Author's Note: Hey, I'm not sure if I mentioned it on one of my updates or to just a select few who sent me a PM, but I went on a Volturi/Bella binge a while ago, around the time when I created the Bella/Heidi story. Here's another story I made during that time. Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 1
Bella woke up terrified.
She wasn't sure why, or even what had happened to make her feel that way. All she knew was that she was scared, incredibly so, and she woke up expecting to face her own death. Or maybe she was just surprised to wake up at all.
"It's okay, young one," a woman's voice said, and a moment later, she felt fingers stroke her face.
Immediately, her body tensed, gaze flying to the left of her, only to meet blood red eyes.
Red eyes. Danger. Victoria!
There was a brief flash of memory, of fear, but it was quickly abated as she continued to stare up at one of the most gorgeous women Bella had ever seen. While the woman's eyes were red, showed nothing but compassion, kindness, and, was it possible...love? Not only that, but she was a black haired, tiny, beautiful woman, a woman almost as tiny as Alice.
Alice? Who is…?
"You're okay," the woman assured her. "No one is going to hurt you here." Seeing the confusion in the brunette's eyes, she added, "I promise you. I will protect you myself, if I have to."
"Where-" Bella started to speak, but immediately cut herself off, stunned by the strange, musical quality of her voice. Her hand moved to her throat and her lips parted, maybe to speak again, to assure Bella it had really been her voice that had sounded so strange, but she never got to it.
A hand covered hers, pulling it away from her throat, and Bella found herself looking over to the owner of the hand, back to the black haired woman.
"You were attacked by a vampire," the woman started to explain. "I was with my master at the time, and we arrived just in time to witness what was happening. When I realized who you were, we had to save you." Her thumb stroked the back of Bella's hand, and the woman's eyes dropped down as she added, "You would have been turned either way, but I couldn't imagine her venom inside of you. So after we took care of her, I did the best I could to replace her venom with mine." There was a hard edge to her voice as she mentioned the other vampire and that vampire's venom, an edge that just didn't seem to fit her.
Wait a second. Realized who I was? But...who was I? Who am I? Wait, did she say venom? That means...I was turned. I'm a vampire now. Bella stared hard at the woman for what felt like an eternity, waiting for her to say more. Yet she didn't.
"Who are you?" Bella asked at last, although she wasn't sure why. Sure, she had wanted to ask a question, but that wasn't one that should have been very important. Yet a part of Bella was urging her to ask.
The woman looked back up with a soft, sweet smile, reaching out with the hand that wasn't holding Bella's to touch Bella's face. The touch felt good, almost too good. It didn't even feel cold, and Bella was used to feeling cold from a touch like hers. "I can ask you the same question. My name is Renata. Now, what is yours?"
"Bella," Bella murmured, staring into Renata's eyes as she tried the woman's name out in her mind. "And where am I, Renata?"
The smile on Renata's face widened just a little, yet her eyes darkened, which Bella didn't quite understand. She didn't know why she knew the fact, but she was sure darkening eyes meant either thirst or anger. As of now, Bella didn't think she should have caused either.
"You are in the castle of the Volturi, the biggest vampire coven in the world, and the one who rules over all vampires. We will of course be taking care of you from now on." Renata's touch skated down Bella's face and neck, stopping to press her hand over Bella's now dead heart. "I have to say, you have so much control for someone who woke up only moments ago. It's strange."
Is it? So was Bella strange, even for a vampire? Before she could think to ask for what reason she would be so strange, she was distracted by a woman all but dancing into the room. She had hair that was long, straight, and almost a light metallic orange, bordering on an almost unnatural color. She was also taller, at least five eight, and she had a troublemaking gleam in her eyes that would have made Bella's heart skip a beat in worry if it was still beating.
"Well, well, well, look who's finally awake," the woman said as she sauntered over. Then she froze, eyes widening in surprise-and maybe even amazement? However, she started walking towards Bella and Renata again, a huge grin on her face and a skip in her step. "Now, I need to know, who are you?" the new arrival asked, settling herself at the foot of the bed, which Bella had only just realized she had been laying on. She stared up at Bella through half lidded eyes, a near-scary smile on her lips as she placed a hand on Bella's thigh. "Well? Don't tell me you're the type to keep a girl waiting."
"Her name is Bella," Renata spoke up as she looked at the other woman with a frown. "And she's mine...or so I thought."
The new woman let out a laugh that made something in Bella tighten, the same tightening that Renata had caused earlier. "I thought so too, believe me. I didn't come in here planning on stealing anybody, yet now we know I have half of a claim on her."
"Yes, it does appear that way, doesn't it?" Renata murmured with clear confusion. "I have always felt something towards you, but it was always more of a kinship. Perhaps it was setting us up for this?"
