Disclaimer:  Don’t own any of it.  My world, their characters.  Capiche?

Pre-Edit Count: 2,634 Words

Song: Madness by Muse

Previously:

All she needed was the chance to show it.  Moreover, Eric has allowed it.  She has fought him, according to Eric standing in his face yelling at him.  He had been amused at his tiny mate standing up to her tall Viking, but as Eric puts it, she can make him ignore her size, and feel like he is arguing with someone his size.  Also, he needs it. Eric needs love, tons of it, but he needs someone who will tell him no.  To deny him.  To make him not be all cocky with his age, which would make him in danger.

Eric deserves the Kingdom he has, he deserves the mate he has found, and he deserves the Bloodline being around him.  However, at the same time, he needs to remember the fight to have it all.   The luck to be able to attack the kingdom of Nevada, and take them all by surprise.  Also, Godric feels that this Bella will do it all.

With a smile, Godric acknowledges that he is looking forward to meeting Bella, and watching the two of them together.

Now:

Sitting in what has become his control room, Teo works on blocking the Cullen’s from being able to access anything when Eric comes.  He grins since he is working on his favorite thing: mischief.  Eric had asked him

He still sees attempts by someone to go online to make the marriage documents disappear, and lately, the doctor visit Bella had proving she was not a virgin.  He is waiting for the idiot to realize that no matter how many times he tries, he won’t make them disappear. This is such basic programming at its easiest.

While he was working on that as well as the set up for the casino, Eric brought his favorite child in.  The two of them have been nothing but trouble for anything that is against the bloodline.  Neither of them have time for the usual mischief with the bloodline since they have their hands full with everything else.

It is a glorious time to be part of the bloodline right now.

He is up early and loving how hidden his control room is to the rest of the world.  If needed, Ewan will show the humans the made up control room. Nevertheless, this is the heart of the kingdom now.  Well, the electronic heart.  Teo has every fucking thing he asked for and now he is gleefully playing along the internet, wreaking havoc with the blessing of his Maker, great-Maker and Brother-King.  Has life ever been better?

While he is watching the other monitors showing the status of the accounts of the bloodline, making whatever changes that he either is told to or sees a trend, he is also initializing the slot machines on top of  everything else.  Molly should be in soon, and he can have her finish that, as well add it to the app they are making Eric, Godric, and Eric’s mate to have on their phones.  Those are the same phones that Molly is altering so that they will keep them updated on what is happening to their kingdom no matter where they are.

Something captures his interest on one of the screen and he frowns, seeing that the Italian so-called royalty is making a move. They are ordering their plane to be ready to attend the so-called wedding.  His eyes dance to another screen, waiting to see if he is to do anything. Finally, the email comes to tell him to ignore it.  He nods, sending off an email to Eric to let him know there will be more company.

While this is going on, Ewan enters the room, leaning against the back wall so that he can observe the screens that almost encase his brother.  His eyes flicker to the monitors showing the casino, only containing workers at this point, but he can see that they will need more monitors.

When he goes to say something, Teo tells him, “I know.  But since we need to install the cameras ourselves to make sure they are hidden, I haven’t bothered to install the monitors.  I was thinking of lining the top of the wall with the monitors dedicated to the new ones.  Would that work?” He is already tweaking a few changes as he talks with his brother.

Turning his head slightly to the side, thinking of the addition with slightly narrowed eyes, Ewan finally nods.  “Yes.  I see Molly’s station is finally finished.” His eyes had flickered over there, as he made sure that his preferred spot in the room will also expose her monitors to him also.

Teo snorts as he makes another entry in his program to cover another account he has sussed out of the Cullens.  “Yep.  I love her, but she hampers my rhythm.” He grins as he remembers her complaining fondly.  It has been way too long since when she had left his side per the AP’s request.

“I’ve seen you dance, Master.  There is no such thing,” Molly comments as she drops off the phones she altered.  She then stands next to Ewan and asks, “Did you finish that list I asked for?” Her eyes meet him over her tablet that she has to help keep her connected to their beloved computers.

He laughs at the tiny woman, and hands her the list from his back pocket.  “I told you what I needed.  Did Teo fuck up your turning so much you can’t remember?” The tiny woman amuses him, but he cannot help but approve of her.  She can handle her Maker with a finesse that many would never guess from her.

She snorts as she takes the list to her station, putting it inside a file folder before turning on the station and grabbing another phone,.  “I wanted it in writing.  I learned with you last time Ewan, if there is something wrong, you will blame me.” She soon has her station powered up and her eyes are flipping from screen to screen checking on the requested programs to either tweak, or make.

