then. Glad we got that sorted out.”

.

.

.

“You can help me wash my hair if you want,” Emmett offers the moment his blonde mate has left the room, although she’s undoubtedly still close enough to hear him say it. Lifting his good arm, he runs a beefy hand through his short curls. “I only have one functional arm, remember?”

Bella bristles with embarrassment. “Fuck off,” she mutters. 

“But you were so adamant about it.”

“If I’d known vampires were such assholes, I’d have-”

“Not let my sister so close to your throat?” The mysterious blonde woman interrupts with a chuckle, tilting her head. “Shame that foresight isn’t your gift. Where was Alice at the time, hm?”

“Who even are you?"

“Your host. So, it might pay to be friendly, don't you think?” she asks, lifting a brow. Although whether it’s because she’s impressed by Bella’s gall or because she thinks she’s an idiot, Bella can’t say. It’s probably the latter though.

“Suppose my host isn’t going to offer up her name, is she?” Bella mutters, already knowing her answer. The woman only winks, which just makes Bella dislike her that little bit more as she turns her head away from her. “When will the others be back?” 

“Why? Is our company not suitable?” she counters. “I don’t speak for Emmett of course, but I’d like to think I’m delightful.”

Leaning back further into the couch cushions, one leg crossing daintily over the other, Bella finds it’s more difficult than she’d like to ignore how attractive the woman is. “I’m sure you would.”

“I do.”

“Great, good for you,” she grumbles, getting to her feet. “As delightful as you think you might be, I’d prefer the company of the woods. You know, where there’s fresh air and silence.”

It’s hardly subtle, but she needs to not be here anymore.

“Is our company too stifling for you, newborn?” 

Bella is flustered and they all know it- and it’s so hard not to bite back at her for the way she teases her about it. It’s hardly her fault that this body is a traitor. She says nothing.

“Hm, suppose I couldn’t interest you in my company?” the woman offers in the silence, smirking now. “I promise not to use my mouth to speak .”

Bella’s red eyes widen as she grounds out, “ No, thank you.”

What does the fuck does she mean by that?

“A shame, truly,” she purrs. “I’m very good with my mouth.”

Good with her– she… wait, what?

Emmett snorts with laughter then, his deep voice breaking through Bella’s shock- laughter which cuts off abruptly when Bella breaks from her stupor long enough to shove him with her foot. “Fuck up, asshole.” she growls, although her brain is still not totally here. She’s here enough to glare the smirking blonde’s way though. “And you, stop.”

She holds both hands up in surrender. “As you wish, but don’t be afraid to come find me when you change your mind, pet.”

Rushing out the front door, Bella doesn’t stop to look back. She isn’t going to change her mind- she isn’t. 

***

When she returns much later, she finds Rosalie waiting for her out on the porch with a look on her face that suggests Bella’s lucky she hasn’t sent out a search party to look for her.

“Hey,” Bella says, climbing the front steps with heavy feet. “I didn’t expect you to be waiting for me.”

At this point, she almost feels as though she’s doing the walk of shame after a night out on the town.

Except without the alcohol, drugs or sex.

“What else would I be doing?” Rosalie reaches for her when Bella is close enough. “The only reason I’m here at all is for you– of course I was waiting. Are you alright?”

Bella searches her face. “I wanted some fresh air,” she says, adding, “I’m fine, Rose,” when her friend offers her a look that suggests she doesn’t believe her. “I was just… you know.”

God, even admitting it is embarrassing. Rosalie waits, always so patient with her, and Bella huffs because of course the blonde is going to make her spell it out to her.

“I was embarrassed, okay?” That’s about as close to the truth as Bella wants to admit aloud. “I needed some space, that’s all.”

It’s close enough to ‘I was feeling too hot and flustered to stay in the same room as that infuriating woman a second longer.’ She’s not ready to admit that aloud just yet.

“This is all kind of overwhelming, you know. I’m not used to feeling so… out of my element, that’s all.”

It’s easy to forget that this is all so new to her.

“It’s a lot to take in,” Rosalie agrees, her expression softening. “We’ve all been there, okay? We shouldn’t tease you– I shouldn’t tease you.”

Bella doesn’t want that- doesn’t want her friend feeling like she can’t be herself around Bella just because Bella can’t control her thoughts.

“It’s not… I don’t hate the teasing.” she admits, and really, she doesn’t. She likes it, if anything, and that’s what keeps throwing her off. Being with Edward for so long was like being frozen in stasis, but suddenly now she’s here, away from him, in this body, feeling more like herself than she ever has before, and she’s not really sure how to deal with that. “Without Edward… I feel like I’m discovering this whole new person, which is a horrible thing to say, I know. He’s your brother, but–”

But she doesn’t feel like the same person that she was with him.

Rosalie is searching her face again in the way that she does, like she knows more than she’s letting on and just isn’t sure how much to say, but she’s Rosalie- and Rosalie doesn’t shy from speaking the truth.

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me when it comes to Edward,” Rosalie says. “If you’re happier without him, that’s not something to feel bad about. You should be happier.”

“You’re biased. You’ve never liked Edward.”

Rosalie shrugs but doesn’t dispute the fact. “Edward was never going to let you discover this side of yourself.”

Bella doesn’t need to wonder what ‘side’ Rosalie is referring to. “You mean the side of me that is apparently a raging homosexual.”

Rosalie utters a short bark of laughter. “Sure, if that’s how you want to look at it.”

“I guess he wouldn’t be too thrilled about it, huh?”

“That’s his problem, Bella. Not yours.”

And she’s not wrong obviously, because it was his actions after Bella was changed that ultimately pushed her into making the decision to leave, to seek something more, something better. 

“Who’d have thought becoming a vampire would bring me here.”

Rosalie tries to hide her smirk. “To your gay awakening, you mean?”

“I guess.” She's pretty sure she wasn't looking at women while she was with Edward, or if she was, she just didn’t realise. “Did I just not notice as a human?”

She tries to think back, but it’s like trying to dredge up memories through thick mud. They’re right there, but they’re hard to see properly, to remember the moment, to feel it.

“I’d argue that you noticed.” 

That isn’t Rosalie. 

Bella tries really hard, she truly does, not to let her voice, her words, her presence, wash over her the way it does- tries to hide the physical reaction her body has to the woman being here, sneaking up on them-

But try as she might, she knows she doesn’t quite succeed from the amused twitch of Rosalie’s lips as her gaze flickers over Bella’s shoulder. She drops her touch from Bella’s arm.

It’s her.

She’s here.

“The night you allowed me to bite you was hardly shrouded under the guise of innocence, wouldn’t you agree?” she says. “No, darling, you very much noticed me.”

The things her voice -she- does to Bella, fuck.

“Well,” Rosalie clears her throat. “That’s my cue. Will you be alright, Bella?”

Sweet of her, Bella thinks in a daze, to check with her first, but this is the whole reason Bella wanted to come here, wasn’t it? To find her sire, to speak to her, to understand. She manages a jerky nod of her head and registers that Rosalie slips back inside the house, leaving her alone with this woman.

Fuck.

“Hello again, Bella ,” she murmurs, and god, the way she says her name. Bella never wants to hear her name spoken any other way again.

“I don’t recall allowing you to bite me.” 

Ah, yes. Words. Good, Bella. You’re doing well.

The woman’s next breath contains a hint of laughter. “All a matter of perspective. But tell me, how are you enjoying the gift of immortality, hm?”

“Gift?” Her arrogance should not be this attractive, Bella realises, and it’s why she can’t stop herself from biting back. “You forced this on me and then you fucked off. How is that a gift?”

Anger is safe. It restores her ability to think more clearly, to open her mouth and use her words. Or potentially rip the woman’s arm off and beat her with it. Bella hasn’t really decided which yet.

“I forgot what a dirty mouth you have.” Her presence crackles between them like electricity as she finally glides closer. “But just because I happen to find that appealing, don’t presume to think you can speak to me like that and I’ll simply allow it. I won’t.” Hands land either side of Bella’s hips, her fingers gripping over her clothes in such a painfully good way that Bella has to swallow a groan. “This is my house, my coven, and for the moment you are a guest here.”

Jesus. Bella recognises that she’s maybe being a little bit childish about this, but this woman is straight up being an asshole- and Bella likes it. What does that say about her?

“But you told me to come.”

Her fingers flex in warning. “And I cannot fully express how glad I am that you did, Bella, but I don’t like this… lingering animosity between us.”

Bella suspects from her scent that she might actually like it very much. The fight leaves her as quickly as it comes, replaced momentarily with something far more pleasant. “There’s no animosity.”

Bella’s trying so hard to retain some of her anger, not to forget, but it is so hard when her cool breath fans out across the back of Bella’s exposed neck, distracting her, dragging her mind to places that tempt and tease her. 

“And let’s agree not to lie to one another.” 

Does she really want to go there? There? She turns slowly (there’s no fucking animosity damn it) until they’re facing one another- and fuck, the woman is even more beautiful than Bella remembers. Why was she angry again?

Her weak human eyes had done this woman no justice.

“If you want to talk about being truthful,” Bella breathes, attempting to push her rush of desire aside. “How about we start with names .”

Right. That’s why.

“I know your name."

“Great.” She’s struggling to think clearly, especially with the woman’s hands still at her waist. “That makes one of us.”

“Still no one has told you?” she asks. The way her tongue darts out to drag across her smirking bottom lip almost undoes Bella completely. “How playful of the Cullens to keep it a secret. I didn’t expect them to want to play along after the wedding night fiasco.”

“This isn’t a game, I’m not a toy.” Bella tries desperately not to fall into this woman’s trap. “I’m not someone you can just play with when it fancies you.”

“Oh, but darling, I’m so good at playing with my toys.” A finger slips beneath the hem of Bella’s shirt and her eyes flutter at the sure touch. “Are you sure you don’t want to play with me?”

“Yes.”

God, the images those words paint in her head are so vivid Bella can see them, almost touch them, taste them. What would they taste like? What will she taste like?

Her eyes drop to the woman’s lips, hating how goddamn perfect they are, loathing that just the sight of her is enough to make Bella second guess all of her previous convictions.

What convictions are those again?

“Are you absolutely positive though?” she teases. “I promise I’m very good at it.”

‘... I’m very good with my mouth…’

“No,” Bella breathes.

She isn't positive.

She wants to kiss this woman.

“No?” her sire presses further. “Then what do you want?”

She wants this woman to kiss her.

“ I don’t know,” She groans, beyond pissed at herself that this touching, this closeness, is too much for her. She can’t think properly, it’s getting harder and harder. “This new body wants a lot of things, and sometimes I don’t know how to figure out which of those things are real or not. But one thing I’m really fucking sure about?” she snaps. “Your name. I want your name, because this isn’t fair. You seduced me-”

“Is that what I did?”

“-you made promises, you lied, you bit me,” Bella continues on as though she doesn’t hear her, taking a determined step back, only for her backside to hit the porch railing. “ And then you left me there.”

And really, it’s that right there that bothers her the most. That she left, that she didn’t take Bella with her.

“I gave you the truth, Bella. Choices. I gave you the opportunity to make the decisions, and you made them,” she says. “You didn’t want to return to my home with me, you were very clear about that.”

Her words reopen old wounds. “Because I wanted to say goodbye!”

She gives Bella a long look. “Do you think we’d be here right now if I’d left you human that night? Would you be here,” her gaze drops appreciatively, drinks her in, “in my home as an immortal? Would you be separated from Edward right now?”

The answer is obviously no- she’d still be at Edward’s side, pathetically human and desperate, but…

“Who says we’re separated?” 

Raising her eyebrows, the woman looks pointedly at Bella’s left hand where it grips the railing beside her. Bella knows what she sees, or rather, what she doesn’t see.

“Tell me I’m wrong then.”

The answer is obvious- it’s right there, she’s already said it. Bella only needs to say the words herself, that’s all she has to do.

But why does she need to be making all of the concessions here?

“First tell me your name.”

And then the woman smiles- as beautiful and as breathtaking as Bella remembers it. A rush of heat, desire, courses through Bella so strong that she fears she’ll be swept away by it. Never to return, lost adrift this sea of– 

The woman speaks. 

“What?”

Bella sees those perfect lips move, caress the single word she says, but Bella hears only the ringing in her ears as she drowns. Her throat tightens, Bella’s heavy eyes drop down to perfect collarbones that peak out above her thin top- and Bella’s sure she isn’t wearing a bra.

The woman speaks again, repeats herself, amused now, and the sound of her voice barely breaks through the thick fog coating Bella’s brain.

And ears. She blinks, sluggish.

“What did you say?” Bella breathes, forcing her eyes back up, away from her chest, and the woman’s laughter is literal music.

“My name,” she repeats, leaning in to brush her cheek to Bella’s own, teasing her- lips now so close to her ear. “You didn’t hear it at all, did you?”

Bella’s eyes flutter shut. “I must have missed it.”

“Clearly. And here you were, so adamant about getting it, too.”

Why does every word she says sound like sin? It’s unfair- Bella is wrecked, her underwear is ruined, and her dignity is in absolute shambles.

She feels the woman release a sharp breath, followed by her soft groan right into Bella’s ear. “You smell exactly as I remember,” she says. “But do you taste just as delicious, I wonder?”

Bella’s knees want to give out entirely and she swears it’s only the hands on her hips that keep her standing upright. 

“My name,” she murmurs, “is Tanya.”

Tanya.

Finally she has a name- her name. Tanya.

Bella feels it in her very soul, her name a caress against her flesh. “Tanya…” 

Finally.

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven

~ TANYA ~

“Your name,” Bella says as she releases a soft breath. “I don’t know why, but I expected something… more?”

More? 

Tanya can’t help but be impressed by the young woman’s gall, even now. “It’s the westernised bastard version of my name,” she answers, grinning. “And that is less underwhelming, I assure you.”

Bella blinks up at her as though the thought hadn’t occurred to her before this moment- that surely an immortal as old as Tanya had kept her birth name unmolested over the years. But then… was Bella even aware of just how ancient Tanya and her sisters were?

Probably not.

