I.

Rosalie was rather taken aback by Bella's words. She had the power to break mate bonds? That didn't sit well with Rosalie at all.

"You think, after all of this, that is what I'd want?" Rosalie hissed. Bella held her hands up in surrender.

"I don't know what to think anymore, to be perfectly honest. I just wanted to give you the choice. It doesn't mean I would force it on you. I know that much." She said. Rosalie took a breath, willing herself to calm down from her spike of anger.

"Is that what you want?" Rosalie asked, a little bitterly. Bella shook her head.

"No. Despite what you might think, I do like you Rosalie, and not just because I'm subjected to the trappings of humanity. You are an exquisite individual." She answered. "In another life, I'd have to fight off my siblings for you. But as it is, most of them are busy with other endeavors to care what I do. Some probably think I've disappeared forever." Rosalie frowned.

"Is that possible for a demon?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Technically yes. Demons can't die, we're mostly fallen angels after all. But we live off of human souls. And if a demon stops collecting, they may wither away into nothing more than a shadow. Not capable of real consciousness, but still technically alive." Bella clarified.

"So you…" Rosalie trailed off. Bella shrugged.

"It is the way of the demon. There's nothing I can do about the price to survive. Vampires consume the blood of humans to survive, nothing is fundamentally different."

"We don't." Rosalie pointed out. "And collecting their souls, doesn't that condemn humans to hell? Everlasting torture and all of that?" Bella just laughed.

"You have a point on the first one, though I'd argue animal blood, while sustaining, doesn't allow you to reach your full potential. But to each their own." Bella started, glancing at Rosalie. "Secondly, some demons do sneaky deals and use manipulation to capture human souls. And even if I wanted to, there's nothing I can do to stop that. No more than you can stop all vampires from feeding off of humans. I do try to be a bit more ethical about it these days. Or at least as ethical as you can be when you're damming a soul to hell."

"Such as?" Rosalie asked, a little skeptically.

"Many humans over the millennia have called my name specifically. Most don't know what they are invoking and I give them the chance to change their mind, like I've given you that choice." Bella said. "Many, however, choose to follow the path they've blazed and willingly hand over their soul for my help. I simply accept their deal, grant them power and when they inevitably die, their soul is mine for the taking."

"That's what's considered ethical?" Rosalie pressed. Bella sighed.

"In a world where demons actively prey on humans, possess them against their will, trick them into deals where they trade everything for fundamentally nothing; yes, it is. This body was willingly traded for a rather large favor. I always fulfill deals I choose to accept to the fullest. I give humans a real choice, not just the illusion of choice. I cannot help what I am, Rosalie. No more than you can help what you are."

Rosalie blinked. That wasn't the answer she expected. On some level, she understood. Like her, Bella was living with the hand she was given. The will to survive was a strong instinct and Rosalie couldn't fault Bella for not wanting to just give up and wither away. She found a way to sustain herself, but attempt to do as little damage to humanity as possible. Not something she'd expect from any demon. But she was learning that demons were more complicated than theology would lead anyone to believe.

"And what do you want from me?" Rosalie asked, a little timidly. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.

"From you? Nothing. I want you to be happy with your choices. I still stand by what I did, I still believe that was for the best. But I also realize that I took that choice away from you, and I have lived for a long time, never wanting to take someone's choice from them. Perhaps choice is anathema to a demon, given our origin story, particularly my own. But perhaps that is one place where God was right." Bella said slowly. "So I'm offering you that choice. Nothing more, nothing less. Our future is in your hands."

"But what do you want?" Rosalie asked again, a little more assertively. Bella raised an eyebrow.

"I will admit, the mating bond pulls at me as much as it pulls at you. Especially now that I released it. I feel your emotions. Feel the conflict in your heart. And I feel a strange sense of pain knowing that I caused it. These emotions are foreign to a demon. We don't experience love, not normally. But already, I feel my heart pulling towards you. I want to remain in your life. But will leave if you choose." Bella said. Rosalie was a little surprised at the admission. She expected Bella to sidestep the question, not answer it head on.

"And if I'm not sure what I want?" Rosalie asked. Bella shrugged.

"I will wait for your answer, for as long as it takes."

II.

Rosalie and Bella went their separate ways shortly after, giving Rosalie some time to think about Bella's offer.

She was conflicted.

On the one hand, being mated to a demon did scare Rosalie. What it meant for the future. Could she even trust what Bella was telling her? Demons were notorious for manipulating and twisting their words to get others to do what they wanted. She knew that she felt the mating bond towards Bella, but did it truly work both ways? And if the demon inside the vessel left the shell, where would that leave her?

But on the other hand, assuming Bella was being truthful, she didn't want to break their mating bond. She genuinely liked Bella. She could even envision a world where she fell for the demon organically, without all the supernatural interference.

As she returned home, she was immediately met with Emmett, giving her a questioning look. Rosalie rolled her eyes. "It was fine." She said, keeping her words vague since the rest of the family was listening in as well. Emmett nodded, throwing an arm around Rosalie's shoulders. The blonde vampire tensed reflexively but relaxed immediately after.

"Well, if you ever need any of my wisdom, let me know." He teased. Rosalie chuckled, ducking out from under Emmett's arm.

"I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Fountain of Wisdom." She retorted before heading into the garage, shutting the door behind her. A rather obvious signal that she wanted to be left alone for a while.

