So... it's been a while, hasn't it? I offer no explanation, and I can't promise I'll update again soon. But, just so you know, everything I have started will eventually be completed. It's just gonna take a lot more time.

Until next we meet
Speklez

*xXx*

"Don't you pay them no mind, Sugar." Watching as the newborn cast her eyes towards her, the embarrassment she felt shining in the red depths, Charlotte shook her head. "They just jealous, Darlin', and you ain't got nothin' to be embarrassed about. Them fellas jealous they ain't ever made a lady scream like that, and them ladies jealous they ain't ever been fucked good and damn proper. That ain't your fault."

Groaning in the back of her throat, Bella dropped her head and crossed her arms. "I thought it was bad being stared at because of the scars, but now I'm going to have to live the rest of my life in hiding." Only slightly turning her head, Bella once again looked at Charlotte. "I didn't even realize I was that loud."

Snorting hard, Char laughed. "Honey, that was the fuckin' point. That first time after accepting a male's mark ain't about love and devotion. It's all about stakin' a claim, lettin' any other fella 'round know what they up against if they get it in they head they want that female. It's about showin' their lady what she gonna get if she sticks around. There a lot of males here, Darlin', and a lot of 'em ain't mated. That's a lotta pressure for a newly mated male to deal with. Especially when his lady brand new like you and don't really know what she wants; only what she don't."

Once again shaking her head, Bella sighed as she dropped her arms. "Why did I ever want to be a vampire? This species is fucked up."

Giggling quietly, Charlotte grabbed Bella's wrist, pulling her to a stop and turning the newborn to face her. Letting go and then setting her hands on Bella's shoulders, Char looked her in the eyes. "We're driven by instinct, Sugar. Ya see, outside the basics, us ladies really only got one, and that's lookin' out for number one," pointing to her chest, "which is ourselves. Deep down under our skins, we some snotty, selfish bitches, always lookin' for bigger, better, and greater than what we already got; even if that fella spoken for, and no matter how good we already got it. We got no fucks ta give on that account. I ain't too big to admit I done it when I met Demetri, and I know you can't stand there and say you ain't done it with Pete."

There was a hard cringe on Bella's part as she averted her eyes and looked at the ceiling. If she could blush, she would have certainly put her human self to shame with how red her cheeks would have been. She had, on several occasions, found herself considering the differences between Demetri and Peter, and but never at any point had she ever seen Peter the way she saw Demetri. If she had to put a label on it, she would compare him to being an overprotective big brother. Almost as a footnote to the thought come the fact that Peter's overprotectiveness didn't hold a candle to Demetri's, but then again, no matter how she might have compared the two, in her opinion, Peter didn't hold a candle to Demetri in general.

It really came down to the fact that she had two very different relationships with two very different guys.

Unable to make eye contact with someone who was quickly becoming her best friend, Bella frowned as a sigh slipped passed her lips. "I don't mean to."

Charlotte, however, just shrugged. "And I don't care thatcha do." Watching Bella's eyes snap back to hers, she smiled at the now overly confused infant. "Take a gander at this from my perspective, Sugar. Hadja not done it that first time, my fella woulda been stick in a cage under this place for three quarters of a millenia. Since ya done whatcha did, and saw somethin' in him ya needed in ya life, that didn't happen. And, since you ain't the type ta step on another lady's toes, I didn't lose him to service ta the guard, neither. So far as I'm concerned, you go right on ahead and let yaself off the hook for that particular comparison. As far any other time, it ain't really all that big a deal. I know you got sumthin' special with that fella a yours, so I know I ain't got nothin' ta worry about. Sides; just cause we think it don't mean we gonna act on it, and it ain't like we can help it when a man payin' attention to us. Like I said, no matta how good we got it, we gotta assure ourselves we got it good enough."

After taking a moment to search Char's eyes for anything that said what she said wasn't how she really felt, Bella sighed as she pulled herself free from Charlotte's hold on her, backing until she felt the wall behind her, and crossed her arms. Lowering her eyes to the floor, her brows creased and a frown formed on her lips. Saying nothing, Bella let what Charlotte told her run through her mind, and nearly forgot the conversation wasn't over.

"Ya know, Dolly, you gonna be the first vampiress ta give yaself wrinkles. Stop thinkin' so damn hard and spit it out."

Taking another moment to try and figure it out for herself, Bella sighed again as she looked back up at Charlotte. "I don't want to."

It now being her turn to be confused, Charlotte crossed her arms and cocked a brow. "Don't wanna what? Spit it out?"

Bella's voice was so soft and so low Charlotte had to strain to hear her, but she did answer. "Need Peter, and I don't know why I do." Whatever reaction Bella was expecting, Charlotte to snort so hard the sound bounced off the walls wasn't it. Eyes snapping up to look at the amused look that settled on Char's face, Bella gapped at her. "What's so funny?"

There was scoffed snort as the answer. "You." Reaching up to rub her temple with the tip of two fingers, Char grinned. "For all the shit in this triangle situation you got goin' on with them two boys, that's the easiest part ta figure out. I saw it within the first couple hours a gettin' here. It's how they handle ya, and, suffice it ta say, Sugar, for the time bein', your scrawny little ass needs handled. Now, I like Demetri, I do. But that mother fucker got a stick shoved so far up his ass, he don't know how ta get rid of it, and you ain't yet learned how to deal with it. Peter, on the other hand, is the only one here that don't treatcha like a baby. He ain't scared a pissin' that fella off and can actually stand a chance a raisin' you right, and on some subconscious level, you realize that.

"I ain't got a single doubt Demetri can raise ya ta be a productive member of vampire society, and prolly betta than anyone else on the planet. But, there far more ta this life than followin' a handful a laws, and sometimes I think the vampires that live here forget that. There ain't no logical reason you over a month old and ain't no one workin' with ya on at least startin' to control that strength a yours, but there sure a hell of a lot a excuses when it comes ta that."

Once again a frown pulled at the corner of Bella's lips. "That's... not Demetri's fault."

Once again, Charlotte snorted. "I'm aware. I know exactly where the fault lies, but everyone here too damn polite ta say it, while at the same time being too scare a Demetri ta push you. Now, I ain't gonna debate the physical limitations. They there, and they gonna be there for a long while, but Honey, you ain't helpless. You got two vampiric legends willin' ta move Heaven and Earth ta getcha where ya need ta be. It's time ta stop makin' excuses, lettin' others make excuses for ya, pull up them big girl britches, and get ta work. Otherwise, when Peter leaves in a year, the only thing you gonna be good for is sittin' on ya ass with them two uppity bitches on the third floor and the occasional roll in the hay when Demetri ain't out runnin' all over God's green Earth."

"Charlotte, that's enough."