He rolls his eyes, “One time in what 10 years?  What do you want?”

Without raising her eyes, she answers, “An apology.”

Teo chuckles.  Ewan moves behind him and asks, “What the hell are you doing now?  I thought you were going to get the slots online for the gaming Commission to test tonight.” Only due to years of seeing his brother’s screens and asking questions here and there allow him to ask the question, and not sound like an idiot.

Teo waives his hand to another screen as it is running something that looks like the Matrix.  “It’s running, and now that Molly is here, she will take it over.” With that, he tosses it over to her screen, and then goes back to what he was doing.

“And?”

“And I am working on making the Cullens’ lives miserable.  I am tracking down all the accounts, then I will  freeze them  before making them ‘disappear’.” He smirks as he makes a note, and then looks for the next one.  The glee in his eyes as he makes his mischief known tells all.

Chuckling, Ewan asks, “And Eric approved this?” He leans back into his position, checking what Molly is doing also.

“Nope, I plan to present it to him as a mating present.”  Teo stops and looks back at Ewan, “Do we have such a thing?” He frowns as he tries to think through the multiple rules they have if that had been mentioned at some time.

Molly snickers form her place, but when her Master looks at her, she is working.  Ewan cocks his head to the side, an evil grin on his face. “I don’t know.  But maybe we can start a new tradition in the bloodline?” He shrugs, not worrying about it.  Mating is so rare, that it won’t make any difference unless they are ancient.  Luckily, only Eric and Benedict qualify from their so-called generation.

They all snicker, and then look towards the entrance as Eric comes into the room.  They watch him, seeing how on edge he is. Each of them worry that the wait might be too much, and sympathize with his rage in not being able to get his mate.  Never has anyone waited this long to finish mating much less getting their mate.

Ewan asks him, “Brother?” Ready to do anything he needed, but hopes that this might be the time finally.  He only glances at the clock to see how much time is left to be able to arrange everyone in Forks.

Eric looks to him, “We need to be there tomorrow.  Start the plan.” His fangs are down from the excitement that he can finally get his mate.

They all look towards each other and grin evilly, Benedict groans from his place behind Eric.  “Couldn’t you tell them after we grabbed her?” He slumps against the doorway watching them all.

Eric’s eyes flicker, and he looks back at Benedict, “I could just leave you behind.” He lifts that damned eyebrow at Benedict.

The room laughs, but Teo and Molly are both already working as they ready the teams to move in.  Teo finally looks up at Eric, and admits to him, “We look forward to meeting her tomorrow.”

Eric nods, and pauses at the door, “Teo, I look forward to this gift.  Put ten percent in accounts for my mate.  She deserves something in retaliation of the suffering she has been dealt.”  With that, he left the room, their brother his ever present shadow nowadays.

Ewan shakes his head, “One of these days we will surprise him.”  Then he grins, “Maybe his mate will help.” He cannot help rubbing his hands in glee at the thought.

The group laughs, and Ewan leaves the room, calling his team to get them ready.  They had been waiting long enough. It is time to meet their new sister-in-law.

At the same time, in a dark room hundreds of miles from the vampires getting into action, the petite brunette they are getting ready to come get is laying on a bed.  She is not in the arms of the man who is her other half.  However, even with that issue, Bella is still smiling in her sleep, making the Cold One beside her seethe. While he is happy that she has continued to be human, he is not happy with the delay to get married. While he may lose her scent, and the nourishment of her blood, he can still enjoy the unique flavor of her once he changes her.

What is annoying about the delay is that since she came back from what should have been a last celebration of being human and single, is that it has brought the stubborn woman back to the forefront, thinking for herself.  He has to work harder, bathe her constantly in his scent, to keep her with him.   At first, it was an irritant, but when the pressure is being brought down to turn her and have her in service to the Volturi, it has become a serious roadblock.   Moreover, it became worse when her talking in her sleep stopped a month ago, and before that, there had been murmurs of another man.

Thinking back to when it all turned into this trial, was when Alice had informed him of the traditional vampire that had laid a kiss on his Bella on their last night in Las Vegas.  She had thought there had been a sniff of Bella’s blood, but when she had looked over Bella at the time, there had been no marks, no scent of her unique blood.

Nevertheless, Edward could smell the difference in her blood, taste it from the little cuts he has been making to be able to drink her blood.  It is not enough to turn his eyes, nor is the smell of him drinking human blood evident to any, not after the deer he drinks on his way home.  However, the taste is there, and no matter how he tries to bleed it out, it just won’t leave. It is affecting everything now, and he is not pleased.