"Probably. Fate's always been kind of a bitch." The new woman let out another laugh, softer and shorter than before, and smirked as she gave a clearly lost Bella a sideways glance. "I'm Corin, by the way. I'm sure we'll get along great." As she spoke, Bella felt something attempting to push into her, but she shook it off without any effort. This made Corin's eyes widen. "Well, that was unexpected."
"You didn't really try-?" Renata started, sounding ready to scold Corin.
"I did. And it didn't work, which means our girl here is more than just a pretty face." Corin let out a frustrated sigh. "Damn, and I planned on using that to help me get into her bed later today."
Thankful she couldn't blush, a frustrated Bella finally blurted out, "What are you guys talking about?"
"Nothing too important, at least not for right now." Corin grinned and rubbed Bella's thigh, causing Bella's arousal to come into being, without even the girl herself seeming to realize it.
"You must be thirsty," Renata added in a clear attempt to change the subject. "You've done well to ignore it until now."
Bella couldn't think to do anything but blink in surprise. After all, until that moment, Bella hadn't even noticed her thirst; the women had been too distracting.
"Oh yeah! Shit, I totally forgot!" Corin exclaimed, jumping to her feet as she grabbed Bella's hand. "I'll have to seduce you later then. For now, let's get you a nice human to snack on."
"Wait, what-?" was all Bella could get out, before she was getting dragged out of the room. But she wasn't dragged far; instead, Corin skid to a sudden stop, turned around, and dragged Bella right back into the room Bella had first woken up in. Renata hadn't even moved, and when Corin put a hand to Bella's chest to push the brunette back onto the bed, the black haired woman was quick to take Bella back into her arms.
"Stay here, sexy," Corin said with a smirk. "I want to keep you by a bed, just in case. In the meantime, we'll bring a human to you."
"But-" Bella started to protest, not even sure exactly what she was protesting, only to be quieted by Renata. Corin, on the other hand, was long gone.
"It's okay, love," Renata murmured into Bella's hair. "While Corin may be a tad energetic in her approach, it's understandable where she's coming from. I do not want your throat to be burning any longer than necessary. We will...discuss...other things when you are done feeding."
"Um...sure," Bella agreed, completely distracted by Renata's scent. She smelled so amazing, in fact, that Bella's burning throat faded to the background. For some reason, all she wanted was to cuddle closer to Renata and breathe her in.
"Found one!" Corin declared excitedly, dragging a sobbing and fighting man into the room. Just seeing him so emotional made Bella feel sick to her stomach and she tried to shrink away, but Renata put a firm hand against Bella's back to stop her.
"I...I have to drink from him?" Bella asked, terrified at the thought, even as the man's scent threatened to drive her wild.
"Yup," Corin said, pushing the man to his knees in front of Bella. "Just one bite, that's all it takes."
"But what if I kill him?" Bella asked anxiously, something inside of her telling her that's exactly what she was going to do, that it was expected.
"That's what you're supposed to do," Corin said, frowning when she saw how freaked out her mate was, the way she was trying to shrink away. The man started crying harder, so she hit him on the back of the head, knocking him out. "Here." Corin picked the man up and held him so his neck was right in front of Bella's face.
Bella's breath caught, and she stared at the man's pulse as if she was hypnotized. Her entire body was screaming at her to just take the man and bite him, but she didn't want to. She just didn't want to become a killer.
"Strange," Renata murmured, watching Bella struggle not to bite. Every newborn Renata had ever laid eyes on would have jumped and slaughtered the man without a thought; they shouldn't have had the ability to resist temptation. Yet Bella was showing more restraint than some vampires that were even out of the newborn stage.
"Yeah, no kidding," Corin muttered in agreement as she held the man's neck even closer to Bella, so that his skin was pressed against her mouth.
God, the desire to just bite the man was so strong. It nearly drowned everything else out, even the scent of both Renata and Corin. Not to mention her throat...it was like someone had lit a match and made Bella swallow it.
Still, a part of her just didn't want to become a murderer. Bella just didn't like the idea of taking someone's life. But why? This man was likely going to die anyways, so why shouldn't she just drink? What made her stop?
Golden eyes flashed in her mind, but as Bella tried to grasp the memory, it slipped away, leaving her frustrated and confused. If she could just cling to a memory, any memory, it would help her. It just didn't feel right, her mind being so empty.
So distracted by her own problems, she didn't notice that Corin and Renata had exchanged a serious look.
"We're going to have to force her," Corin spoke lowly to Renata, who nodded in agreement. They weren't about to let their new mate starve herself, even if Bella came to resent them for it.
"Wait, what?" Bella asked, gaze flying to Corin with alarm. She tried to back away, but Renata's arm was suddenly around her waist, holding her tight. One of her hands grabbed Bella's face, fingers pressing against her jaw, forcing it open.