Both girls turned their heads in the direction of the less than impressed sound of Peter's voice coming from the end of the hall they were talking in, one with a drawn expression and the other with one set in determination. The latter was the one that spoke. "I was just..."

And Peter cut Charlotte off. "I know what you was just, and I said enough. You gonna make me say it again?" Peter watched as a look of debate passed over his mate's face, but after it vanished she shook her head, and he gave her a look that clearly said that was the right decision. Without looking away from her, he then spoke to Bella. "Little Darlin', Demetri lookin' for ya."

From the corner of his eye, he watched as the infant nodded and pushed herself off the wall, his eyes darkening slightly at the loss of some of the confidence in her step. However, he didn't speak again until she was around the corner, and when he did, he lowered his voice so only his mate could hear him. "Char, the fuck was that?"

Frowning in the face of Peter's annoyance with her, Charlotte loosely crossed her arms. "I was only tryin' ta help."

Genuinely shocked at the softly spoken admission, Peter actually jolted. "Help? Ya thought that shit was helpful?" When Charlotte nodded, Peter pursed his lips, looking up at the ceiling. "Ight... then," looking back at her, "I'ma needja ta explain sumthin'. What part, a tellin' a mentally traumatized infant, if she ain't perfect in a year, that the only thing she gonna be good for is an occasional fuck when her fella happens ta be in town didja find particularly helpful?"

Freezing in place, Charlotte's eyes cut to the side as she reran the end of the conversation she was having with Bella through her head. It didn't take but a moment before both of her hands flew up to her mouth, muffling the 'oh no' that came out. Eyes returning to Peter's, she saw a smile on his lips that was really anything but nice, and she dropped her hands to her chest, lacing her fingers together. "Peter, what have I done?"

Letting out a long sigh as she shoulders dropped, Peter closed his eyes as he reached up and scratched his brow. "I dunno, Sug." Dropping his arm with another sigh, he opened his eyes and looked at his horrified mate. "With that baby, it's really hard ta say. Best case, ya got the girl ta think. But... history says best case is damn near outta that girl's reach, and it's more likely you just made the already uphill battle we been facin' just a little bit steeper."

Closing the distance when Charlotte dropped her chin to her chest, all his irritation from a moment ago gone, Peter crooked a finger under his mate's chin, tilting her head back and giving her a tender smile. "Relax, Baby Doll. There ain't nothin' that can't be fixed. But, if you gonna stay here, I'ma needja ta keep one thing in mind. This Italy. It ain't Mexico. What you an' I know a injured infant capable of ain't the same as what most a these pansyasses willin' ta acknowlage, but it ain't them claw marks we havin' the issues with. It's everythin' else, and that takes a little lighter hand then rubbin' her nose in her mistakes. That tracka got his feet ripped out from under him when he found what he did in that girl, and, yeah he tryin' hard as hell ta get back up, but he gonna be all but useless till he do. That baby got war wounds, and you can't expect her ta just be alright 'cause ya tell 'er ta be. You was doin' fine until that last bit. Hell, ya mighta even gotten through ta her hadja just stopped while you was ahead. That girl's biggest fear is bein' useless, so do not, for the love a God, ever, feed inta that fear again."

Nodding against the hold on her chin, Charlotte let out a quiet sigh through her nose. "I'm sorry, Pete. I was just tryin'a give her a little push, ya know?"

Releasing her chin, Peter laced his fingers together behind Char's back, nodding at her. "I know it, but Sweet Pea, if you gonna push, ya gotta make sure you doin' it in the right direction. I been pusin' 'em both since I got here, and progress bein' made, but Jesus Woman, don't be makin' a difficult situation harder than it need be. Just keep in mind, choppin' someone off at the knees that already havin' trouble walkin' ain't gonna cut it, now. Y'all two got enough in common you should be able ta figure out how to ta push her, without shovin' her backwards in the process."

Taking a moment to consider his words, even though she agreed with what was said, there were so few occasions she was put in a position to fuck with Peter, Charlotte wasn't even slightly willing to let this one pass her by. A fake pout settled on her face, and a mock frown of hurt pulled at her lips. "Ya know, if you keep comin' ta her defence against me like this, you gonna make me think ya like her more than me."

The look on his mate's face, however, went straight to Peter's dick, and the shit eating grin that he was known far and wide for slid into place. "You cute when you jealous."

Trying very hard not to let her amusement show, Char scoffed. "Peter, I'm serious."

Using his arm around her to pull his lad closer, Peter smirked down at her as his eyes darkened several shades. "So am I." Scoffing for real now, knowing she was caught, Char shoved him away with an 'asshole', causing Peter to laugh as he caught his balance. Winking one, Peter settled himself against the wall, propping his foot up behind him, crossing his arms as his face became thoughtful. "She reminds me a you when you was her age."

Shocked stupid for a moment, Charlotte gapped at Peter, her voice airy and confused. "Really?"

A very tender and distant look entered Peter's eyes as he recalled his mate as a newborn, slowly nodding his head as he hummed in his throat. "Mmhmm." Eyes returning into focus, he licked his lips. "A tiny, innocent little thing that ain't got no idea 'bout the world around her, dealing with day ta day bullshit that just keeps gettin' worse, with a shockingly large amount of others that want her dead." Sighing through his nose, he then shook his head as he looked at his mate. "It's seventy-two years ago all over again, and I ain't sure I'm in any betta position ta do anythin' about it now as I was then."

Brows creasing and a real frown tugging at her lips, Charlotte wrapped her arms around her middle as she also thought of the day Peter took her away from the war. "But ya did do sumthin'." Looking at Peter through her lashes, she saw him raise a brow at her, and she gave him a small smile. "Ya got me outta it."

Making a momentary look of agreement, Peter then let out a much harder sigh. "Ain't like I can do that here, now can I?"

Having never seen Peter so torn before, and remembering that spark of fear in his eyes at the party when he looked at the baby he was protecting, Char straightened her spine and looked him dead in the eyes. "I think you need ta tell me what's really goin' on here, Sug." When Peter's response was a shrug, Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "You ain't fallin' for her, are ya?"

Not even knowing exactly what his face looked like, Peter knew for damn sure he never looked at his wife with such an expression before. "You bein' serious right now?" When his mate narrowed her eyes further, Peter rolled his. "No, Sweet Pea, that ain't it. I just... I dunno. It just... everytime I look at that girl I get this... nearly paralizin' sinkin' feelin', and... I know sumthin' bad gonna happen, I just don't know what it is."

Lips pulling to one side, Charlotte made a noise in the back of her throat. "Well, what them voices sayin'?"

Pure indulgence was the only way to describe Peter's face as he looked at his lady. "You don't like talkin' 'bout them voices."