“What’s the non-bastard version then?” Bella asks her then, and Tanya knows exactly what it’s going to do to the poor young woman when she says it before she even opens her mouth.

“Tatiana,” she purrs, delighting in the shiver she feels run through Bella’s body. “Adds a little spice, doesn’t it?” It’s the way she rolls the letters, with the barest hint of an accent. Women always melt when they hear it, and Bella is no different. “I’ve answered your questions,” Tanya reminds her. “Now won’t you answer mine?”

Bella breathes deeply through her nose. “W-what questions were those again?”

And god, this woman, the way her body reacts to her. Bella Cullen will be the absolute, sure death of her, she’s sure. Did Tanya have questions? Bella assaults every single one of her senses to the point that not even she is sure of anything anymore. 

“You’re so very tempting,” she tells her, bringing her face closer. The things she wants to do to her- they race through her head faster than she can process them, each one filthier than the next. Dragging her nose up the side of her taut neck, Tanya releases a stuttering breath. “How can I so much as think when all I want to do is show you .”

“Tanya,” Bella breathes, and she has to wonder if the shiver that rolls through Bella’s body in that moment hits so deeply that it runs down her spine too. It looks to have done, to Tanya’s hungry eyes anyway. “A-are you fucking with me right now?”

Her question causes Tanya to release a breathless laugh against her throat. “With you? No, darling, not quite how I would phrase the terribly sinful things I’d like to do to you right now.”

She wants to make Bella cry and tremble and scream for her, and the need only intensifies as she hears the soft noise those words tear from Bella’s tight throat. She pulls her head back, a flushed look in her eyes. “I can feel your–” Her heavy lids drop to Tanya’s chest, to nipples that strain against weak cloth fabric, and she groans, “My body–I… I can’t think straight.”

Tanya doesn’t want her to think straight. “Good, that would defeat the purpose.”

“I’m not used to this.” Bella drags her black eyes slowly back up to Tanya’s face. “This is… a lot. I’ve never felt this– I’ve never had…”

“A hot, desperate woman wanting to fuck you?” she offers, and drags her nails lightly along the inside of Bella’s arm. “Darling, if my nipples offend you, I can just–” Bella grips her hard as she takes a playful step away from her. “No? Well, alright then…”

“They don’t,” she blurts out. “I like– argh. They don’t offend me… Nipples, I mean. Your nipples. Please stay.”

“Are you sure?” Tanya is finding this all far too amusing. “I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable and you appear to be rather flustered.”

“It’s not my fault!” she cries. “You’re practically in my lap!”

“I am rather, aren’t I? Would you like me to not be?”

Bella hesitates before admitting in a breathless whisper that she doesn’t. “I like it,” she moans softly when Tanya can no longer resist, and her mouth drops to taste that sinful throat. “ Really like it, oh-my-fucking-god.”

“So trusting,” she purrs, delighted. Taking advantage of their proximity, her position, Tanya drags her lips over Bella’s sire mark, her mark. “Where’s Edward, Bella?” she asks again. She can’t help but notice that there’s no mating mark on her throat- no lingering scent of Edward.

Hunger surges in her chest.

“Who?” Bella wrestles a whimper.

“Your husband– where is he?” It’s a dangerous question- one that she admits she doesn’t particularly want to know the answer to, but she needs it. “Is he going to come looking for you?”

Is he going to ruin this?

“He’s not here.” Tanya feels Bella’s chest heaving rapidly beneath her. “I want to be happy… and he doesn’t. I–.. . I left him. ”

The admission surprises her, despite her suspicions. “You’re not expecting him to come looking for you then?” she murmurs, trying again. She’s unsure of exactly why she needs an answer to this particular detail. All she knows is that it’s important– to protect her coven, to safeguard her own heart…

Because what happens if Edward comes crawling back to Bella, begging for her forgiveness? If she refuses to give it to him and he wants retribution against them for doing to Bella what they did? Worse still, what if Bella forgives him?

What happens to her shattered heart then?

Her silence causes Tanya to lift her head away, her eyes searching. “Bella?”

She has to know.

“He didn’t follow me back to the house… after I told him,” Bella admits, turning her gaze away momentarily. “I doubt he’s going to make the effort to cross through Canada to chase me down. And honestly?” She lifts her head, a fire returning to her eyes. “I don’t want him to. Yes, it hurts, but I left him. I don’t care if he comes after me, because I left him, Tanya.”

“And that is his loss,” She lifts her hands from Bella’s hips, takes her firmly by the cheeks and fuck, she wants to kiss her, soothe her heart, take her pain, encourage her anger- everything, so badly that it hurts. “You deserve far better than what he was willing to give you.”

And she does.

So much better.

“How do you know what I deserve?” Bella asks, although not unkindly. “You don’t know me, not really. You don’t know what kind of person I am.”

Tanya offers her a shrug. “You’re right, I don’t know you. But I will, Bella.”

“Confident of you,” she murmurs, almost smiling now. “Are you always like this?”

“I am, and yes, most of the time… especially when I know I’m right.” Tanya softens her hold on Bella’s cheeks, dragging the pad of her thumb over her cheekbone, right beneath her eye. “I don’t need to know you to know that you deserve to be happy. Everyone deserves to be happy.”

“It sounds so simple when you say it like that.” Bella says softly, as though she still doesn’t quite want to believe her words. “You sound like Rose.”

“Rose has always been wise beyond her years,” Tanya’s attention shifts to her eyes, which are so expressive, so soft as she teases, “You should listen to her more often.”

Bella snorts. “She’d like that.”

“Yes, she would.”

“I refuse to give her the satisfaction.” 

Tanya bites the inside of her mouth to keep her laughter at bay, because of course that would be Bella’s response. There’s no way a newborn ego would allow affection to stand in the way of winning. Although winning what in this instance she’s not sure. She’s sure it makes sense in Bella’s mind though, in any case. The determined little pinch of stubbornness, of confidence, at the corners of Bella’s mouth insists upon it, in fact. 

It’s adorable.

She’s adorable.

“Come inside,” Tanya urges her gently, attempting to take a step back, to disentangle herself enough to distract herself from just how badly she wants to throw caution to the wind and kiss her out here against the railing. “I want you to meet the others.”

Biting her lip, Bella’s gaze flickers over her shoulder to the door. “I met your sister already. Spoke to her even.”

Tanya rolls her eyes at the tone. “Teasing and questionable flirting doesn’t count.”

Bella glowers. “She told you about that.” 

“Please come,” Tanya insists, leaning back in to graze Bella’s cheek with her lips in an almost kiss. Almost, because she knows if she does kiss her, they won’t be leaving the porch any time soon. “You should be introduced to them properly if you wish to stay, don’t you think?”

God, why does she smell so good?

Bella releases a shaky breath, as seemingly affected by Tanya’s touch as Tanya herself is. “Do all of them… want that? Are they all okay with you offering me a… a home?”

“Bella, if they weren’t… you wouldn’t be here right now.” But Tanya knows what she’s really asking. Searching her face, she lingers on the worry lines that sit at the bridge of Bella’s cute little nose. “We are all in agreement about our offer, and it still stands.” It goes unspoken that by we, she also means her sisters. “There’s no hurry for your decision, we’re not going to harass you or rush you. We’re not going to take it back.”

It will remain right where it is, Tanya thinks, until Bella decides what she wants to do with it. 

“Please,” Tanya tries again. “Come in with me?”

She wants Bella to meet her family. She wants her to like them, but just as importantly…

She wants them to like her.

“Can’t we just… I dunno… stay out here forever?” Bella asks her then, but although there’s an element of seriousness to her question, there’s also a hint of a smile playing at the edge of her lips as she looks up at her. “I like being out here with just you.”

“You can be with ‘just me’ again after we get these introductions out of the way.” She leans in so that her lips brush the shell of Bella’s ear, adding in a teasing whisper, “with or without clothes, completely your decision.”

Bella shivers. “... okay, fine,” she relents breathlessly, and Tanya catches her hand as it begins to fall between them. “You make a really compelling argument.”

“I always do,” She gives Bella’s hand a gentle squeeze when their fingers twist together. “The sooner you embrace it, the more you’ll appreciate it.”

“I’m getting that sense, yeah.” she murmurs, and allows Tanya to drag her along behind her into the house. She almost comes willingly now, Tanya notes to herself, pleased.

“You’re going to like it here with us, Bella.” she promises, hopes.

Bella moves closer to her as they walk. “I think I already do.”

***

Under Rosalie’s watchful gaze Bella meets the others, who warm to her so quickly that Tanya thinks she must be dreaming- until she remembers that they don’t sleep, and therefore definitely do not dream. And it isn’t as though she expects them to be hostile toward Bella, but she had expected some pushback from Irina at the very least, even despite their talk.

Bella was there after all, when the dogs murdered Laurent in the woods. But, it’s Irina who comes forward when Bella’s discomfort becomes so noticeable that it literally cannot be ignored for any longer. It’s Irina who offers Bella her hand, who pulls her into her arms.

“You’re welcome in our home, Bella.” she tells her, and that appears to be that.  

Rosalie slips from the room only when it becomes apparent that no one is going to lunge for Bella’s throat or vice versa. It’s touching, Tanya thinks, watching her quietly slink away. Rosalie lets so few into her heart, and yet here she is- ready to take on an entire coven for the young vampire should they so much as say one unkind comment toward her.

Tanya owes her friend more than a simple thank you for what she’s done in Tanya’s own absence, and she knows it.

“Ah, mi hija, there’s no need to be so nervous!” Carmen is quick to swoop back into the fray when she’s afforded the moment to. “We’ll be family soon enough.”

They watch as, with some difficulty, Bella tears her eyes away from where she watches Irina return to Kate’s side. “Family, right,” she reminds herself with a little smile. “I look forward to the day where I can stand in front of you all without wanting to run out the door with my tail between my legs.”

“You have a tail?” With a smirk, Kate peeks curiously around Bella’s backside trying to catch a glimpse. “Must have missed that.”

“Running is a pointless endeavour,” Irina responds at the same time, easily ignoring their sister’s cheek. “We’d just follow you.”

“Drag you back,” Tanya adds, not even bothering to hide her teasing smile. “Kicking and–”

“ Screaming.” Kate finishes with a wink.

Carmen simply rolls her eyes at the trio. “We’re family,” she says, as if to agree without actually saying the words themselves in an attempt to put distance between herself and their ridiculousness. But she is right.

As much to support Bella as it is for her own selfish desire to be close to her, Tanya wants to be near the young woman, she wants her to stay, to eventually be able to look upon the people in this room the way Tanya does– as family. 

“An unorthodox family,” she corrects, tossing a look Carmen’s way. “But family nonetheless.”

Bella opens her hand for Tanya’s in silent agreement, twisting their fingers together as though they’ve done this a thousand times before. No words, no hiding. Only understanding, support .

Tanya wants Bella to want to stay… and maybe, just maybe, this is a sign that Bella wants that too.

“Shall I regale to you the story of how Ellie and I met these ruffians?” Carmen continues on, and other than a flicker of a glance at their joined hands, says nothing on the matter. “Now that’s a story full of uncomfortable encounters, I promise you.”

“Uncomfortable isn’t how I remember it.” Kate’s expression settles into something that screams of self-satisfaction. 

“Nor I.” Irina agrees.

“Or perhaps we can tell her a story that won’t have her running for the hills,” Tanya suggests rather pointedly, because they do not need to go down that road right now. “We want Bella to stay, Carmen.”

“You think hearing that particular tale will change her mind?” Ellie asks with a playful tut. “Tanya, I expected better of you.”

Bella turns her head in Tanya’s direction. “Well, now you have to tell me.”

Tanya snorts, because no, she doesn’t have to tell Bella anything. “I’m not saying a word."

“I could say a word,” Carmen teases. “Or several.”

“You won’t if you know what’s good for you.” Tanya narrows her eyes. “Be still your tongue, Carmen. Lest it get you into trouble.”

Bella looks between the pair with a curious glint to her eye. “I want to know even more now.”

“How unfortunate for you then.”

She will not be telling her that story today, if ever.

“Come find me later, pajarito – I’ll tell you.” Carmen says, totally ignoring her. “My tongue might be trouble, but it doesn’t shy from the truth.”

The urge to launch herself across the room and force Carmen’s mouth shut is beyond tempting, but Tanya refrains and glowers her way instead.

“Speaking of trouble though, that does remind me,” Kate says, leaning forward with mischief in her eyes. “Has Tanya discussed bedrooms with you yet? Which one you might like?”

Oh for the love of–

“We don’t sleep.” Bella manages to answer before Tanya can open her own mouth and prevent her from giving Kate the fodder she’s looking for. She’s not quick enough.

“Whoever said anything about sleeping?” Kate’s gaze drifts to Tanya’s in amusement. “Surely you noticed even the Cullen’s have their own space. The nights are long in winter. They can be rather lonely if you plan to spend them by yourself.”

Tanya isn’t positive that Bella’s eyes flicker her way then, because she’s too busy glaring at her sister, but she’s ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure she feels the heat in Bella’s brief glance like it’s at risk of scorching her very soul.

“I don’t need a bedroom,” Bella is quick to insist. “It’s a totally unnecessary waste of space.”

“Oh, I don’t believe that’s true even for a second,” Kate replies, surely missing nothing. “But I’m sure Tanya would be happy to share her bedroom with you if you’re so insistent on not having one of your own. If not her, then certainly I wouldn’t mind sharing.”

Tanya narrows her eyes but speaks to Bella. “Don’t listen to her. You’ll get your own space. What you choose to do with it is up to you.”

“I have some suggestions.”

Ignoring Kate, Bella shifts beside her. “I don’t want to impose.”

“If your desire is to stay with us, Bella, then you should take a room,” Irina tells her. “Even if you decide that your stay is only temporary, don’t you think?”

The pair make eye contact briefly, but Bella is the first to look away and Tanya’s stomach twists uncomfortably at the thought Bella might choose to leave them anyway. God, she wishes that they’d stayed on the porch like Bella wanted. Within their own little bubble, reality seemed further away out there.

Kate clicks her tongue. “If you want my opinion, I’d go with the one that has the ensuite with the hot tub. More space to entertain company.”

