When The Cat Becomes The Mouse 43

“Now that we are here we need to discuss what to expect going forward.”Sulpicia said taking control of the group that consisted of the three queens, the Denali minus Carmen and Eleazar and Bella, Victoria and Rosalie.They were all in the queen’s private office which she chose so that it would give her the unspoken authority from her seat behind her large desk.Bella was sitting in one of the two chairs across on the other side with both her mates on either side of her and Tanya sitting next to her with her two sisters on either side of Tanya.Although it was obvious that she would prefer for Bella to be sitting on her lap Didyme had taken to leaning on the desk in front of Bella. Athenodora had taken to standing next to Sulpicia.

“What exactly do you mean by that?”Kate asked suspiciously.

“Kate hush.”Tanya hissed.The last thing they all needed was for Kate to pick a fight and get their entire coven kicked out of the castle.Tanya wasn’t afraid of them being killed as that would upset Bella but it didn’t mean that the queens wouldn’t keep them from the newborn.

Deciding to ignore Kate’s tone Sulpicia answered the question anyway.”What I mean by that is that now Bella is a vampire she will need to be monitored through her newborn period.Not only that but we need to train her gift so that she doesn’t hurt or kill someone by accident.”

“You are forgetting to add the fact that she is being targeted by the Cullens.”Didyme added.

“Of course that is a priority but it isn’t something that is more important than helping Bella.”Sulpicia said.

Didyme bristled at her mates tone.”I wasn’t saying it was.I just think the fact our daughter is in danger even if it is unlikely we will fail to protect her is something important to bring up.Unless you are saying that our daughter’s safety isn’t important to you?”

“You know that her safety is the upmost importance to me.For you to say otherwise is insulting.”Sulpicia growled.

“My loves, no one doubts either of your devotion to our daughter.”Athenodora quickly cut in knowing that not only would this dissolve into a physical fight but they had an audience.”However now is not the time to fight.We need to put a plan in place to keep Bella safe and to make sure she continues to thrive in life.”

Sulpicia sent a glare Didyme’s way before speaking.”You are right.We have more important things to think of.I think the first thing we should discuss is living arraignments.”

“What were you thinking in those regards?”Tanya wondered if the queens were going to offer them private quarters or if she was going to make them live with the other occupants of the castle.

“I don’t want to be apart from my sire.”Bella said causing Tanya to smile brightly at her newborn.

“We would not keep you away from her young one.We know how important it is to keep a newborn near her maker.”Athenodora told her.She knew that her mates would prefer the Denali go back to Alaska but that was not going to happen with how close Bella was to the coven.She had warned her mates that if pushed it was more than likely Bella would choose them over the queens. Athenodora just hoped that they kept that in mind going forward.

Didyme held back a sneer thinking of the fact that Tanya was one of her daughter’s sires.The fact that the queen wasn’t chosen made her hate Carlisle all the more because if he wasn’t involved then it wouldn’t have made it so important for Bella to be changed so quickly.If they had more time then herself and her other mate could’ve had a chance to have a relationship with the girl and maybe they would have been chosen as well.It was that missed chance that brought forth Didyme’s dark side and guaranteed her being involved in the man’s punishment.Usually she wasn’t one to be involved in violence but she had no qualms about getting her hands dirty if it meant she could get revenge on the man that took so many things away from her.

“Because of that we will be giving you rooms near Bella’s wing of the castle.”Sulpicia told them.

“Thank you your majesty.”Tanya quickly accepted before Kate could screw up this for them.The fact that they were getting rooms close to Bella meant that it would be easier to see the girl and for her to see them as well.Tanya had no doubt Kate would spend most of her time in Bella’s rooms bugging the triad any chance she got.

“Will we be seeing these rooms soon?”Bella asked.She had been as patient as she could be but being near her mates and feeling the not so innocent touch of Victoria’s nails scratching her back beneath her shirt was driving her mad with desire.She somewhat wished that she were more adventurous because if she was she wouldn’t care if others were watching and would have just taken both her mates in front of everyone.

Kate laughed.”I’m surprised you haven’t just grabbed your mates and ran off to find an empty room already.”

