Pre Edit Count –   6,239 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: Angel by Sarah McLachlan

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And he smiles a sad smile, “You deserve all this and more.  Please accept me, Bella.  I am a man behind the vampire that needs you.  Please, please accept me.”

Staring into his eyes, Bella is lost.  She can see the pleading, the simple need he has for her to accept him and she realizes that he has told her everything so that she is aware of his past, of all of him.  He has told her of these things so that she knows what he is and what he has done so that there are no surprises.  And while she stares into his eyes, she realizes that the hole in her chest that Edward caused when he said those hateful words to her, is gone.  It was gone the second that she looked into Godric’s eyes.

He stares into her brown eyes, hoping that she will accept him, that she will allow him in her life.  But he lets her think.  She needs to make this decision, though he hates the necessity of dumping it all on her at once.  No matter what she decides, he will make sure she is healed and happy.

Bella’s head lowers as she thinks and finally, after the longest ten minutes in his life, a very soft “yes” escapes her lips.

Now:

In Forks, in an unassuming house, was a couple who had just been given a chance to make history.  The room itself revealed no signs of the morning that was trying to break outside; it is as dark as though it is still midnight.  However the emotions of the couple would have outshone the very sun.

In the bed with his mate, Godric cannot help himself as he hugs her to him, his lips pressed to the crown of her head as he whispers, “Thank you,” over and over again. He never thought he would get this chance.  Yes, he had hoped with all the strength in his body, but he just didn’t think he would hear her say yes.  Through the Bond he can feel Eric’s sharp query, then overwhelming happiness as Eric realizes what must have happened.

Bella is enveloped in Godric’s arms and can hear him thanking her, and she is amazed by how much it feels like home to be here.  She relaxes, well, as much as the ever present headache is letting her. This feeling, one she realizes she has never felt before, is simple comfort, trust.  A place deep inside of her, beyond the reach of her doubting heart and mind, knows that this man will never hurt her and is satisfied with her answer to him.  While the two of them have a long way to go, giving him this chance feels so unbelievably right.

Godric is still holding her, relishing the feel of his mate in his arms, knowing that he has a real chance of her being there for the rest of their lives.  Either as human, or, maybe, just maybe, as one like him? When Godric feels her wince at a bad stab of pain, he is broken out of his thoughts, looks down to his mate and lifts her head to look into her eyes.  He asks gently, “What is it, a thaisce”

Bella closes her eyes then tells him with a small smile, “Just a headache.  What is that name you call me?” it sounded so pretty when he says it, with the lilt of his accent flavoring every word he says.  Though it is obvious that he is  well-spoken in English, the accent is there, but hard to trace.  She wonders idly how many people tried to figure out where the accent comes from, not realizing it is from a dead language.

Godric thinks for a second, never anticipating that question, then he chuckles.  “A thaisce?”  At her nod, he tells her, “My treasure.  Which you are.” He is still looking down into her bottomless eyes, a slight smile lifting one corner of his mouth

She shakes her head, then winces from the movement.  The headache has been getting stronger.  Her body aches, but not like she is coming down from something, and she has no idea why.  There is just something wrong when your body hurts and you don’t know why…like the pain is somehow more manageable when you know why.

Looking down at her, Godric informs her, “I just have a little bit more to tell you, and then I need your story.  Again, I will tell you everything you wish, but day is already peeking out, and the room is locked against the light, which means you will be in here with me.  The Doctor will be in a little bit, once she thinks I am gone, and she will talk to you and tell you anything they have found out.  She will need some information so she can try to figure out what is going on with you.  I will let you know what she needs to know.  Just know this, you will never be alone.  I will be by your side, and you will be meeting the rest of the family tonight.  Well, the ones that you should trust.  I will tell you more about the other one later.” He smiles as he watches her relax back into his arms..

He kisses her on the head, and begins, “The biggest difference we know of between the Cold Ones and us is what we call the Turning, the transformation from human to vampire and the results from it.  Cold Ones burn for three days and wake with venom having replaced all their bodily fluids.  We, however, are drained of our blood and given our Maker’s, and are then placed in the ground for three days for the magic to take place.  This magic replicates the blood formed of a mix of the Maker’s and the new Child’s, thus creating the Maker/Child Bonds.  This causes the liquids in our bodies to turn to blood. We actually cry blood tears.  But the huge difference is that their venom will poison their victims, causing them to turn into similar beings, sometimes causing accidental turnings.  Our blood, however, is healing.  We can heal humans with it.  But there is always a chance that if the human is too injured and we give too much of our blood, that they can change.  But it is because they die of their injuries.” As always, he muses upon the reasons behind it.  Godric has his ideas, his curiosity being satisfied with the advances of medical science.

Bella murmurs, “They basically bleed out.” It’s the only solution that seems reasonable.  “The blood can heal the tear in the veins, but the blood would still be there in the wrong area.”

He smiles, pleased that she understood his thoughts and even came to the same conclusion.  “Exactly.  That is my thought.  We may not drain them, but the blood had to go somewhere, and too much blood in the wrong areas can kill a human.” He wishes he could send her his approval.  Instead he tries to show it physically and cannot wait until he can send her his emotions.  He plans to build her self-confidence, and is already working on it.