Charlotte, however, just lifted a shoulder. "Yeah, well, I don't like seein' ya like this even more. So... what they got ta say?"

Unable to help it, Peter actually growled low in his chest. "That's just it, Char, they ain't sayin' shit, least not about anythin' important that would explain that feelin'."

It took a moment, but it was like a lightning bolt struck Charlotte in the ass. Eyes lighting up and her jaw dropping slightly, her hand came up to her mouth to try and catch the bark of laughter, but that didn't stop Peter from hearing it. Laughing outright, even under the weight of Peter's glare, Charlotte smiled wide. "I didn't think ya could get any cuter than I already foundja, but look atcha provin' me wrong." When Peter's next growl was directed at her, she giggled. "Petey, you so damn used to them voices tellin' ya what ta do, you don't even recognize your Saten given instincts anymore." Holding a hand up, palm toward Peter, she moved her arm in a small circle. "All that shit you feelin'? It's fight or flight, ya big dummy. It's what all the rest a us vampires feel when we know sumthin's comin' but we don't know what."

Pure and utter personal offence overtook Peter's expression. "I don't run from fights."

Charlotte, though making a face of agreement, crossed her arms as challenge entered her eyes. "I know it, but when was the last time ya got in one that ya didn't know the details of beforehand?" When Peter snapped his face away, not unlike a child told no cookies before bed, Charlotte sighed and lost the amusement in her voice. "Peter, I'ma make a suggestion, and you ain't gonna like it." Waiting until he was looking at her again, Char locked their eyes. "Ya need ta talk ta Demetri. That little lady is his mate. It don't matta if ya like her or not. It don't matta if ya like him or not. Your feelin's for either of 'em don't give ya the right ta keep shit from 'im."

Not even caring to stop the snort, Peter lifted a brow. "Ya mean Mr. Cocky?" The look he received from his mate was one that clearly said 'Pot meet Kettle', but he just shook his head with another sigh. "It ain't that I don't wanna, Char. It's that I know even without my voices ta tell me, he won't listen." Then, he dropped his arms to his side and his head back against the wall, looking at the ceiling. "Then again, if I had that sumbitch's particular reputation, I prolly wouldn't listen ta me, either."

Getting very irritated with her husband, Charlotte growled at him, catchting Peter slightly off guard when he looked at her and saw he was looking into black eyes. Charlotte, however, was done with his nonsense. "Looks like me and that Little Lady ain't the only ones with shit in common. Peter, you ain't doin' a whole lotta listenin' right now, either. You ain't got the right ta make decisions on that baby's behalf, and that's exactly what you doin' by refusing ta talk ta Demetri. If he don't listen, at least ya tried. See, Sug, you can only do so much because, your feelings aside, at the end a the day, Bella is Demetri's responsibility, not yours."

Giving his wife a leveled look, peter's voice was flat. "I know that."

Char raised a challenging brow at him. "Do ya? Cause you sure as fuck ain't actin' like it, standin' there tellin' me you gonna keep a whole lotta information he deserves ta know about his lady away from him just cause ya think there a chance he might not listen to ya, and it ain't right. If the situation was reversed, wouldn't you want him ta tell you if he knew sumthin' 'bout me?"

Eyes narrowing, Peter grunted. "Moot point, Char, cause the situation would never be reversed."

Smirking, Char clicked her tongue. "Don't go underestimatin' my ability ta piss off the wrong people, now."

Completely unamused, Peter levelded her with a look. "Woman, don't make me hogtie your ass and throw ya in a closet."

Letting out a soft giggle as she closed the distance between them, Char placed her fingertips against Peter's stomach, leaning into his chest as she looked up at him. Her expression was softer, but no less serious. "Just talk ta the man, Pete; cause if you don't, then I will. I know ya don't like 'im, and I know ya don't think much of 'im, but at least give the fella a chance ta fuck up 'fore ya just decide he gonna fuck up. He still don't wanna listen, then we can talk 'bout kidnappin' an Italian princess. Until then, though, you in enough hot water as it is. Don't go makin' it worse. 'Sides, there is a limit ta how far that little lady allowed ta stick her neck out for ya 'fore she finds herself on her fella's bad side, and that ain't a place any lady wanna be. If there any part a you that care about that girl at all, ya won't put her in a position ta have ta take a stand against either a you. She's his girl, but she got it in her head she owes you. Not me, not you, and not Demetri know that girl well enough yet ta know which side she'd pick."

A disbelieving expression settled on Peter's face as his lip curled. "She's pick his."

A brow smoothly slid up Charlotte's forehead. "You willin' ta stake your life on that? Cause that exactly what you'd be doin' if ya put her back against a wall like you plannin' on doin'."

Sighing as he slouched against the wall, Peter dropped his head, settling it in the crock of Charlotte's neck. Closing his eyes, he let his mate's scent calm his nerves as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly when he felt Charlotte's fingers glide through his hair. "I just don't wanna see nothin' happen to that girl, but I don't see no way ta avoid it."

With one last pass of her fingers through Peter's hair, letting her nails rake across his scalp, Char used both hands to pull Peter's face out of her neck, smiling at him when he finally looked at her. "Maybe you right, maybe you wrong. Only time gonna tell, but why you willin' ta waste what time ya got drownin' in a pitty party instead a usin' it ta your advantage? So what your voices ain't talkin'. Not like you don't know what ta do, you just don't wanna do it. She a baby, Peter, and no one betta at dealin' with hard headed babies than you... voices be damned. So, do what you was tasked ta do, and everythin' else'll fall inta place."

Something of an impressed looking smirk formed on Peter's lips, and he chuckled. "When you get ta be so damn confident?"

A much wider smirk pulled at Char's, and she snorted. "We a team, Pete. Only one a us gets ta be the girl at time, and right now, that's you." Seeing Peter's eyes ignite in a way she knew all too well, she knew she finally pushed the right button, and gave him the final push out of his mind and back into his body. "I been watchin' you over the last couple of days, and little by little, you been pullin' back and goin' easier and easier on her. That may be my fault, but she don't need another guard dog, Peter. She needs who you was the day you showed up, willin' ta do whatever it took ta get the job done. Stop lookin' at her like someone else's mate, don't worry 'bout me, and go back ta treatin' that girl like the one that got her face fused back tagether."

Pulling himself out of his mate's grasp, he reaced up and scrubbed his face with his palms. "But, she is someone else's mate, and you standin' right here. Besides, they weren't mated when I did that."

Not missing a beat, Charlotte, cracked Peter's upside his head, startling him enough to blink at her. Crossing her arms, her eyes narrowed again. "Stop bein' a dummy, ya big dummy. So the fuck what they mated now. It ain't like she gonna be the first mated female ya ever beat the shit out of, and it ain't like it'll be the first time ya done in front a me. This might not be Mexico, but ya can't act like Mexico didn't happen. Demetri got a vested interest in lettin' the lady do as she pleases, and I know she scared a losin' that arm cause everyone know it can't be reattached if it come off, but that ain't no reason ta pretend you ain't who ya are, and fuckin' act like it."