Tanya huffs. “Nobody asked for your opinion, or was that not clear? Give it a rest, Kate.”

Bella looks warily between the two sisters, from Tanya’s unimpressed glower to Kate’s little smug smirk. “I’ll keep it in mind.” Bella answers in an attempt to keep the peace, which of course only backfires on her – them – spectacularly. 

“Bathing suits optional.”

“ Kate.” Tanya growls.

“Actually,” she continues, unflinching in the face of Tanya’s ire. “I don’t think I’ve ever worn a bathing suit in a hot tub now that I think about it.” She pauses for a moment, thinking perhaps of a time where maybe she’s wrong, but ultimately ends up shrugging it off and meeting Bella’s stare with an infuriating amount of confidence. “Ah well, it doesn't matter. Sharing is caring, wouldn’t you agree, Bella?”

“I wouldn’t know,” And Tanya has to give it to Bella, her gaze stays resolutely on Kate’s face as she says it. In fact, other than working the muscles of her jaw, she gives no other outward sign that she knows exactly what Kate is referring to, even as their flirtatious sister shifts in a way that presses her chest out.

“Would you like to?” she offers in a purr, and it’s difficult to pretend not to notice- because as Tanya’s own gaze flickers down, she of course would know.

“Are you offering?” Bella rises to the challenge admirably, yes, but she is way out of her depth in this battle of… whatever this is.

She still refuses to look away from their sister’s face though.

“Kate, do not take your clothes off, so help me god,” Tanya warns her, needing to put an end to this. She holds up her hand when Kate goes to open her mouth. “No, Kate. That’s the absolute last thing we need happening in our living room.”

With a sigh, Kate settles back into the couch. “Oh I don’t know, this living room hasn’t seen a good fucking in far too long. It might do us all some good.” 

That appears to break through some of Bella’s resolve though as, visibly taken aback by the comment, she blurts out, “I’m sorry- a good what?”  

“She means a group gathering of a sensual, debauched nature,” Irina answers, casting her sister a lingering look. “One of Kate’s favourite pastimes.”

“Try to keep up, sweet thing,” Kate waves a hand absently. “I find having your fingers and/or tongue inside another individual –whichever you prefer, I certainly enjoy being on both ends of it– is a pretty great way of getting to know one another. Breaks down the barriers.”

Bella splutters. “What the fuck happened to just having a normal conversation?”

“That’s beyond me most of the time.”

“ Manners are beyond her most of the time, Bella.” Carmen doesn’t so much as blink as she ducks gracefully out of the way of a cushion Kate sends flying toward her head at the speed of light. “You see? No manners.”

“I’ll show you no manners.” 

“You’ll do no such thing. And keep your clothes on, all of you,” Tanya warns, pointing toward both of her sisters accusingly. “But especially you two troublemakers.”

Irina simply looks aside with a hint of amusement tugging at her lips, not one to actively start the trouble herself, but Kate? Kate very much is. She places a hand over her heart. 

“I’m shocked you think that of us, Tanya,” she says. “Thank you.”

“It’s not a compliment.”

Kate smirks. “ Oh, but it is.”

Before Kate can do or say anything else, like offer to show Bella the merits of using their living room floor as a mattress, Tanya excuses them both, and upstairs a companionable lull settles between them that she finds increasingly comforting. No need to fill the quiet, they simply exist.  

Until they pass a smaller guest room that Emmett and Rosalie occupy and have to pretend not to hear the murmur of serious conversation from within as they go by.

“Emmett is a big boy,” Tanya speaks up, noting the guilty look Bella sends to the closed door. “He knew what he was doing. They’ll be fine.”

Bella doesn’t look entirely convinced, but she does look away from the room as they continue down the corridor. The guest rooms Tanya shows Bella aren’t much bigger than the one Rosalie and Emmett share, but they’re adequate for someone who claims not to want to waste space. However, Bella doesn’t appear to be overly taken with any of them, except perhaps the one with the small balcony- and even that’s up in the air somewhat.

When they inevitably reach the final guest bedroom though, it’s apparent that Bella’s interest is immediately piqued. The space is more generous, more open. She breaks off on her own to explore the space more fully, but pauses in the doorway between the bedroom and the ensuite, hand still on the half-opened door, body worryingly still.

“I know what you’re thinking, but there’s absolutely no pressure for you to choose this room.”

Bella catches her eye over her shoulder. “It’s a really nice looking hot tub though.” 

Which is a surprising but not entirely unwelcome observation. Bella turns her attention to the huge window behind the tub that overlooks the forest. They chose not to clear the trees this side of the house, and they’re old growth- thick with gnarly branches that twist into one another, dark, haunting .

“It’s beautiful.” she admits.

Bella’s beautiful.

“It’s one of the nicest bedrooms in the house.”

“Then why is it empty?”

Tanya clears her throat. “It was originally designed with the intention of being mine.”

However Tanya had fallen in love with the attic space upstairs- with its vaulted ceilings and exposed beams, and the decision made itself.

“So it was you who wanted the hot tub,” Bella’s amusement is audible. “I should have known.”

“What can I say? They’re great for company.”

As Kate had said. But honestly, Tanya really isn’t trying to convince Bella. She’s not. But with its luxurious king bed, handcrafted furniture and a modestly sized walk-in closet, this bedroom is the best pick of the lot.

Plus, there’s a hot tub.

Alright, so maybe she’s not sure who she’s trying to convince anymore.

“I know I keep saying it, but it feels weird to claim a whole ass bedroom when we don’t need sleep.” As Bella joins Tanya in the bedroom again, she looks around curiously, eyes falling to the bed. “It feels weird to waste the space with such a huge bed.”

Tanya wants to remind her of the merits of a bed this size, but she holds her tongue, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by Bella, whose crimson eyes take on an amused shine.

“It’s excessive, Tanya. Admit it.”

Tanya flashes a playful grin. “No such thing. The extra space might prove useful.”

Bella’s gaze flickers down Tanya’s body momentarily. “How many people do you think I’ll want to invite into this stupidly huge bed?” she asks, catching Tanya’s implication without difficulty. 

Tanya offers a shrug for Bella to interpret as she will. “You may invite as many as you like. The world is yours for the taking now, is it not?”

The heat of her words brings the return of that look in Bella’s eye- one that undoubtedly matches her own right now. 

“It is a nice room.” Bella agrees, considering her words, as well as other, potentially less appropriate things that she could be taking. Or so Tanya hopes. The smile Bella offers her then is slow, sensual, new. “I like it.” 

She’s not looking about the room, not anymore.

“Then it’s yours.” Tanya is hers, if Bella wants to take her, which she’s fairly sure she does. Tanya’s quite accustomed to the looks Bella is giving her right now- she knows what they mean. “If you really don’t want the bed, we can remove it so that you can do something more practical with the space.”

Perhaps a bookshelf, or a private reading nook. Somewhere Tanya might have the opportunity to happen across the young vampire while she sits there with a book in her hand. Bella looks like a woman who would like to be taken against a stack of books, she thinks- her mind beginning to drift to all of the wonderful possibilities.

“You know,” Bella says, interrupting her heated thoughts by taking a step closer. “Maybe you’re right about it staying.”

“Just maybe?” she murmurs, and god, she’s so close now that Tanya can practically feel her desire in the air she breathes.

Bella’s head tilts as she considers her. “Yes, just maybe. It might be nice, I guess.”

The way she says it, the thought- the way Bella looks at her like she wishes for Tanya to eat her alive… It sends a shiver down Tanya’s spine. “Having a bed is very nice,” She doesn’t trust herself, so she stays right where she is, waiting . “I can attest to it.”

“Can you?” Bella’s eyes drop to Tanya’s lips as she moves closer still, with all the grace of a prowling cat cornering its prey. “Maybe I still need some convincing on the subject after all.”

Where this sudden surge in confidence comes from, Tanya has no idea, but the second Bella is close enough to take her by the hips, dragging her the rest of the way until their bodies are pressed together, Tanya realises that she likes it. 

“Oh, Bella,” She can feel every inch of exposed skin, every dip and curve. She’d convince her so thoroughly that they might need to buy Bella a new bed by the end of it. “It would be my absolute pleasure .” 

Bella's breath hitches. “Fuck.”

“Such a dirty mouth,” she's reminded, tutting in absolute delight. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.” 

Difficult to ignore… to not claim with her own. She wants, and so why should she not just take? It’s what they both clearly want right now, she thinks, slipping her fingers beneath Bella’s torn shirt.

“You said you liked my dirty mouth,” comes the low hum by Tanya’s ear as Bella presses closer to her touch.

“Darling, I do.” 

That, her bold as brass attitude, and so much more that Tanya’s brain is incapable of listing at this very moment. Thanks to their closeness, to the way her hands slip up Bella’s sides without conscious thought, to the soft noises Bella makes at her touch. All she wants is to do, touch, feel, everything that Bella will let her. And by the way Bella presses their faces together, each breath more uneven than the last as Tanya’s hands move beneath her shirt…

It’s clear that Bella wants as badly as she does. The deep pit of desire that rips through her now, burning hotter with each passing second is something she doesn’t want to ignore any longer.

And so, with a soft growl, she doesn’t. 

She kisses her…

And Tanya is lost.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight

~ BELLA ~

...

It starts out slow. But there’s no softness, no tentativeness. In truth, Bella’s never been kissed like this, ever. There are no comparisons for her, and as desire ignites like flames across her skin, starting deep in her belly, it spreads until she’s sure it’s consumed her entirely. 

This– it’s like nothing she's ever felt before. The press of hungry lips, the tongue that drags across her lip as she sighs into their kiss–

Fuck.

She never wants it to end.

A low moan crawls its way up her throat and their kiss deepens, strangling anything that might even have the potential to turn into real words. Words are overrated anyway, Bella thinks. Who needs them?

Fingers dig into her skin, anchoring her to the world, to this moment, refusing to let her go. Which suits Bella just fine. She’s content to be held here forever. She has her name now, her touch, her affections, her tongue–

She kisses Bella like she wants to crawl inside of her, and maybe she does. Bella would let her. Bella would give her anything she wanted in this moment, if just to have Tanya kiss her like this for the rest of eternity. All she wants from life now are these hands, these lips–

Which are ripped from her own so suddenly that Bella snarls at the loss.

“Excuse me ,” Tanya chuckles, low and throaty. “But I liked this shirt.”

Bella blinks in confusion, because what is she even talking about right now? Her shirt? Is she serious? Bella blinks again as her anger slowly fizzles out, this time down at the spot where her fingers twist around the flimsy material. It’s just a plain cotton shirt with a brand name on the breast, nothing special about it, but still– her fingers have gone right through it. 

Oh.

“Bella,” Tanya murmurs, calling her back. “Are you alright?”

Bella wants to see more, to touch her skin. 

“Yes,” she breathes after taking a moment to blink through the fog coating her brain. 

It’s hard to think, but she is alright. More than, even. She wants to say more, convince Tanya with her words (because the look Tanya gives her suggests that she doesn’t believe Bella at all), but words have been stolen by her own desire. By Tanya's mouth. Just as her life had been all those weeks ago. 

Her words, her life, her heart, she realises. Stolen, held hostage, hers now.

She can’t find the words. She can’t bring herself to feel bad about destroying Tanya’s shirt. It should feel bad, she thinks as she casts it a glare– it’s in her way.

“Bella. ” 

Bella’s eyes drag from Tanya’s mouth, up . How can she not? Her voice calls to her, tempts her– that soft, teasing smile invites her. She wants to taste her lips again, and helpless, she drags her tongue along her own, wetting them, inviting Tanya this time.

Look, she begs silently, kiss, touch, never let go.

“Please,” Bella begs her, and whimpers. She doesn’t even know what she’s begging for , just that she needs it, whatever it is, more than she’s ever needed anything in her life.

“Look at me,” Tanya takes a hold of her face, her touch gentle, grounding. “Yes, just like that– good girl.”

Fuck.

Bella is dying again. 

“No, no, don’t close your eyes. Look at me, focus on me,” Bella is lost. She can’t , but somehow she does, and locking onto those dark eyes with her own is so hard. “Are you sure?”

Bella wants. Like nothing else she’s ever wanted before, she aches.

“ Yes,” she growls out.

Everything is hard right now. Hard to think, to find the words, to speak them– but Tanya still has this look in her eye that Bella just does not have the capacity to figure out right now, like she wants to say more but she isn’t sure how.

After a long moment, Tanya finally speaks. “Did you know… the spot where I bit you, it’s special?” she admits carefully, eyes flickering down to the mark briefly. “It’s an intimate place, reserved for someone special.”

Tanya wants to say mates– Bella knows she does, feels it deep within herself. But she doesn’t. Bella burns to hear it, but Tanya won’t say it. 

Why won’t she say it?

That’s what this is, isn’t it? It’s why Bella feels this way, why she’s so drawn to her. She’s been in Bella’s head, her thoughts, since the night she bit her, whether Bella is ready to admit it or not. Tanya has infected every cell in her body.

Bella’s been around mated couples long enough to figure out what that means.

“I didn’t think about it at the time,” Tanya continues, breathless beneath the admission. “I wanted you, and it didn’t matter the reason. To bite you, to change you, to claim you. No other place–” she cuts herself off with a growl of her own, “I needed my mark to be there.” Bella tilts her head, watches the way Tanya follows the movement of her hair as it falls over her face, as though battling with herself. “And I realise now that perhaps that was selfish of me.”

“Tanya,” Bella tries, but is stopped with a shake of a head.

“You have the world at your fingertips,” Tanya tells her. “You can be whoever you want to be, go where you want to go, be with whoever you choose to be with– and I marked you. In that spot, for everyone to see.”

“It’s okay.”

Is it, her brain whispers viciously. Bella’s throat now wears a mark born of a possessive need that Bella’s not sure she’s really in any state to fully understand right now. Perhaps what she should say is ‘it doesn’t matter now, it’s done’, but the words escape her once more.

Her chance to speak them slips away. “You still have a choice in this, Bella.”