Holding his treasure to him, he says, “Also, there are things that can happen because of our blood.  We are magical.  It is very much part of us and no science has been able to figure out how we work.  When we rub blood on wounds it heals them.  End of story.  But if I give you some of mine, and with my age it could be as few as the couple of drops I gave you because I was worried about your being really sick, I would normally be able to sense your feelings and where you are if you are close by.  It would make you more sexually active in that you might dream of me sexually, and it would heal you.  Normally I would only sense your feelings if you were close by.  But, somehow, even when I was in Seattle, it felt like you were in the same room as me.  Eric could also feel you in the bond as an echo effect, and per a recent email, Pam felt you too.” Secretly the more he thought about it, the better it is.  He will always know where she is, not only by the Mating Bond, but in this way, too.  Magic can be tricky and the more ties he has with her, the harder it would be to block the two of them from feeling each other.

Bella shakes her head and mutters, “Figures I would be a freak in your world too.” She is a freak in Edward’s world, in her own world, and now in Godric’s world.  For once, she would like to be just like everyone else.

Frowning, Godric looks down at her and tells her, “It is not because you are a freak, a thaisce.  It is because of us being soul mates.  If Eric had given you blood, the effects would have been normal.  It’s nothing to be ashamed of.  And I wish to know more of why you think you are a freak, but first, there is a reason why I am telling you this, besides that I have already given you some of my blood.” Rubbing her arm, he is disturbed by her comment.  It is always better to different.  How would one want to be like everyone else?  Where is the individuality of a person?  What makes them, basically, them?  Deciding that he will address this later, he brings his mind back to their conversation, but smiles as he feels Eric sending him comfort.

He moves and looks down into his mate’s eyes to make sure she understands what he is telling her. “There is something sacred to my kind called a Blood Bond.  As my Mate, you are considered equal with me because of how rare they are.  However, they are so rare that most do not understand the idea.  But Blood Bondeds are also respected.  And while not as rare as mates, they are still rare.”.”

He takes a second to gather his thoughts to try to explain this to her.  He feels as though he only gets one chance at this, and really wants to Blood Bond with his Mate.  “See, it takes three exchanges of both of our bloods, and then we will be connected forever.  You will know where I am at all times, feel my feelings, and on top of that, we will be able to send each other our feelings.  The most crucial part of this, the last reason no vampire enters into them easily, is that if the Bonded is changed, by anyone, they will be the Bonded vampire’s Bonded Child.  That means that they will never be able to leave them.  For us, it changes nothing since, as mates, we will be bonded no matter what if you honor me in becoming like me.  If not, then when you die, and so will I.  I bring this up because Dr. Ludwig is worried.  She wants me to drink from you and find what is odd.  She also wants me to give you more blood.”

Then he chuckles at himself and informs her, “Well, that is incorrect, she hopes that I will give you my blood.  She is sworn to our line, so she would never suggest it.  It doesn’t matter really, because I want to Bond to you.  I want to heal you of the headache you have.  We think it is because of the Cold Ones, and that it will only get worse as time goes on.  I can feel the pain you are in now, and my instincts are driving me towards doing anything to heal you.  I personally want the exchange.  Since we are mates, it may enhance the effects.” He tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear gently, then looks her back in the eyes.  He wants this… his body aches for it.  The closeness the Bond will give them will only enhance their Mating Bond.

Bella shies away from him.  She cannot help it, the idea of blood causes that reaction in her.  But before he can say anything, she tells him shyly, “I get sick at the smell of blood.  But if you feel it’s necessary, that is fine.” Bella looks up at him through her eyelashes.  Personally she would love something to help her figure out the man beside her.  However, her mind and heart are again warring with her instincts and she is stuck in between the feelings.

Godric lifts her head back up so she can see him, how serious he is.  “A mhuirnin, (my dear) never fear to tell me something.  Nor be embarrassed. I am your Mate.  I know this is new for you, and I apologize.  I had planned to romance you, to get you ready for our world in a statelier pace.  But, circumstances have prevented it.  You will still get my attention and I will give you the world for the gift of you saying yes to me.  However, you are too important to me not to want to make sure you have every chance in our world.  And it is now our world.  But think on it.  I am old, and can stay up later and rise earlier than most.  I will die for about 4 hours.  For now, please tell me about you. The information we gathered was in the interest of finding out what we could in a small amount of time, why you were out in the forest and not responding.  I want to know you and how you think.” His voice is soft and pleading.  He wants to know everything about this woman in his arms.  It wouldn’t matter if he could read her mind, since he would want her to say it in her voice, feeling the vibration of her body next to his as she speaks.  His lips lift in a smile when he realizes that he is a goner on her as they say these days.

Bella cannot get over his earnest honesty.  She leans against him, finding him warm, a perfect temperature, not cool like she would expect him to be knowing he is a vampire. Comfortable in his embrace, she would love nothing more than to sleep, but she can hear the urgency in his voice.  Knowing that this may help them, and make him see how ordinary she really is, she starts.

