Ban Together Chapter 22

“What were you doing before coming here?” Athenodora asked Emmett. She could have waited for the queens to get together and for Sulpicia to tell them everything, but since Didyme was busy with Rosalie, she wanted figured she could get away with starting the interrogation early to get her answers.

“We told Carlisle that we looking at a new college to start over at.” Emmett answered truthfully, giving Bella a quick glance that he knew the human wouldn’t be able to catch. Emmett felt horrible about the way they had left but there was nothing he could have done about it. The decisions were out of his hands; the best he was able to do was say he didn’t want to leave Bella. Rosalie didn’t even bother trying to voice her objection because they had both known that whatever Edward wanted with the human, Carlisle would follow.

“And he believe it?” Athenodora asked with a skeptical sneer.

“Rosalie and I tend to always go look at colleges or high schools to attend and then we give Alice a list of a couple prospects and then between Alice and Carlisle they choose our next spot.” Emmett easily answered. He and Rosalie were often in charge of doing most of the grunt work before the gifted vampires did anything.

“Apparently Carlisle will give directed orders using his creator bond to ensure their compliance to have the physically go to dozens of different locations around the country they are in to narrow down which location they should go to next. Alice will use her visions to narrow down the choices to two or three and then Carlisle will pick one.” Sulpicia clarified for her mate and the others listening. “Rosalie and Emmett often believed that the experiments they had briefly heard or seen were mostly conducted and talked about when they weren’t there. The two were not entirely trusted with the family affairs.”

“And when exactly did you decide to leave?” Athenodora was more curious on how they were able to get away without alerting Alice.

“Well, we hadn’t thought we would be able to.” Emmett admitted with a frown. They weren’t sure how long the makers’ bond lasted, likely forever, so they never thought to try and escape. “Edward was keeping everyone distracted with his depression about losing Bella, so when Rosalie and I were in a hotel getting ready to go to the next location, we made the decision to leave. So we came here right away.”

Bella listened intently to everything they were saying. While she had gotten over the Cullen’s leaving her, she still wanted to know why they had involved her in the first place. She also wanted to know what Edward and Carlisle’s end game was for her; what they intended to do with her in the end. It didn’t seem like either Emmett or Rosalie would know but she was at least painting a picture of what could have happened. It wasn’t a pretty picture.

Sulpicia and Athenodora stared at each other and had a silent conversation with each other and Bella was concerned when she saw Athenodora smirk. Bella was sure there was something about to happen that she wouldn’t like. She knew the queens needed their information and that while Sulpicia may have read all of Emmett’s thoughts, the other two hadn’t. There was also likely the possibility that they would wait to pass judgement until after they asked questions from the two (former?) Cullen’s.

“Can I talk with Emmett alone?” Bella quickly spoke up with wide eyes as she realized she just cut off Athenodora from talking.

In all fairness though, talking with Emmett would be exactly what she had wanted when she had walked into the Cullen house to find Kate and Irina there instead. She had gone to the Cullen house to get closure, to see if she could find any answers about what had happened; now she had a direct source. She had already learned some of what had happened and why, but she wanted to hear direct from the source, she wanted to know the feelings involved. With the others that weren’t with them in Voltera, she already had her answers and she could live with that. But she wanted to know, especially from Emmett since he had taken her under his wing as his ‘little sister’ as much as he could when she wasn’t being suffocated by Alice or Edward.

“Why?” Athenodora demanded. She didn’t want her daughter anywhere near the former Cullen’s. They may have both abandoned Carlisle and his games but Athenodora wasn’t about to trust her daughter’s safety to two vampires that could very well succumb to the maker’s bond any second.

The maker’s bond was a permanent bond that, while it weakened as time went on, was still a very strong bond that was second strongest only to the mating bond. If a maker kept lasting orders on their vampires then there would always be that constant need to accomplish what the maker had requested in a sort of manufactured desire to please the maker; it was nature’s way to make sure the newborn never killed the maker. Athenodora already knew her wife was planning on using Chelsea to break their maker’s bond, that would take time for the two vampires to heal from. They wanted their answers first. Until Chelsea got rid of the maker bond, she wanted her daughter nowhere near the two Cullen’s without protection. There wasn’t another option in Bella’s case.

“I want to talk with him.” Bella answered right away, doing her best to not sound like she was giving the warrior queen attitude; no matter how much she wanted to. Did she really have to explain why she wanted to talk with someone that had once claimed to be her brother? She would have thought it would have been obvious.

Athenodora opened her mouth, more than happy to argue with her daughter and prove to her young one that Athenodora was not one to argue with, but her wife’s hand on her arm stilled her thoughts. A single glance told Athenodora that she wasn’t going to win this argument, not that it was an argument in the first place, but something about bowing down and doing what her daughter demanded that wasn’t what she wanted didn’t sit right with her.

“Of course dear, but Jane and Kate both will be with you as we don’t trust him quite yet.” Sulpicia said in a soothing tone, mentally adding a tally mark to her name for earning points with her daughter. It only made it sweeter that her mate was the one she earned points against; at the rate she was going, she was going to be the favorite mother in no time and be the one Bella went to when she needed something. Her inner vampire purred at the thought of being the one her daughter depended on.

Bella stared at the queen and while Sulpicia was smiling, she knew there was no getting around the demand. And honestly, she didn’t mind. She trusted Emmett with her life at one point and while that trust had been broken, she truly didn’t think he would do anything to hurt her. Also, it didn’t hurt that she had fully planned on talk with Kate and Jane about what she and Emmett would talk about anyways; this would just make it easier since they would be there for the conversation.

“Okay, that makes sense.” The smile Bella received from Sulpicia made Bella think the ancient vampire had won some type of lottery she hadn’t been aware they were playing.

“You are insufferable.” Athenodora muttered just loud enough for her daughter to hear. Athenodora was more than aware of what her wife was doing; unfortunately for Sulpicia, Athenodora didn’t think there was a contest to be had. They were both her mother’s, that would never change and that was all Athenodora cared about. Sulpicia can play whatever game she wanted as it made her happy, Athenodora would just make sure to be there to rub in her mate’s face when it likely wouldn’t work out the way she wanted.

Sulpicia completely ignored her mate’s remarks, already aware of what her wife was thinking, she didn’t care, her mate could be a grump f she wanted to be.

“Jane, you know the room for you four to talk, yes?” Sulpicia asked her prized guard. With Jane and Kate both there, if Emmett did attack, there was no chance of Bella being harmed. Emmett would never be able to get close enough, fast enough, to do her harm.

“Yes.” Jane simply answered. While she remained stoic on the outside, both she and the Denali warrior had both kept straight faces while Emmett talked, she was very happy inside that not only her mate’s mother’s trusted her with their daughter with a possible threat, but that Bella trusted her as well. Having her mate’s approval was very pleasing for Jane.

“Then go, come back here once you three are done.” Sulpicia demanded.

Athenodora gave Emmett a steely stare down, “If you harm one hair on my daughter’s head, I will personally make sure that you will be pleading for death for centuries to come. Do you understand?”

Emmett couldn’t help but gulp as he felt the ancient vampire’s harsh glare on his person. There was a reason Athenodora was the most fear vampire around and Emmett never wanted to see it firsthand. “I swear I won’t do anything.”