Death's Shadow 10

“I can’t believe that Bella actually agreed to this.”Kate said. Watching Rosalie and Victoria exit their car Tanya was thinking the same thing. Bella not fighting against this worried Tanya because it meant that Bella was going to be away a lot in the future. Tanya always hated when Bella was away but this time it made her extremely nervous. Bella had told her that things were going to get as bad as they were in the 1300’s and Tanya expected Bella to be involved in a lot dangerous situations. Her mate was likely going be single handedly fighting a civil war and there was nothing Tanya or anyone else could do to help her. Tanya may have faith in Bella’s fighting abilities but she was still Tanya’s mate and Tanya’s instincts demanded she protect Bella. No matter if Bella could take care of herself.

“What is she feeling guilty about?”Irina figured if Bella agreed to adding two coven mates then she was trying to make up for upsetting Tanya.

“She’s not feeling guilty about anything.”Tanya lied. She knew Bella was guilty but she wasn’t going to let her sisters know that.

“She has got to be feeling guilty. She is allowing two strangers to know about her.”Kate said.

“Let it go.”Tanya turned her attention to the two former Cullens.”Welcome Rosalie and Victoria.”

“Hello Tanya, Kate and Irina. Thank you for letting us join your coven.”Rosalie had been very surprised that Tanya actually let her and Victoria join them. She only asked on a whim not expecting Tanya to agree.

“It wasn’t our decision it was Bella’s.”Kate told her.

“Are we going to meet Bella?”Victoria asked.

“Bella will be home sometime tomorrow or the next day.”Tanya had hoped for some alone time when her mate arrived but they wouldn’t get the chance before New York.”Why don’t you both come inside and we can tell you about Bella and then you can unpack your stuff and get settled. That way we don’t have to talk about it in front of her.”

“Alright.”Rosalie was kind of excited to finally find out information about Tanya’s mysterious mate. She had always wanted to ask Tanya about her but didn’t want to be impolite as it was obvious Tanya didn’t want to talk about Bella.

“Have a seat.”Tanya motioned for Rosalie and Victoria to sit on the love seat while she took a seat in the arm chair and Kate and Irina sat on the couch.

“I’m very curious to know anything we can about Bella.”Victoria had asked the other members of the Cullen coven what they knew about Bella and the lack of information they had about the vampire intrigued Victoria. The fact that Tanya had a mate for almost a thousand years and no one but her two sisters had met her made her a mystery and Victoria always loved a good mystery.

“First I want to tell you that you cannot repeat anything we are about to tell you. Not only would be a betrayal to all three of us but Bella would hunt you down and kill you. Kill you slowly and painfully if you revealed her secrets to anyone.”Tanya didn’t like having to say that but it was the truth.

“What the fuck?”Victoria asked.

“That’s not just a threat. It’s a guarantee and once we tell you everything you will know that Bella is more than capable of following through.”Irina knew that Bella would take her time killing both of them if they ran their mouths.

“Is Bella involved in something that will bring the attention of the Volturi? Is that she has stayed hidden?”Rosalie couldn’t think of any other reason Tanya and Irina would say those things.

Kate laughed.”Bella runs the Volturi. She is responsible for giving the kings their titles and taking Aro’s crown away from him.”

“How would be Bella be able to make anyone a king?”Victoria didn’t think anyone had the power to make or remove any of the kings. Victoria’s eyes widen when she realized that there was actually one person who could that. She had witnessed it happen.”You don’t mean?”

Tanya smiled.”I see you figured out who Bella is.”

“Who is she?”Rosalie asked.

“Tanya’s mate Bella is Death’s Shadow.”Victoria told her.

“No way.”Rosalie didn’t believe that for a second.

“Bella is Death’s Shadow.”Tanya confirmed.”We met her the night the Volturi came for our sire.”

“Seriously?”Rosalie just couldn’t wrap her head around not only Death’s Shadow having a mate but that mate being Tanya. A vampire that she had known all her vampire life.

“You know the out building that we told you holds generators and other random machinery and supplies that are needed to live this far out in the wilderness.”Tanya asked.

“Yeah.”Rosalie didn’t know why that building was relevant.