“Don’t give her any ideas Kate.”Irina didn’t like the look on Bella’s face. If they didn’t speed up this meeting Bella was going to do exactly that.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea.”Victoria was bored with all this talk of the future.She knew they were going to be stuck at the castle for a while so they could talk about plans later.What she wanted to do now was get her mate naked and test out how indestructible the newborn was.

“I hate to agree but Bella isn’t going to be much use to any of us for at least a week if not more.”Rosalie tried to sound as reasonable as possible but in reality she was of the same thought as Victoria.Getting Bella naked and soon was the only thing she could focus on.

“Unfortunately your rooms aren’t ready yet.”Didyme said.She understood newborn lust but wanted to spend more time with her daughter.

“That’s alright we can use any room.One that you won’t mind getting destroyed would be preferable.”Victoria didn’t care if they had a room.If they had to she would drag Rosalie and Bella out to the woods.She just wanted privacy because she knew Bella and Rosalie were to shy to do anything in front of other people.

Sulpicia sighed.“We aren’t going to get anywhere with this meeting are we?”

“I’m afraid not my love.Bella is a newborn and although she has shown impeccable behavior she is only a day old.”Athenodora was actually surprised that the girl was able to sit as still as she was.Most newborns were no more than savages in their first few weeks.

“Why don’t I escort you to one of the empty rooms in the royal wing.Would you please have the guards you assigned to Bella meet us there?”Didyme asked Sulpicia.

“I’ll go with you as well.”Athenodora volunteered.”That way I can stand guard until the guards get there.”

“Well it seems as this meeting is over.”Sulpicia said.

“What will you have us do your majesty?”Tanya asked wanting to know what kind of freedom her coven would have.

Instead of saying what she really wanted to Sulpicia replied.”You have free rein to wander through the castle.The only areas off limits are of course our rooms and the throne room.”

“Maybe we can help put together Bella’s rooms and our own.”Irina wanted to be involved in making Bella’s rooms more comfortable.She hoped that adding touches of their home in Alaska would make Bella yearn to go back there.

“That’s a good idea.”Athenodora wanted Bella to be comfortable and without doing it herself the Denali knew the most about the girl.

“It’s settled.Didyme and Athenodora will escort Bella and her mates to a guest room, while I send for the guards.I will personally escort Tanya and her coven to their rooms and Didyme will get together with them later to work on Bella’s.”Sulpicia hated the fact that they would need help decorating Bella’s rooms.She didn’t want the help from the Denali but the reality of the situation was that they knew her daughter better than she and her mates did.Athenodora knew some but she wasn’t the greatest when it came to decorating.

“Thank you your majesty.”Tanya stood and grabbed Kate by the arm and hustled her out the door to wait for the queen.The meeting had gone better than she expected and she didn’t need Kate screwing it up.

“Come along Bella.”Didyme motioned for Bella and her mates to follow her.

Instead of following Didyme however Bella stood and made her way over to Sulpicia and dropped herself in her lap and gave her a hug.”You won’t be far away will you?”

“Of course not dearest.”Sulpicia cooed.She couldn’t hold back the urge to smirk at her mates.This was the first time Bella had acted on the bond and she had chosen Sulpicia to show affection to first.The queen couldn’t wait to rub it to her mates faces that she got to cuddle their daughter first.”If you need me all you have to do is tell one of the guards and they will come get me.”

“Alright.”Bella gave the queen one last squeeze and stood to follow her mates.

“It will be alright Bella.I promise that it won’t matter what she is doing she will drop everything to see you.All of us would.”Athenodora promised.It pleased her greatly that Bella was showing signs of the bond and wasn’t fighting it.That would make things a lot easier in the future to build a relationship with their daughter.

“Don’t worry about us.We will be busy getting everything ready for you while you are busy.Don’t fight your instincts and just do what is natural.”Didyme told her.

“I’ll try.”Bella replied.

“That’s all we can ask of you.”Didyme said wrapping her arm around Bella’s shoulders.She smiled when Bella cuddled into her side.It wasn’t as good as getting the chance to hold Bella on her lap but she was getting affection.That’s all the queen wanted.For her daughter to care as much about her as she did Bella.They had a lot of time to make up for and Bella was already taking the first steps in accepting the bond.Didyme hated herself for wishing her daughter was unmated so that she could claim more of Bella’s attention.Didyme wouldn’t interfere with the triads relationship of course but she couldn’t help be jealous that Bella was so close to her mates.