Now he can see Bella smiling even wider in her sleep, but still not talking.  No, not a peep out of her, and she has been resisting him, fighting.  She is the reason the marriage has been delayed time and time again.  However, he smirks, not this time.  He has worked even harder to get her under control, since there are rumors that the Traditional Vampires are going to be coming out, making blood tests mandatory for marriages.  Edward used the fact of mandatory blood tests as a way to get his way, leaving out the reason for it.

When Bella questioned him on his sources, he cited that the Volturi, who have come by multiple times to check on her status, had told him.  As it has been, if not for Caius’s interference, Bella would be fully under his thrall by forceful means.  He had no problem training her correctly as a human, if it didn’t take, he can just redo it.  However, Carlisle had such excellent results from Esme’s own training.  Others had also told him that his Father’s methods had given them the same results.

But no, Caius likes the fire of the brunette petite woman.  When he had come only to see it almost gone, he had told Carlisle that if he comes back and she is that heavily under thrall, he will take her away to change her himself. Since if he changes her, the one thing making this all worthwhile to Edward would not be possible, he had decided that he would just have to train her later.

All of this happening at the same time is making Edward suspicious, but for now, he will be here to make sure she is settled for tonight.  Since soon, he will finally be her husband, and will be able to take over more of the day-to-day decisions.  Not that she has many left.

In the misty lands of dreams, Bella is in the safe arms of her vampire.  She is nestled close to him, taking in his smell of the winter sea and using it to calm herself. It is sorely needed, for she is working so hard to not drown in all the weight of her pathetic life when awake.  Barely surviving is her place right now, and it is wearing on her.

Feeling her need for his reassurance, Eric pulls her closer and uses his body to wrap around his mate.  Taking in her scent as he always does, they spend this little amount of time between their lives that they have managed to grab.

Later that night, Eric is sitting in a car, watching the road pass by.  All the vamps on this trip had to be over 700 years old, since they will be getting into place before night.  All the vehicles are equipped with UV windows that protect the vampires.

He can feel the rope that has existed since they exchanged blood loosen, and he smirks.  He is definitely looking forward to taking this ‘holiday’.  There are plenty in the bloodline that are upset to not be along on this journey.  Teo had to order Molly to stay, and Eric had told him if she doesn’t, Teo couldn’t come.  Eric needed someone to watch the computers.

He knew the AP talked with Teo, and has since the computers went live across the world.  He, more than any other, has a direct line to her, and operates from her instructions almost automatically.  On the other hand, she trusts him with her personal fortune, as well as the rest of the bloodline.  Moreover, with that trust, he has made them trillions.

He also saved them when his own calculations predicted a slump, once during the fall of Wall Street, and again when the country hit its own depression.  Both times, he pulled the monies they had everywhere and with the AP’s help, moved them to banks that will survive the times.   The first bank they trust is the one that the bloodline founded along with its own insurance company, Lloyds of London.

Closing his eyes, he can feel his beauty as she struggles with something they are doing.  He plans to get into position, well as close as he can, so that tomorrow they will be ready.  Bella had complained that she suspected that they would not have much time tonight, but he had calmed her.

Even though she thinks she has stopped talking at night, she had been the one who insisted that she be told as little as possible.  She knows she has to walk down the aisle, and that Eric will make sure the wedding does not take place.  That was it.

Godric hand rests his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Everything is ready?”

Nodding, Eric tells him, “And our ‘helper’ told me that there will be some Cold Ones on our side.  One will be a shock to us.  The AP backs him up, saying that we coming in has to happen as she had instructed.  By doing this, we gain a valuable set of allies.”

Sighing, Godric tells him, “I understand later why she takes the routes she does, but I do not like you or Bella’s pain that you have suffered for this.  Yes, you two are closer than I think could have happened normally, but the suffering she has gone through to make this right, I cannot see why it would be so crucial to the timing.”

Eric nods, and then he relaxes.  “She is asleep.  It came sudden, so I either suspect the empathy, or a drug.”

His brother’s and Maker’s eyes both go flat.  They didn’t like the idea of their future Queen and sister/daughter being subjected to do something outside her will.

Benedict comments, “It is as you suspected, they know something is happening, and think that by making her sleep unexpectedly that it will hamper your connection.”

His own eyes dark, and the beginning of the fire that he has kept banked for so long starts to fan higher. “Though I wish it weren’t so.”

The rest of the drive to the staging area is quiet, all of them giving way to the rage that is filling the van emitting from Eric.

Final count,  3,135 words.

Fairfarren~