Chapter 8:

Unequivocally In Trouble

Bella noticed the soft pair of lips that were pressed to her own. Yes, soft. Way softer than she had expected. In addition, they were not that cold either but maybe that could have been she herself that was near freezing to death. Her limbs were numb and thousands of pointy needles were attacking her all over the body. Had it not been for the vampire holding her, she would certainly be under water right now.

However, just a moment later, those soft pair of lips were moving against her own. Slowly and gently. Hesitantly. It was not a kiss of passion or love. It was a simple kiss born out of the feeling that they were in this together. That whatever was happening, it was happening to both of them and they were both being affected by this. It was a kiss of surrendering yourself to other and it was the kiss that symbolized the end of denial.

The kiss, however, did not last long. Victoria broke the kiss off to stare deeply into Bella's eyes without saying anything and Bella feel doubt and insecurity seep into her. What if Victoria was kissing her just to feel what was it like to kiss her and not actually wanted to share her feelings? Or what if she did not share her feelings after all?

Bella could see the moment when irritation and anger melted into Victoria's eyes and the features on her face grew hard.

"What were you thinking Bella? Did you not think that the jump might kill you?" Victoria asked with a tone teetering on the edge of anger.

"I was… I was just trying to have some fun, feel some rush of adrenaline." Bella said meekly. On the hindsight, that idea really was stupid.

"Did you not have anything else to do to have fun? Even if you did not drown, the water is still cold enough to kill you." Victoria spat with a little more anger in her voice.

Bella had enough. She burst loudly, "It's not like you have anything to do with me. You did not want to be with me. So why do you suddenly care now?"

Victoria took a deep breath before speaking, "I don't want not to be with you Bella. It's just..." She closed her eyes and looked away in helplessness, unable to say anything.

Bella suddenly shivered wildly and Victoria suddenly seemed to recall where they were and she gripped Bella tightly, "We will talk after I get you dry and to some safe place." And without further ado, she started swimming to the bank of the river. Within moments, Bella was out of the water and found herself in front of the Cullen mansion, standing just in her underwear all soaked and dripping on the porch. Bella was fortunate enough that there was nobody to see her like this.

"Hold tight." Victoria said and in a single leap, jumped to the top floor of the building and took Bella in. With the force of a hurricane, Victoria ran around the room fetching Bella some towels and extra clothes to wear.

It took Bella some time to dry herself off and change into the clothes the vampire her lend to her. Throughout that time, Victoria could not be seen anywhere. Bella was not sure if she had stepped out to give her some privacy or was spying at her from somewhere. Bella dismissed that belief quickly. Victoria did not have to step away if she wanted to take a peek at her.

It was only after Bella was dry and comfortable in the house, she saw Victoria coming out of the kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. So there she was. They decided to take a seat in the living room on the couch. Bella sat opposite to Victoria and looked at her determinedly. Both of them knew that they needed to talk. It was high time they did.

"Before you begin, I will tell you again that I did not want to kill myself." Bella said, straight to the point, "I was stressed out lately with you acting all angry and jealous and Jacob threatening me, I did not know what to do. I just wanted to feel something."

Victoria ignored everything Bella said and focused on just one thing that had her eyes growing hard and her gripping the couch so strongly that it almost broke, "Jacob threatened you? How dare that mutt try to threaten something that is mine…"

Bella cut Victoria off in the middle, "I am not yours Victoria."

The vampire looked hurt at that exclamation and looked away. However, Bella was not done, "You don't get to do that to me. You don't get to act all hot and cold to me and then expect me to welcome you with open arms. It doesn't work like that."

"I apologize." Victoria said in a cold voice, her eyes full of hardness.

Bella took a sip from her mug and spoke, softly this time, "I am not saying that I don't want to be yours. But in order to do so, you have to be mine too. Relationships don't work one way."

Victoria said nothing. She just kept on looking at Bella with some unreadable expression in her eyes. A few minutes with silence between them. The only sound being Bella sipping coffee from her mug. The heat of the drink soothed her throat and she instantly began to relax.

Bella suddenly recalled something that she had forgotten while being angry with Victoria. "You said that you don't want to lose another mate. You don't want to lose me. Did you mean that?"

Victoria said nothing. She just kept on looking at Bella with the same unreadable expression on her face.

Bella's heart was racing and she was sure the vampire could sense that too. However, that was not the time to think about that. This was the time for the truth. "Victoria, did you mean that?" She asked almost desperately.

The vampire was silent for a long time and then she moved her head in a tiny nod, almost imperceptible. Bella's heart almost burst out of her chest in relief.

"Then why do you act like you don't care about me?" Bella asked. "Why do you intend upon pushing me away when we could be together?"

