*
Sophie's spoon clanked against the side of her bowl as she set it down. She leaned back in the kitchen chair, chewing the last bite of her cereal and looking towards her mates who were sitting with her. Just as they promised the night before, all three of them were present when Sophie awoke the next morning.
And again, like they had promised, the plan was to talk more about the whole mating bond this morning, but only after Sophie ate breakfast. She had rolled her eyes first at the request, quietly muttering that she wasn't a child and would decide herself when she wanted to eat.
Though, after a stern reply from Aro claiming that they could wait another day for questions, Sophie grumpily poured herself a bowl of cereal and ate it at her kitchen table.
Once she swallowed the last of her food, she looked at the three of them with raised brows. Aro was smirking, clearly pleased with himself that he had won that argument. Sophie refrained from rolling her eyes again - if only he knew how stubborn she could be when it came to eating. He wouldn't win the next one.
"So..." She drew out when none of them spoke. "Can we talk now?"
"Yes, Sophie." Marcus smiled at her, pleased with her eagerness to learn more about their bond. "Let's go back to your room so we don't wake your father."
Sophie nodded in agreement and grabbed her bowl, rinsing it in the sink before following behind her mates back up the stairs. Her dad had gotten home earlier that morning while Sophie was still sleeping, and she knew he wouldn't be pleased to wake up to find Sophie and three unknown men with her in his kitchen.
*
"You said last night that, if I chose to walk away, you would only come around in order to keep yourselves strong. What did you mean by that?"
The four of them were situated in Sophie's room - Aro, Marcus, and Sophie on the bed, while Caius sat in her desk chair. The three of them looked hesitant at her question, as if they weren't sure as if Sophie was ready for the information they were about to share. She rolled her eyes at them - she could handle whatever else they throw at her. Sure it had taken some time to get used to the fact that she was their mate and there were some instances where she reacted badly to news, but she was trying. She just needed more information before she could keep trying.
Marcus noticed her annoyance and sighed, lifting a hand to rest on her knee in some hopes to soothe her. "When vampires find their mate, their entire world is shifted. Everything is now centered around them and their entire reason for being is to be with that person in one way or another. Like in our case, you are the most important thing in our lives now. We would live and die for you, no questions asked."
Sophie's cheeks heated, her heart thumping wildly in her chest at the casual way Marcus had just said that. It was a matter of fact for him, for Caius and Aro. Aro smiled softly at her, though her eyes didn't stray from Marcus.
"In some very rare instances, mates reject the other or, in some instances, they die." Marcus continued, as if he wasn't aware of the effect he had on his mate. "But mates become a lifeline for the other partner. If one were to reject the other, the rejected mate would begin to wither away, getting weaker and weaker until they eventually died."
Sophie's gaze was locked on her bedsheets, mind processing Marcus' words. He made it sound similar to imprinting, but she didn't realize that mates were such a sacred thing to vampires, too. "Can it happen to humans too?"
"I believe so." Aro answered as he leaned back against the bed frame. "Though, it depends on how strong the bond is. If it's a rejection in the early days of meeting, the human usually walks away just fine. I would assume if the bond is more profound, they suffer just as vampires do, but there's not many cases of human and vampire bonds."
The knowledge of Edward lying to Bella about her being his mate crept into her mind again and she scowled. Caius cocked his head at the sudden change in her mood. "I know Bella doesn't know the difference, but Edward still left with her thinking she's his mate. I wish I could just tell her."
"Why can't you?" Caius asked. He was sitting in her desk chair, twisting back and forth absentmindedly. His blonde hair was pulled back today, showing off more of his sharp features.
"I'm waiting for Edward to do it." She shrugged, moving to lean back against the headboard with Aro. "He has to know that I know, with the whole mind-reading thing. If it comes down to it, I will tell her, but I'm trying to hope that he'll do the right thing."
The vampires only stared back at her. Aro's brows were raised, almost as if he were questioning that she was serious. She sighed, her shoulders slumping forward. "I don't have much hope. But I truly don't think she'll leave him either way."
"Probably not, but I don't believe the boy will tell her either way." Caius said, twisting in the chair to grab one of Sophie's pencils. He twisted it in his hands as he talked. "He can't read her thoughts, which I assume bothers him to no end. He probably doesn't realize how much she cares for him without the ability to see inside her head."
