The Dark Princess 24

“Hello my love, how is Bella?” Caius asked Athenodora when his mate entered the library. He and Marcus had been in there researching what the effects of having any unnatural materials in a human body when they changed were. Aro and Eleazar were there as well but they were researching Bella’s gift. He figured if Athenodora was visiting him that Bella was with her friends.

“She is sleeping. Well she better be sleeping.” Athenodora said.

“If she is sleeping why are you here?” Caius would have expected the queen would be with their daughter if she was sleeping.

“I am here because I have something to tell you.” Athenodora took a deep breath before she announced. “Bella has a second mate.”

“What?She has a second mate?” Caius wasn’t sure he heard Athenodora right.

Athenodora nodded. “Yes the Denali coven leader Tanya has a mate bond with our daughter.”

“Seriously?” Marcus had never been around a triad relationship before. He wondered what their bonds looked like when they were all together.

“Yes seriously. We found out when the vampire tried to attack her family and the Cullens to keep them away from Bella. It was only Bella talking her down that got her to get control of herself.” Athenodora told them.

“How extraordinary.To have two mates and a familiar bond.” Aro thought about the implications of Bella having both bonds. Having two mates was almost as rare as having a familiar bond.

“Don’t forget she has a powerful gift as well.” Eleazar added. He was happy for Tanya and would have to take a break to check in with his coven.

“Your daughter is very unique.” Marcus said.

“Any daughter of ours was always going to be exceptional.The fact that Bella turned out to be even more than we could have ever imagined is just par for the course.”Caius proudly proclaimed.

“Our daughter will be not only the most loved royal but one of the most powerful as well. Not only with her own gift but with having Jane by her side and now an older experienced coven leader she will be almost unstoppable.” Athenodora may have hated to share her daughter but she could grudgingly admit if Bella had to have another mate Tanya wasn’t that bad of a choice. If the queen forgot about the initial burst of violence then she could see the good points in having Tanya at Bella’s side.She just hoped that her daughter wouldn’t want to drink only from animals. That would be embarrassing.

“I think in a few years we may be able to retire and leave her to take over.” Aro joked.

“I don’t know about that but she will be trained to lead.” Caius told him.

“Of course she will.”Marcus had already been planning on helping Bella with her studies on vampire history and laws.

“I hope to one day add a throne for her amongst our own.” Aro said.

“Truly?” Athenodora was surprised to hear that. Aro was known for not wanting to share power with anyone. So for him to say he wanted Bella to lead beside him was completely out of character for him.

“Of course. Our young princess has the respect of all those she encounters. With her by our sides not only could she use her gift to protect us but she would be able to put people at ease. You have seen it with the way some of our most terrifying guards defer to her and go out of their way to make sure she is comfortable. Bella has a way about her that instills those she meets to pledge their loyalty to her. Why I wouldn’t doubt if her personal guards would go against us if we were to hurt her.” Aro had seen the dirty looks the guards had given then when they had visited Bella.

“That is true.” Marcus agreed. “There is a line of vampires wanting to hurt not only Edward but Carlisle as well. I actually think when her parents are brought here we should be extra careful with who we let around them.”

Athenodora growled at the thought of Bella’s parents. “Those horrible people. By the time I’m personally done with them whatever torture that comes after will feel like a mercy.”

“Any word from Jane?” Caius asked.

“She has the mother. Jane said it was easy to abduct her because she is a drunk who was known for hanging out with less than honorable people.” Aro told them.

“I thought she married a good man and that was why she sent Bella to live with her father?” Marcus was sure that was what he was told.

“They broke up. The woman cheated on him with his best man and he caught them. I guess it was to much for her even to pretend being a decent human being to get her life together.” Aro was actually surprised the woman hadn’t died sooner. From the reports he was given it seemed like it was only luck keeping her alive.

“And the father?” Caius asked.