A choice– does she? She can’t think properly. She can’t comprehend, not when Tanya is looking at her the way she is, not when all she wants to do is run her tongue over every inch of this stunning woman’s skin and memorise every sound that falls from her perfect mouth.

Mate, mate, mate, mate, mate.

She blinks slowly, sluggish beneath the raging storm inside her. “It doesn’t–” She wants to say something along the lines of ‘it doesn’t feel like either of us have much of a choice’, but that’s not right either. It sounds wrong even thinking it, so instead she utters a soft noise of frustration and says, “I couldn’t walk away from this,” you , “if I tried.” 

That doesn’t sound right either. They’re words that are too easily misinterpreted, which becomes obvious when Tanya’s expression falls. She hurries on.

“I want this– I want you ,” And there it is. “I don’t want to walk away.”

There’s no conceivable way Tanya can misinterpret that, right?

Tanya’s gaze drifts slowly back to that bit of hair that partially covers Bella’s face, and although she doesn’t smile, her expression does soften. “If you wanted to walk away, well– I wouldn’t like it, but it would be your right. I would let you make that decision,” she murmurs, and sweeps that bit of hair behind Bella’s ear. “Unless you wanted me to hold you against your will, of course? I could do that, too.”

“You– wait, what?” 

A soft smirk graces her lips. “You heard me.”

Yes, she absolutely did, and a shiver runs from the top of her head to the tips of her fucking toes. “Can’t be against my will if I want it.” 

And goddamn, does Bella fucking want it now that the idea is right there. She’s imagining it now– would Tanya use cords of rope? Leather straps? Steel chains? Even if they couldn’t hold her, she would let herself think they could.

Yes, she could be persuaded.

Tanya hums. “It does rather defeat the purpose, I suppose.”

Bella doesn’t know whether she gets to choose this, or Tanya, or anything else, but it doesn’t matter because she does want this. 

She wants Tanya. She’s wanted Tanya since the very first moment she laid eyes on her, eyes which now drag unabashed over every inch of Tanya’s face, throat, neck, shoulders–

She thirsts for this woman.

“What I want,” she repeats, speaking slowly, her voice a rumble. “Is standing right in front of me.”

And for a long, debilitating moment, she wonders if Tanya wants her back, if coming here was a mistake, why Tanya chose today of all days not to wear a bra– if she shouldn’t have kissed her, if–

“There they go again– offending you,” She leans forward as Bella blinks up at her, uncomprehending. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Bella, but I haven't worn a bra since the fifties. In fact, I don’t believe I even own one.”

Right then it occurs to Bella she’s spoken those mortifying words aloud. “Fuck my life.”

Tanya's lips curl upward, “I'm not about to start wearing them again, just so you know. Dreadfully uncomfortable contraptions, if you ask me.”

Bella becomes painfully aware of her own bra digging up beneath her arms. “Right– yes, totally agree.”

“And besides, who needs to keep their tits perky when they're dead anyway? We're frozen in time, ageless,” She offers a playful shrug. “My tits will never sag, so really, a bra is pointless.”

“Thank fucking god for that,” Bella does not mean to say that out loud either, and she hurries on, trying to back track through Tanya's laughter. “That's not– I– you argh– I just mean because they're perfect! Stop laughing!”

Vampires are assholes. It’s official.

Not even trying to taper her amusement, Tanya purrs, “Oh, but darling, how can you be sure–”

“I will hit you.” 

“–that my tits are perfect?”

Oh.

Bella’s eyes dart down, but yeah, she’s pretty fucking certain that they are. She sees, feels goddamn nipples when Tanya brushes up against her, probably as perfect as the rest of her. The Goddess-tier level kind of nipples that you only ever read about in books on Greek mythology and shit.

Those kinds of nipples.

“Bella,” she says, grinning. “I said how can you be so sure?”

She’s goading her, and Bella narrows her eyes. “Because.” 

“Because?” Tanya lifts an eyebrow. “Darling, that's not an answer.”

“It is so. I recognise perfection when I see it.”

For years now she's been surrounded with nothing but perfection.

With a soft hum, Tanya considers her words. “Alright, I'll give you that. But,” she holds up a hand when Bella goes to interrupt her, to argue more. “Wouldn’t you like to make absolutely sure?”

.

.

.

“Do… I?”

Can she?

“Mhm. Should, in fact. I insist.”

She wants to– god, how she fucking dreams of touching them, touching her. 

She just can’t seem to get her limbs to move.

“Bella.”

That not so slow-burning fire returns to her stomach as her fingers twitch. “Hm?”

“Be sure,” she orders her, softly at first, and then, “Touch me.”

She's taking too long, she knows she is, but Tanya has just short-circuited her brain, and with a sigh Bella finds her hand being guided closer, touching finally just beneath her collarbone and then lower.

Her breath catches. Jesus fucking Chr-

“Good girl,” Tanya purrs, releasing her hand. “What’s your verdict, darling?”

Bella is too stunned, too turned on, too everything, to offer more than a jerking nod of approval. She’s never touched breasts that weren’t her own before, even if it’s over her shirt. They’re… kind of squishy…

“Oooohhhh,” Bella rumbles.

She likes them.

A lot.  

Tanya grins at her, eyes hooded and heavy. “Well, since you’ve already half-ruined my favourite shirt anyway…”

Is that permission to…?

Bella’s hands are moving before her brain has caught up, and the sound of cloth tearing is so loud to her sensitive ears. But that could also just be the stifling tension between them as Tanya then shifts her ruined shirt off her shoulders and it flutters to the ground.

Oh god, she’s topless, as in no longer wearing a shirt.

“Touch me, Bella. Please.” she murmurs, her eyes fluttering shut as Bella does as she’s told. “Look at you, doing just as you’re told. I could get used to this.”

Bella’s thoughts turn her skin feverish– a feat considering their bodies are ice cold with death. Or maybe she just feels feverish, like the phantom pain of a lost limb or something similar from her past life.

Not that she ever felt like this when she was human.

Not even close.

“So soft,” she groans, pressing closer. “Full.”

Her hands drop to Tanya’s waist. She is literal perfection, and her nipples– they drag over the tattered remains of the shirt Bella wears without apology. Because no, she still hasn’t changed out of her travelling clothes yet. There have been other far more important things preoccupying her thoughts. Now, however, removing her clothes is all she can think about. It’s at the very forefront of her mind, in fact. Remove clothes, kiss, bite, touch, fuck. A hiss that doesn’t belong to her, a shove that is decidedly not gentle–

And quite suddenly Bella is straddling full hips, pressing Tanya into the mattress with a hand around her perfect throat, leaning in. She takes the moment to look properly now, and the woman is a feast to her flesh starved eyes.

“Bella.”

She’s not sure how they got here, not really. “I’m sorry,” She’s struggling again. She begins to remove her hand (does she really have a grip on her throat right now?), but Tanya’s fingers curl around her own to stop her. “Tanya, I–”

“Don’t,” She gives the hand around her throat a gentle squeeze, to tell her it’s okay, to reassure her, before she lets her hand drop to Bella’s thigh. “Stay here,” Tanya breathes then, softer now, and her eyes flash beneath Bella as she stretches her head back just so. “Please .”

Bella groans, and she feels her fingers twitch against Tanya’s throat involuntarily. 

“I don’t mind begging if it gets me what I want.” 

“What do you want?” Bella is desperate to hear her say it again.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Tanya stretches her neck out beneath Bella’s hand again, reminding her of exactly where it is, of the power she’s giving her by allowing it, and it’s so hot that her brain short circuits. “I want you.”

“Say please,” Bella rumbles, so consumed with lust that she can’t even begin to feel embarrassed about voicing what she wants.

“ Please, Bella,” Tanya is breathless and, as Bella greedily drinks her in, she notes the rapid darkening of her eyes. “I've wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you– don’t make me wait any longer.”

Bella drops her half-lidded gaze slowly down Tanya’s chest to her navel and back up. “So beautiful. I don’t think I want to rush this. I want to take my time.”

Goddess-tier-level.

Tanya groans. “And if that's not what I want? If I don't want you to be slow right now?”

Her breath leaves her. “You don't want slow?”

And because Bella’s grip on her throat isn't tight, Tanya shakes her head. Christ.

“I don’t… I’m not sure–” Bella can’t get the words out. So much for that. But what she’s trying to say is that she isn’t sure she can be… Well, rough. Not like that anyway. 

Tanya’s hand rubbing over her clothed thigh drags her back from her spiralling thoughts. “I don’t expect you to dress in leather and whip me, Bella. Let’s save that for the second date, hm?”

“There was a first?” 

“You mean to tell me you weren’t trying to woo me with your show of strength out in the front yard?” Her smile teases Bella, who shakes her head. “How disappointing.”

Bella traces a path down Tanya’s throat with her thumb. “Is that what you consider first date material? Ripping the limbs from no good, cheating bastards like Emmett fucking Cullen?” 

A muscle jumps beneath Bella’s fingertips. “I like a woman who’s willing to show off her prowess straight off the bat. It shows confidence, and darling, I like confidence.”

Bella’s thumb moves over her collarbone now, teasing, before she drags it back up. “I didn’t know you’d be watching.” 

“Liar,” Tanya breathes, flashing her fangs. “You knew I’d come running the second I realised it was you .”

Well. Bella had hoped. “I felt you,” she admits, although the memories are vague, far away now. She closes her eyes, chasing the memories, the heat that washed over her. “Just like right now.” Tanya’s gaze is warmth on her ice cold skin, drawing heat from somewhere deep inside her, travelling through her veins and pooling on the surface. “You couldn’t take your eyes off of me.”

Like being kissed by the sun itself– that’s what her gaze feels like on Bella’s skin.

“I can’t take my eyes off of you now,” she murmurs, lifting a brow slightly with amusement. “Hope you’re alright with being stared at for eternity.”

Eternity.

“I think I could probably get used to it,” she hums. “Tell me what you think of when you look at me. What are you thinking about right now?”

“Right now?” Hands tighten on her thighs. “Right now I’m thinking of all the things I want you to do to me. I’m thinking about how beautiful you are– how you’ll twist and beg and cry for me when I get my face between those pretty thighs of yours.”

“ Fuck ,” Bella whimpers. 

“I think about how you’ll taste,” Tanya pushes back as she continues, and Bella lets her, wants her to, until Tanya uses her body to switch their positions. She doesn’t wrap her hand around her throat like Bella had though. “How good your hands in my hair will feel, pulling tight, holding me to you.” Instead, she presses her into the bed with her hips, drops her head and drags her tongue over her mark, causing Bella to groan. “Tell me, darling… are you a screamer?”

Fuuuuuuuuck.

Bella has died and gone to heaven. Or hell, respectively. Heaven can’t possibly feel this good.

“Or maybe you’re one of the quiet ones, hm? Not a screamer at all. That’s okay, I prefer the quiet ones… all the more fun to make them fall apart.”

Bella’s not sure who is more surprised by the way she twists her fingers into the soft hairs at the back of Tanya’s head and pulls, hard – her or Tanya. But it becomes abundantly clear that Tanya is not one of the quiet ones as her head snaps back.

“You talk too much,” Bella kisses her hot on the mouth, swallowing her cry. Or at least, it feels hot to her when she rips herself away, panting harshly. “It’s less cute when you aren’t begging.”

The way Tanya strains to look down at her– Jesus.

“Then give me something to beg for,” she whispers. “And if you won’t…”

“What, you’ll find someone who will?” Bella’s body stills as she glowers up at her. “No, go on, tell me– who?” she demands, low and serious and as green with jealousy as she’s ever been. Tanya shrugs. “If you say Kate, I swear to fucken god–”

Tanya bites her bottom lip between sharp fangs, grinning. “ I didn’t say it.”

“ Fuck you.”

“Please , darling, that’s all I’m asking for.” 

The taste of want is heavy on the back of Bella’s tongue, among all manner of other things, so of course Bella is well aware of what Tanya wants. She wants it as well, but–

“Why the fuck did you have to bring up your obnoxious sister?” she snaps, unable to let it go. She’s still pissed off with the other blonde, but she’s more annoyed with herself for not being repulsed by the idea of her joining th–

No. She stuffs that thought back in its box. “I don’t want to think about her.” Bella grounds out, trying so hard not to.

“No? Are you sure?”

Bella’s grip loosens as she sneers. “Positive.”

Liar, Bella’s brain whispers devilishly. 

“I don’t believe you,” Tanya murmurs, taking the opportunity to drop her head and drag her lips along the line of Bella’s neck again. “I think you very much want to think about my sister– and why wouldn’t you? She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

Bella grinds her teeth. “You’re talking too much again.”

“You like it when I talk,” she shoots back easily. “I’d even go as far as to say you love it.” 

Bella does. But she’ll be damned if she admits it to her face– her head is clearly big enough as it is. Any bigger and she won’t fit back out that door Bella is tempted to toss her through to get her out of her bedroom.

Liar.

Fine. Toss her into.

Do you ever stop lying to yourself?

“How strong are the doors in this place?” she breathes suddenly. They were built by vampires for vampires, right? Surely they’re-

“Not strong enough for whatever you have in mind,” And she nips at Bella’s throat in the most delicious way, drawing a groan from her lips. “Horny little newborn. Do not break my doors.”

A beat passes between them.

Well. Now that’s almost a challenge, isn’t it? 

“If you break my doors,” Tanya warns her. “I’ll break you .”

The threat is clear, unflinching, oppressive, and she tightens her fist in Tanya’s soft locks. “I think I might like that actually.”

“Darling, you’re going to love it ,” Tanya promises, slipping a strong thigh between Bella’s own. The heat where they touch is all in Bella’s head, but fuck. “You’re going to want more,” Her own back arches up slightly off the bed as she begins to grind her hips, slowly, “I’m going to want to give you more, take more, be more.”

More, more, more, more. The word bounces off the walls of her skull like a desperate, pleading mantra as long fingers dip just beneath the hem of Bella’s jeans, slip just under the elastic of her underwear– 

“I’m going to make you feel like the world is spinning,” Tanya breathes, and shifts her hand. She tears Bella’s shirt clean up the middle of her heaving chest instead of dipping down where Bella really wants them. “I’m going to help you reach the stars, Bella.”