“We lied. It’s actually where Bella does most of her Death’s Shadow work in. It set up with state of the art technology and other things Bella needs to accomplish her tasks. I would give you a tour but it also has some of Bella’s personal belongs and she wouldn’t be happy with strangers looking at her stuff.”Tanya was the only one besides Bella that went in the building and Tanya only went in to make sure everything was clean and running properly.

“Me and Irina aren’t even allowed in there.”Kate had wanted to go in but was too afraid of Bella to sneak in.

“I can’t believe you are mated to Death’s Shadow.”Victoria never even considered Death’s Shadow having a mate. The women’s reputation made it seem that all she did was fight and kill.

“Bella is so much more than just Death’s Shadow.”Tanya said.

“Yeah she is a giant teddy bear who will do anything Tanya asks her to.”Irina told them.

“She doesn’t agree to do everything I ask her.”Tanya denied.

“Name one thing you have asked Bella to do that she has told you no.”Irina waited and after a minute of Tanya not answering she smiled.”You can’t think of anything can you.”

“Just because I can’t doesn’t mean she doesn’t say no.”Tanya hated that she couldn’t think of anything.

“That’s because if she does say no you give her some sexy time and she changes her mind.”Kate knew that Bella never denied Tanya.

“I told you before I only use that tactic for big things.”Tanya didn’t like to manipulate Bella but sometimes it was necessary with how stubborn the non human was.

“Are you trying to say that you use sex to get Death’s Shadow to agree to things?”Rosalie asked in disbelief.

“All it takes for Tanya to get Bella to change her mind is Tanya dragging Bella to the nearest empty room and keeping her there for a few hours. Afterwards Bella will agree to anything.”Irina told her.

“To get Bella to agree to take us to our first New York fashion week Tanya took Bella to our private island for a week. When they came back Bella happily arranged for us to go to all the shows, parties and meet and greets we wanted. She even set up private showings with a few of our favorite designers. That’s after being adamant that she would never waste an entire week on something so frivolous.”Kate hadn’t expected Bella to last the whole week but she had. Of course she scowled though most of it but she hadn’t left.

“Ok there are a few things to unpack with what you just told us. First you have a private island?”Rosalie hadn’t heard of the Denali owning a private island. She knew that Carlisle had talked about it once but decided against it because it was too expensive. The Cullens may have been considered wealthy by human standards but by vampire standards they were considered middle class. That was due to Carlisle being the only one who worked and all the money they gave to charity. Alice had tried to help but she couldn’t control her visions and the ones she got were subjective.

“We don’t advertise it but we are the wealthiest people in the world many times over. The Volturi are paupers compared to us. Bella has been amassing wealth since before she was turned and has set up many businesses to hide our money and properties legally so they can’t be traced back to us. You both as members of our coven will be given access to everything we have.”Tanya was going to get Rosalie and Victoria all set up with their own bank accounts once Bella left after fashion week.

“You really don’t have to give us money. I have some saved up from living so long.”Victoria may not be as rich as the Cullens but she had enough to support herself and Rosalie.

“I don’t think you get how rich we are. We could literally buy multiple countries and it wouldn’t even put a dent in our savings.”Irina knew that the cost would be covered by the interest they accrued in a year from their many investments.

“Then thank you.”Rosalie didn’t have any kind of savings as the Cullens had shared all their money so she really couldn’t refuse the offer. Plus she believed the Denali when they said they had a lot of money. With Death’s Shadow as a part of the coven Rosalie had no doubt the vampire had ways to make a lot of money.”You also said you are going to fashion week?”

“Yes, we were going to ask the pair of you if you wanted to go with us?”Tanya figured they would but still wanted to ask.

Rosalie looked to Victoria and received a nod.”We would love to.”

“Good I will make sure to get you tickets to all the events and shows we are going to.”Tanya had held off from reaching out to Bella’s contact because she wanted to make sure that the couple wanted to go before she put in the effort.

“Are we going to meet Bella before we leave.”Victoria asked.

“That will depend on Bella. She is just got done dealing with the Volturi and had some things to check up on so most likely she will want to spend some time alone with me before we leave.”Tanya told them.