Giving her the same look he gave Demetri when he said much the same thing, he told her exactly what he told the tracker. "I don't do that shit no more."

To which Charlotte responded with a tone of voice she had never used when talking to Peter. "You don't wanna do it, but if you wasn't willin' ta do it, that little lady would still have a hole in the side a her face, wouldn't she?" Knowing she had him, Charlotte sighed through her nose. "It don't take no kind a intuition to figure out where the threat ta that lady gonna come from. So long them Cullens in this building, she got a target on her back. It's like ya always told me; desperate people do stupid shit, and desperate people with a grudge do stupider shit. Ya said the other night when I got here ya needed my help teachin' Bella ta defend herself, so, let me help. You ain't gotta do everythin' alone, ya know."

With a long sigh, Peter clicked his tongue, debating his options, but she was right, as she usually was. With that in mind, he sighed again. "I know, Baby Doll; I just don't know how far inta this I wanna drag ya. While I don't want nothin' ta happen ta Bells, I can't have nothin' happen ta you."

A tender expression settled on Charlotte's face, her chin propping against Peter's chest as she looked up at him through her lashes. "We been through worse, Love, and came out the other side just fine. You need ta have a little faith in sumthin' outside your head."

Wrinkling his nose, Peter grunted. "Don't you start that shit with me, Charlotte."

To which Char responded without missing a beat. "Then don't act like the world endin' just cause it's actually quiet when it's silent. Ya know, the rest a us function just fine without someone always tellin' us what ta do, and I'm sure you can too." The pair fell silent, then Charlotte, without meaning to, gave Peter another piece of the puzzle that was the newborn. "Ya know, Darlin', I heard through the grapevine none a the Cullen's gifts work on her anymore. The mind reader's never did, but Jasper could manipulate her and the pixy could see her when she was a human. Demetri's talent don't, but not like he needs it to no more with his mark on her neck."

Shrugging his shoulders, Peter clicked his tongue. "I know all that. Whatcha point?"

Charlotte cocked her head. "Your voices worked just fine when it came that baby 'fore ya got here... or, more ta the point, 'fore ya met her. The more ya get ta know her though, the less them voices seem ta know. You've known Jasper for 130 years, and he can't get around 'em, I'm your mate and neither can I, and she can do it without even fuckin' tryin'? Just seems odd ta me, that's all."

The only thing off in Charlotte's assessment was the fact his voices worked fine when it came to Bella before he met her. He was told to come to Italy with that piece of vampire skin, sure enough, but he never knew the reason why. As a matter of fact, he was positive he wouldn't have come on his own if he did, and instead sent someone else in his place had he known he was going to be put in charge of an infant as a result.

Even still, every mystery was able to be solved, and the mystery that was the vampire infant wasn't any different. The problem was, when trying to figure out a newborn that was a scant six weeks old, if you didn't know shit about their sire, you didn't really know shit about the newborn, and no amount of training them would change that.

Bella had a very Southern Belle personality, but that was merely the surface; a pretty package to what lies beneath. He wouldn't go so far as to call it a facade because it wasn't something she was pretending to be. Keep a newborn calm and happy, and their actual personality showed. It was when they got pissed off their sire came through, because that inner demon every vampire has is inherited. The level of depravity that demon possessed was dependant on the life experiences of the vampire it lived in and how often it was allowed to run wild, but in the case of an infant, the rules were different. Until their year mark, their sire was in charge, whether they were dead or alive, because it was their sire's demon, because that infant didn't have life experiences.

It had never really sat well with Peter that Bella's sire was able to get close to Charlotte, much less get his hands on her, without him knowing enough in advance to stop it from happening before it did, but after he ran off with the red head, he never really gave the man much thought. Had he known he would one day be dealing with that son of a bitch's offspring, he might have come to a different conclusion, but dealing with the situation at hand, it wouldn't do to dwell in the past. He had gone over that interaction at least a thousand times since he met Bella, and there wasn't anything there he could use. It didn't last long, only enough to find out the fucker certainly knew how to fight, but the fighting ability of a nomad didn't lend itself to shit when it came to Bella.

The only parallel that he could see to be drawn between that nomad and Bella was the fact they both put his gift on the fritz. And, clearly, his gift wasn't the only one affected. There is literally no reason whatsoever a human should have slipped past Jasper, and also no reason Alice shouldn't have seen what was going to happen. Sure, the pixy saw the studio, but all the bitch did was tell Bella were to fucking go. The minute James set his sights on Bella and decided what he was going to do, both Jasper and Alice's gifts stopped working properly, then stopped altogether once James' venom made it's way completely through her body on day two of her change.

Everything Bella is, is connected to who her sire was. The answer to everything was in her venom, and what lineage she belonged to. The problem was, tracing back a vampire family tree was not an easy feat, more so if it's missing limbs, so Peter knew he certainly had his work cut out for him.

Deciding he was going to sit with this for a little longer, and resigning himself to a face off with the Major for a little more information, he licked his lips and smiled at his mate. "Give me three more days. If by then I don't sit the tracka's ass down for a chat, you go right on ahead and do it yourself."

Lip curling in the corner, Charlotte's voice showed her confusion. "The fuck is three more days gonna do?"

Peter's self-assured smirk pulled at his lips as he pulled his mate back into his hold. "It'll give me time to find out just who the fuck that girl's sire really was."

Nothing if not indulgent to her male's whims, Charlotte nodded, but pursed her lips in curiosity. "Them guards been lookin' for that information since Bella got here, and hadn't found out shit. How you gonna do it in three days?"

Smirk spreading and showing his teeth, Peter chuckled in the back of his throat. "First a all, ain't no one gonna say shit ta someone wearin' that crest. Too much of a chance they gonna land they own ass in hot water, cause ain't a single fuckin' nomad innocent when it comes to breakin' the law. We all done it least once, and you know it don't matta how long ago it was, you still gonna face the consequences a doin' it. Second a all, it's really hard ta get a grasp on what's goin' on in the world when ya stay in one place. I know way more vampires than these bastards here, and they more afraid ta not answer me when I ask somethin' than they are a keepin' they mouth shut when a Volturi asks the same thing. I'ma get ta the bottom a this; you just need ta give me the time ta do it."

Leaning heavily against Peter's chest, Charlotte looked up at him like he was the one to hang the stars in the sky. "You way more attractive when you cocky like this."

Dipping his head, Peter's lips brushed his mates. "I'll show you cocky."