Victoria could not take anything more, "Because I am scared." She almost yelled. "I am scared." She covered her eyes with her hands. "James was not the first love I lost. I had another when I was a human. Do you know what it is like to lose someone you love two times? Do you know what it is like to live thinking that you will be alone forever? What it is like to love someone and you are nothing more than prey to them?"

Victoria continued without letting Bella speak, "And then here you come, a human who is the reason I lost everything. Yeah, James was the one who wanted a hunt but I was the one who lost everything. Then I start feeling something for you, something other than hate and anger. And I can't take it anymore. I don't know whether to hate you for all the pain you have caused me or accept you as someone who might bring some semblance of happiness for me. I don't want to let you in only for you to leave me one day. I can't survive that. I have been hurt one too many times. I can't take it anymore. I just can't."

Victoria lowered her face into her hands and if vampires could cry, she would be sobbing right now.

Bella did not know what to do in this situation. She just got up and sat beside Victoria on the couch. She put her arms around the vampire and said in a soft tone, "I am sorry. I did not know what you could have been going through. I was only thinking about myself and that you did not want me. I did not even think that something could be bothering you too. I am sorry."

Victoria just shook her said and said in a thick voice, "Please just go."

Bella shook her head and gripped the vampire more tightly. "No I won't. Let me be here for you. I won't even say anything to you. I won't yell at you for pushing for me away. Just don't shut me out. Please Victoria. I love you. Let me be here for you and show you how much I care about you."

Victoria just shook her head tiredly. However, fortunately, she did not let go and let Bella held her tightly.

ooo

They sat there in silence together for a long time until it started to get dark and Bella started feeling sleepy. She was hungry too, having not had anything that since the breakfast. Victoria heard the growl of Bella's stomach and looked at her. "It is getting late. Your father will worry about you. Let's get you home."

Bella looked at Victoria skeptically, "If this is a trick to get me out of here…" She did not complete the sentence and let it hanging in the air.

Victoria shook her head, "I am just concerned about you Bella. I am not trying to get rid of you. We will talk more tomorrow."

Bella could see the sincerity on the vampire's face and simply asked, "You promise?"

Victoria nodded her head earnestly, "I promise. Now let's go." She then went back into the kitchen and came back carrying a small plastic container in her hand. "There is some sandwich in here for you. I thought that you would be too tired to cook so I made it for you." Bella smiled gratefully in return taking the container and squeezed Victoria's hand softly.

Bella stood up and instantly felt her vision going blurry. She put a hand to her head and she felt dizzy. Unable to stand longer, she flopped back down on the couch with a groan.

Victoria was instantly back by her side, "You okay, Bella?"

Bella shook her head no. It was only after the world stopped spinning, she decided to stand again.

"I must be getting sick." Bella murmured, "I feel a headache coming."

"Let's get you home then." The vampire said softly and picked Bella up bridal style. The brunette instantly protested and asked Victoria to put her down.

"But you…" Victoria tried to say but Bella put a hand on her arm to calm her down.

"I am fine now. I will walk." Bella said nodding her head.

The redhead hesitantly let her down but kept a firm grip on her arm. Bella let her help her and they slowly walked out.

Suddenly Bella remembered that she had left her truck at the edge of the cliff and had not gotten any time to get it back. "I don't want to go back to the cliff and then drive back home. But I can't leave it there. Charlie might get suspicious."

Victoria chuckled once and said, "Don't worry. I will drive you home. And if Charlie asks you something, tell him that you were with me."

Bella raised her eyebrows and asked, "And what will I tell him? Until two days ago, he believed that you left me. It would be hard to explain how we suddenly made up and you are my girlfriend now."

Victoria said nothing to that word, "You can tell him anything you like Bella. He'll understand."

It took them fifteen minutes to reach back to the cliff where Bella had parked her truck. She was getting sleepier by the moment and she was glad that the vampire had offered to drive her home. She was not sure that she was in the condition to drive back home.

As they neared close, Bella could see that the light was in her truck was on and the engine was revving. She was sure that she had shut the engine down. As they drew closer, Bella felt Victoria stiffen and let out an angry growl as the vampire stopped walking and pulled Bella protectively behind her. Bella was confused. What was happening?

Suddenly, the driver's side door opened and a tall, muscular figure stepped out the truck. Bella felt the anger grow inside her and she almost snapped at the man who was hounding her relentlessly.

"So you are the new leech Bella is fascinated with." Jacob spoke with his voice dripping with coldness.

Victoria said nothing. She just kept standing in front of Bella. However, Bella knew that she was analyzing the enemy, forming battle plans and strategies to either attack or run away.

"I thought that you would be somebody different." Jacob exclaimed casually and then his voice took an overtone of mockery, "Oh and there is it- red eyes."