Her fingers slide out of Tanya’s hair and slip around to take her by the face. Bella’s already there.

“You’re a goddess,” she breathes, fingers tracing her jaw. “And if I’m not floating among the stars already, then fuck everything else because you’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on and it’s the closest I’ll ever need to be.”

It's probably the single most romantic, dribble-iest shit she's ever said to anyone. But she means every single word of it. She doesn’t want to be anywhere else or with anybody but this woman– this woman whose eyes flash above her at hearing her admission, whose mouth descends upon her own hungrily now, whose tongue slides against hers, and whose thigh–

God, Bella rolls her hips against her desperately, the ache between her legs growing more with each exquisite thrust. It’s too much and not enough all at once, and Bella hears herself whimper because she needs more.

“Tanya, please.”

Tanya rips her mouth from Bella’s. “Say it again.”

“Which part?”

“The stars, how beautiful you think I am– I don’t care,” she breathes. “I want to hear it again and again.”

“I’ll say it forever if you’ll just keep looking at me the way you are right now,” Bella feels as though she’s being turned inside out, in the best way possible. “Cos I mean it, you know? I feel this– no one has ever… I’ve never felt this way with anybody else.”

“Good,” Tanya growls with a soft smirk. “If you used this line on all the girls you take to bed, I might have things to say about it.”

She can’t stop her eye roll. “Yes, because I’ve taken so many to bed.” 

“Really?” Tanya’s hips still above her and Bella groans, because no, that’s not what she wants right now. “Well. I’m delighted to be your first. How is that you know just what to say, hm?”

“Why do you sound so surprised by it?” 

“Bella, darling, you literally just said the single most romantic thing I’ve ever heard– and you said it to me.”

“And?” Bella is just a little put out by it all. “I can be charming when I want to be, you know!”

Tanya smirks as she gazes down at her. “I never doubted it. I just expected more cussing, I suppose.”

“Pretty sure I threw at least one fuck in there.” 

“I'd like more than one,” Tanya’s darkened eyes drag deliberately down Bella’s face, to lips that Bella bites, and back. “Whisper it into my ear, spell it onto my skin with your tongue–”

“Fuck.”

“ Yes, just like that,” she purrs, even as Bella drags her in, pulls her to her mouth and into another searing kiss. “ Bella…”

She wants to hear Tanya say her name like that every single day for the rest of her life– a long life, an immortal one–

Until the day they cease to exist.

Eternity, that’s what Tanya said. Bella wants eternity.

Tanya is moving her hips again, and yet somehow it’s still not enough for Bella, who feels like her clothes are suffocating her, who feels like she can’t get enough and she wants more but isn’t sure what or how. The sound of their ragged breaths fill the silence– cloth rips, a button off of Tanya’s trousers goes flying across the room as Bella yanks on them with so much force that it imbeds itself into the wall with a sharp plink. 

Shit.

Tanya wraps a hand around Bella’s wrist, warning, “What did I say about breaking things?”

Technically, she said nothing about her trousers or the wall. Only the doors. Her grip loosens and Tanya is reaching for her again, helping Bella to remove the remainder of her clothes now, touching her face and then her throat as they kiss– her chest, hips, sides, everywhere. But no, Bella’s want is more. With a noise akin to a snarling animal, Bella shoves at the hard body over her until she’s beneath Bella, so close to the edge of this huge bed that if not for Bella reaching out to grab her arm, Tanya might have been shoved right off of it onto the floor.

“Christ, Bella.”

There’s a moment then where Bella just looks, watches as Tanya’s mind races to catch up with the shift of their positions, as her body melts into the mattress– as the muscles in her back and shoulders ripple before turning to putty beneath Bella’s wandering hands.

It’s beautiful.

She’s beautiful.

Stretching out on her stomach, Tanya lays her cheek on her arm, watching Bella over her shoulder. But when Bella’s fingers drag up her spine so that she can sweep Tanya’s mass of blonde curls out of the way, her lashes flutter at the tender touch before closing entirely.

Bella might be out of her mind with lust, but she knows what Tanya’s giving her right now. “I want to– I need–”

“You need…?” Tanya’s voice is a soothing balm, thick with wild desire.

“I need you .”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Then have me,” she breathes, repeating her words from earlier. “What are you waiting for?”

And really, what is she waiting for? Bella is straddling her naked thighs– and Tanya is allowing it. Bella is under no illusions; if Tanya didn’t want this, it wouldn’t be happening. What more than that does she need? She leans in and presses her lips against her smooth skin, right between her shoulder blades. 

She needs–

“You’re so fucking beautiful ,” she murmurs against her skin, and it’s that. That’s what she needs. She needs to say it, for Tanya to hear it. 

“Charmer,” Tanya turns to watch Bella over her shoulder, reaching back with the hand she’s not using as a pillow to grab Bella’s thigh. “Kiss me,” she says, her nails biting into Bella’s feverish skin. The pain is brief, stings, and Bella rumbles a warning to her as she shifts up over her ass to capture her lips.

“Beautiful,” Bella groans. “And so feisty .”

Their next kiss is messy, rough– and disappointingly short as Tanya rips her mouth away, a noise of pleasure escaping her.

“I can feel you,” Tanya pushes up against her, where their bodies are so intimately connected, the movement purposeful and meant to tease. “Someone is excited.” And then of all things, she giggles.

“U-ungh,” Bella hisses. “A-and whose fault is that I fucken wonder?” 

“Mm, definitely mine,” She grinds up against her again, the slick sounds filthy in the quiet room, and Bella’s eyes roll into the back of her head as her composure begins to slip. “Maybe you should punish me– what do you think? Am I being naughty enough, Bella?”

Christ.

“Seems punishment enough to keep you right here like this,” Bella breathes, and feels Tanya’s fingers dig deeper into the thigh in approval. “Plus I’m enjoying the view from up here.”

“Not the only thing you’re enjoying.”

“No,” Bella agrees. She releases a shuddering breath with the next press of Tanya’s ass against her, and this time she doesn’t stop her hips from rolling down into it. “D-definitely enjoying more than the view.”

Which is lovely of course, Bella’s never been in a more beautiful position in all her life as she gazes down at the tempting woman beneath her. She’s all pale skin, powerful shoulders and soft curves, scars litter her arms– teeth marks like the one on Bella’s wrist. She glances at it now, thinks of the one she wears on her throat as well but…

That mark isn’t the same as the one on her wrist, or the ones on Tanya. Those are tainted with violence and bad memories, she’s sure. The mark on Bella’s throat isn’t like those.

There’s another purposeful shift against her and Bella bites back a moan. “Tanya.” Thoughts of everything but what this temptress is doing to her disappear in an instant, and her back bows forward as Tanya grinds up into her again. “Oh my fucking god,” she groans, barely managing to catch herself with hands either side of Tanya’s head on the mattress. “You need to stop doing that!”

“Why? Don’t you like it?” Tanya asks in a purr, continuing to move her ass against her in that same slow and teasing way as Bella struggles to keep herself from collapsing in a big useless heap over her. “Feels as though you like it to me.”

She’s driving Bella crazy, but for the life of her Bella can’t voice her desires. Her hips surge down as Tanya pushes herself up onto an elbow, and this time it makes them both wild. Bella slips an arm in the space Tanya’s made for her between her head and the mattress, and now they’re touching everywhere . 

“Mm, just like that,” Tanya whispers, her voice a rasp against the pressure of Bella’s arm cradling her throat. “Bella.” She’s basically wrapped around her entirely at this point. It should feel wrong holding her like this, grinding and rubbing against her ass with such filthy noises escaping her, but it doesn’t.

Because Tanya is whispering even filthier words back to her– promises, encouragement, words that Bella can no longer hear . Bella is at one moment panting harsh breaths against Tanya’s cheek, and in the next Tanya is twisting to reach her lips, gasping into her mouth as they meet in a searing kiss. 

Bella’s not sure of anything except that Tanya is enjoying this as much as she is, that she wants Bella as much as Bella wants her. “Tanya.” She rips her mouth away with a growl. At this point, Bella is hardly even coherent enough to realise that Tanya’s hand has left her leg and slipped between her own body and the mattress. 

Is she… ? Oh fuck.

She watches through hooded eyes as Tanya’s head drops forward. “Jesus, are you–”

“Mhm, can’t let you have all the fun,” she says.

It damn near breaks Bella to imagine what’s going on between Tanya’s legs and not be able to see. “Tell me,” she begs, panting. The pressure in her lower belly builds. “Does it– how good–”

“Yes .”

Bella shifts with the next grind of her hips, threading her fingers through the hair at the back of Tanya’s head, the rough touch drawing a broken cry from her parted lips. She twists her wrist, presses Tanya firmer into the bed as this raw thing inside of her builds and builds.

Time becomes meaningless as they consume one another. Her hips are moving slower now, but no less desperate. She imagines that she’s reaching places inside of Tanya that have never been touched before, her thrusts are long, deep, her panting breaths harsh.

“Fuck– I’m so close,” Bella tells her, as her head drops forward to hang between them. Her loose hair falls to cover her face, no doubt tickling the back of Tanya’s shoulders where it touches.

Good god, her back. Tanya is beautiful everywhere Bella’s eyes touch. 

“What do you need, Bella?” she whispers, a rasp of nearly there in her own voice. “Take what you need, I want you too– I can feel you, Bella.”

Everywhere.

Bella loosens her grip in Tanya’s hand just a little, enough to move it to the back of her neck before it tightens again. “I want– I need–” she groans. “I want to– bite. I want you to wear my– you’ll let me, won’t you? Please.”

Why she can’t just say the words…

She growls. “Tanya.”

“Yes, Bella– yes,” In a single move, she bares her neck for Bella. Bella, who isn’t thinking, who doesn’t realise just how big this moment is, who is so close. “Please.”

Leaning over Tanya’s body, Bella sinks her teeth into the unmarred skin where Tanya’s shoulder meets her neck, coming with a desperate sob. And with a cry of her own, Tanya follows, her body shuddering beneath her.

Bella doesn’t remove her mouth until she feels Tanya’s hips slow, until her cries become breathless and overwhelmed and too much . Only then does Bella begin to pull away to run her tongue over the broken skin –her mark– to soothe the sting as the flesh quickly begins to heal over.

A small scar remains– and Bella, swallowing back the sheer magnitude of this moment, presses her lips to the skin on and around it in the softest of kisses.

There’s just one mark there, in that special place.

Hers .

If Tanya has trusted anyone else this close to her throat, she hasn’t let them mark her. “Where’s yours?” Bella asks.

Tanya sighs, her body turning to liquid. “Where’s my what?”

“Your mark,” she answers. “From the person who changed you.”

Tanya is careful as she shifts this time, and as Bella lifts her hips to allow it, Tanya rolls herself from her stomach onto her back. “You won’t find it on my throat,” she teases, as Bella settles back over her hips. “My sire was a distant relative of mine.” Bella admits that perhaps biting Tanya’s throat would have been a strange thing for this vampire to do then, yes . “Here,” She lifts her wrist between them, pointing out the small crescent shaped scar there. “Her name was Sasha– and she had far more control than I did.”

“Clearly,” Bella smirks as she inspects the neat bite mark, before she holds out her own. “This bite was my first. Look, we match.”

Licking her lips, Tanya’s eyes flicker from Bella’s face to the bite mark and back. “The bite from the tracker? Where Edward…” 

Where he sucked out the venom. Bella nods with a pinch of her lips. 

“I don’t like the boy but–” Tanya grinds her teeth as she cuts the scar with another quick look, this one decidedly less favourable. “It is admirable that he could do it without killing you. I’m grateful to him for that at least, although–”

Bella knows what she stops herself from saying. It would have been better to let Bella change right then and there, amongst the burning ballet studio and James’ ashes.

“Nuh-uh, don’t go there. Could you imagine,” Bella says, leaning forward into a kiss. “I would have been a teenager forever. Ugh .”

Tanya snorts. “And how old are you now?”

“Eighteen– hey, don’t look at me like that. Eighteen makes me an adult.”

“Barely,” She clears her throat, smirking at herself now. “I’ve been known to rob the cradle before but this might be a new record for me. I’m not sure how to feel about this information.”

“I think if it were me, I’d be feeling pretty good about it.”

“Strutting your stuff, proud as a peacock,” She walks two fingers up one of Bella’s thighs, showcasing with just a flick how she apparently thinks Bella would strut if she were a brightly coloured bird. “You and Kate are not so different from one another, you realise.”

“Hmph.”

“You’re cute when you pout.”

“I don’t pout.” Her touch is sending shivers racing up Bella’s spine, which Bella is trying desperately to ignore as she catches the look Tanya gives her. “I don’t.”

Tanya’s eyes wander south of Bella’s face now. “Alright, darling. Whatever you say.”

Bella stills the hand creeping up over her waist. “Don’t ‘alright, darling’ me. I don’t pout– say it.”

“Or what?” Tanya’s eyes flash back to Bella’s own in an instant. “Will you make me?” Her ensuing grin begins to turn Bella’s irritation to liquid heat. 

“I could.”

“I’d like for you to try.”

The smug glint in her eye, the challenging tone to her words– it’s more attractive than Bella will admit aloud. Not that speaking it would make a difference at this point. Her expression is no doubt doing a good enough job of giving her away. And if her expression isn’t already a dead giveaway, the way Bella leans in to kiss her certainly is.

Bella struggles to remember that they’re in the midst of a conversation and that sliding her tongue into Tanya’s mouth is hardly conducive to that, but she no longer cares to be polite. 

Polite doesn’t feel nearly as good as this.

...

“What was that?”

“Hm?” Dazed, Tanya rolls her head to the side, pressing her face against the pillow with a soft puff of breath. “What was what?”

“I thought I–” Bella lifts her chin off of Tanya’s still trembling thigh, where she’s been content to linger for some time now. She listens harder, but she doesn’t hear it again. Everything is quiet. “That’s so weird,” she says. “I swear I heard–”

Well, she’s not sure what she heard because she had a thigh either side of her head at the time, but still. She knows she heard something, muffled though it was. 

“I don’t hear anything.”