*X*

Subdued would be a good way to describe Bella's body language as she all but trudged through the halls, unable to look anyone she passed in the face for a completely different reason than before. Her conversation with Charlotte was weighing heavy on her shoulders, but more than that, was the fact she couldn't argue with anything that was said. No one ever really liked to be torn apart like she had been, but in this case, it didn't really do anything but shore up in her mind a few things she already thought. She hadn't really considered herself helpless per se. She did know if she tried different things she would eventually be able to do it, but there was this voice in the back of her head, her self-doubt louder now than it was when she was human, telling her she would never be able to do it right, and she was so afraid of doing something wrong, of proving what she heard said about her true, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She also couldn't bring herself to lift her arm and knock on the door she stood in front of. She had only been to this part of the palace once back when she first arrived, and had never had a reason to come back to it. Truth be told, she was paying so little attention to where she was going, just letting her feet guide her because they always took her to Demetri, she was actually a little surprised to find herself standing at what she was told was his personal office when he gave her the original tour of the grounds.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there staring at the wooden door between them, her thoughts getting progressively darker the longer she did. She had depressed herself so much after running herself in circles, she could barely look Demetri in the eye after he called for her to come in and stepped in the room. So, because she couldn't do that, she gave the space a onceover, and immediately realized just how much of his focus she took away from what had been his job for a very long time.

The desk he was sitting at was covered in file folders, the stack in the corner likely being taller than she was. On the walls were maps of different countries that were covered in push pins. Unlike the bookshelves in his bedroom that were full of books, the ones in his office were all but bursting at the sides with more files. The only place that wasn't covered in some form of paperwork was the small lounging area that had the same setup as the one in his room, which was two overstuffed chairs facing a fireplace, though there were a couple of folders on the table between the chairs.

While to her the place looked like a mess, if she knew what any particular file held, she was positive she could ask him where it was, and he could tell her exactly where to find it. Demetri defined the term organize chaos, and clearly, his office is where the term originated.

"Wow..."

There was light and airy snort from the vampire at the desk, drawing Bella's attention back to Demetri, who was leaned back with his feet crossed at the ankles on the corner of his desk, a folder in his hands, and his eyes scanning the pages. "You didn't think this place ran on sheer willpower, did you?"

Letting her eyes once again roam the room, Bella gave a shallow shrug in response as she crossed her arms and made her way toward the desk. "I never really gave it much thought, honestly. I had only ever heard of the Volturi in passing as a human, and since I've been here, I've only seen a couple of sparring sessions. I didn't know there was a behind the scenes amount of work to do."

A much harder snort left the nose of the Head of the Guard as he shifted his eyes from the folder in his hands to his mate as she leaned against the corner of his desk. "Out of my own curiosity, My Darling, now that you do, what do you think of it?"

Glancing again at the massive amount paperwork on Demetri's desk, Bella made a noise in the back of her throat. "I think it's impressive you're able to find time to have any kind of life outside this room, because this is insane."

Chuckling in the back of his throat, Demetri tossed the file in his hand onto his desk, crossed his arms, and looked his mate dead in the eyes. "Pick one."

Jolting straight up like she was kicked in the ass, Bella blinked at his offhanded tone. "I'm sorry... what?"

Shifting his foot so he rocked in his seat, Demetri tilted his head slightly as he looked back at his desk. "In order for me to take off the time I promised you, this desk needs cleared." Looking back at his mate, Demetri smirked. "And you're going to help me do it."

As unnecessary as the intake of air was, the sharp breath Bella took at the statement got caught in her throat, causing her voice to sound strained as she pushed it past the lump. "I... I can't."

Brows drawing together, Demetri's lips pursed. "And why is that?"

Jaw lax, Bella spit out the first thing that came to mind. "For starters, I don't know how."

Demetri, always having an answer for everything, had a ready come back to that. "That would be the point of the exercise. I'm going to teach you, so next time, you will."

Shaking her head slightly, Bella voice rose an octave. "But what if I do something wrong?"

Demetri just lifted a shoulder. "Then so be it. One thing the vampire race will never be, is short of opportunities to try again."

"But, Demetri..."

Leveling his mate with a look that bordered annoyance, Demetri clicked his tongue. "Hush." Hearing Bella's mouth shut with a click of her teeth, he let a sigh out through his nose as he uncrossed his arms and, reaching one toward her, grabbed her gently by her forearm and pulled her to him. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he lifted her feet from the ground, and twisting her around with the other, settled his mate in his lap with her legs hanging over the arm of his chair. Draping one arm over Bella's thighs and the other across the armrest behind her back, he looked up at her scared expression with a slightly gentler one than a moment before.

"Listen, Phisi Mou. You have a literal eternity to get things right. No matter what anyone has told you, vampirism comes with a learning curve, and right now is your time to learn. No one wakes up and knows exactly what to do and how to do it. It takes time, practice, and patience. This is your time to make mistakes, and you will; big ones, too. We all have, and many still do. Besides, as far as this whole thing goes, there isn't really a wrong way to do it. There is the long way, but just because something takes more time doesn't necessarily make it wrong. And, while we're on that subject, why are you so concerned about doing something wrong?"

Bella really didn't want to answer that, the conversation they had in her room the night of their mating ball before she found out about the scars on his back popping into her head. She also knew she didn't really have a choice, and it was going to come down to choosing her words very, very carefully. However, though she was able to avoid saying certain terms, the tone of her voice said them for her. "Because that's all I can ever seem to do, and I don't know how many more failures I can take before I can't take anymore."

Closing his eyes and lifting the arm that was behind Bella's back, Demetri rubbed two fingers along the bridge of his nose before propping his temple against them. Opening his eyes and looking at his mate, he licked his lips. "We really need to deal with the overlap between your final human days and the start of your new life, because this is migraine inducing. Isabella, My Darling, when you compare a human to a vampire, the differences are staggering, and when you have a group of vampires pretending to be human, the differences are even more pronounced.

"Now, I don't know how much time there was between when you found out what the Cullens were and when you were bitten, but it was clearly enough for you to get these series of impressions that I told you the day we met weren't right. We do fall, and when we do, it is far harder than we ever did as a human. We do fail, all the time, and in spectacular fashion. It's not the failures, Precious, that are the problem. Failing, no matter what life you're living, is necessary, because without failing, we don't learn anything. Besides, doing something incorrect isn't failing at the activity, it's learning what not to do. We learn far more when do something wrong than we ever do when we do it right. The only time you ever actually fail, is when you don't try at all."

While Bella thought about what she was told, Demetri decided to give her an example, and hoped like Hell it got through to her.