He walked a couple steps and Victoria instinctively stepped back, pushing Bella along with her whilst keeping a careful hand on her shoulder. Jacob suddenly stopped walking and wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Yet you all smell the same- you reek of death."

"It's not like you are some expensive essence either mutt." Victoria replied in a caustic voice.

Bella had enough. She cut them off before anybody could throw another insult out, "What are you doing here, Jacob?" Her voice was laden with irritation.

"You don't talk Bella." Jacob retorted sharply. "What are you doing? Spending time with the likes of her? The Cullens at-least did not drink from humans. How low are you gonna fall?"

"You don't talk to her like that." Victoria growled but she did not move away from the spot that she was standing.

"What are you gonna do to me leech?" Jacob snarled, "I can easily kill you. You should not have come here."

"I am not afraid of your little pack of dogs." Victoria said in a dead calm voice. "I have fought and survived stronger and more dangerous things than you. Now get away from the vehicle and go back to your group while you are still alive."

Jacob snarled and started quaking wildly. Bella could almost see the wolf bursting out of his body and knew that the situation would get real ugly real fast.

"Jacob." She yelled, coming out from Victoria's protective stance. "Stop being a jerk. Let us go."

It seemed as if that statement surprised Jacob so much that he stopped quaking and looked at Bella with a deep scowl on his face, "You are seriously choosing her? She's a murderer Bella. She drinks from humans."

Bella flinched but regained her composure, "She doesn't…" She then looked at Jacob and shook her head, "You know what? I don't have to explain myself to you. Yes I choose her."

Jacob looked at her disgustingly and took a step in her direction. Victoria immediately tried to pull her back but Bella put a hand on hers stopping her. "Please go Jacob. It's clear that our friendship doesn't mean anything to you. It's too late now. Let me go and you go your own way."

To her surprise, Jacob actually stepped away from the vehicle but looked at her dangerously, "Don't come complaining to me when you are lying in some ditch dead after she tires of you."

Victoria bared her teeth in a snarl but Bella calmly said, "I won't." She grabbed Victoria's hand and started walking towards her truck.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew their way and Jacob stiffened. He once again started quaking wildly and snarled, "Your smell. She is turning you in a leech. She is turning you into a monster." And before Bella could understand what was happening, a giant russet wolf was standing where Jacob stood just a moment ago and it was leaping at her.

Everything happened in a moment that Bella could not even comprehend. One moment, she was looking at the wolf hurtling down at her with an unimaginable speed and the next thing she knows is that she is on the ground with a mouthful of dirt and the wolf is nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, a growl that sounded from below the cliff captured her attention and she rushed to the edge of the cliff to see what was happening, ignoring the pain that flared through her wrist.

There, she saw a big wolf and a flash of red, tussling and tumbling down the rocky cliff. Bella's heart was beating wildly in her chest and she could not see clearly, what was happening. There was a lot of roar and angry shouts coming from below and then a loud splash, indicating that they had fallen into the river below.

A lot of splashing could be heard from the river below and Bella was waiting with baited breath, praying to every deity possible that Victoria was fine. Just a few moments later, the said vampire jumped out of darkness landing just beside Bella. She screamed loudly and almost fell back into the river but the vampire grabbed her hand.

Bella took a moment to assess how Victoria was. The vampire was standing bare from the top in front of her. Her shirt was completely torn off, just a small strip hanging from her right shoulder and there was a big gash covering the entirety of her belly, starting from her shoulder and ending right into her naval. It was like someone had taken a chisel and vandalized a marble sculpture.

Bella could only look at the gash in horror, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.

"You..." She could not say a single word.

"I am fine." Victoria shrugged, "He caught me off guard when we fell into the water. I was not fast enough."

"Jacob?" Bella asked questioningly.

"He escaped when he noticed that he could not win." Victoria growled. "Now let's get you back to your home."

"But you are hurt…" Bella protested feebly. She did not know what to do. She had never seen a vampire injured before. Granted that the wound could not bleed, it still did not look good.

"I will be fine." Victoria said tightly. "After I have my fill of the blood, I will heal. Now let's get you home."

Bella quietly shrugged off her jacket that was given to her by Victoria and put it around the vampire to cover her and the gash that was making Bella nauseated.

Victoria took Bella by her hand who was still standing shell-shocked. The vampire almost had to drag her to the truck. Bella clearly noticed that the vampire was having trouble walking but she decided not to comment for the time being. She had to digest other things for the moment.

The ride home was spent in silence, which was only broken by the loud thud of Bella's heart and the pounding of blood in her ears. Her heart had still not calmed down and Bella kept looking out of the window every once in a while to ascertain that Jacob and his pack of wolves were not following them. Victoria stopped the car just as they were about to make the final turn.

"It's best that your father does not know what happened today. You will be putting him in more danger. Act normal and call me if the wolves decide to pay you a visit." Victoria said seriously.