She leaned up against the door, running a hand through her hair, a new habit from the last day or two. She wandered over to her BMW, popping the hood, propping it up as she peered into the belly of her baby.

There was a knock at the garage door. Rosalie growled to herself, rolling her eyes. "What is it Alice?" She asked as her sister opened the door cautiously. Alice stepped into the garage, shutting the door behind her.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Rosalie sighed, lifting her head slightly, but her back still turned toward Alice.

"I'm fine." She deflected. She could almost picture Alice's skeptical look.

"You don't seem fine. What happened?" She asked again.

"We talked." Rosalie said curtly. Alice's shouldered sagged a little.

"Rose, whatever is going on between you two, I promise you, the mating bond is worth it. Carlisle, Esme and Jasper would all tell you the same, I'm sure. You've found your mate. She's worth it." Alice said passionately before leaving Rosalie alone with her thoughts.

Alice's words resounded in her head. The mating bond is worth it.

III.

Bella flopped onto the couch after Rosalie ran off. She let out a sigh. She didn't know what else she could do but wait. She didn't want to force Rosalie into a choice, but Bella also wanted an answer soon so she could plan.

A body sat at the end of the couch, near her feet. "That went well." He said. Bella rolled her eyes.

"I'm really not in the mood, Modi." She retorted.

"You really don't have the luxury of time here." He replied calmly.

"I know that." She snapped, before signing. "Sorry. I'm just… frustrated." She said.

"You know you could just leave that body and be done with all of this, right? It's not like there's realistic limits on your powers now. At least for one off things like this." He said.

"I know, I know. But…" She trailed off.

"You want this." He finished, a statement, not a question. Bella shrugged, putting her face in her hands.

"I don't know. I just… I'm not used to these feelings." She admitted.

"I can't say I can relate. I've not been with this body as long as you've been with that one. But I do know matters of the heart. Humans, and by extension vampires, always think love is the way. It's the answer." The demon next to her said. "But that's only if both are willing to fight for it. To use it in the way that it was meant to be used. Most don't. You know our siblings use that as a weakness. Do you think you can fight for it? And can she?" He asked. Bella shrugged.

"I just don't know. I want to, but it's not in my nature. Even now, I keep my secrets from her."

"Then tell her."

"You know I can't do that." She replied.

"Do you not trust her?" Modi asked.

"It's not that. Even if I told her, she wouldn't use it against me. It's the way of mating bonds. But she's vulnerable. Mentally. And it would be a drain on my energy to protect her constantly." She justified. Modi rolled his eyes.

"You know as well as I do that completing the mating bond would solve that problem." He huffed.

"Perhaps, but if I do that while keeping my story from her, she'll never forgive me for that." She replied.

"Look who grew a conscious." Modi mocked. Bella just rolled her eyes.

"Let's just say, this is more complicated than I would like."

"What is there to be complicated? Either you tell her, complete the bond and be done with it. Or you never tell her, break the bond, leave that body and move on. It seems pretty simple to me." He pressed.

"Or, I wait for her answer, respect her decision and move from there." She countered.

"How can she make that decision, in so called good faith as you're such a fan of nowadays, without knowing the whole story. About what she's really getting into. Not to mention, you've got another problem on your tail right now. She's walking into all of that blind. And you're letting her."

Bella huffed. "Fine. You're right. Forgive me for wanting to be protective of the one thing that has real power over me."

"If you walk into this, you're going to have to tell her at some point. Look, just talk to her some more. Maybe you don't tell her everything. Maybe you don't give her your full name. But if you're serious about this, you can't let her get wrapped up in our world without knowing what she'll be committing to."

IV.

Rosalie looked up at the night sky from her balcony, her mind preoccupied with her thoughts. Edward and Jasper were out hunting so she allowed her thoughts to wander more freely. She needed to know if Bella was telling her the truth. And she didn't know if she could trust the demon.

Trust was already a difficult thing for Rosalie, but knowing that her mating bond and even friendship with her was steeped in lies and deceit, she didn't know what to think anymore. Her heart tugged at her to let go. To just give in. But her head was far more hesitant. She wanted all her questions answered before she crumbled. She knew it was probably inevitable unless she accepted Bella's offer. And soon.

Rosalie sighed, about to jump from her balcony to the ground below before her phone buzzed. She frowned, pulling it from her pocket and unlocking it. A message from Bella waiting from her.

We need to talk. There's something else I need to tell you before you make your decision.

I've had a really hard time with this section. It's mostly a pacing thing. I know the trajectory of the story, it's mostly just how quickly do I want to go there. That said, I think I have half an idea at this point, and hopefully it'll be okay for most of you. That said, those of you who have criticisms of how I've written this, I hear you. I get the concerns. At the end of the day, my writing will never make everyone who reads it happy. And if you disagree with how I decide to pace all of this, you're not going to hurt my feelings if you stop reading. Fanfiction should be fun not a chore.

I will say that the next chapter is going to have a lot of demon lore and Bella's personal demonic story in it that is largely based on my own imagination and the small snippets I have of the demon she's based on. There isn't a ton, which actually makes my job a bit easier because there's more freedom to make things up. A lot of the demonic stuff is based on the movie called The Rite as well as a couple other demonic based horror movies, as most of them have pretty consistent themes.