“I was born here in Forks.  My mother decided she couldn’t stay here and took me with her while my father was at work.  We went to live with her parents.  For a while, it was hard.  I missed my father.  When the divorce was finalized, my heart broke when my mother told me my father didn’t want me, didn’t even ask for me.  I was to visit him every summer, but I couldn’t take being in the house where I had thought he loved me.  So I asked him to meet me elsewhere.  He agreed and I spent my summers in different places.  It didn’t make a difference to me, as long as we weren’t here.  My mother also started to move around then.  She was born in the wrong time; she would have been a perfect hippy.  She would flutter from place to place, job to job, hobby to hobby.   She was an elementary school teacher which suited her personality, since she never had the attention span of an adult.  I learned pretty early on to make my own dinners since she would either forget while making them, or try something new that would end up inedible.  We didn’t have much money, so I would help out as I could.” Her voice was light, as though she was discussing nothing more than the weather instead of her life and how much she had worked, worried and struggled in that period of time to make the payments for them to live, to have water and electric, and sometimes to even eat.  She has taken on an adult’s worries at such a tender age,  but to her, someone who hadn’t known anything else, that is her life.  That is normal to her..

Godric is silent, glad for the first time since he has initialized the Mate Bond that there is no blood bond yet, because inside he is seething.  Bella is dismissing how her mother had treated her, making it sound like it was no big deal.  He will visit this later.  Right now it was more important to find out about the Cold Ones.  But he did note how she told her story, since it will be him and his Bloodline who will need to show her that she is more than ever imagined.  They will fix her, and never allow herself to think she is worthless.  Never again.

Bella is lost in the memories, and tears come to her eyes as she discloses to Godric, “My mother used to date a lot, but she finally fell in love with a guy named Phil Dwyer.  He plays baseball for a farm team, and he loves my mother so much.  When they got married it was nice.  He loved to dote on my mother, take care of her.  When he left for spring training, she was depressed.  She tried to hide it, but I could see how much she was sacrificing to stay with me instead of being with her husband.  So I called Charlie and asked if I could come here and finish school.  He agreed and my mom was ecstatic.” The sadness is evident in her voice.  That she gave up her life to come somewhere she believed she was unloved, unwanted, for her mother.  To her, it was the sacrifice needed, since her mother didn’t need her, and didn’t want her anymore.  She would bow out gracefully and go elsewhere.

Eric sends calm to him, and he is thankful, because otherwise he would be growling.  Her mother made her feel so guilty that Bella decided to come here, to a place she thought she was unloved?  Oh, he will be getting some answers.  Then he had an evil thought, one that made his sadistic side rub its hands together in glee.  He will ask Eric to get the answers.  It will help his Son with his anger issues. And Eric will be having anger problems when he hears this.  Or reads it, actually.  While Godric had children, he had never held them or knew them.  It was the way of the tribe, that all children were raised together.  He never knew his father and had very few memories of his mother.

But Eric?  Eric remembers his children fondly.  Godric had broken with rules, and had taken Eric to see his family.  They had not gone into the village, but he all too well remembers Eric’s blood tears as he heard his family crying his loss.  Even Eric’s thralls had been upset.  He had been a good and fair ruler to all.  And even though he never loved his wife, he had loved his children.

Over time, Eric and Godric had managed to keep track of Eric’s children and send them money.  When Eric could, he bought his native land and had managed to have his descendants still live there, making sure they will always have that at least.  It was part of the reason Eric is eager for the Revelation, he will be able to openly approach them.

Godric smirks.  He has managed to keep Eric’s descendants aware of who Eric is, and Eric will be in for a huge shock to find out that his family reveres him and have all through the ages.  It is his little gift to his Son for being so loyal to him for so long.  It was also to make sure the person who killed Eric’s family never finished the job.  It would be a shame for Eric’s line to pass from this world. As it is, Eric had lost a sister he has grieved more than even his parents.  As Eric told him, he had been so entranced with her, looking forward to being her older brother, that the sight of her dead body lying there beside his mother had almost broken him.  That sight, along with the death of his father and his oath of vengeance, had been the motivation for Eric to grow up.

Bella hadn’t known of Godric’s thoughts, but had taken the time to put her own thoughts in order. She is calmer, her voice even as she recites the next part, “By the time I moved here, I had never dated.  Nobody thought I was worth it, but then, a lot of the boys in Phoenix seemed so immature to me.  So I kept my head down and worked on trying to get good enough grades for college.  When I came here, I knew I would be hampering myself on getting scholarships, but it was worth my Mom’s happiness.  Imagine my shock that when I got here, everyone paid attention to me.  It was as Jessica had put it, ‘You’re the new shiny toy.’” Jessica had told her this that day in the cafeteria when she was mystified by all the boys joking around with her.