Only after Bella nodded in understanding, the vampire got out of the truck and let Bella come over to the driver's side. When Bella started the engine, she noticed that Victoria was standing close to her. The vampire tenderly put a hand to Bella's cheek and said in a gentle voice, "Take care, Bella. I don't want anything to happen to you. I…" The vampire wanted to say something else but she shook her head and the coldness on Bella's cheek disappeared.

"Victoria…" Bella tried to call out to the vampire but she was long gone. Bella decided to head to her home. She would be seeing Victoria in a couple hours in her bedroom. Still, Bella could not explain why she felt like that sounded like a goodbye.

ooo

Charlie was watching some baseball game when Bella closed the door and immediately her father looked at her with concerned eyes, "Bella? Where were you?"

"I…" Bella did not know what to say. She could not tell her father the truth where she went earlier that day and what happened with her. "I was with a friend." She hated lying to her father but there were some things that she could not just let him into.

Charlie raised an eyebrow in suspicion and then he shook his head and sighed loudly. He stood and walked over to Bella, "I am just concerned about you Bells." He said gently. "You are once again falling into that habit of yours where you would sit back for hours on end without doing or saying anything. I cannot bear seeing you like that."

Bella knew that it must have taken her father a lot of effort to say what he did. Neither one of them were people who would easily share their emotions.

"I am fine Dad. I am really fine." She said with a false smile on her face. If her father noticed it, he did not say anything. "I am quite tired. I am going to sleep now." She said and awkwardly tried to move past her father.

Charlie called out name and Bella stopped on the stairs.

"Yeah Dad?" She asked looking back at him.

Charlie once again sighed and simply said, "Goodnight Bells. Take care."

"Night Dad." She said and quickly escaped to her bedroom.

Bella knew that she was pulling away from her father and it was likely that he realized that too. But this was something she could make herself to stop. Things were going on in her life, certain things that should be kept hidden. If his Dad had any inkling about any supernatural thing, there was no saying what would happen to him.

Bella sighed loudly and flopped down on her bed. What was happening between her and her father could be pondered on later. First, she had to retrospect on everything that had happened today. Bella's stomach once again growled loudly and she pulled out the sandwich the redhead had packed for her. Within no time, she had finished her first sandwich and was chewing her way with the second.

After she was done, Bella wrapped the paper into a roll and threw it into the dustbin. She flopped on the bed. Bella closed her eyes and starting going through with the things. First, she realized that it was quite stupid of her to jump into the river. She could have died or something else. It was only because of Victoria that she was alive. How did the vampire know where to find her? Was she keeping tabs on her? Bella would not put that past Victoria. However, she could not blame the vampire for that. Quite possibly that habit of the feral woman had saved her life.

However, she knew that after what happened today, she could not go back to fighting and bickering with the vampire. The kiss between them was a testament to that fact. And heavens, the kiss was phenomenal. Bella had not kissed many people in her life. There was just a boy in her freshman year that liked her and the kisses she shared with Edward. Now, there was Victoria. The kiss- she could not even describe how wonderful that felt. It was everything that she wanted. It was better than the ones she shared with Edward. It was warm, sweet, and full of love. It was the best kiss she had ever had in her life. But maybe that could have been biased. After all, it was so long ago that she had her last kiss.

However, what was important was that she wanted more of those kisses and something more. She wanted Victoria to want her, she wanted Victoria to desire her. About that, she knew something had changed in Victoria today. Maybe the possibility that she might lose another mate had made Victoria confess her feelings.

Mate. The words still felt foreign in Bella's mind. Edward never called her, his mate. She was his girlfriend. The word mate sounded something animalistic, something primal. Bella was not sure how she felt about that but she was glad that Victoria acknowledged that there was some connection between them. A connection that went deeper than simply attraction and Bella was glad that the redhead brought this into focus.

Sweet things aside, there was something else that needed to be addressed. Jacob finding out that Bella is with another vampire and he had directly attacked that vampire. In addition, he had managed to wound and hurt Victoria. If he did that once, he could do that again. They had to stay safe and avoid the wolves at all cost.

Bella had started to feel exhausted and a little fuzzy in her mind. She did not know what was happening. Maybe it was exhaustion pulling her in deep. It started after Victoria dropped her home and it was only growing slowly. Maybe it was the result of the adrenaline rush that had made her grow all lethargic.

Bella tried to stay awake but could not fight the fatigue and was pulled under.

ooo

Bella knew she was dreaming. She could tell that in her dreams. But nothing made sense. All she could see was images and colors that she felt were ripped apart from time itself. Something was happening. Something strange. Something weird.

Then the images changed and Bella found herself back on the cliff. It was not like any dream she had ever had before. She could clearly see everything and feel things too. If Bella was not sure that was dreaming, it would have been hard to tell it apart from a dream.