“Don’t be offended if she doesn’t acknowledge you. It took her a couple centuries before she was comfortable enough to speak to me and Irina without Tanya in the room.”Kate at first took the behavior as Bella being rude but after a few years came to understand it was just how Bella was.

“That’s because Bella is shy and not used to speaking to people.”Tanya said.

“Death’s Shadow is shy?”Rosalie wasn’t sure she actually believed that.

Tanya nodded.”Bella is extremely shy.”

“Not that any of us blame her. If I looked like her I wouldn’t want to interact with people either.”Kate wouldn’t want to interact with people if she got the reactions Bella got in public.

“Is she disfigured in some way? Is that why she wears a mask?”Victoria always thought that was why Death’s Shadow wanted to hide her scars.

Kate laughed Irina joining in as well. Even Tanya smiled.”Oh no Bella is not disfigured. Far from it.”

“Then why does she wear a mask?”Rosalie asked.

“I’m not trying to insult your beauty but compared to Bella you look nothing but plain and common.”Irina told her.

“How could that be?”Rosalie actually was insulted as she put a lot of value in her looks.

“Bella is the most beautiful vampire that has ever existed. She is so beautiful that her species sacrificed her to the gods to try to gain their favor.”Tanya had never seen anyone who was a fraction as beautiful as Bella. Not even Rosalie came close.

“What do you mean her species?”Victoria was hesitant to believe that Bella was more beautiful than Rosalie. Victoria had never come across in her centuries of living anyone as pretty as Rosalie. She didn’t think it was possible.

“That is another part of Bella’s story that you can not repeat. You can tell no one of what I am about revel.”Tanya waited to get nods of agreement from he pair before continuing.”Bella was never a human. Her species existed before humans were created.”

“If she was never a human what was she?”Rosalie had never heard of anything other than humans and shifters.

“What Bella’s kind was called doesn’t have a translation to our language. They were similar to humans in their appearance but they lived off blood not food like humans did. Another difference is they had two set of teeth.”Tanya pulled down the collar of her shirt exposing a scar of two rings of teeth marks on her collarbone. Bella had put it there so Tanya could hide it so no one would ask questions about it.

“That’s why you don’t show people your mating mark.”Rosalie aways wondered why Tanya hid it but seeing it made perfect sense why she didn’t want anyone seeing it.

“Yes because as you can see many people would question why there were two sets of teeth.”Tanya said.

“Does Bella having a mating mark as well?”Victoria hadn’t seen one because Death’s Shadow always wore a robe that covered her body and head.

“Yes she does.”Tanya was proud of the fact that Bella bore her mark. She wished that Bella could show it off but her mate wore high collared shirts to hide the scar she got when her throat was slit.

“What other differences did Bella’s species have?”Rosalie asked.

“Other than they lived a lot longer than humans not much. They had the same physical attributes as humans including the way they procreated and could die from illness and injury.”Tanya told them.

“Wait if Bella’s species was like humans were there vampires amongst them as well?”Victoria figured there had to be others like Bella.

“To explain vampires I’m going to have to tell Bella’s full story.”Tanya hated reliving the horrors Bella lived through but would do it so Bella didn’t have to.”The first thing I need to tell you is the gods that myself and my sisters are so passionate about are real.”

“The gods are real?”Victoria didn’t believe any god existed.

Tanya smiled at the looks Rosalie and Victoria were given her.”I know what you are thinking because the three of us thought the same. That anyone who belies the gods are real are stupid. Well I’ll tell you not only has Bella seen many of the gods personally she spoke to one twice and since being in our life we have witnessed them interfering in Bella’s life numerous times.”

“Like with your cat.”Victoria remembered Tanya telling her about Bella thinking the gods sent the cat to her.

“Lilith is just one of the many things that the gods have done to prove they existed.”Irina was a big believer in the gods. She wasn’t as dedicated as Bella and even Tanya but she and Kate did celebrate with them on certain holidays dedicated to the goddess that saved Bella.

“If the gods are real does that mean Jesus is as well?”Rosalie asked.

.”Jesus was real but he wasn’t a god. Bella actually knew him. He was con man who wrote the Bible himself.”Irina told them.