She chuckles wryly. “I was having problems with everyone paying attention to me.  But then imagine my shock when the cafeteria doors open to let in these people who could pass as supermodels.  I asked who they were, and was told how they were the Cullens, that they were all adopted.  All of them were matched up but for one.  I learned their names and who they were with as they entered the room.  Rosalie the beauty queen entered with her husband Emmett, who looked like a muscle builder.  Then Alice danced in with Jasper.  Lastly was Edward, the single one of the group.  I couldn’t help but stare at them.  I had never seen anyone like them.  They didn’t eat, which caught my attention.  I could understand all but Emmett.  He was just too big to skip lunch.” She shook her head at her thoughts back then.  But who would have guessed that they were vamp- Cold Ones.  She needs to remember the new name.

Then her face clouds as her voice drops with the pain of the first meeting with Edward.  “After that was Biology.  I was walked there by one of my new adoring fans, Mike Newton…who still calls me Arizona.”  Her lips lift up in a small smile, but her voice is still full of pain. “He helped me through the halls and we walked in last to the class. I gave my slip to be signed, and was told the only desk free was with Mr. Cullen.  I looked and it was Edward.  I went to sit, and he acted like I was the worst thing he ever smelled.  The entire class was spent with him trying not to touch me and acting like I was a pariah.  When class was over, he was gone faster than I could track.  After school, I went to the office to turn in my slip, and he was there trying to get his class changed.  It was obvious that is was because of me.  I was hurt but tried to brush it off.  He was gone for the next two weeks.”

Feeling his arms around her, she couldn’t help but snuggle closer to him, which he not only allowed, but encouraged.  He kisses the top of her head and rests his head on hers as he waits for her to tell him more.  He has never heard of a reaction like Edward’s to her, and in fact he finds her scent comforting.  It had a faint scent of flowers, but for some reason it just reminded him of summer in his homeland. How could anyone find it that offensive?

When she can, she continues the tale, “My dad had bought me a truck when I moved here.  Two weeks after that incident, he reappeared and acted like nothing had happened on our first meeting.  And he was actually civil to me and talked to me.  But if I tried to be too friendly, he would tell me that we shouldn’t be friends and walk away.  But he would keep popping up at different times and asking me questions.”  Her voice trails off as she realizes what Edward was doing.  He was intriguing her, and she now is having a hard time believing he didn’t do it on purpose.

With this revelation, she enlightens Godric on the day that solidified her curiosity and need to know what Edward was. “One day, I was at my truck getting ready to leave when this van comes whipping through the parking lot.  Tyler’s mom’s van had lost its brakes and was skidding on the ice.  It was heading directly towards me and I had been staring at Edward who was by his car, staring at me.  All of a sudden he was there, stopping the van from crashing into me.  I was sent to the emergency room, and Edward’s father ended up taking care of me.  By now, I had started to stack up a list of odd things about them.  Edward had the oddest color of eyes, but they would change color and turn black sometimes.  His skin was pale, paler than most. He and his family were never in school on sunny days, not that there many of those.  Now I had super strength and speed to add to the lot.  Then seeing his father, his adopted father, having a lot of the same features, along with the rest of the family, I was getting more curious.”  Her voice hardens as her memory also supplies who was with Edward.  Alice.  Alice who, as long as it was not a last minute decision, could see the future.  Who would have seen the accident, and Edward would have seen it  as he read her mind.  Her hands tighten on Godric’s as she trembles with the anger coursing through her.

Godric gathers her to him, his hand stroking her long hair as he waits for her to tell him why she is so angry.  The feeling came so suddenly, he almost growled and had moved enough that he could defend her.  Then comes the realization that she must have understood something, grasped something that made her so angry.  So he waits for her to explain.

Bella is rigid in his arms, her eyes dark as she struggles to understand the weight of the betrayal going through her.  Her voice remote, she told him as this new betrayal is turning in her mind so she can grasp it, “I went one night with two of the girls from school, Jessica and Angela, to Port Angeles.  They were looking for a dress for a school dance, one I wasn’t going to.  I made a plan to meet them after I went to a bookstore I had found online that was listed as having some books about some of the legends that sounded familiar to me.  On my way back, I got lost and a group of guys started to follow me.  I was scared but right when they caught me, Edward appeared in his car out of nowhere and scared them away.  He took me to dinner, but never ate.  He told me he could read minds, but not mine.  On the way home, we touched and I found him to be ice cold.”  Unknown to her, she shudders.

Nudging a blanket on the end of her bed with his foot, he pulls it up and covers her with it.  It was not a planned thing, just him reacting to his mate.  He gave it no further thought, but the woman in his arms did. It was the first time someone had done it.  Edward had, but he made it seem like he making a big deal in allowing for her human weakness.  Godric did it because she was cold and even now was waiting for her to continue.  It gave her something to think about, a light at the end of the tunnel that she is finding for herself.  How could she not see this before?