Suddenly the ground from beneath her feet shifted and she tumbled down. The world was going round and everything felt dizzy. But before she could hit the water below, it felt like she was sucked out of the very air and deposited back on the cliff. Her stomach lurched violently and she staggered back, falling on the ground. What was happening? Never before, she had a dream like this. Never before had anything felt so real. Bella was now not very sure that she was dreaming.

Something sounded far to her right and Bella started walking that way. After she had walked just a few meters, the world once again shifted and she found herself standing in the forest. The Cullen mansion stood right in front of her and it was burning. Bella could only watch in horror as the fire ate away the pristine building, turning it into a black, charred piece of worthlessness.

From behind the house, some animalistic noise were coming and then there was a loud growl. Bella stumbled back instinctively. She turned her head all around to see where the noise was coming from.

What she saw next had Bella frozen to the ground. Victoria stumbled out from behind a tree, all broken and battered. Bella ran as fast as could and caught the vampire before she could fall on the ground. She gently lowered her on the ground. The vampire was bleeding profusely and there were cuts littered all over her body. The vampire gave a violent cough and looked into Bella's eyes.

"Go save yourself." The redhead then closed her eyes as she slumped down in her arms, breathless.

"No." Bella screamed in terror. "No, Victoria. No. Please wake up. You have to fight this. Wake up." The redhead did not wake up.

Another growl sounded from behind the trees and Bella saw Jacob appear in his wolf form. Two another wolves flanked him on either side.

"I told you leech." The wolf spoke, "You are gonna die."

Bella looked down at her hands. They were pale white, like a vampire's. Bella let out a loud growl at the wolves as she jumped towards them in fury.

Bella woke up with a flinch. Her heart was beating loudly and she was about to jump off her bed in panic. It was only a dream, Bella reminded herself. It was only a dream. But the why did it feel so real? Never before, she had had a dream that felt so real. What was happening to her?

Bella looked to the empty rocking chair in her room and then the window that was closed. There was no sign that the vampire had been in her room. Maybe she went on a hunt, Bella's mind supplied. Or she could have been caught up in something.

Or she could have been attacked, the dark part of her mind supplied. Bella shook her head to dispel the negative thoughts. Victoria was safe, she reminded herself. However, that did not explain the dreams. Had the vampire put something in the sandwich? What? Why? Bella shook her head. It did not seem like it. If she were to believe that Victoria would do such a thing, she would put something to make Bella keep sleeping through the night, not have weird dreams.

However, what happened in the dream was very peculiar. She was the vampire and Victoria was the human who had been attacked by the wolves. Bella groaned. Nothing made sense.

Bella saw her mobile phone that was lying on the nightstand. She picked it the up and dialed Victoria's number. The phone rang for a few moments and then it ended. Huh, strange. Bella tried again but the phone was not picked up. After the fourth time the vampire did not receive her call, Bella started feeling anxious. What was happening? Where was Victoria?

Bella could not sit anymore on the bed without getting panicked and anxious. Her fear was climbing up as time passed and by the ninth call, she could not control herself anymore.

What was happening? Where was Victoria? Something is wrong, Bella's mind supplied and she could not suppress that anymore. Something was amiss.

Bella. The word rang in her ears. Victoria! Bella perked up but the window did not open. No vampire climbed in. Bella. The same faint voice rang in her ears and Bella started to feel paranoid. Something strange was happening to her. Bella put the phone down on the nightstand and started pacing in the room.

Bella. The voice once again sounded and the said woman realized that she was not hearing voices. The voice was in her head. The sound was getting weaker and it sounded like Victoria was in a lot of pain. Bella's heart started beating faster. Maybe Victoria really was in danger.

Suddenly Bella recalled something and she stumbled back with a jerk. The window was close, there was no light in the room, and yet, she could see everything clearly. Bella looked at her reflection in the mirror and noticed that her irises were glowing and had a purple ring around them. She recalled something else- she had hit Victoria earlier with all of her might and it was the vampire who got hurt and not her. What was happening to her?

Bella. The voice sounded again in her ears and Bella groaned, clutching her head in frustration. It felt like someone was hammering her head from the inside. Bella could not stop the curse that left her mouth.

Suddenly, everything went dark and Bella saw that she was standing in a field. Three wolves surrounded Victoria, she was missing one arm and she was fallen on the ground. A big russet wolf jumped at her and Bella screamed. Just a moment later, she was back in her room, plunged in darkness.

She instantly knew that she was not dreaming. She was having some sort of vision, how or why, she did not know. She just knew that she had to be there where her vampire was.

Bella focused determinedly and she could see clearly, the ring around her eye once again prominent. Bella quickly pulled a page that she kept in her drawer and quickly penned a letter to her father with shaking hands. She knew what she had to write.