“That’s because it stopped.”

Tanya’s lips pull into a lazy, satisfied smile. “The way you stopped my heart just now with your mouth, you mean?”

Bella feels phantom heat in her cheeks. “Your heart stopped long before you met me. Don’t be a dick.”

“Oh, darling, don’t be embarrassed. You had your tongue inside of me literally only moments ago,” she says, combing her fingers through Bella’s mussed hair when she tries to duck her head. “With the high I’m on right now, I’ll be whatever I want to be, thank you very much. And besides,” her smile deepens into a smirk, “I want you to know how much I enjoyed it so that the second I can feel my toes, you’ll be persuaded to do it again.”

Bella’s not sure she needs much more persuasion than just that, and just as she’s about to lower her head, as her own lips curl into a playful grin, she hears it again.

“That!” she says, snapping her head to the ceiling as thoughts of devouring the woman beneath her are forgotten. The noise definitely came from somewhere upstairs. “Can you hear it now, or did my mouth rob you of your hearing as well?”

Tanya snorts but her eyes drift to the ceiling above their heads, and she tilts her own as she listens. The noise comes again, softer this time. “Ah,” she sighs, unbothered. “That’s what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m talking about– what is it?”

Tanya hums and closes her eyes. “Who.”

“What?”

“You mean who is it,” she answers, without opening them. “And the answer is Kate.”

.

.

.

“You told me they all left to– to give us privacy, Tanya!” she hisses, and not even the nails scratching at her scalp can sooth how frazzled she is now. “Oh my god, how much did she hear? When did she– ” Another noise this time, slightly louder, that has Bella stumbling over her words. “What is she doing?”

Because what it sounds like she’s doing… there’s no way– no.

“Are you sure you want to know?” Tanya asks. She cracks open an eye to peer down at Bella where she still lays between her legs despite her panic. “What does it sound like she’s doing?”

There's a playful edge to her words that Bella refuses to acknowledge. “No.”

“Yes.”

“She’s not–”

“She is.”

Bella’s next breath is laboured and she swears she feels light-headed as the words sink in, as her ears, her senses, are assaulted by the sounds of Kate upstairs once more. She’s not even trying to hide it now– she’s even stopped pretending to be quiet.

“You said they left.” Bella means for there to be an accusation in her words, but that’s not the way they come out sounding. Instead, she sounds meek, like she’s under some fucking spell the woman upstairs has cast on her. Tanya hears it, and catches Bella’s eye with an apologetic smile.

“At the time you asked, they had.” she answers. Bella senses no lies, nor does she see any deceit in her stare. “But, darling, you had me quite thoroughly distracted. If I’d noticed her return, I would have told you so.”

Bella swallows, because yeah, it makes her feel slightly better about it, but still. “How much did she hear?”

How much does Bella want her to have heard? 

“Knowing Kate as I do, probably a fair bit,” She tries to hide her smile, but it peeks through anyway, almost as though she can sense the direction of Bella’s thoughts as well. “She likely snuck back the second she could get away with it– the little pervert.”

There’s a distinct lack of anger or upset in Tanya’s tone, and Bella suspects she knows exactly why that is. The more she learns and observes the interactions between ‘the sisters’, the clearer it is to her that there are absolutely zero sisterly feelings happening between the three. Another noise from upstairs rips through her thoughts, louder now, less restrained– close.

Bella’s eyes flutter shut of their own accord, and now she feels like the pervert in this scenario. “Is Irina stalking around the house as well?” she grumbles, trying to ignore the stab of disappointment she feels at the thought that she might not be.

Why, Bella doesn’t understand, but it’s there nonetheless. Does she want Irina listening in as well? She’d literally only just met the poor widowed woman–

Widowed partly because of Bella, who decided to go wandering about the woods by herself that day in a pathetic attempt to find the meadow. But still, there’s something about her that Bella just can’t quite place, something that interests her.

There comes a helpful noise from somewhere else in the house– a heavy thump, a purposeful turn of the thick page of… a book? Bella looks to Tanya with the question apparent on her face.

“Library– just in case she wasn’t making that clear enough for you.”

So, Irina couldn’t stay away either.

Couldn’t or didn’t want to– one or the other… but why? Is there something about Bella that interests Irina as well?

“Bella, darling, come here,” Tanya reaches for her, and slowly Bella moves up her body, unable to resist dragging her lips over the swell of her breast as she passes over. She’s rewarded with a soft sigh from Tanya, who seeks her lips the very second Bella leans in. “Are you upset with them?” she murmurs, far too quietly for anyone but Bella to hear this time, or so Bella hopes. “For being here? For finding pleasure in what they hear?”

“Kate is finding pleasure in it,” she answers. “Irina is reading a book.”

“You know what I mean. Are you?”

Bella’s not sure she would survive the mortification of answering that if either Kate or Irina overhear her, so she doesn’t. And besides, she’s not sure that she really has an answer. She’s not upset exactly– that’s not the word she would use. She’s not sure what word she would use to describe how she feels about them listening to her and Tanya…

Well, doing that.

Tanya pulls Bella closer, her hands drifting down the curve of her spine, causing a shiver to rock Bella’s body, distracting her. “Do you like it?” she breathes, asking the question Bella wishes she wouldn’t. “It’s okay if you do– it’s perfectly normal, Bella. In fact, Kate would be thrilled to hear you say it.”

And give her the satisfaction? Not likely.

“And Irina?” It feels wrong even to ask.

“That’s more complicated,” Tanya answers, keeping her voice low. “I can’t say for certain, but darling, she wouldn’t have come home so soon if she had a problem with what we were doing.”

“Tanya,” Bella whimpers when cool lips nuzzle the sensitive spot beneath her ear.  

Tanya hums her response and drags her nails gently up Bella’s sides, allowing them to join in on the torture she’s inflicting upon Bella. “You sound lovely when you come apart,” she says. “You can hardly blame my sisters for being enticed, can you?”

“You know, I’m beginning to think there’s nothing sisterly about the three of you at all.”

“Now whatever gave you that impression.” 

It isn’t a question. For a moment Bella can almost pretend that it’s just the two of them in the house enjoying each other’s company– heat stirs back to life low in her belly and she knows the sound she makes as Tanya nibbles at her earlobe is louder, hardly one of innocence. But then she’s reminded that they’re not alone when a strangled moan drifts down through the floorboards– feeding Bella’s desire for more.

Bella’s body stiffens as a giggle sounds at her ear. “Doesn’t she make just the prettiest sounds, Bella?” And dear god, she does– as pretty as the sounds Tanya makes when she’s grinding herself into Bella’s mouth.

“Fuck.”

Another breathless moan from upstairs has Bella’s mind spiralling– is Kate naked or was she so desperate to touch herself that she left her clothes on? Is she thinking of Bella– of where Tanya’s hands, fingers – mouth– must be to have Bella make such noises below her? Are her eyes closed as she pants and rubs against her own fingers?

Is she close?

Then from upstairs she hears Kate’s long, drawn out cry of “Bellllllaaaaaa,” and she knows it’s coming, what’s about to happen. Kate is teasing her, thinking of her, listening, confirming every single filthy thing that’s racing through Bella’s mind.

Her eyes meet Tanya’s rapidly darkening ones, and for a long, endless moment they just stare into each other's eyes. She knows that if they do this, if she does this, there’s no coming back. There’s no pretending it didn’t happen, no ignoring it, no walking away.

It startles her– to realise that she doesn’t want to walk away.

As Kate’s cries grow more desperate, Tanya watches her, waiting for Bella to make the choice. And that’s just Tanya, isn’t it? Always giving Bella a choice, letting her make the decisions about her life. Her control doesn’t snap– 

Bella lets it go. 

“Tanya,” she groans. Crashing their mouths together in a deep kiss, she almost sobs in relief when Tanya doesn’t waste a second in slipping a hand between her thighs.

Jesus fucking Christ.

Bella is so, so fucked.

Chapter Text

!!~Bonus~!!
Part 1 of 2

~ TANYA ~

The passing of time is an odd thing. Being what they are, they have the potential to live forever, immortal, and it does strange things to their perception of hours, minutes, seconds. They don’t pass the same way for them, for Tanya, that they do for their human counterparts. 

Time moves faster for them. So, Tanya can’t really say how much time passes after Bella’s arrival, just that it passes in sometimes small moments and sometimes more significant ones. The most significant being, of course, that she and Bella lay claim to one another– and then there’s no question of whether Bella will stay with them or not.

There’s no walking away from this.

Day by day her eyes shift from blood red to the gold of her covenmates–

She settles in, her control improves, her newborn strength wanes. She grows more and more comfortable in their presence, and she and Ellie build what appears to Tanya to be an unwavering friendship as Ellie helps Bella to explore the limitations of her apparent gift. A mental shield of all things!

Bella is thrilled, and why shouldn’t she be? She finally has an answer as to why Edward could never hear her thoughts, and her relief is startling. 

He said it was because we were mates, because we were meant for one another, is what she tells Tanya in private sometime later after that conversation. It does little to ingratiate Edward to Tanya, and honestly, she’s not sure that the rift that’s been opened between her coven and his will ever fully close after this.

Not now.

Bella is her mate– and forgiveness is difficult. 

“All done.”

Tanya turns her attention from the book she’s trying, and failing, to read. Her brain is too noisy today for no other reason than it simply is, and she knows she should just give up. “What is?” she asks.

Kate taps her knee as she takes the vacant spot next to her on the couch. “For tonight,” she answers, and her gaze flickers across the room to where Irina and Bella lounge together in the window. “You don’t want me to ruin the surprise, do you?”

Bella lifts her head from her book, her eyes narrowing. “You’d better not. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”

Tanya fights a grin. The surprise is for Bella, and yet she’s the only one determined not to ruin it. If it were Kate’s choice, she would have already told her by now. “Kate won’t say another word about it.”

“Won’t I?”

“You won’t,” Bella answers for her, turning a page in her book. Her attention returns to the words on the page. “You don’t want to upset me.”

With a roll of her eyes, Kate seems to accept this– because Bella’s not wrong. Kate won’t ruin her surprise, not when they’ve all worked so hard to make it happen. Not when Bella is so obviously excited about it. 

Tanya closes her book. “What time did you want to head out?” 

It’s Irina who answers. “I want to finish my book first. Then we can leave.”

“But–”

“Book first, Kate,” she says, interrupting her with a cock of her eyebrow. “What's the hurry?”

“Seriously?” She watches incredulously as Irina returns to reading her book. “She just told us she's been waiting weeks already! You really want to make her wait even longer? For a book, Rina?”

“Yes,” Irina doesn’t look up this time. “What’s a few more hours? Bella?”

Bella grins between the two. “I can wait,” she answers, as though for a moment she finds their bickering more entertaining than the book she returns to. It’s an amusing sight, Tanya reasons, the pair of them sitting cross-legged in the window, knees touching, books in their laps. 

They’re now both studiously ignoring the pout Kate throws their way. Tanya does spy a hint of a smirk in Irina’s expression though. Not even her curtain of hair can hide that she enjoys messing with her.

That’s another thing with the passing of time. Moment by moment, day by day, Irina comes back to them, in a smile, a tease, small touches.

Bella brings Irina back to them.

“Fine, whatever,” With a roll of her eyes, Kate gets to her feet. “Come find me when you're ready. I'm going to take a shower before we go– wash all this mud off me.”

Tanya only now notices her hands and halfway up her arms, while not caked with mud, are not clean. “You touched me with those? Lovely. Thank you, Kate.”

The grin Kate tosses her is hardly reassuring. “Oh, relax. They're not that bad.”

Tanya begs to differ.

“How’d you even manage that?” Bella asks, and as her eyes lift from her book to rake up Kate's toned arms, they darken a shade. “Does my surprise involve mud-wrestling?”

“If you want it to,” Kate responds. Bella’s appreciation doesn’t escape Kate’s notice, who Tanya suspects flexes her muscles just for Bella’s benefit. 

She’s not taking the bait though. “What were you doing out there?” 

“Digging your grave, baby.”

“Uh huh.” 

“Thought we could re-enact your funeral,” Kate adds. “It is Halloween, after all. Maybe we could even have you burst out of the grave groaning about wanting to eat our brains or something.”

“Except I’m not a zombie.”

“Fine, you can rise gracefully from your coffin and say something about wanting to suck our blood instead.” Kate pauses as she considers it, and she smirks. “You’re right, let’s do that. Vampires are sexier.”

“Well, you would know.”

“Would I?”

“Obviously,” Bella gives her a slow, purposeful once over which has even Tanya shivering as though it’s her that Bella is looking with such hunger . “You should go take your shower, Kate.”

“Why, Bella,” Kate says, laying a hand over her heart. “Will you be thinking of me all naked and wet in there? Scandalous.”

Well. Tanya's not sure if Bella is thinking of it now, but she certainly is.

“You'll make us late.” 

“I could make you lots of things, Bella, if only you'd let me.”

That’s one thing that will never change though. It doesn’t matter how much time passes, Kate will always be just that– Kate. She’s laid her cards on the table for Bella to do with as she pleases, has done since the night she made herself come to the sounds of their pleasure. But so far, all Bella pleases to do is… well, exactly this. Almost a dance of sorts, neither willing to back down, neither willing to give up the lead.

Maybe this is their idea of foreplay? Tanya can only guess at this point, as she and Irina watch it unfold, waiting to see if this moment will be any different, if this will be the turning point.

It isn’t. 

With a lick of her lips, Bella tilts her head just so and says, “If only.”

And her eyes tell a tale all on their own– never mind the book she’s reading. That has nothing to do with this. Something dark and tempting lurks beneath Bella’s expression of otherwise feigned disinterest– and Kate is on the receiving end.

“You play a dangerous game,” Kate warns her, and turns her head in Tanya’s direction instead. “Would you like to come keep your lonely sister company while she gets naked?” She reaches out to wiggle her fingers in invitation. “Let them read their books in peace.”

It isn’t something she and Bella have explicitly discussed– Tanya’s past intimacy with both Kate and Irina, or what it means for them now. Sneaking a quick look Bella’s way, she gives neither a hint that she likes or dislikes the suggestion, as though she’s leaving the choice to Tanya and Tanya alone. 