"Think about what happened in the gardens when Alec and I were teaching you how to get the upper hand and how to put some distance between yourself and a larger opponent. How long did it take you to do it properly, and how many different ways did you do it wrong before you got it right?" Demetri gave her a full thirty seconds to answer, but when she did nothing but shake her head, he smiled at her. "Those answers don't matter. What does, is you kept trying, and you didn't give up until you accomplished your goal. That is the difference between success and failure, My Love. Now, you, Isabella, are an infant, trying to hold yourself to the standard of an adult because you've seen what we can be capable of doing, but not taking into consideration how long it took each individual to reach the point they're at. They didn't accomplish what they have overnight, and neither will you."

Looking his mate in the eyes, Demetri watched as his words sunk in, but there was a shadow in the back of her ruby orbs that was far more telling than any words that may have come out of her mouth in response. The biggest issue she had was something he knew she would never willingly admit, but if there was ever going to be a time to move her past this mental barrier, now was going to be it. There was no accusation in his voice, but it carried a level of truth Bell wasn't ready for.

"You're not just afraid of failing. You're also afraid of disappointing your sire."

It felt astonishingly like her heart was ripped out as those words caressed Bella's ears, and she snapped her attention away from Demetri's piercing gaze and narrowed her eyes at the wall. It was the same reaction she always had when someone brought up James, and it never failed to piss her off. What part of it though, she didn't know. She wasn't sure if she was pissed off because she hated who her sire was, if it was because she missed him, or if it was a combination of the two, but just the mere mention of him set her venom boiling in her veins.

When she finally did open her mouth, there was a razor's edge to her voice. "I am not."

Demetri, however, disagreed, and in the most indulgent way possible. "You are, and it's normal." The smile never left his lips when she cut her eyes back to his, though his voice softened considerably. "My Love, we've talked about this before. For the first year of our lives, our sire is the driving force behind everything we do, because for that first year, what we do is their decision. Orphans, don't have their sire physically there, so they are left to live by assumption. You might not have known him well, but you did know enough about him to hazzard certain guesses as to what he would want of you, and there..."

Bella, having heard all she could take, cut in, hoping to end the conversation. "But, everyone refers to you as my sire now, so he shouldn't matter anymore."

Demetri smile wided, and challenge entered his voice. "But, I'm not nearly good enough for that position in your eyes, am I?" A very pained expression flitted across Bella's face, causing Demetri to sigh through his nose as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Legally speaking, yes, I'm seen as your sire. I am responsible for everything you do, and everything that happens to you. I am to teach you everything you need to know, though likely in a vastly different way than he would have. I am to protect you, provide for you, and raise you, all the things that fall under the umbrella of sirehood. I can replace him in every possible way, barring one, and that is the most important. I cannot replace the venom in your veins, and venom doesn't care about legality. So far as you're concerned, so far as any orphan in your position would be concerned, I'm little more than an unwanted step-father, because in your mind, the position in your life I'm attempting to fill is already taken."

One thing she was getting used to was having very unwanted thoughts pop into her head at the worst times, and this was no different. There was a spark of horror in the back of Bella's eyes as Phil's face flashed through her mind, causing a shudder to work its way down her spine. There was revolution in her voice when she gagged out a 'eww'. Looking at Demetri when he cocked a brow at her, she shuddered again. "I have one of those. My mother's second husband. His name is Phil and he is not a good guy. To my mother, he's great, but overall, he's not a good guy, and you're nothing like him. He's mean, abusive, and I'm pretty sure a sexual predator. He was the reason I moved to Washington in the first place. You cannot get much farther from Florida than that."

Brow rising a little higher on his forehead, Demetri hummed in the back of his throat. "Is that so?" At Bella's nod, he took a moment to consider what the backlash would be for a very bloody, very public murder for something that happened at least six months ago, Demetri then cocked his head, changing the subject for what would amount to his own good before he did something incredibly foolish. "Regardless, this all comes down to a very simple truth, My Darling. You have a sire, and whether large or small, there is a part of you that is resentful of my attempts to do his job."

Quick to shake her head, Bella went on the defensive. "No there isn't. I don't resent you at all."

Demetri just shrugged at her. "You do, and I didn't expect any different when I did what I did in the woods. It shows itself in your inability to trust me to do anything outside of keeping you alive and keeping you fed. Any time I try to do anything to build a basic foundation with you, you're fighting against your instincts because your instincts are telling you I'm doing it wrong. So, instead of continuing to get no where, we're going to change a few things, and try something else. That something else, is playing the game your sire intended to be played when he bit you."

A frown pulled at Bella face as she scratched at one of slash marks on her cheek. "You are aware that playing his game was what lead to me getting hurt, right?"

Bella watched as Demetri's eyes went flat black in less time than it took to blink, an inferno igniting in the onyx depths. It was his voice more than anything that sent a near thrill through her veins, and lit her venom on fire as he leaned closer to her. "And I dare any shifter on this planet to try that shit again."

Flattered in ways she couldn't figure out, Bella cleared her throat as she felt her cheeks heat up in a blush that would never show itself. "And you're sure that's a good idea?"

Snorting hard as he dropped back against his seat, Demetri scoffed as his eyes cleared and turned red once again. "Certainly not on the part of the shifter."

Giggling without meaning to, Bella grinned as she shook her head. "No, I mean me going with you when I'm not allowed to leave the grounds."

Licking his lips, Demetri clicked his tongue. "You're right; you're absolutely not allowed to leave the grounds..." Uncrossing his arms, he pointed a finger at her. "By yourself. Since you'll be with me, I hardly see the problem."

Cocking a brow, Bella crossed her own arms. "And you're not concerned I'll do something stupid?"

Shaking his head, Demetri explained. "Maybe if I did it as your stand-in sire, but I'll be doing it as a mate, which is a vastly different position, and one that gives me a certain level of control over precarious situations. While your instincts will have you fight me every step of the way when it comes to the basics of sirehood, those same instincts will tell you just how bad of an idea it is to get on my bad side."

There was a grimace on Bella's face following that last statement. "I've been trying to avoid that since the moment I watched you throw Paul into a tree." Shaking off that slight tremor, Bella cleared her throat again. "So, you're really not worried I'll lose control and attack humans?"

Wrinkling his nose, Demetri shook his head. "Not even slightly." Leaning towards her again, Demetri smirked. "You don't have any control to lose."

Opening her mouth to retort, Bella was just as quick to close it, because there was no arguing that particular point.

Giving his mate a wink, Demetri leaned back again. "I am older than you and faster than you, among other things, so I believe we'll be just fine."

Blinking, Bella shook her head with an astonished scoff. "Wow... you're an asshole; especially since it's my understanding, I'm stronger than you right now."

Demetri didn't dispute that. "You absolutely are. Technically speaking, you're the strongest vampire in this entire den, because you're the youngest vampire in this den, but I don't need to be stronger than you to stop you. My experience with newborns alone is more than enough to counter that, but even without that, one of those other things is, I'm also smarter than you."