“It would be in your best interest never to mention Jesus in front of Bella. She has a very strong reaction to anyone talking about him.”Tanya had heard Bella rant many times about the false prophet and knew that her mate hated the man with a passion.

“Jesus was a con man?”Rosalie hated the fact that she couldn’t lord that fact over Edward and Carlisle.

“Oh yeah. Bella had contemplated killing him when he started getting a following but the gods wouldn’t allow her to do it.”Kate thought Bella’s hatred of Jesus was hilarious and some times brought him up to mess with her.

“We promise we won’t bring him up.”Victoria didn’t want to upset Death’s Shadow.

“You said that Bella spoke to ones of the gods. What did she speak to them about?”Rosalie asked getting back on topic.

“That part comes a little later in the story. Before that the gods created humans. Bella told us that when they first inhabited earth that humans were kept like cattle and bred and used specifically for their blood. Well the gods didn’t like that so they started to give the humans more intelligence so they could fight against their captors. Their captors of course didn’t appreciate that a tasty food source was no longer easy to control.”Tanya told them.

“What did they do?”Rosalie figured it had to be something bad if she had never heard of Bella’s species before.

“They thought in all their wisdom that the gods made the humans smarter because they were upset with them. To gain back their favor they started sacrificing their own people thinking the gods would see that they were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to make them happy.”Tanya explained.

“I take it the gods didn’t like that.”Victoria said.

“You’re right they didn’t. They warned Bella’s people that if they didn’t stop the sacrifices there would be consequences. Bella’s people ignored their warning. In their desperate need to gain the god’s favor they decided that it wasn’t the sacrificing that the god’s were upset about it was the quality of the sacrifice.They sent out a decree. Each village was ordered to send the most beautiful virgin that resided there. To make sure that the villages complied they were told if the woman that was chosen came that village they would be rewarded with many riches.”Tanya took a deep breath to control the emotions that came with the next part of the story.

“What happened next?”Rosalie couldn’t help but asking as she was enthralled with the story.

“Each village sent one woman to the capital where they were made to bath and given clothing to wear. They then were paraded in front of the rulers and one of them was picked.”When Tanya felt Irina take her hand in her own she smiled sadly at her sister.”That person was Bella. Once Bella was selected they waited until the moon was full and led her to a stone table that was carved with prayers to each of the gods. They tied her arms and legs so she couldn’t move and then slit her throat. They didn’t even wait her her to die. They left her there all alone bleeding to death.”

“If Bella was sacrificed how is she alive?”Victoria asked.

“A goddess came to her. As she looked at what was done to Bella she shed a single tear that she caught on her finger and put it in Bella’s wound. It healed it completely saving Bella’s life.”The action of the goddess was also the reason Tanya was so devoted to the gods. Especially that goddess in particular. She saved Tanya’s mate and Tanya would forever be in her debt for it.

“A goddess saved Bella?”Rosalie knew that Tanya was telling the truth. The absolute certainty she spoke was more than enough proof.

“Not only did the goddess save Bella but she asked Bella a question. She asked Bella if she had the power to save the humans would she do it. Bella told her not only would she do it but she wouldn’t rest until every single one of them was free. After that the goddess laid her hand on Bella’s chest and Bella told us that all she felt was a burning sensation. When she woke the goddess explained her new abilities. Those being of the modern vampire with the added gift of a shield so that she could better complete her mission. To prove she had the gods favor the goddess covered Bella’s body with each of the gods symbols by imbedding them in Bella’s skin with silver.”Tanya told them.

“Bella is an avenging angel.”Rosalie said in complete awe.

“Not only is Bella an avenging angel but she is also the first vampire that was ever created.”Tanya thought it was nice that Bella was finally getting the recognition for her deeds by someone other the sisters.

“It is rumored that Death’s Shadow was the first vampire but never really thought it was true.”Victoria wasn’t sure what to think about all this.”What happened to Bella’s species? Are there others like her?”

”After Bella met with the angel she began freeing the humans. She knew that she would need help so she changed a few humans into vampires and they of changed others as well. There was a Great War were Bella, the vampires and humans fought Bella’s people and Bella’s people refused to give up. Even when it was obvious they had lost. Their pride led to the extinction of an entire race.”Tanya knew that Bella still had mixed feelings about her involvement but for the most part had accepted that it wasn’t her fault.