Well then.

Tanya allows Kate to help her to her feet. “I will come only to keep you company,” she says. “And because I’m not sure my brain can stand to read another page today.”

“That’s fine. You’ll have a vivid image to paint for Bella when she asks you to later.”

Bella’s disgruntled ‘hmph’ follows them as they leave the room. 

Upstairs in Kate’s bathroom, Tanya watches her strip out of her dirty clothes. Kate tries to entice her with a sultry look and a sway of her hips in a futile attempt to have Tanya join her, but it won’t work. She doesn’t intend to be responsible for making them late either.

“Shower, you temptress,” Tanya leans back against the wash basin, her feet bare against the tiles. 

“Shower with me, you tease.” 

“Now look at who’s playing a dangerous game.” Tanya watches through hooded eyes as Kate twists to adjust the temperature of the water before turning to face her once more, expectant. “We both know that if I get under that water with you right now–”

“You’d let me fuck you senseless against the tiles?” Kate’s eyes flutter shut as she says it. “Bella didn’t say that we couldn’t.”

“Neither did she say that we could.”

It’s a very important detail, and one that turns Kate’s flirty mood sour. “Bet she’d change her mind if I started getting myself off on my fingers though.” She levels Tanya with a heated look. “You could just watch, I don’t mind. Wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”

When Tanya sees Kate’s hand moving down over her hip, she moves so fast that Kate doesn’t have time to react, to move away from her. Not that Tanya expects she wants that. She seizes Kate’s roaming hand in one of her own, while the other smacks uselessly against the tiles closest to them, stopping her suddenly unsteady legs from giving out. 

“Don’t,” Her chest heaves, and Kate’s breath is ice against her lips, so refreshing and distracting.

“Don’t what, sister?” she asks.

God, it’s so wrong when that one single word turns Tanya inside out.

“Not tonight,” she breathes. “Not like this.”

“When then?” Kate demands and, with a flash of irritated defiance, struggles back against Tanya’s hold on her. “I’ve been patient, haven’t I? I’m– it hurts me, Tanya.”

And Tanya can see that– she’s not oblivious to the pain she sees reflecting back at her through Kate’s black eyes. Her hurt runs deeper than she lets on, deeper than Tanya can imagine, and she wishes she could help but–

The fight appears to leave Kate as quickly as it comes. “I know what you’re going to say, and I know . It’s Bella’s decision.”

It isn’t just Bella’s decision though. “It’s important that we’re all on the same page,” She leans in to brush her nose up Kate’s tight jaw to her ear. “I’m sorry that you have to suffer in the meantime. I wish I could make it better.”

She wishes she was allowed to help her, to touch her.

“I miss you,” Tanya’s sure that Kate tries hard to keep the whine from her words, but she and Tanya are so in tune with one another that she hears it regardless. “And I’m fucking dying right now.”

“You’re a drama queen is what you are,” she teases, her breath brushing the shell of Kate’s ear. 

“Then you ought to get down on your knees and worship me.”

Tanya groans. “ Stop tempting me, damn it.”

Tanya would love nothing more than to feel the hard tiles against her knees and Kate’s hands fisting her hair as she devours her, but she can’t. They can’t.

Not yet.

“But it sounds good, doesn’t it?” Kate continues to tempt her, nuzzling her nose into Tanya’s throat now. “We could show Bella what she’s missing.”

“Kate.”

“I know, I know– she’s not ready.” Kate’s lips barely brush her throat, purposefully dragging across Bella’s mark, leaving Tanya’s nerves tingling. “I can be patient for a while longer,” she promises, as her wet tongue touches Tanya’s still pulse point and Tanya moans. “Can you?”

Before coming into this bathroom, Tanya’s answer would have been yes. Now she’s not so sure. But it’s the moment Kate drags her tongue up her throat to nibble on her ear that her control really threatens to shatter into a thousand tiny pieces. “Fuck, Kate.”

“Mm, I know,” Kate pulls away from her with a tremble. “Now leave before I fuck you into the floor regardless of promises.”

It’s hard to leave Kate as she releases her, but she manages to make her legs move in the opposite direction– not follow her into the shower so that they can do unspeakable things to one another in there. She flees into her own space upstairs to change, to gather herself, and vows to never follow Kate into the bathroom again.

At least not until she’s sure that she’s allowed to touch–

Because as it turns out, not touching is a lot more difficult than she’d imagined. Which becomes even more painfully obvious when Kate is left to take care of her own frustrations, loudly.

She comes with a cry that reverberates through Tanya's head like the chiming of bells- incessant and unforgiving, and by the time they’re ready to set out for the evening, Tanya is more on edge than she has been all day. 

“Alright?” Irina appears at her side, her words a murmur of concern that Tanya can only answer with a stiff nod. “I don’t think Bella would have minded, you know.”

She meets her sister’s stare. “I can’t be sure of that until we discuss it.”

“Then discuss it.” 

And for the first time in many months, Tanya sees a hint of something other than sadness in Irina’s eyes. She doesn’t want to presume or hope that it’s what she thinks it is though.

Daylight has well and truly vanished as they step out onto the porch, where Bella waits for them in stony silence. It’s a dark night, made darker by the fact that their home is surrounded by thick woods and towering trees. She can see no moon in the sky, nor the comforting presence of any stars. The clouds look to have rolled in and settled for the night.

A fitting atmosphere considering their plans, and her current mood. Irina wanders a few feet from them, giving them their privacy.

“Bella?” 

Bella’s dark eyes flicker in her direction. “Later,” she murmurs. “We’ll discuss it later.”

Tanya nods. If Bella says that they will, then they will. She has no reason not to believe her. As Kate joins them, fashionably late, Tanya can feel that same tension she feels run through Bella as she and Kate make eye contact.

It appears that none of them remain unaffected after Kate’s moment in the shower– and Kate cocks her head, dares Bella to say something, to tell her that she shouldn’t have done what she did.

Of course, Bella doesn’t say that. She doesn’t say anything.

“Jeep?” Carmen suggests, pretending that she can’t feel the tension radiating between them. Bella is the first to look away. “Or are we going to risk running through the dark woods on All Hallows’ Eve?”

Coming back to herself also, Kate flicks Carmen's ear as she passes her to descend the steps. “Don’t be afraid of the Boogeyman. I’ll protect you, Carmen.”

“The boogeyman,” she scoffs. “I’m more afraid of your attempts at flirting. Do those lines ever work?”

Kate tosses her a smirk from the bottom of the steps. “History would suggest that it does. Men and women love it.”

“I’ve yet to see concluding evidence of that,” comes the voice of another as a body materialises from the shadows of the garden. “Where are these so-called men and women who simper for your poor pick up lines?”

Tanya’s not sure if it’s the unexpectedness of the moment or the unbelievability of it, but it takes Bella a moment to sort through the lingering tension, to recognise the newcomer. The others all know exactly who it is, as they were the ones to invite her, but it’s still touching to see the recognition flash across Bella’s lovely face. In an instant, Bella is gone from Tanya’s side and rushing down the steps, totally blowing past a huffing Kate in order to wrap their guest in a tight embrace.

“Rose!”

Their guest allows it for a few moments, even (dare Tanya say it) hugs Bella back with equal intensity before she manages to pull herself away. “Alright, that’s enough of that,” Rosalie says. “Keep carrying on like this and I’ll think that you missed me.”

“I did miss you,” There’s a rush of emotion that softens Bella’s tone as she steps back. Her hands linger at the tops of Rosalie’s arms for a moment before returning to her sides. “I didn’t think I’d see you until Christmas. What are you doing here?”

“As if I’d miss your first Halloween as the living dead.”

“Fucking zombies again– really?” At Rosalie's questioning glance, Bella shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter, it’s not important. Did Emmett come?”

Rosalie’s expression softens at the mention of her mate. “He’s running late. He told me to tell you he’d be here though, and not to miss him too terribly.”

“I haven’t missed him at all.” 

The words are a lie and they all know it. 

“Okay, as touching as all of this is,” Kate butts in. “And truly, I’m touched by the love in the air tonight– can we get going? At this rate the sun will be up before we even leave the goddamn house.”

As Tanya joins Kate at the bottom of the stairs, she loops her arm through hers, trying to pretend that she's not replaying the sounds of her pleasure over and over. “Run with me?” she requests of her.

The Jeeps would only get them so far, after all. Bella’s surprise lay deeper in the woods than a vehicle would take them. And honestly? The run would do them all some good.

Irina steps up to Kate’s other side. “It’s a beautiful night to run through the woods.”

“Carmen and I will take the Jeep,” Ellie says. “If my darling wife is in agreement, of course. I’m not quite in the mood to be snatched by the Boogeyman tonight.”

“It’s not the Boogeyman you have to worry about,” Carmen teases, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. She turns back to the others. “Are you sure we can’t tempt anyone to join us?”

“No thank you,” Kate grimaces. “The sugary sweetness of your company might rot my teeth– then I’d starve to death and you’d have nobody to blame but yourself. How’s a vampire supposed to feed with no teeth?”

“We wouldn’t let you starve,” Irina tells her as they begin to move out, Rosalie and Bella ahead of them. “We’d mouth feed you like the grumpy little bird that you are.”

.

.

.

“I am not a bird.”

Bella chuckles. “But you are grumpy.” 

“Oh fuck off, all of you.”

…

Kate’s mood only marginally improves as the night wears on, but it does improve. Whether it’s because the run through the woods helps to burn off her excess frustrations or because Bella chooses to start a game of tag with her, it hardly matters. Her eyes are alight, her words meant to taunt, and her laughter infectious.

Eventually the woods begin to grow thicker and they’re forced to pause their little game of cat and mouse though, so as to avoid being hit in the head by stray tree limbs. They leave their own tracks and begin to follow the more narrow tracks of the local animal populace which winds, twists and turns so much that it’s obvious no humans have traversed this area in a long time. The mossy ground beneath their feet changes– becomes firmer, louder. Leaves decay beneath them, only slightly sodden by the most recent downpour a few days earlier.

It isn’t long now before they reach the first signs that suggest humans were here though– Tanya spies a rusty chunk of metal to her left that was undoubtedly a piece of farming machinery at some point in its life. Now, it serves as a lattice for the wild vines that grow up over it.

“How much further?” Bella asks finally, noticing it as well. They follow Kate, who leads ahead of them in a confident stride. A rusting can crushes beneath Tanya’s feet, feeding the silence. “Okay, for real, this is creepy.”

Rosalie chuckles. “I promise we’re scarier than anything else you’ll find out here.”

“That’s not nearly as reassuring as you mean it to be,” Bella grumbles in return. “And I’m not afraid of the dark… I’m just– you know… wary of where the fuck you’re taking me.”

Kate’s giggling laughter carries ominously in the dark. “Well, Tanya already killed you, so you don’t have to worry about that.” 

“Yes, thank you for the reminder, Kate,” Tanya says. As if they were all liable to forget that tiny detail.

“You’re welcome,” Kate glances back over her shoulder to them, her eyes too bright. “Come on, it’s not far now.”

They continue until finally the animal tracks widen– the trees grow smaller, shorter, younger. It’s still massively overgrown, but it’s different to the paths they leave behind them in the dark woods.

“Okay, wait here,” Kate tells them, halting their progress. “I need to race ahead and do just a few things.”

Kate disappears, leaving them all just… standing there. Waiting. Tanya and Irina share a grin as Rosalie looks at the fancy watch on her wrist, but Kate doesn’t mess around and she’s back within only a few minutes. “Impressive.” Rosalie praises. “Can we go on now?”

“Knock yourself out.”

“Would that I could, Kate.”

Rosalie takes the lead this time as Kate decides to linger back, waiting until Bella is by her side. Without a word, she holds out her arm for Bella, and Bella takes it with a smile that can only be considered exasperated but… charmed.

Wait until she sees what Kate has done for her.

“Guess it’s you and me,” Irina says, and holds out her own arm in offering. “Shall we?”

Tanya loops her arm through Irina’s and tugs their bodies close. “There’s no one else I’d rather be wandering into the unknown with on All Hallows’ Eve.”

They follow leisurely behind– fifty or so more metres through the woods… Tanya spies the dim glow of firelight peeking through the trees. A few more steps now–

“Oh my god, Kate– did you actually dig me a fucking grave?” comes Bella’s voice ahead of them. “I thought you were joking!”

Irina grins. “Ah, there it is.”

They step through the treeline into an area that is slightly less overgrown, as though recently cleared. It takes a second for Tanya’s eyes to adjust to the soft orange glow of the candles that Kate has meticulously placed around the scattering of gravestones spread out before them. 

Bella makes a strangled sort of noise from where she and Kate stand over a freshly dug grave with a crudely carved headstone.

“Oh calm down, Bella– the grave is empty,” There’s a long pause as Kate eyes Bella. “Obviously.”

“Kate… You didn't actually slaughter a small town for this, did you?”

“Of course she didn’t,” Rosalie taps the headstone of the grave nearest her. “I helped.”

“You know,” Bella begins, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. “I’m beginning to think you don’t want to reassure me of anything tonight, Rose. Also, that isn’t how you spell my name.”

Dropping Irina’s hand, Tanya steps up to Bella’s side so that she can make a closer inspection. 

Here (not) lies…

…. Belle-Chose of Denali

“Katrina.” Rarely, if ever, does Tanya play the full name card– and god, she’s trying to be serious about her disapproval, but it’s impossible. She’s laughing before she’s even finished speaking her admonishment. “As touching as this is, you tell her right now.”

Bella tenses next to her. “Tell me what?”

“It means ‘beautiful thing’,” Kate explains as Bella waits. “It’s Italian. Fitting, wouldn't you say?”

Bella doesn’t appear to be buying it, rightfully so. “And?”

Kate’s tongue flicks out briefly to wet her bottom lip. “Why must there be an ‘and’?”

“Because there’s always an ‘and’ with you, Kate.”

“Well, you know,” She shrugs, looking away with a little smirk. “It might also be a euphemism.”