"Enough about the boy and Bella." Marcus held up a hand, clearly not interested in the way the conversation was headed. He looked back at Sophie, his dark eyes peering at her, curiously. "What else would you like to know? You seemed like you had a lot of questions last night."
Sophie paused for a moment, thinking of all the questions she had running through her mind. Her eyes found her comforter again, slim fingers tugging lightly at a loose thread. There were so many things she could ask - she wanted to learn more about her kings, more about Volterra, more about their bond, and more about vampires in general. She didn't know where to start.
But the mating bond still was the most pressing thing on her mind. She thought about the pressure of the bond a lot, especially when she first learned about what she was to the three men. Sophie knew she would never, ever live up to their expectations of what a good mate should be. And now that she knew how much the bond meant to a vampire, she wondered how she still thought she had a choice in this.
Walking away from them meant weakening them, possibly killing them. Even if she didn't want the bond anymore - which she was becoming more and more okay with everyday, despite trying not to - there was no way she could live with the fact that she was causing them agony.
But strangely enough, she didn't quite feel trapped by the weight of how much she meant to them. Yes, it was scary, but somehow, being next to them felt right.
"So." She started slowly, wetting her bottom lip with her tongue as she thought. "How does the process of accepting the bond work? I know Caius mentioned the biting..." She couldn't help the slight shudder of her body at the thought. Her three kings shared looks, each finding her innocence so amusing. "But what about the rest of it? Isn't that the last step?"
"The bite is the last step, love, yes." Caius said, not able to hide the smirk forming on his face. Sophie looked at him with annoyed eyes, though the redness on her cheeks showed she was still embarrassed. "The bond progresses through time, though some form quicker than others. We have already accepted the bond on each of our ends, as Marcus explained last night. Once both, or all in our case, parties accept, the bond strengthens as the relationship does."
"Once a bond is recognized, the pair usually begin courting each other." Marcus continued where Caius left off. "Ideally, we would have begun courting you as soon as we found out what you were to us, but since you have needed more time to get used to everything, we are being slower about our intentions."
Sophie felt shame flood her body again and she felt the need to shrink. She pulled her knees up to her chest, an attempt to make herself smaller as she sat between Aro and Marcus. Caius appeared next to her in a flash, his hand landing on her shoulder, causing her to jolt back. Caius' gaze was intense as she met his eyes. "We don't mean to offend you, Sophie. We want to give you all the time in the world to accept the bond."
"Marcus didn't mean to upset you, tesoro." Aro's voice was light as he placed a hand on Sophie's clothed arm. Marcus nodded in agreement, a worried look crossing over his own face.
Sophie nodded, but she couldn't help bringing her hand around her upper arm. "I know. I'm sorry that I'm not doing this right for you three. I think I'm finally getting my head around it, but I don't know how I'm supposed to act for you."
"What do you mean?" Aro asked.
"I mean, how does a mate act? Especially a mate to three kings?" She shook her head, furrowing her brow in thought. "I know I'm not what any of you expected in a mate and the whole vampire thing is still kinda new to me."
"Don't think so low of yourself, my dear." Marcus hushed her, reaching forward to pull her tight grasp away from her arm. His eyes were knowing as he held her hand. "We couldn't have asked for a more perfect mate, and no, I'm not just saying that because of the bond. You have so many beautiful traits that fit each of us perfectly that you don't see."
Her chest filled with an emotion she wasn't quite familiar with and Sophie couldn't help the tears that suddenly flooded her eyes. She ducked her head, swallowing thickly over the lump in her throat. A finger tucked under her chin, easily lifting her eyes back to each of them.
"It's a learning process for all of us." Marcus continued. "But, if you'll have us, we'd love to learn together."
Sophie looked at him a moment more, noting the genuineness in his eyes. She turned her gaze to Caius, who looked the most calm she'd ever seen him and then towards Aro, who looked at her with eyes bright with hope.
"Okay." Her voice was small as she nodded against Marcus' hand. "If I say yes, does this mean you guys start the courting stuff?"
"As long as you're ready for us to."
It was still strange to think about - three beautiful men surrounding her who wanted nothing but good things for her. Three men who would give up anything if it meant she was safe and happy. Three men whose worlds revolved around her. It was truthfully overwhelming and she still wondered if it was a good idea to let them in - but so far, they hadn't shown any hesitation to support her through her illness or her learning curves, or her own hesitation.
