Chapter 03
“The Cullens didn’t like children,” Cami said as they all sat in Klaus’ study. “In fact, all the human women in his cult were made barren so that there wouldn’t be any accidents. From an early age, Bella was taught not to make any noise as not to disturb the rest of the family. They had a rocky start. Babies simply don’t understand, but eventually they had found a way to keep her quiet.”
“Well that’s just harsh,” Rebekah said disgustedly. “Children are noisy; that’s the fun part about them.”
“There’s a mention where they taught her self-regulation. That if she broke the strict rules they had set for her, she’d either offer herself to the nearest person around to punish her or she’d do it in private. We saw a little bit of that during breakfast. Who knows what else she’s ever done to herself?”
“I’m more afraid of what they have done to her,” Elijah muttered, leaning against the mantle of the fireplace.
“There’s also an entry about thinking of things for her to learn to make her more obedient and willing. She used to be quite feisty, anger issues. Seems like they got that under control.”
“Oh, not entirely but it’s bubbling back to the surface,” Kol muttered, but a sense of pleasure hidden under his tone. “Sometimes you can just see the fire blaze in those eyes of hers. She just doesn’t act upon it.”
“It probably has something to do with the rules and enforcing them. Self-enforcing them. He even had a date marked where it said that it was the last time Bella had cried.”
Klaus had remained silent as everything was said, moving to look out the window. “They had never used compulsion on her?”
“Well, the supernatural aspect is more your cup of tea. But according to a witch I spoke, Cold Ones can’t compel, and the ones who could influence her in some way were locked up for treason.”
He frowned as he turned to eye her. “That doesn’t mean they had no allies of our kind. Nevermind that. Did you find anything else of importance in the journal that may help us now?”
“Bella started out as being a nuisance, a trade off with another group that had massive debts with Carlisle; then he turned her into a science project. With his ties to the medical community and somewhat in the supernatural, especially in Louisiana, he managed to acquire some rare blood.”
Kol let out a breath as he leaned back in his chair. “Why am I not liking the sound of where this is leading?”
“It turns out that indeed, Carlisle has made some vampire friends who weren’t Cold Ones, and he was afraid that upon them visiting, they’d turn her. With a little help from a witch, he managed to make her blood safe, to his standards,” Cami replied reluctantly. “I don’t know more; that was all in the journal when it comes to that particular kind of blood with great magical properties.”
“The only one that I can think of would come close would be Niklaus, but he hasn’t been in close contact with the Cullens himself in a very long time,” Elijah said thoughtfully.
“No, but about fifteen years ago I donated some of my blood to some witches for information about the curse,” Klaus said bitterly.
“Nik!” Rebekah sighed.
“What? How was I supposed to know that they’d pass it on to others!”
Elijah sighed as he moved to stand between the two, blocking their view of one another. “Enough. If this is true, then we need to find out just how they used the blood on the girl and how you two are linked.”
“Oh, I think we are all aware just how I am linked to her,” Klaus scoffed as he threw his hands up. “Question should be is how do we fix this?”
“The question is, can it be fixed?” Elijah pointed out. “Usually when your blood comes into play, things are irreversible, and—.”
“This is problematic,” Kol sighed as he got up from his chair and started to pace. “This is very problematic.”
Klaus growled under his breath as he turned his eyes to his brother. Recalling breakfast, he curled his fingers into a fist as he fought the urge to attack him. “Yes. Please elaborate on why you feel that way, Brother. And while you are at it, would you mind explaining what that display was at the table earlier?”
“I wouldn’t know how or where to start. I still think it’s best if you’d figure it out on your own.”
“Well pardon me but as we just discovered, it is likely I have been used and involved without my knowledge in whatever they have done to Bella! So talk!”
“Okay, here’s the problem. You have a strong connection to Bella. Whether or not she notices, I do not know. With your strong connection comes certain urges, do they not? I’ve heard you wank more often than you used to.”
“Oh bloody hell,” Klaus propelled himself towards him, ready to attack. “I’ll shove you in your box again—”
“Niklaus,” Elijah pulled his brother away from their younger brother and threw him back in his chair. “You wanted to hear it, let him speak.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he moved to pace the far length of the room, away from Camille and the others. “Hurry it up.”
“I can’t hurry things along without proper explaining, Nik,” Kol spat. “Because if I leave one thing out, you’ll jump to even more conclusions. As I said, I’m telling this under protest, yeah? It’s not my story to tell, but hers.”
“And she isn’t speaking! What makes you think if she were even capable, that she would admit what happened to her? Just tell me already,” Klaus said exhausted as he stared at him.
“The Cullens had their hierarchy, Daddy Cullen was the King, the favourite son was the prince, the strong son was the enforcer – and Bella’s father. Then there was the Royal Guard, their protectors, and everyone else working at the main building were vampires too. From what I heard, Bella was gifted to Edward when she was eighteen. Fully trained to please Edward in any way possible. When she said that she hadn’t been ready for you for the length of time she’d been here, I snapped.” Kol said with a growl.
“Me? What? Why?” Klaus sputtered out.
“She bloody thinks that we’re like them and that she’s yours. She looked nice today because she gave in to the fact that she can’t go home and that you are her new leader. Her prince. The one who can do everything he wants with her and she has to be ready at all times. Now, this is problematic in itself, but with the connection that you and her share, this is going to be even more so.”