“The following weekend, he kept coming and asking me questions, and telling me shouldn’t be friends.  I was determined to find out what he is.  The more he pushed me away the more determined I was to figure it out.  I was invited to La Push, the reservation that my Aunt had lived on, and where Billy and his son Jacob lived.  The kids from school were going to the beach for a bonfire.  I asked Edward if he was going, and he said he was not welcomed.  When we went, it ended up raining.  While we waited for the rain to quit, some of the kids from the reservation came and talked with us.  When Edward was brought up, the group got quiet and one of them told us the Cullens were not allowed on their lands.  The way he said it made shivers go up my spine.  When the rain stopped, I got Jacob, who had been with them, to go with me.”

She shyly smiles, embarrassed at her first attempt at flirting, “I flirted with him, and got him to tell me the legends of their people, which is where I remembered the tales from.  I left and that night was reading the book and some research online made it obvious to me that they were vampires.  I confronted Edward with it the following day after school. At first he was sly, when I asked how old he was.  He admitted that he was 17, but when I said for how long, well, that was when he owned up to it, and told me that I was what they called a singer.  I ‘sang’ to his senses as the perfect blood.  Singers are rare, and when found by the vampire they sang to, always killed and drained.  I was the first time that the vampire managed to control themselves.  Edward tried to scare me, but then kissed me, telling me that he was falling in love with me.  He told me that everything about them drew us to them, their looks, their voice, their smell.  I remember thinking that his breathe was always sweet to me.  On the way back, he told me many of their secrets, that they sparkle and about the venom.  From that time we were always together.  I found out that he had been sneaking in here to watch me sleep to accustom himself to my scent. He would test himself by kissing me, which often lead to him pulling away from me.  He would constantly tell me I was fragile, and he had to be careful with me.  Pulling away when we did anything but the most chaste of kisses, holding me, but never allowing us to mess around.”  Her voice was gaining momentum as she thinks over the things he did.  Invading her bedroom at night…  How did she ever think it was romantic?

He knows he will ask more questions later as he feels her being upset, but for now he wants her to get through this. The anger is still there; in fact, it is growing. There is more, probably whatever happened in Phoenix, but he is getting a bad feeling of how she and her father were hooked on the Cold Ones.  If his breathe was sweet and their smell was designed to draw them in, then this could be the carrier.  And unfortunately, it did little to support the theory that there is a cure.

Bella continues, her eyes haunted as she remembers the worst days in her young life up to now.  Even her underlying anger is dimmed.  “He decided to take me to meet his family.  They wanted to meet me and play baseball.  Edward came in to meet my father, and then whisked me away to his house.  It was beautiful, but kinda cold.  It was decorated in shades of white, and windows were everywhere.  It was hidden in the middle of the forest, and as Edward mentioned, they could be themselves there.  His family was cooking me dinner, which since I knew they couldn’t eat, I had eaten before.  I hadn’t wanted to ruin their efforts, but Edward mentioned it.  Rosalie through a fit, and admitted she never wanted me to be there, that I was going to ruin everything.  I met the rest of the family, only Jasper was distant towards me, but that was because neither Alice nor Edward would allow him near saying that he had no control.  But that night, I found out there was a storm coming.  They needed it to hide the sounds of them playing baseball.  It was fun, I saw them all relax, and Jasper was teasing me when Alice and Edward weren’t around.” She smiles as she remembers the one Cullen she enjoyed being around truly.  He never did anything to her, well not until the other night, but she had a thought about why that happened.

Then her voice drops, “And then came the nomads.  Three vampires that had been hunting in the area.  Alice said that they changed their minds and came.  See Jasper could sense and change emotions.  Alice could see the future and Edward could read all minds but mine.  But the shortcomings of each gift were there.  Jasper felt everything, and I figure he even felt their bloodlust.  Edward could only read surface thoughts, never the deeper ones, and Alice could be fooled by last minute decisions or the people changing their minds.  Only things like weather and stock exchanges are anywhere near guaranteed.  But these nomads heard them playing and decided to come see them. The Cullens surrounded me, and Edward had me drop my hair and use my hat to cover my eyes.”  Her voice was hardening especially when she mentions their talents…

Godric could barely stop himself from asking what the boy had been thinking. Though Godric was around the same age physically, he was more mature than the boy.  There was no doubt about it.

Getting her emotions under control, for though she is no stranger to pain since no one who is as clumsy as she is could be, the next part was not just emotionally hard, but physically difficult as well.  Her body and especially the scar and her leg ping every time she relives it.

Closing her eyes, she starts, “At first the confrontation went well, and Carlisle, the leader of the family, had managed to catch their attention and give a reason for Edward and me to leave.  When we turned to leave, a gust of wind came up and blew my scent to the tracker.  He snarled and tried to attack me, but the Cullens were there defending me.  Edward rushed me to the house with Emmett, and we came up with a plan.  I was to lie to my father and tell him I no longer wanted to be here, so that the tracker wouldn’t hurt him.  I did this and Alice and Jasper took me to Phoenix.  We stayed at a hotel by the airport, while the rest of the Cullens tried to set up a trap for the Tracker.  One member of his coven told Carlisle about them in exchange for his freedom and he left for their cousins in Alaska.  While we were in Phoenix, after a couple of days, Alice fell into a trance and they found out that the Tracker was on his way.  I recognized the place she drew as my old ballerina studio.  I honestly was scared and worried.  Jasper stopped me on the way to my room and asked if I would like some help sleeping that night.  I agreed, but asked why he was risking himself and Alice for me, and he looked into my eyes and told me something that was completely surprising.  He told me I was worth it.”  She remembers the awe she had felt when this man, who had seen things she probably couldn’t even imagine, told her, a lowly, normal plain Jane, that she was worth the chance that they might get hurt.