"Please, Bella, don't fight me," Renata pleaded as Bella started to struggle, and it was one of the most heartbreaking things Bella could ever imagine hearing. "We don't want to risk you hurting yourself."
Knowing that Bella would be quite a handful if she were to start fighting them for real, Corin raked a nail across the man's neck, drawing blood.
The second the man's blood started to drip-thankfully only landing on the stone floor and not anything that could stain-Bella's pupils dilated and her breathing became erratic. Both of the older vampires knew that if Renata let her go, she'd probably drain the man dry in a heartbeat.
Still, for some strange reason-maybe the mating bond-Bella still didn't struggle against Renata. And since Renata didn't want to let her go due to her own selfish desire, Corin was the one to bring the man's wound to Bella's mouth.
From the moment the man's blood touched Bella's tongue, a taste like no other seemed to explode in Bella's mouth. She latched onto the man, teeth burying into flesh, making the wound bigger. Blood splattered everywhere as Bella tore into the man, drinking greedily, the burning in her throat finally quenched.
Soon, there was no blood left in the man, and Bella let his body fall to the floor.
"Damn, is that a good look on her," Corin purred, turned on by the ferocity and bloodthirstiness that her mate had displayed.
"Corin," Renata said in warning as the other woman stalked over to Bella and climbed onto the girl's lap. "Be careful. She'll come back to herself soon, and her emotional distress will most likely be heightened."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Corin said, rolling her eyes before leaning towards the newborn. She then made a big deal of cleaning the excess blood off of Bella with her tongue, purring as she did so. Had Bella been fully conscious of what was happening, she would have most likely been turned on, squirming, and confused as all fuck. Instead, however, the newborn was lost; lost inside of her own head.
"Victoria," Bella whimpered in terror as she struggled to get away, despite knowing how useless it was.
"Shut up!" The woman's voice a high screech, the redhead lashed out, breaking another of Bella's bones. Her eyes brightened with glee at the human girl's screams, delighting in her pain. "Your mate killed mine, and now you shall be the one to pay."
"He's not my mate," Bella sobbed, desperate. While it had been true she had wanted to die after they left her, she hadn't wanted to die in such a pathetic and agonizing way. "Please…!"
"Don't lie," Victoria spat, grabbing Bella by a mangled leg, nails digging gouges into the human's flesh. She dragged the girl towards her, then focused on the human's hand-or, more specifically, the scar that her mate had made.
Purring at the last reminder of her love, Victoria grabbed the girl's wrist, brought the hand to her mouth, and bit, right where James had bitten over a year earlier.
Bella didn't even have the ability to scream anymore as fiery pain started burning through her veins. However, she did have the strength to look up. Her gaze met the red eyes of a beautiful black haired woman from where she stood behind Victoria, and she had a moment of thankfulness that the last thing she saw would be something so beautiful.
Then, everything faded to black.
"Bella? Bella? Are you okay?" Renata asked anxiously when their mate still hadn't returned to them. Corin had also stopped licking, instead grabbing Bella by the face and trying to search the brunette's eyes as she lightly slapped the girl's cheek to snap her out of whatever trance she was in.
Bella blinked, and life suddenly returned to her eyes, followed by a haunted shadow. She turned to look at Renata without so much as jostling Corin, dazed and awed.
"I...I remember my turning," Bella whispered, and Renata's heart broke as she remembered the horrible and brutal scene. A scene she truly wished she could wipe from Bella's mind forever. "You were there."
"Yes," Renata said in agreement, stroking Bella's face with her fingertips.
"I was going to die. Victoria was going to kill me," Bella whispered. "But she wanted me to suffer first. Wanted me in agony, broken in every way possible." So wrapped up in the memory, she didn't notice the way Corin's hands had fisted in her hair, or the dark, furious look that flashed across Corin's face. If she had been there...if Corin had been there, she would have made sure Victoria had suffered for what she had done. There would have been no mercy. "But you saved me. I remember, the last thing I saw…" Unconsciously, Bella reached out to touch Renata's face. "I was happy; that the last thing I saw wouldn't be Victoria, but someone so beautiful."
Renata's eyes were bright with pain as she remembered how close Bella had been to death when they had found her. Even the fact that her mate had called her beautiful wasn't enough to calm her.
"I'm sorry," Corin blurted, hating that she hadn't gone with them. She buried her face in Bella's neck, shaking with how furious she was. If she hadn't said no to going, simply out of laziness, she would have been there to take care of her mate. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with you. For you."
Bella, startled by the easygoing woman's change in attitude, could think of nothing to do but to put her arms around Corin in comfort.
"It's okay," Bella whispered, and in that moment, it was. Just by being surrounded by Corin's wild blueberry and pine scent on one side and Renata's apples and cinnamon on the other, Bella felt a peace envelop her that she wasn't sure she had ever felt before.
That's right. For some strange, unknown reason, these two women made her feel complete.