Demetri watched his mate's eyes narrow, but before she could chime in on his last comment, he spoke first. "My Darling, don't take such offence. As a human, I'm sure you were quite intelligent, your unfortunate choice in friends aside, but as a vampire, your ignorance is astounding. You have been here long enough, and spent time with enough others of varying ages to have had your every thought challenged, yet you continue to cling to certain ideals because they fit into a fantasy world you created that does not exist outside your mind. Your refusal to let go of that world is both ignorant and dangerous, and will only lead to disaster; something we've discussed countless times at this point."

Though she had been told not to take offence, there was so much Demetri had just said she found offensive, Bella didn't even know where to start with it. Maybe she hadn't been trying as hard as she could have to change her way of thinking when it came to vampires, but she didn't think it was really as big of a deal as he made it sound. Sure, her thinking not all vampires were monsters had gotten her into a jam or two over the last month and a half, but it was far from what she considered a disaster. Not softening her expression, but still not saying anything, she continued to look into Demetri's eyes, hoping to convey her irritation without having to voice it just because she wasn't sure she could express how fucked up what he said was properly, but as she did so, she saw him cock a brow at her, leading he to once again wonder if he could actually read her mind, because she knew why he did it.

She didn't consider it a disaster.

That was a major point in her thinking process because something she couldn't deny she had learned since she came to Italy was, what she thought something was and what that something actually was were never mutually exclusive. Those jams she got herself in herself in werent disasters for her, but they were one for someone else.

Demetri gave his mate a full five minutes to decide if her position was worth defending and if she was going to call him out for his admittedly less than couth explanation of her lack of current brain power, but when she looked away from him, her face losing its expression entirely and once again calling him an asshole, he licked his lips and sighed. "Self evaluation, My Love, is always difficult and it rarely gets you anywhere if your not ready for those personal discoveries. As an aside, I'm about to take my six week old newborn mate out into the world, alone, for the first time since she was attacked in the woods of Northern Washington. Being an asshole comes with that decision, and if you think I'm one now, just wait until we leave."

Frown reappearing on her face, Bella glanced at the different folders spread across Demetri's desk, her voice wavering slightly. "This sounds like a bad idea, and I don't want to do this."

Looking at his mate's profile, Demetri cocked a brow. "Oh, it's a horrible idea, but I'm curious at what point during this conversation I gave you the impression you had a choice." Once his mate's now shocked eyes were on him again, he leaned heavily on his elbow and propped his temple against the pads of his fingers. "Since you arrived here, you haven't really been given a fair chance at... well, basically anything. The first few weeks the priority was getting you healthy, and since then, you've largely been treated like an average newborn, because for the most part, you act like an average newborn. But, you're not, are you?" At Bella slight shrug, he smiled. "You're the offspring of a nomad, Agapimenos, and it's about time you were treated as the offspring of a nomad. You are not built to linger in one place for long, nor are you built to be around so many different bodies. For the time being, those two particular talents are not within your bag of tricks, so, as I said before, we are going to play your sire's final game, but we're going to play it by my rules."

Demetri's lips quirked into an amused smirk as Bella's head cocked to the side, a brow raising, and her lips pursing slightly. Her confusion was adorable, and shifting his position to drop his feet from his desk to the floor, he then sat up in his chair as his arms wrapped around Bella and pulled her against his chest. "There are two things your sire and I have in common. The first is we're both trackers, as laughable as I personally find his talent. The other is... we are both exceptional at playing games with the lives of others. He certainly hit a homerun with Cullens, though even were he still alive that would hardly be something to brag about when that coven has the combined brain power of a rotten banana."

Nose wrinkling at the comparison, Bella snorted. "Descriptive." Then, she began playing with her finger as she lost the amusement and her scent took on a sour smell. "And his game with my life? What about that one? How did he fare?"

Regarding his mate in silence for a moment, Demetri considered the several different ways he could answer that, because there were several different outcomes her sire could have strived for when he bit her. If he intended to make her life as a vampire as difficult as possible, well, there was no denying the fact he hit that ball out of the fucking park, but Demetri wasn't convinced she had anything really to do with his game. She was a pawn, sure, but for as many times as Demetri had fucked around when he was younger, and for as many games as played with other lives because he was board, it wasn't the human that held his interest, but the effect on the vampire that pissed him off. Watching the scramble to clean up a mess they didn't make to keep themselves out of trouble was endless entertainment, and when you know your fucked seven ways to Sunday, and the likelihood of survival was less than nothing, there was no reason not to shoot for the moon and just throw a handful of chips to fall where they may.

In Bella's case, the actuality was, however, that particular part of the game wasn't over yet because Bella was still alive, logistically speaking anyways, so as far as he was concerned, the ending was still up in the air. She survived the assault, and she survived the change. She had a future, and a prosperous one if Demetri had a say in it, though the journey to get there was certainly going to be a long one with mind boggling obstacles and pitfalls that were going to come out of nowhere. For the next several years, if not actual decades, it was going to be a dance of two steps forward and three steps back as the claw marks continued to heal, because she would learn how to do things with those laid open slashes, then have to relearn how to do it once they no longer hindered her in the way they currently do.

At the time she was bitten, there was no way her sire could have foreseen the involvement of the shifter cubs, nor would there have been a way to foresee the eventual involvement of the guard on her behalf. These were the two biggest reasons it was hard to say exactly what game he started for her when he bit her, but it was very easy to figure out the one meant for the Cullens. He was leaving behind a newborn that, even had she not seen the Cullens kill him, would never listen to them because of their different views on vampiric life. While the Cullens thought humans were something to protect, James clearly saw them as nothing more than toys to play with, but unfortunately for him, Demetri held much the same view. To the tracker, they were little more than an expendable necessity for the continuation of the vampire race, and outside of meal time, they meant nothing to him.

There were really only two things that separated Demetri and his mate's dead sire, and that was the the vast differences in their ages and the venom in their veins. Demetri spent far more of his life as a nomad than he did as a member of a coven, and since they shared a talent, there was a very good chance that somewhere along the family tree, there was a common thread since heightened senses could only be passed down and not something someone just obtained.

However, while certainly interesting to think about, it in no way lended itself to being helpful since both of them had long since outgrown their own sire's venom, making the possibility of he and his mate's sire being venomously related more or less a moot point. The points of note were they were both trackers, and Demetri spent more than enough time as a nomad to raise one, which in his mind mostly voided whatever game James wanted to play with Bella after he was burned and she was turned. She ended up mated to someone exactly like him, though by far more dangerous on several different levels.

His eyes locked on hers, Demetri left his thoughts and hummed in his throat. "How do you want the game to end?"