A tear fell from her eye, and fell on Godric’s sleeve.  He did nothing but hold her close, and give her a kiss, hoping that she finds some comfort in his arms. His hand was still stroking her hair, he could feel the comfort it gave her.  He would do it until the end of time if it helped.

She continues, her voice getting an edge from her anger which she allowed to help her get through the next part, “That night was the last peace I found for a long time.  The following day, Edward called to say that they lost the Tracker, which we already guessed.  They were flying in and Edward was to take me elsewhere until they could kill him.  But when I went into the room, my phone rang.  It was my house phone in Phoenix. I answered and it was him, the Tracker, James.  He told me to act like it was my mom, and told me that he had her.  Her voice was calling for me in the background and I believed him.  I followed his instructions and ran from Jasper in the airport.  I knew there was another exit in the bathroom for the other side of the airport.  From there, I got a cab and went to the Studio.”

She remembered the fear she felt as he had looked her up and down and the sudden realization that there are worse things out there than dying.  But it was too late.  She never told anyone how terrified she was as he had come on to her, how close she thought she had been to rape.  And how she could never stop him.  That was the terrifying part…knowing that there was nothing she could have done to stop it.  So instead she tried to make him angry, so angry he wouldn’t think of it.  “To make a long story short, he didn’t have my mom.  He had a tape of her he got from my house and had it playing to fool me.  He taped our meeting, my torture session.  He threw me around the studio, into the mirrors.  He wanted me to beg for Edward to get revenge for me.  I refused since I didn’t want anyone else to die.  He broke my thigh bone…it broke through my skin.  That is when Edward came in.  They fought, and James got away long enough to bite me.  He also interfered one time when Edward had me in his arms to get away, and threw me into another mirror, causing the mirror to break into my skin and a piece of it pierced my femoral artery.” Her voice was so monotone, so matter of fact, even her anger failed her as she relived the experience in her mind again.  Everything dropped away, the room, Godric’s body and arms, nothing mattered as she remembers..

Fury is ripping through Godric and even Eric couldn’t help.  He pulls Bella close  as he holds her in the safety of his arms.  He is growling, but is doing it lowly.  He is greedily inhaling her scent and using it to calm himself.  When she started to say something, he stops her with one finger on her lips. “A thaisce, allow me a moment please.  I know you survived, but that you had to go through this!! Just give me some time.  Tomorrow, when we are not racing the sun, I will speak with you and Eric about this.  I promise you, mo anam cara.” His eyes are dark as he looks into hers.  This along with her own anger, then the paralyzing fear before she started combined with the feeling of nothing as she is overwhelmed at the end is provoking his instincts.  His instinct is to protect his mate.  His rational mind analyses the situation, and finds that she is ok, but he still wishes to tear into something.

Bella just stares into his eyes, then her eyes drop down and widen as she realizes not only that he has fangs, but they are showing.  She raises a finger and hesitantly touches them.  That actually stops Godric mid-growl, and he closes his eyes with pleasure from the simple touch.  His eyes open as he smirks and kisses her finger. Her eyes open wide and he stares into them.  He doesn’t bother to withdrawal his fangs, since it seems to fascinate her.

Bella calmly asks, “Better?”  At his nod, she smiles.  She is still fascinated by those fangs, but she is trying to control herself since his reaction was so conflicting to what he was doing before…

While still watching those fangs with awe, she carries on with the story, “When I thought it was over, Jasper, Emmett and Alice explode into the room.  Carlisle is somehow beside Edward just when Edward had James.  After that point, the pain is too much for me.  Not only was I beginning to feel cold, I had a burning that is still indescribable making its way up my arm.  Next thing I know, Carlisle is applying a tourniquet to my leg, and Edward is sucking the venom out.  I felt every millimeter as he withdrew it.  It was so painful…  I blacked out right after I heard Carlisle tell Edward it was enough.  I woke up in the hospital in Phoenix.  My parents had been told I fell through a window; Alice had broken to make it look feasible.  I ended up going home in a cast, and even though I was in pain, Alice forced me to go to Prom, saying it was a human experience that I shouldn’t miss.  She accomplished this by basically living at my house to help with showers and such.”  The resentment was plain in her voice.  To this day, she cannot understand why she was forced to do something that she would never have wanted to do on her own.  If she did regret it later, wasn’t it her right to do so?