I am sorry Dad but if you are finding this, it might be too late. I have to go. Just know that I was happy that I had you for a father. I will always love you.

Take care,

Bella.

Bella quickly folded the paper with tear in her eyes. She might not see her father after today and she knew that she had to do this. There was a huge chance that she might die today. But if she did that saving Victoria's life, she would not regret that.

Bella quickly opened the window and looked down. She knew she could make the jump. She gripped the windowsill and launched herself off the ledge, landing down on the ground as lithe as a cat. She did not know what was happening. Nor had she the time to find out. It seemed like she was turning into a vampire without actually being bitten.

Bella knew she could not take her truck. It would wake Charlie up and it was not fast enough. Bella knew that she could do this. Bella took a deep breath, focused all of her mind on saving Victoria and launched herself towards the Cullen mansion.

Bella ran fast, faster than she had ever ran, faster than she believed she could go. The wind was whipping on her face and her hair was blowing in the air. She did not stop for anything. She knew she had to find Victoria before it was too late.

It took her only a minute to reach the Cullen mansion. It was fortunately not on fire. However, that little thing did not mean that Victoria was not in danger. She quickly ran inside the house and checked all the rooms and even the bathrooms. There was deadly silence inside. Nobody was there. Suddenly, Bella lost her powers and felt fatigue overtake her.

No. Bella shouted in her mind. She could not afford to lose whatever was powering her up.

"Come on, come on." Bella shouted madly and grabbed her hair, pulling them from theirs roots. "Come on." She screamed loudly but nothing happened.

Forgetting everything, Bella quickly ran outside towards the direction she believed the fight might have been taking place. It was dark outside and she could not see clearly but Bella kept on running. She was panting loudly, was out of breath and her shirt was soaked with her sweat. She had started to stumble but she could not stop.

She ran into the forest getting whipped by branches and leaves in her face but she dared not stop. Suddenly, her foot caught on something and Bella landed face-first on the ground. Her arms was scraped and her lips were caught on her teeth and she could taste the blood on them.

Bella gripped the tree trunk for support and got up. Bella. The voice sounded again and Bella felt like her head would split open with the pain. Suddenly, she felt coldness washing over her body and once again, that latent vampire superpower had turned back on.

Ignoring her wounds, Bella shot through the trees like an arrow in the direction she knew Victoria was fighting the wolves.

It did not take her long to reach the open field where she saw the same thing that she saw in her visions. Victoria was fallen on the ground, her legs unable to hold her and she was missing her right arm. The arm that was in the black wolf's mouth.

Bella felt rage overtake and she barreled into the wolf that was holding Victoria's arm. There was a loud bang and the wolf was thrown away. Bella grabbed Victoria's severed arm and held it securely in her grip. The second wolf that tried to stop her met the same fate. Bella jumped in the air and kicked the wolf sharply in its face causing it to fall down on the ground with a whimper.

Bella quickly ran towards the vampire and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, let's go." Bella muttered urgently.

"Bella?" Victoria looked up confused. Her eyes were trained on Bella's lips that were bleeding and her eyes turned coal black. She instinctively moved towards Bella leaning slowly.

Bella shook the vampire wildly with panic in her eyes. "Come on, let's go. We don't have enough time."

Victoria shook her head to dispel the haze of Bella's blood. "What are you doing here?" She asked confused.

"I will tell you later. Come on, hurry up." Bella said and tried to reattach the vampire's severed arm back to her arm but it did not stick.

"It's not healing." Bella growled in frustration and helplessness.

"It will take some time." Victoria murmured and kept pressure on her arm, trying not to move it too much. Bella dragged the vampire as fast as she could. However, amidst all the panic, she had forgotten about the third wolf that now stood in their way. Jacob. Who was now growling loudly. Victoria let out a growl of her own to match the wolf's.

Bella was now in a very dangerous situation. She knew that with Victoria hurt, there was not enough chances of them surviving all three of the wolves. Also, there was no telling with her fickly power when would it stop working.

Bella inched closer to Victoria as the wolf slowly walked towards them with a deep growl coming out of its throat.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" Bella simply stated to Victoria.

"Yes." The vampire replied in the same tone.

"Then why do you still do this?" Bella's voice held confusion and accusation.

"Because I thought that by doing this they would leave you alone." Victoria said shaking her head, "Now that you are still here risking your life, can we focus on saving ourselves?" Her voice held some emotion Bella could not put a finger to.

Jacob was now very close to them to be able to attack and both Bella and Victoria took a battle stance. With a growl, Jacob jumped and Victoria grabbed Bella and jumped through the air, landing behind Jacob. The wolf stopped in its tracks, his muscles and fur rippling and instantly turned back.