“They are having a tough time setting up his disappearance. He is the police chief so they are trying to make it look like someone he arrested took him for revenge. That’s what’s taking so long. They are trying to find the perfect criminal to take the fall.” Aro said.

“I hate that we have to cover our tracks. I miss the days when we could just take a person from their lives and not have to worry about the media getting involved.” Athenodora knew why they had to cover their tracks but it didn’t mean she had to like it.

“It’s only going to get harder as society evolves more.” Marcus was thinking about how difficult it already was with facial recognition software and social media.

“Luckily Bella doesn’t bother with that garbage.” Aro had been impressed his niece didn’t get caught up like so many other humans in documenting every part of their life for the world to see.

“How was she feeling when you left her with Tanya?Well I assume you left her with Tanya.” Caius knew his mate wouldn’t leave Bella alone especially while she was vulnerable.

“She looked tired and in pain. She tried to hide it but it was obvious.” Athenodora hated how helpless she was at making her daughter feel better. It was her job as Bella’s mother to protect her child and every time she looked at Bella’s arm she was reminded of her failure.

“Is the medicine not working anymore?” Marcus asked concerned for Bella.

“I don’t think it works as well as the doctor said it would.” Athenodora turned her attention to Caius. “I was actually going to ask if you think we should contact the doctor about it.”

Caius pushed the thought of having to deal with the people who hurt his daughter more than helped aside and focused on if they could actually help Bella. “I would prefer that she not be exposed to those idiots but if it helps her feel better than give one a call. They will have to come to the castle though.”

“Of course they would.” Athenodora was insulted that he would think she would insist otherwise. “Bella will not be leaving the castle until she has to get her surgery.”

“I would prefer she have that done in the castle as well.” Caius grumbled.

“I would to but we both know it is safer for Bella to go to the hospital.” Athenodora said.

“Were you able to get the private room with the blacked out windows?” Aro asked.

Athenodora nodded. “With the large donation we gave to the hospital they are bending over backwards to accommodate us. We wanted the entire floor cleared but they refused. They did however give us the rooms on either side of Bella’s recovery room.”

“How many guards are you going to need?” Marcus asked.

“Well myself and Athenodora will obviously be going but we will be distracted so I would like at least twelve.” Caius knew that he and his mate would be in protective mode but he wanted the guards to prevent anyone from getting close to Bella. They didn’t need the humans seeing him and the queen killing a bunch of people or ripping any attacking vampires apart.

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure we will have more than that volunteer to guard the princess.” Aro said.

“That being said I’m going to go check on Bella. I just left her because I wanted you to know what is going on. She also asked me to ask you to visit before she goes to bed.” Athenodora corrected herself. “Well she said that if you couldn’t come tonight that she would like to at least see you at breakfast but it was obvious she wanted to see you before she went to bed.”

Caius didn’t even bother holding back his smile. “She really asked for me?”

“Of course. I honestly think she likes you more than me.” Athenodora grumbled.

“That isn’t true my love. You know that she loves you very much. Who did she ask to help her change?” Caius asked.

Athenodora instantly felt better thinking of that. “She does chose me more often than not doesn’t she.”

“Yes she does.” Caius agreed. It made him somewhat jealous that Bella asked for her mother more than him but the fact that Bella did ask for him soothed him enough that he didn’t snap at his mate.

“Well I will leave you to your studies. Let me know if you find anything useful.” Athenodora waved over her shoulder in response to the farewells called out to her. She had spent more time than she wanted to away from Bella. The queen didn’t doubt that Bella was safe with Tanya but what Athenodora was worried about was if Bella was safe from Tanya. The Denali sisters were where the succubus legends came from and the last thing Athenodora wanted was for Bella to be corrupted. Her daughter was an innocent and selfishly Athenodora wanted her to stay that way. In her opinion Bella was to young even for kissing so there was no way she would be alright with anything more serious happening. It was with thoughts of protecting her daughter’s virtue that Athenodora quickened her pace. Hopefully she would get there in time to prevent anything from happening.