Trying to shake the thoughts off, she resumes the story.  “The rest of the summer was better as we spent every day together.  This lasted until just a couple of nights ago.  It was my eighteenth birthday, and, no matter how much I protested, Alice threw me a party.  Only the Cullens were there, but she had gotten this large cake for some reason.  I was unhappy there, and while opening gifts, I got a paper cut.  From there, everything happened too fast for me to remember clearly.  But what I can remember is black eyes from Edward, then Jasper trying to get to me.  For some reason Edward threw me into the glass table that held the cake and the crystal plates.  Needless to say I was hurt and when I could see again, Jasper was in the remains of Edward’s precious piano and being pulled out of the room by Rosalie and Emmett, and Carlisle was by my side holding the gash closed.  He took me to his study and sewed up the wound since he was a surgeon and didn’t have bloodlust.  Edward took me home, but he was acting odd.  The rest of the Cullens didn’t show up at school and then, last night.”  She stops.

He waits patiently as he senses her great pain, but he also senses that underlying anger.  He is very interested in what is causing his Mate such anger since he didn’t think she is the type to hold in something like this.

“Yesterday he met me at my house.  He told me we needed to talk.  He took me in the woods that he had told me to never be in alone, and proceeded to tell me that they were leaving.  When I begged him to take me with him, he told me I was a distraction, that no one like him would love someone like me.  He told me I would forget him soon enough, that my memories are a sieve.  He asked me to be safe for Charlie’s sake, and after he tore me down, he left me there.  I tried to follow him, but fell.  That is the last thing I remember until I felt that lightning strike you described to me.”  The defeat is obvious in her voice at the memory of his words; even her anger is not enough to negate their crushing effect.  Nothing could have been more calculated to destroy her.

Godric sighs as he nuzzles her.  “Never again, a thaisce.  Never again will you feel unworthy, unloved, or torn down again.  I will kill for you, I will defend you, and most importantly, I will live for you.  I will be here for you, through thick and thin, through everything that will come; you will never face anything by yourself, I will be at your side for the rest of our lives.  Jasper was more than right, you are more than worth it.” And nothing he has ever said been more true.  This woman in his arms deserves none of this.  She deserves to be loved, to be treasured for the strength of her heart, for her will in making sure others are happy before her.  He alone would fight against the world for her, but knowing his son, his brother, he would be at his side all the way.  Women such as Bella are few in each generation and they deserve to have the world at their feet, for they would refuse it and make do with little.

Bella cries in his arms.  She feels safe, and feels that he is telling her the truth.  He holds her to him but doesn’t stop her from crying as he knows that it will help lance the wound in her heart.  She deserves nothing less.  He stares out the window, knowing the sun had risen, but there is nothing but blackness.  He thinks about his plans for the next few days, about how he will discover all he can about these Cold Ones.  He will find them, and they will pay for the pain they have caused his Mate.

He looks down and when she is able to speak, asks her softly, “Why so angry, a thaisce?  I’ve felt your anger for so long.”

She looks up into his face, and the reminder is enough to harden her eyes.  “Godric…can I bounce an idea off you?”

He smiles, and raises one hand to her face and caresses it.  “Of course.”

She glances down and chewing on her lower lip, she thinks of how to say this.

He smiles at the habit, and moves his hand to pull that lip out. “Just tell me.  I will listen through it all.  Don’t worry about how it sounds.”

She looks up at him, her eyelashes still wet from her tears.  With a small smirk, she tells him, “Remember when I told you earlier about Edward and Alice’s abilities?” When he nods, his eyes trained on her face, she continues, “Well, when I was thinking about the van I remembered that Alice was right there beside Edward.  And the van wasn’t a last minute decision,  Tyler was driving to school like he does each day.  So if it wasn’t a last minute decision, Alice should have seen it.  And Edward would have seen it in her head.”

He stiffens as he catches on to what he think her thoughts are.

She continues, hoping he doesn’t think she’s off her rocker, “And the appearing and disappearing around me, making me unable to just let it go, especially not with his subtle questions and how he would randomly appear and ask me things.  Then there’s how he kept showing up and saving me.  There is no way Alice would not seen those attempts, nor miss me figuring out that they are vampires.  Why did they allow all that?  Why did she not prevent the birthday accident?  It was not a last minute decision.  And why have so many damn glass plates and so much cake?”

Her eyes are beseeching him to tell her she is not imagining it.  Her anger is there and obvious with the way the questions tumbled from her lips so fast.

Godric took the time necessary to bring his anger under control and ponder all her questions.  Finally he admits to her, “I think you are right.  Under the explanation you gave for Alice’s ability, those questions are very valid, as are your speculations that he was encouraging your interest.  I cannot think of another reason for his actions.  However, if you wish for another opinion, we can talk it over with Eric when he comes.  His is the best mind for seeing plots besides my own.  And I will admit I am somewhat biased when it comes to you.  I do not like how this boy strung you along.  I do not approve of his method of trying to hide your scent.  Hair carries the scent more strongly even than your exposed neck.  To have you pull your hair down will actually help entice the tracker.  Nor do I like how he handled the situation.  I can understand him wanting to fight the tracker but there were three others in his nest.  One was somewhat accounted for, but how do you know if he truly left the area?  And what about the third one?  I am not feeling easy about them running around free.   I will look into finding them personally.  Your safety is paramount to me.  If this Edward loved you even a small portion, he too would have made sure that the nest is gone.”