However, by that time it took Jacob to stop and turn back, Bella had grabbed Victoria's hand and they were running back as fast as they could.

"Is it a good time to tell you that something is happening to me?" Bella asked the vampire.

"How…?" The redhead spoke in an astonished tone but they did not stop running.

"Don't know." Bella said, "I just woke up…" The duo were knocked over by a huge force running straight into them.

Victoria managed to get herself back on her feet in no time at all but Bella, who was not that graceful, tumbled and rolled on the ground before coming to a stop. The black wolf was standing over them looking menacing, his mouth open, teeth glistening with saliva.

Victoria rushed over to Bella to help her up but in that short moment, the other two wolves had caught up to them cutting off their exit.

The black wolf jumped at them and Victoria slammed right into it. A huge crunching noise rang into the field and both of them were thrown away. Suddenly, Jacob was onto Victoria and he bit her right where her arm was severed and the redhead screamed in pain. Bella did not know what happened next. She would later call it instinct but in that moment it was a primal need to save her mate. She was in the air and right before she reached Jacob, she turned in a pirouette and kicked the wolf right into its nose. There was a sharp crunch and the wolf stumbled back, bleeding.

Bella let out an animalistic growl looking at the three wolves directly. While Jacob tried to recover, the other two jumped at her.

Everything happened in slow motion then. She could see the wolves jumping at her and she jumped high into the air, landing right behind them. With a speed she never knew was possible, she turned back and grabbed the light-brown wolf with its tail and slammed it right into the black one. Then she ran back to the smaller of the still falling wolves and pummeled the brown one to the ground, landing punches after punches. With a sharp jab to its carotid, it was down whimpering and slowly turned into a man lying in a fetal position.

Paul. Bella's mind said and paused for a moment. In the back of her mind, she knew that the wolves were men but she not anticipated that. She staggered back with surprise and then momentary pause caused her to lose her focus.

It was enough for the black wolf to take a grab at her and sink his teeth into her shoulder, right where it met her neck, taking out a big chunk of her flesh. Bella screamed in pain and was down on the ground whimpering excruciatingly. In no time at all, her right side was soaked with her blood. She tried to get up but she could not muster the power to. Her power had once again deserted her. She felt her body giving up and she could not keep herself from falling down.

Suddenly, Victoria was upon the black wolf, getting it away from Bella with a sharp kick to his neck. The wolf stumbled back in surprise and Victoria grabbed his body. Her arm was attached now and she used all of her power to squeeze the body. The wolf howled in agony when his bones started breaking and he was unable to maintain his wolf form.

Victoria threw the body away from her and it landed on the ground with a thud causing him to scream loudly. The redhead turned back to look at Jacob who was beginning to gain his focus with fury in her eyes. Not wasting a single moment, she started pummeling him just like she saw Bella do that to the other wolf.

Her haze was broken when Bella groaned on the ground. Victoria was stuck between wanting to kill the wolves and going to Bella. She had to choose fast. Bella had lost a lot of blood. It would not be long before she would lose her life.

The redhead knew what she would do. She left Jacob and rushed towards Bella. The girl was lying on the ground face down and her condition did not look good. Victoria slowly turned her back and gasped in horror. Her should was bitten off badly with the wolf-bite entering her neck. Bella was gasping in pain and was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Victoria picked the human up bridal style, clutching her close to her body. "Hang on, Bella." She said, "I won't let you die."

With a single glance at the wolves who were fallen on the ground, Victoria took off like a rocket, running across the meadow as fast she can while taking special care about the precious human, she carried in her arms.

Victoria kept on running as fast as she could. She jumped over rocks, crossed the streams and ran through the forest without stopping for a moment. It was only when Bella groaned in her arms that she stopped.

"Bella." Victoria put the girl down on the ground, keeping her head propped up in her arms.

"Where are we?" The girl asked groggily, whimpering in pain when she moved.

"Far." Victoria did not elaborate, "The wolves will not find us. You are seriously injured Bella, I am going to turn you." She said with a determined look on her face.

Bella shook her head no and Victoria could only stare at her in horror.

"What are you saying?" Victoria's mind was running miles a minute and if her heart could beat, it would be out of her chest.

"Let me go, please." Bella said with pain in her voice, "Go live your life."

"You are my life Bella." Victoria said looking at the girl in her arms earnestly, "Please let me change you."

Bella shook her head with tears in her eyes, "I will only drag you down. I am the reason you were in trouble today. You could have died today. You have to let me go."

"NO." Victoria said loudly, making Bella flinch, "Why are you doing this? All those time you wanted me and now when I want you too, you are telling me to let you go?" Her voice was laden with anger and pain.

"Please." Bella said sobbing.

"I won't." Victoria said with panic in her voice, "Please Bella, I love you. I can't live without you. You are the reason I am alive today. You saved me. Please don't do this."