“And Bella has been Death’s Shadow ever since then?”Rosalie asked.

“Bella has been many people since then. Some you may have heard of. She didn’t become Death’s Shadow until the Romanians took over and she put the Volturi in place.”Tanya told them.

“She was the goddess Isis at one point.”Kate said.

“Bella was Isis?”Victoria knew who Isis was as she had always been interested in past civilizations.

“Don’t ask her about it though. She doesn’t like talking about her past.”Tanya knew that Bella didn’t talk about it because it was painful. Unlike what people thought Bella didn’t like to kill people. The woman fed from blood bags when she couldn’t find a criminal to feed from. Just so she didn’t have to take an innocent life.

“We won’t.”Rosalie wasn’t going to even speak to Bella unless Bella spoke to her.

“With that said why don’t you guys pick a room and get settled. When we get back from New York depending on what Bella is doing I’ll help you make any changes you want. I already know we are going to have to build a bigger garage for you Rosalie so if there is anything else you would want think about it because we don’t mind adding on to the house or building extra buildings on the grounds.”Tanya thought it would be a nice project to keep her busy while Bella was away.

“You don’t have to do that.”Rosalie didn’t want them to go our of their way for her.

“It’s no problem. As a matter of fact we have been talking about building a warehouse to put some of Bella’s rarer cars as they aren’t really stored properly.”Tanya thought this was a way to get Bella to finally make a decision on what to do with her collection.

Rosalie perked up hearing that.“Bella has rare cars?”

“Bella is obsessed with cars. She still has trouble wrapping her mind around how they work.”Kate thought it was funny that Bella being as old she was got excited by such random things.

“She is even a majority share holder of a few car companies and invests a lot of money in research and development.”Irina told her.

“What car companies?”Rosalie asked.

“Tesla, Ferrari, Porsche, Fiat, Bentley and a few others.”Tanya listed off.

“Shit.”Rosalie wondered if Bella would give her a tour and maybe let her see some of the prototypes and concept cars.”Does she get her hands on cars before they are released?”

“Not only does Bella get a first chance at any cars made she has actually designed a few herself. It’s one of her hobbies.”A hobby that Tanya fully supported as she knew it was something Bella did to relax.

“Do you think she would speak to me about it?”Rosalie had dozens of questions about Bella’s businesses.

Kate laughed.”It Bella could she would spend days talking about cars. The only reason she doesn’t just ride around all the time in one is because she is usually so busy.”

“I have to admit I do enjoy when we get the chance to drive around in a convertible on a sunning day.”Tanya loved when it was just her and Bella cruising around with the top down on a car without a care in the world.

“I forgot that Bella can make it so we can go in the sun.”Rosalie was excited to be able to go on trips with the Denali. Trips she had always been jealous the sisters got to go on.

“That’s how we are able to go to New York fashion week.”Irina told her.

“Well I look forward to future travels.”Victoria hoped they would get to go to some places she had always wanted to go.

“Let’s get Bella though a week in New York before we start planning any trips.”Not only was Bella going to be busy but after a week in New York Tanya knew her mate was going to be mentally exhausted from dealing with all the attention and interaction with humans. Bella would need some time to recharge. Tanya stood from her chair.“Let me help you guys with your bags. That way you can get set up so you can pack for New York.”

“I put a lot of my stuff in storage as we didn’t know how much room we have here.”Rosalie said as she followed Tanya and Victoria out of the house. Rosalie didn’t really have that much other than a few nicknacks. The things in storage were her toolboxes and the project cars she was working on. The cars that she had that were Carlisle’s name she left behind. She wasn’t really attached to them as she wasn’t allowed to get the kinds she really wanted as Carlisle didn’t want them to attract extra attention. Rosalie was looking forward to being able to drive what she wanted as it was obvious the Denali didn’t care about things like that. They had the protection of Death’s Shadow so they really didn’t need to worry. Something that Rosalie was very happy that she and her mate had now as well. It made Rosalie hate that she didn’t ask to join the coven decades ago when she had initially wanted to. Then again if she had she would have never met Victoria. That made it all worth it as Rosalie would never be complete without her mate.