He shakes his head.  Looking down at her, he tells her more softly, “No, a stór (my darling).  I think your anger is justified.  And we will have much to discuss this evening.  I am not easy with us staying here, but I will abide by your wishes.”

Bella buries her head in his chest, and he can feel her fear from his statements.  He hates to scare her, but he will only tell her the truth.  She can handle it, she is strong.  Kissing her on her head, he states to her, “A thaisce, I will only tell you the truth.  I do not wish to frighten you, but I will not hide the situation as I see it.  This is what equals do, is it not?  Share their thoughts?  I will protect you, as I promised.  But I will not lie and tell you it is easy here.  But for tonight, there is no need for your fear.  We are protected.”  He then softly asks, “Will you rest with me?  The sun has been up for a couple of hours, and I am feeling the need to rest.” He smiles at her as he asks.

Bella nods, and he smiles.  “Before we fall asleep, will you grant me a boon, a mhuirnin?” He hopes she is not freaked out by it, and with her theories just now, he really needs to talk to Eric.

“Of course,” she answers with a sharp chuckle.  This man who listened to her so patiently, then explained what he was thinking, not holding anything back, could ask her anything.  She has never had someone do that.

Quickly discarding the tie and toeing off his shoes, he pulls her into his arms as they lay under the blankets.  He tells her softly in her ear, “I wish to send a message to have Eric put in here when he arrives today.  I will wake before him, but I would like the three of us to talk.  I would also like to send an email from my phone with a brief synopsis to Eric to read before he dies, so he can speak with us when he rises.”

Bella sighs, a very weary sound.  “If you think that is best.” She doesn’t want  to go through the conversation again, and she doesn’t want too many people to know how naïve she had been, either.

Godric lifts himself up and looks down at her, “A thaisce, if you do not want him here, I will not have him here.  It is your decision and one we can work with either way.  I am just eager for the two of you to meet. But Eric can wait downstairs until sundown.  Just tell me your wishes and I will make them happen.” He is pushing her, but she needs to understand that they are to make decisions together.

Looking at the sincerity in his eyes, she smiles.  “He can be here.”  Then she yawns and winces.  Godric notes the pain is getting worse.  But before he can say anything, she shyly looks up and asks, “If you don’t mind, can we do that exchange you asked for?  I mean, if you still want to.  I…“

Godric stops her with a light kiss on her lips.  He smiles down as he tells her, “Of course I want you.  Sit up, and lean against me.  I will bite my wrist and you need to drink until it closes.  Do not be afraid, you cannot take too much, a thaisce.” He cannot hide the joy in his voice, nor the happiness in his face as he is granted one of his deepest wishes.

She did as he asked, and when he presented the bloody wrist to her, she takes a deep breath and hesitantly latches on.  Then the taste of Godric exploded on her taste buds.  He tastes of dark chocolate and a hint of sweetness, like honey.  She couldn’t get enough of it. She is so enthralled by it she never notices when Godric’s fangs gently pierce her neck, she only feels when he pulls from her and cannot help the moan that escapes.

Godric’s eyes roll back as he feels her pulling from him.  He smiles, as he can feel his blood inside his mate, and he prepares her neck and gently bites her.  The taste of her is unique.  She tastes to him like the honeysuckle he used to suck on as a child along with the taste of the sweet berries in the brambles that he used to gorge upon.   Nothing could ever match her flavor to him for the rest of their existence, nor did he care to find anything that could.

They both felt it when the Bond between them strengthened and wove throughout their minds and souls.  Neither are aware of how long they fed on each other, but Godric is the first to pull away.  He nicked his tongue and laps at her neck, trying to make sure that he didn’t miss any of her blood.  He rests his head on her shoulder as he reassessed his surroundings.

He had never bonded to a human.  In fact, besides the ones who swore to his bloodline and received even fewer drops of his blood than he gave Bella in the forest, the only ones who had shared his blood like this were Eric and Nora.  However, he highly suspected that their connection would not be the same.  It already felt deeper, much like a second or third bond.  But he wants more…he will not be satisfied until she is his, until he is fully Blood Bonded to her.  No one will ever taste her blood if he can help it – it is his.

Bella went limp in his arms, but before he could get worried, he searches the bond and finds her weariness.  He also could feel his blood working its way through her, healing her in a way he had never heard of before.  He now knows every scar, every break in her bones.  He could tell you that she has had her appendix removed and that it was growing back.  He could feel it as it found much more wrong in her head and was attempting to heal her, but whatever it is, was fighting his blood.  His was winning, but he was worried; it seems like it is a temporary fix.  He also felt the second it hit the scar on her arm from the Tracker and Edward.  He hissed in pain along with her.

Easing her down, and fighting the urge to lay with her and just hold her until he succumbed to his death, he instead grabs his phone and sends his emails.

He barely laid down and gathered her into his arms before death stole him away for the day. But he had never been so happy in that death than at this moment, knowing he will wake with his other half of his soul in his arms.

Final count:  9,565 words.

Fairfarren~Wendy