Bella started sobbing and said with pain in her voice, "I can't live like that with you hating me and only liking me from afar. I can't live through that. If you can't be with me, please let me go."

Victoria looked at Bella with panic whose heart had now started to slow down. She spoke with desperation in her voice, "I will stay with you Bella. I will forever be with you. Please don't let go. I will do anything you say. I will not stay away for a moment. Please fight this. For me."

The vampire looked down at the woman in her arms who breath had suddenly grown shallower and her heart was stuttering. Bella did not have much time.

"Bella." Victoria cried with urgency in her eyes and the brunette opened her eyes once more to say softly, "I love you." With that, her eyes closed again.

ooo

Bella woke up to a burning thirst in her throat. The moment she thought about that, it grew hotter. Bella stood up and saw that she could see everything clearly, even in the night. She looked up in the sky and there were more stars than she had ever seen in her life.

She looked back down to her hands, saw that they were pale, and looked like they were made of granite. She flexed her fingers, nothing felt different from before. However, she felt different in her body, strong, invincible, and perfect. She closed her eyes and listened to everything around her, the sound of the wind, small insects making sounds as they went by, birds chirping in the air and there was a sound of a deep breath being taken.

Bella opened her eye and looked towards the direction of the sound. She saw that the redhead was standing in the lake nearby with water coming up to her upper back, hiding her beauty from Bella's eyes. She could only see the upper portion of her naked back, which was glistening with water.

Victoria was obviously aware of Bella waking up but she did not turn back. Bella slowly walked towards the water. Thinking of something, she slowly took off her shirt, then the jeans. Bella had no idea where the redhead had procured the clothes from, however, in that moment she did not care. Slowly, she took off all the clothes and started walking in a slow gait towards the naked beauty standing in the water. It felt like before when Victoria had taken her to that pond and did a strip-show. It felt so long since that time.

Bella could run as fast as she could but she took her time. There was all the time in the world for her now. For them, to stay together. She slowly waded into the water and walked up to the redhead who was standing with her back to her. Bella wrapped her arms around the feral beauty and put her chin on her shoulder.

"Hi beautiful." She said and was surprised to notice how bell like her own voice sounded. The redhead turned to face her with a smile on her face, "You are now just as beautiful as me Bella."

Bella was struck by how beautiful Victoria looked now that she was a vampire too and she could see her with perfect vision. She honestly could stare at her the whole day.

Bella laughed in that same chime. "No, you will be the most beautiful person to me." Then she remembered something and her voice turned serious, "The wolves?"

Victoria's face grew hard, "I don't know." Bella could almost hear the growl in her voice, "Saving you was more important than killing them. Therefore, I took you and ran. We are safe now. They will never find us."

Bella shook her head morosely, "I don't know how I will ever face my Dad knowing that I basically wrote a goodbye letter. He must be thinking that I took my own life."

Victoria hooked her finger under Bella's chin and brought her eyes up to meet her own, "It's okay Bella. Keeping him away from our world was the right thing to do. You might have just saved his life."

"But…" Bella tried to say something but the redhead put a finger to her lips, stopping her. "Let him grieve Bella. He needs to know that he might never see you ever again in life. Meeting you will only get him killed if you can't control yourself. When I will know that you can control yourself, you can meet him."

Bella only nodded her head in understanding. However, it did not mean that it hurt any less.

They kept on holding each other for a long while. To dispel the awkward silence, Bella looked up at Victoria and said, "I am not drinking from humans."

Victoria just laughed in that same bell-like voice and hugged Bella tightly, "Whatever you say, Bella. Whatever you say."

Bella looked deep into Victoria's eyes, suddenly gripping her tighter to her own naked body. The redhead let out an oomph but Bella did not care.

"So this is it?" Bella asked with hope in her voice, "We will stay together?"

"Together." Victoria nodded.

"Forever?" Bella's face was sporting a huge smile.

"Forever." Victoria could not control the smile that spread on her own face seeing Bella smile like that, so carefree.

They slowly leaned towards each other and just as their lips met, Bella tightened her arms around the redhead and they melded into one.

Their journey was a long one, full of pain, full of heartbreak. But as they say, there is a small line between love and hate, something beautiful grew out of the hateful relationship they started with. It was not their happy ending. It was their happy beginning. Together. Forever.

ooooooo

So this is it. This is where the story ends. I hope you liked it. Before publishing this chapter, I went back to the previous ones and edited and changed things. If there are any errors, please feel free to let me know.

I am sorry that I had to end this story so suddenly. If I had waited any longer, I would not have ever written it. But I hope it's not too stilted.

This is the first novel-length story I've ever finished. I have more stories that I will go back to write. Hope it happens.

See you soon.

Read and Review.

Peace!

-mindependent.