Once again left coming up short to a response she didn't expect, Bella blinked as her back arched and she leaned back so Demetri's eyes came back into focus. She couldn't for her unlife figure out why he would ask something like that when clearly, the outcome was already obvious. "What are asking me that for? What do you mean?"

A very dark smile formed on Demetri's lips as his darkened slightly. "I mean... the game isn't over yet, because if it was, we couldn't play it anymore. So... how do you want it to end?"

There were some things about Demeti she would never understand, and how he came to certain conclusions was one of them. To her, the game was over and she lost big time, but he was older than she was, and he knew things she didn't. While she didn't care for the way he pointed that out by flat out saying he was smarter than she was, it wasn't something she could dispute, because he always wiped the floor with her anytime they played any kind of trivia game, or he explained things in the most obvious manner after she spent hours trying to figure it out for herself and finally asked for help. It wasn't done in a condescending manner, but he knew she didn't have the best attention span, so his time was limited when it came to explaining something in a way she could understand it in a very short amount of time.

She took a moment to run the last six week through her mind, and realized she lost so much of who she was, of what she should be able to do, and she hated her sire a little more than she did a moment ago. She truly did believe the world was better off without him, even if she wasn't. Her life was hard, and that wasn't just to do with the aftereffects of Paul's claws. It was everything else on top of that. She lost her ability to really trust anyone. However, after hearing several different stories from several different guards, including Peter, she knew that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though she would really love to trust Demetri in the way he clearly wanted her to. She was jumpy and skittish in ways she never was before, which was more annoying than anything.

Then, there were the thoughts that she still didn't have a handle over. Peter had tried on a couple of occasions to take her out into the gardens to keep his promise of starting to teach her how to deal with them, Demetri even once taking up a patch of grass to watch. But, because she was made a member of the coven, the guards always interfered before they actually got anywhere, which led to rather heated arguments between a frustrated Peter and an annoyed Demetri over the, even to Bella, logical stance of how to punish someone for doing their job since the guard's number one priority was to protect the coven. It always ended with Peter storming off while calling Demetri a prick and Demetri calling Peter a child.

There was a large part of Bella that had her considering how much of that was the guard's fault, and how much of it was hers for not just opening her mouth and standing her ground. Sure, Demetri was part of the coven, but he certainly didn't need their protection when he was the one that trained them. The same could be said about Alec, Felix, and Jane. They were also part of the coven, but they didn't play the guard's games. When they interfered in their fun, they stood against them, and forced them to back off. Even Caius to a degree didn't suffer the guard's sniffing around his ass, and with little more than a glare, had them turning their own tails and running the other way. Marcus clearly didn't care whether there was a gaggle of guards around him, and Aro never went anywhere without at least three of them singing his praises with his nose in the air.

The difference she was able to figure out when it came to her and Jane was, Bella was a titled Mistress, on par with Athenodora and Sulpicia, while Jane was an active member on the guard, and little ball of fucking fury that no one wanted to piss off. Dora and Picia never left the third floor, and other than the time she was cornered by Edward, Bella had never seen anyone but the coven on the third floor, because no one but the coven was allowed on the third floor, so they didn't really need the guard's protection since all the two did was move from one room to another depending on the time of day.

Oh, the guards never put their noses in the games of the coven, they would get their collective asses kicked, but Peter didn't have that kind of position, and with his reputation within the vampire world being what it was, even with Bella not actually being in danger with him, he was still seen as a threat, and therefore, they felt their interference was warranted. This included the time Demetri was physically present, which just seemed odd to her. It was after he bit her, too, so if anyone thought she was in danger, they were out of their fucking minds. Regardless, Demetri merely cocked a brow when the four random bodies placed themselves between Bella and Peter, and sat there in silence as he watched the scene unfold. When Peter rounded on Demetri with a 'fucking do something', all he did was glance at her before he shrugged and asked what Peter would have him do when they were merely doing their jobs. His exact words were, "Those are coven guards, whose sole purpose is to protect the coven of which she is a member. I don't generally make it a point to punish someone for no reason, Captain, so if you happen to see one I don't, you'll need to point it out." That time Peter called Demetri a pompous bastard, but the prick was certainly in his tone.

And, that wasn't the first time Demetri looked to her before he said something, but it was the first time she had gotten the distinct impression it was because he was waiting for something, though at the time she didn't know what it was. Looking back on it, however, she was positive had she actually opened her mouth, said she wanted to continue, that's exactly what would have happened, and she knew why she kept her damn mouth shut.

Though loathe to admit it, she lived in a near constant state of fear. She always felt trapped. There were always too many people. It was always too loud. She could never tell where people were coming from because there were always too many scents on the air. Nevermind she was always looking over her shoulder because she always felt like she was being watched and it was unnerving, but she was always on edge because of the fact she couldn't figure out exactly where anyone was. Even with all the good things she had going for her, she couldn't get herself to settle down enough to relax and enjoy it.

If there was ever a time she was facing a crossroad, this would be it, and taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Bella returned her eyes to Demetri's and, releasing her lip she had bitten into, she cleared her throat. "I wanna win."

Nodding slowly, Demetri tilted his head, but he wasn't less serious than he had been. "For that to happen, you have to ask yourself a question, and be honest about the answer." Giving her a moment to nod that showed she was paying attention, Demetri clicked his tongue. "Can you trust me?" When she immediately opened her mouth, he cut in before she could say a word. "I'm not asking if you do. I'm asking if you can change your perspective."

Lips thinning, Bella wrapped her arms around her stomach. "I don't know what you mean."

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling, Demetri let out a breath from his nose and, once he knew how to explain it, he returned his sights to his mate. "For most of the time you've been here, you've only ever seen me as your sire's stand-in, because for most of the time you've been here, that's exactly what I've been. What I'm asking is, can you take the step back and change the mental perspective that I'm attempting to take his place? Can you trust that I know what I'm doing, and even if you don't like something I have you do, there is a reason for it and that at the end of the day, it's all to your benefit? Do you believe you can do that?"

Once again biting into her bottom lip, Bella dropped her eyes down to her fingers, watching as she picked at a piece of human flesh that was stuck under her nail she had completely forgotten was there as she let her mind take on a life of its own; something we was starting to get get used to. It was still a little odd to her she could think of every bad thing that could happen while at the same time think of all the things that could go right while also making mental comparisons, but that's what she did, and in only a couple of minutes, returned her eyes to Demetri, having long since dislodged the decayed skin, and though there wasn't as much confidence as she would have like in the action, Bella did nod her head. "Yeah, I can do that."

Seeing at least a willingness to try if nothing else in his mate's eyes, Demetri smiled at her and tilted his head toward his desk. "Then pick one. We leave in an hour."