So, she nodded her head again, stomach fluttering with butterflies at all the possibilities that lied ahead. "Then yes. I want to move forward with the bond."
The joy and relief that showed on each of their faces had her nerves melting away a bit, and she knew, deep down, that she was making the right choice with them.
*
After making sure Sophie was okay a few hours later, the kings left. They had business to attend to and reluctantly thought it'd be better to do it in the space of their hotel room so as not to bore or overwhelm Sophie with the formal side of things. While Sophie was sad to see them go, she was looking forward to some time without them.
Mainly to go to La Push. She hadn't been down there in a few days and she was ready to see her friends.
Once the kings had left, Sophie made her way to the bathroom, readying herself for the drive down to the reservation. The shower water was warm on her skin and she threw her head back, relishing in the feeling of her stress melting away from her. She kept her eyes closed in the shower, the loofah in her hand a barrier from feeling her body.
Despite the progress she was making with food, she still hated seeing and feeling her own body. Even with her eyes closed, if she touched her skin, she could pick out hundreds of flaws that needed fixed.
The familiar feelings of shame and worthlessness had Sophie sighing, her bony shoulders slumping. It was the same cycle over and over - relapse, realize that she was sick and needed help, gain weight, relapse again. Sophie was stuck in it, stuck in the euphoric feelings of starving when she needed some level of worth and self control. But how long could she continue like this?
It'd been years and with each repeated cycle, Sophie felt herself getting sicker and sicker. Something needed to change. Recovery was more than just gaining weight. The weight gain wouldn't go anywhere if Sophie wasn't more secure and happy with how she looked no matter what. She needed to believe that it was alright to not be the skinniest person in the room.
That mere thought sent a shiver down her spine.
Sophie opened her eyes, staring ahead at the white shower wall. She hadn't really taken the time to think about her recovery in the past couple days - the events taking up too much space in her mind to leave room for anything else. But now her head was feeling much too empty and her anorexia was ready to sneak right back into the shadows of her mind. It was almost too easy to welcome the thoughts back into her head. In a way they were comforting - long lost friends returning to Sophie. But the comfort never lasted for long.
The stinging betrayal of her mind left her feeling hollow, a lump growing in the back over her throat as she lost the loofah and wrapped her hand around her upper arm.
She worried what the future held for her recovery when her kings returned to Italy - because of them, she had rarely been alone, not able to do much about the rioting in her mind when she ate the food that was prepared for her. The darker, sicker parts of her, however, eagerly looked forward to being alone again. Eager to hide herself away again and watch as she fell back into her best form.
Sophie knew she needed a distraction now - the warm water still cascaded over her body but she felt herself becoming colder and colder. She pushed through the darkness of her mind once more, focusing instead on her eagerness to visit the reservation and her friends. A pit now resided in her stomach, despite the new, distracting thoughts swimming in her mind and she sighed, sticking her face in the warm spray.
*
"Oh Sophie, look at you!" Emily was the first to greet her, her expression full of concern as she embraced the girl. Sophie held her tightly back, letting herself enjoy the contact from her friend. Emily pulled back a few seconds later, tilting her chin up to look at the black and blue bruisings of her neck. "How are you doing?"
"I'm managing." Sophie flattened her lips into a smile. The attention to the wounds on her neck had her shoulders taut with tension, the beginning signs of panic beginning to fill her veins. She couldn't help but shake off Emily's hands from her neck.
Emily apologized, clearly catching on that Sophie was beginning to get uncomfortable. "Come inside, let's get a drink. I made some snacks."
The brunette couldn't help but smile as she followed her friend. She could never say no to Emily, even if the thoughts of her warm chocolate chip cookies made her skin crawl uncomfortably today.
"Paul and Sam are on patrol until this evening so we shouldn't see either of them, though, I'm sure the others will come around, especially if you're here." Emily smiled warmly at Sophie once they were inside her kitchen. Emily handed a glass of water to Sophie and motioned her to sit.
Sophie thanked her, watching as her friend opened the oven to pull out fresh cinnamon rolls. Sophie's stomach growled at the delicious scent that filled the air, sweet cinnamon and melted icing. She sniffed, changing the subject.
"I haven't seen some of them in so long, it feels like." Sophie said, chasing a water drop down the side of the glass with her finger. Really, she hadn't seen Seth, Embry, or Quil since their night in at her house. She missed her friends far more than she realized and was excited to see the three of them.