Irina joins in with Tanya’s laughter. “It’s a very sweet sentiment though, Kate,” she says. “Well done.”

Sweet sentiment or not–

“You know what, I don’t even want to know,” Bella interrupts. “Knowing you, it’s nothing flattering.”

Kate shrugs. “I happen to think it’s very flattering. One of my favourite things even.”

“Well, thank you… I guess,” Bella doesn’t look entirely sure that it’s the correct response as her gaze moves to the next nearest gravestone. It’s decidedly older. “This is really cool though. How’d you find this place?”

In truth, it wasn’t by accident. Their coven had hunted here once upon a time, many decades ago. The townsfolk eventually fled the area, moved closer to the cities and away from the woods they deemed haunted. Kate tells Bella all of this as they move from crumbling gravestone to crumbling gravestone. 

Bella is, thankfully, not horrified by the revelation. “I wonder why they’d think that,” she teases and, interestingly enough, she smiles in a way that both unsettles and reassures all of them.

“Why, indeed,” Kate murmurs. “If I’d been aware that a group of beautiful demons lived in the woods around my home, I’d have been running toward them– not away.”

“And that’s why you’re dead.” Irina says. 

“So are they.”

“Time killed them– not stupidity.”

As they bicker amongst each other, Tanya wanders away from the candlelight and into the dark shadow of a tree, where she spies a peculiar looking gravestone, but–

The earth is upturned, and the Halloween tombstone decoration that sits on it… Well, Tanya’s sure Kate must have gone into the dollar store in town for it.

“Not up to your usual standards, Kate.” 

The bickering stops.

“What’s not up to my standards?” Kate’s presence settles at Tanya’s back, and a chin drops to her shoulder. “Oh– what is that?”

“It isn’t yours?”

“As if I would be tacky enough to get one that says Dracula– please.”

Does Tanya hear a note of offence? She takes a cautious step away to make space for Bella as she comes over to investigate. The others wander over to take a look as well. “Well, it’s certainly not mine.” she says, and turns a critical eye over the decoration. “I wouldn’t have used plastic. Rose?”

“Not likely.” She, too, takes a cautious step back.

Caution is the safest course of action, Tanya reasons, especially when Irina denies credit for the cheap decoration also. Bella is apparently the only one to not get the memo– and Tanya can blame it only on her young age and lack of developed instincts.

“Bella, you should–”

She toes the damp dirt. “Well, if none of you are responsible, who– FUCK!!”

It all happens rather quickly– Bella digging inquisitively with her toe, a hand, dirt-streaked and shaking violently, shooting up out of the ground. Shrieking, Bella hurls herself backward as though Hades himself is about to drag her down to the underworld.

“Emmett, you son-of-a-bitch!” 

Emmett.

Of course.

…

“I really don’t know what you expected, Emmett!”

A moment of silence, interrupted only by the pained whimper of a man well over a hundred years of age.

“I don’t know, Bella,” he mutters. “Maybe the kind of reception you gave my wife?”

“You leave me out of this,” Rosalie tells him with that look, from her place beside Bella. “This was all you. I had nothing to do with it.”

“Your wife materialised from the dark– rather respectfully, I might add, in consideration for how I might receive her.” Between the pair, there’s no room for Emmett’s excuses. “You, however, burst out of a fucking ground in a graveyard and tried to drag me to hell!”

“The hole wasn’t that deep.”

“That’s not really the point,” Tanya adds from her place further away, seeing as Bella looks ready to explode again. “You have nobody to blame but yourself for these situations.”

“Situations? She keeps ripping my limbs off!”

“You keep doing stupid shit that makes me rip your limbs off! Like, a fucking cape, Emmett? Really?”

“Alright, children, that’s enough,” Tanya purses her lips to keep from laughing. “And Emmett, for goodness sake, it’s only a finger this time. Count yourself lucky.” At the mention of his mutilated “limb”, they all spare the sad appendage a quick glance. “Look, it’s already reattached itself. See? No harm done.”

He cradles it gently. “Says you. I use this finger for–”

A harsh click of Rosalie’s tongue interrupts him. “Do not finish that sentence, Emmett, or you’ll be using it very little for a very long time.”

“Or a lot, depending.” Kate adds, smirking. “Your hand might actually be getting quite the workout.”

“I still have full use of my–”

“Emmett.”

“Yeah, Emmett.”

With a sour look, Emmett mutters, “Yeah, Kate. And how’s your hand, huh? Can vampires get carpal tunnel?”

At the reminder of her own unfortunate stint of abstinence, Kate loses her smirk. “Well played, asshole.”

She doesn’t stick around to hear anymore, and she takes back off into the woods, leaving Bella and the others to stare after her.

“Now look at what you did,” Bella turns her glower back onto Emmett. “That was uncalled for.”

“It's not my fault she can't take what she dishes so gleefully out.”

Bella goes to take a step closer to the seated giant who’s even gone to the effort of dressing as Dracula , but a touch to her arm halts her, seizes her potentially violent thoughts, and Irina’s soft voice murmurs, “Leave it, Bella.”

“Kate will be fine,” Tanya begins to say, but one look from Bella has her backtracking. She sighs. “I’ll go ahead and find her.”

“You’re going to leave me with her?”

“Keep your mouth shut,” Bella says with a sniff, “And you’ll be fine.”

“If you’re going to fight, fight away from the dead,” Tanya looks pointedly at the gravestones around them. “Do not disturb their eternal rest.”

Bella lifts a brow. “We are the de– fine. No disturbing the corpses.”

Tanya’s not sure that she believes her. But after a short run through the woods, she manages to find Kate easily enough. It isn’t as though she’s trying to hide from them– from her. 

“Bella’s worried.”

From where she wanders about the rubble of the town that once stood here, she hums. “Well, Bella could have come to see if I was alright.”

“I think she was more interested in making sure Emmett was properly chastised for upsetting you.”

Kate lifts a crumbled doorframe with her toe, peeking beneath. “Uncharacteristically sweet of her. I’m touched.”

Whether or not she uses that particular word on purpose or not, now Tanya’s thinking about earlier again– the bathroom, Kate naked, touching. She licks her lips as she watches Kate bend over to pick something up out of the dirt and then, realising it’s not what she’s looking for, drops it again.

Tanya’s not sure what she’s looking for, but she doubts she’ll find it in this rubble. 

“Bella is waiting for her graveyard tour,” she reminds Kate, trying to ignore her own thoughts. “Are you really going to disappoint her over a childish argument with Emmett?”

Kate pauses as she considers her words. “He appears to cause a lot of childish arguments when he’s around.”

“Such is the chaos of Emmett Cullen.”

“Hmph.” Kate rolls her eyes. “Well, give me a moment to compose myself so that I don’t rip his other fingers off, will you? Undoubtedly the chaos will continue.”

“Your self-control is impeccable.”

“Believe me, I know.” Kate says, but she’s not talking about her ability to not inflict violence upon their cousin anymore. She grins, but the action holds more weight than Tanya thinks Kate wants her to see. “Suppose there’s no time for a little indulgence before we head back?”

“You know the answer to that already.”

Time isn’t the issue.

“Fine, yes, I do,” she answers. “But I was hoping to change your mind.”

She hesitates. “Kate–”

“I know, I know– forget I said anything. Let’s just go.”

She gives up her search of the rubble to take her place by Tanya’s side, and grudgingly, they make their way back to the others.

Tanya wants to say yes, to tell Kate to stay with her out here, but common sense tells her no.

Bella promised that they would talk about it– she only needs to be patient a little while longer.

…

She and Bella split from the others on their return to the house in the early hours of the morning, after hours of creeping through old graveyards and digging through the ruins of the ghost town. All night Bella listens to their ghost stories and shares her own– and the night passes too quickly. Soon the sky begins to lighten above them.

“Who wants to watch some monster movies?” Kate asks them, and shoots Emmett a taunting grin. “Dracula maybe?”

“Lesbian Vampire Killers?” His counteroffer holds just as much bite.

“I would literally rather watch paint dry.” Rosalie adds, as Irina concurs and the pair begin to toss their own suggestions into the mix.

It’s not intentional when Tanya begins to grow distracted watching Bella’s swaying hips as they walk, nor as her hands start to wander and Bella’s eyes smoulder– nor as they start falling behind and eventually lose sight of the others completely.

It’s not intentional, no, but it’s nothing to complain about when they soon find themselves alone together in the woods, with Bella’s lips on hers and her hands fisted into the hairs at the nape of Bella’s delicate neck. 

“How long until they realise we’ve disappeared?” she asks, backing Tanya up against the rough bark of the tree nearest them without warning. “How long do we have before someone comes looking?”

“Before Kate comes looking, you mean?” she asks. Distracted by the curl of Bella’s lips, by the thought of being found like this, Tanya’s insides coil. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

There’s no hint of night lingering by the time the pair finally return to the house together, hand in hand. Bella looks no worse for wear– her hair only slightly mussed and her eyes bright with a flush that can mean they’ve only been doing one thing. Tanya, however, is forced to walk inside holding her torn shirt together in a way that really covers very little but allows her to maintain some dignity. She tries to sneak by the others to race upstairs, definitely not wanting to give Emmett or Rosalie an eyeful, but Kate catches them at the bottom of the staircase.

“Talking, I see.” Her eyes drift between the two, and then down to the hint of flesh peaking out where Tanya barely manages to hold her shirt together. She tries to smirk, but Tanya can see how tight it is. “Must have been some conversation.”

Bella twitches beside Tanya. “There was talking.”

“I’m sure there was,” she murmurs, her nostrils flaring, eyes rapidly darkening. “I need some fresh air.”

Kate’s out the door before Tanya can even open her mouth, and Irina takes her place, her stance more friendly, but–

Tanya recognises the expression on Irina’s face though– and it’s one she hasn’t seen her sister wear in a very long time.

“In Kate’s defence,” she begins, with a twitch of her own nostrils as she smiles. “Tanya’s scent is all over you, Bella. Don’t be angry with her.”

“I’m not angry with her,” Bella responds, and Irina tilts her head in acceptance of that answer. “I know it’s hard for her– for you,” Irina’s eyes flash as they meet Bella’s. “But I’m not going to apologise.”

So, clearly Irina’s state doesn’t go unnoticed by Bella either, who then quickly excuses herself to go take a shower, leaving Tanya alone with her sister. Or well, mostly alone. They still have guests after all, and lord only knows where Carmen and Ellie have disappeared to. Tanya hasn’t seen them nor caught wind of them since they left in the Jeep the evening before.

“You should go join her.” Irina tells her.

One quick look over Irina’s shoulder to make sure that their guests aren’t actively peeking in on their conversation, Tanya drops her hands to reach for Irina’s waist, tugging her gently closer, her ruined shirt falling open.

“Not a fan of my current perfume?” she murmurs, teasing her. Because teasing Irina is safer than teasing Kate would be in the same situation, and honestly? Tanya is so happy to see Irina like this that she can’t help herself. She wants to test these new boundaries.

Irina leans in so that her nose brushes along the line of her jaw, down to the column of Tanya’s throat. “It’s going to be very difficult to focus on watching a movie with you like this.”

Tanya almost whines, the sound low in her throat, right where she fights to keep it. “This is– I wasn’t expecting this from you.”

She hadn’t thought Irina was ready for this sort of closeness, and yet–

Maybe she’d been getting closer and closer to a point where she was ready, and Tanya was simply too busy treating her as though she were made of porcelain to see.

“I’m more subtle than Kate.”

“But you’re not–?” she trails off, unsure of what word she means to use here. “Unaffected?”

“Unaffected?” Irina parrots, snorting around the word when she answers with a careful nod. “No, Tanya, I’m most definitely not unaffected by Bella, or by you. Believe me.”

Tanya does– the evidence stirs in the air, teasing the back of her tongue as she inhales sharply at the way Irina’s cool breath tickles her ear, setting her on metaphorical fire.

“I’ve missed you.” she breathes, unable to keep the soft admission to herself. And it’s not as though Irina hasn’t been there with them this whole time, because physically she has. But something left her the day Laurent died, something that they weren’t sure that Irina would be able to get back. 

Seems to be that all they needed for her to find it was time.

Irina hums, a soft vibration against Tanya’s throat. “I’ve missed me, too. It’s been nice– finding her again. Now go– while I go find where Kate has sulked off to.” Tanya pulls regretfully away, but not before feeling the phantom caress of Irina’s cool lips on her flesh. “Oh, and Tanya?” Irina adds, almost as an afterthought, pausing. “Bella smells wonderful on your skin.”

Skin which feels feverish as she watches Irina walk out the door. She takes the stairs two at a time in order to reach the bathroom quicker, and her kiss is hot and heavy against Bella’s mouth as she slips from her clothes and into the shower with her. It takes the younger vampire by surprise for only a moment before she’s winding her arms around Tanya, pulling their bodies closer.

“Not that I mind having a powerful, thousand-year-old vampire on her knees for me,” Bella giggles as Tanya drops unceremoniously to her knees, water splashing up the tiles. “But I don’t think this is what your sister had in mind when she told you to come shower with me.”

The smile Tanya graces her with– she knows it’s positively devilish. “I think it’s exactly what she had in mind.”

“This is not going to get my scent off of you,” Bella gives, dark eyes flashing with hunger. “But I guess I can be persuaded.”

“As if there were ever any doubt,” With a surprising amount of self-control, Tanya slides her fingers down between Bella’s legs, causing her thighs to tremble and her lashes to flutter. “One look and you become quite the little hussy.”

Bella scoffs, but the noise catches in her throat as Tanya’s thumb brushes directly over her sensitive flesh. “You’re one to talk.”

“Oh, darling, I know what I am,” she purrs, leaning in now. “And I will take full advantage of it if it means I get to see you like this.”

“No complaints from me,” Bella responds with breathless anticipation, her fingers twisting into Tanya’s blonde locks with a playful tug. “Hussy.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” 

“There’s really only one place I want to be,” Bella tells her. “And that, my love,” Her fist tightens in Tanya’s hair, “is right-here.”

With the touch of Tanya’s mouth, she’s rewarded with the softest of shudders.

It’s right where Tanya wants to be as well.