Her, Sam, Paul, and Jared weren't very close. In fact, the two men closest to Sam seemed to look down on her, especially after learning that she was mated to three vampires. Sam didn't seem to mind Sophie, the older man was just quiet and seemed to keep to himself, mostly.
And she was still yet to meet Leah Clearwater. In fact, she had barely spoken with her best friend about the girl, too preoccupied with her own life to catch up with her friend's. She needed to fix that immediately - from what she had heard from Jake, he was already crazy about her.
"Has Leah come around at all?" The two friends shared a look, each knowing about her early days with the pack.
"She's starting to." Emily nodded. She leaned back against the counter tops, clapping her hands together to rid them of crumbs. "She's still angry and distant but it's a start."
Sophie hummed in agreement. "I feel like I haven't talked to Jacob in so long." In reality she has just seen him the day before, but she couldn't think of the last time they actually caught up.
Emily giggled. "I'm not sure there's much progress there. Jacob looks like a love sick puppy every time he sees her and Leah avoids his stare at all cost."
"Oh, poor Jake." Sophie couldn't help but laugh along with her. Her friend hasn't had much luck in the girl department lately and she was sure it stung more when his own imprint ignored him. Through the girls' giggles, they could hear the front door open and a stampede of feet parade through the house.
Suddenly, many pairs of arms wrapped around Sophie anywhere they could and her laughter grew louder, knowing that the rest of her friends had finally joined them. Her names was repeated multiple times in excitement before just as many questions were hurled her way.
"Woah, woah!" Emily laughed, walking around Sophie to smack each boy on the back. "Give her some room to breathe, boys."
Quil, Embry, and Seth all backed off of Sophie, who was flushed and breathless when she looked back at them. Though, she felt her stomach drop when each of their dark eyes narrowed in on the bruises on her neck. She shrugged her shoulders up and dipped her head, trying her best to hide the wounds.
Jacob was stepping in front of her immediately, giving each of the boys a dirty look. "Shut up about it." He said it low enough for Sophie not to hear and Embry, Quil, and Seth immediately changed the subject.
Amongst their chatter, Jake turned to Sophie and enveloped her into a hug. "Hi, Soph. How are you feeling?"
She shrugged against him. "I'm okay. Just don't like the reminder of it."
Her friend squeezed her shoulder lightly before pulling away. "What brings you here today?"
The rest of the boys had quieted down, waiting for Sophie's reply while Emily started placing cinnamon rolls on plates. Sophie watched her as she answered, wondering which excuse to use to avoid eating the snack. "Just missed you guys is all. Haven't seen you three in a while."
"You've practically left us all alone." Embry whined to be extra dramatic. "And you're not even ditching us for better company."
She knew he was half joking, half insulting the vampires in her left but she couldn't help the fondness of her eye roll. "Don't be so dramatic, I'm not ditching you."
He poked his tongue out at her and she felt it necessary to do the same. It was weird to think that the boys were a few years younger than her - they all got along so well that she didn't often think about the difference in their age. It was tough to make friends her age - most of the twenty-year-olds she knew were in college and going out with friends and drinking on the weekends. She didn't like to drink, had already tried college and didn't really prefer to leave her house when she didn't feel like it.
And there was the whole problem with her eating disorder and no one really wanted to hang out with the girl with obvious issues.
Emily and her friend from inpatient - Jennifer - were really the only two girls her age who Sophie really, really got along with. Sure, she had had a few friends during high school, but they were merely school friends. Girls to hang out with just to get through the years.
"Here you go." Emily placed a warm cinnamon roll in front of Sophie. Sophie began to shake her head and pushed the plate away from her.
"No, thanks, Em. Not a big fan of cinnamon." She loved cinnamon.
Jacob's eyes narrowed at her, easily catching the girl in the lie. However, Emily only shrugged and took the plate for herself. "More for me, then. I wish I would've known, I could've made something else."
"There's always next time." Sophie teased with a smile, doing her best to avoid Jake's gaze. Though, as she fell into easy conversation with the other three boys, she could feel his eyes drilling into her face and mentally groaned.
That refusal would likely be a future conversation that she was already dreading.
But for now, she enjoyed the feeling of emptiness in her stomach and the comfort of her friends.
***
I am so, so sorry for the long wait between chapters! I'm already working on the next!
Enjoy!
pleuvoirx