The hybrid stood there speechless and shook his head, unable to form any words. “I…but…I didn’t…”
“This also explains why she was so tense at the table because she must have thought that we were merely workers, working for you. That’s what she knows, Klaus. We’ve spent so much time with her that she started to think of us as somewhat equal; I’m not entirely sure to what level. Leaders don’t show themselves often.”
Turning and covering his face with his hands, he tried to think of how to rectify the situation. To let her see that they were nothing that she had come to believe. “This is beyond anything I could have anticipated,” he admitted as he looked around the room in a daze.
Cami nodded slowly in agreement. “I thought we were simply dealing with a brainwashed cult member, not—”
“Obviously this must be one of the reasons why Jacob insisted on sending her with you,” Klaus commented as he looked to Kol briefly. “I’m going to rip that wolf’s intestines out of his belly the next time I see him.”
“What else should he have done? Let her get absorbed by everything and die of a heart attack because everything is scary?”
“Of course not!” he screamed, growing defensive again. Blinking, he took a deep breath and faced the courtyard. “Have her spend her days down here if you can. I can stay in the study, close enough that she can see that I am around the family just as much if what you said is true.”
“Can I say something?” Cami spoke up. “I think we should deal with one problem at a time. Of course, she’s traumatized and has been raised differently. If we manage to change her mindset about how she should live her life, then maybe we can deprogram her from the other… issue. I’ve been talking to an expert who deals primarily with ex-cult members, and he gave me some pointers to work with to help things along. It’s going to be hard, because it’s all she knows. All her responses come from her being raised abnormally, which, to her, was perfectly normal.”
“And what are we supposed to do? Make her feel bad all the time for failing at life?” Rebekah shot at Cami, slightly agitated. This all brought back memories of the time where there were slaves who were treated the same way, and she hadn’t liked it then either.
“You continue doing what you’ve been doing, it certainly works, I mean, you got her out of her room, that’s a big deal,” Cami said with a shrug. “If I find something else that might work, I’ll tell you. We’re all out of our depths here.”
“We’re appreciative of your help, Camille,” Elijah smiled at her while keeping an eye on his brother, who seemed to be more and more like a caged animal. “Your insights are valued.”
~o.O.o~
They had given Bella some space after the breakfast for the rest of the day, and when Rebekah came into her room the day after, all the food had remained untouched. Sighing, she looked around the room and found Bella curled up underneath the bed. “What are you doing there?” Rebekah asked as she lowered herself to the ground and peeked underneath the bed, making eye contact with her. “Have you been here the entire time?”
When Bella nodded, she reached for her and pulled her out with ease. “Come on, let’s get you outside. The sun shines, and you and I are going to bask in the heat for a while… although, with your complexion, we might not stay out in the sun for too long, don’t want you to burn all over.”
When Bella was resisting her, Rebekah stopped tugging on her and leveled her gaze on her. “Either you walk out here on your own, or I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you downstairs myself. Nik may bloody put a dagger in me again, but it would be worth it this time. You have nothing to fear.”
‘This one is—.’
“Nope, not hearing it,” she grinned. “Get it? Not hearing you? You don’t have a voice!”
“Rebekah!” Klaus’ voice could be heard coming from down the hall.
“Oh, get a life, Nik! It’s my turn!”
Bella winced at the tone of voice Rebekah used on her brother, the King. Wasn’t his word rule and didn’t Rebekah imply that she was breaking a rule?
In a blink, Klaus was standing in the doorway, his arms held behind him, as he eyed his sister. “What are you thinking?” he questioned her calmly.
“Trust me, Nik, I’m going to try something. Elijah and Kol had their ways; I have another. I won’t harm her,” she replied simply.
He turned his eyes down to Bella, and they softened. “If she does something that you dislike Bella, tell me. Otherwise – enjoy your ladies’ day,” he smiled with a slight bow, growling under his breath at his sister before he walked away.
So there were consequences for Rebekah for talking to him like that? Bella was confused, why would Klaus be concerned if Bella was harmed? If Rebekah wanted to harm her, then she should, shouldn’t she?
Rebekah grinned as she looked at Bella. “You heard him. He’s fine with it, are you walking or am I carrying you?”
Bella sighed in resignation and dropped her head, following Rebekah out the room, her stomach letting out a growl as she passed the food. It had been making noise all night, but she had been ignoring it. She was getting more flesh on her body, and she needed to be perfect. She was no longer perfect.
“I suppose a nice brunch would be in order first,” the blond smirked as she led her through the building to the large living area where a table had been set up. “Come now. Eat. You are much too thin; we need to get you healthy. Hmm…” she trailed off thoughtfully.
Bella eyed the table, there wasn’t anything hot on there, presumingly because they didn’t like it when she punished herself the day before. She reluctantly reached for the glass of orange juice. She could have that. She had to admit, her throat was still sore, but it was good. A reminder to keep in line.
Rebekah silently picked up one of the pastries that her brother tried to get the girl to eat, nibbling on a piece. “Have something solid. This is delicious,” she pushed the plate forward an inch.
Bella knew that if she’d refuse, Rebekah would only keep pushing, and she didn’t want to aggravate her. She had ways to get it out if needed. She reached for one of the smaller pastries and took a bite, looking at Rebekah as she did.
She smiled back at her, pleased, and turned as she continued to eat her own as she walked around the area. “I’ve always enjoyed these. It’s quite delicious, is it not, Bella?” she asked.
Bella nodded. She liked the sweet taste of the pastry, much like pancakes. She liked pancakes. But sweetness was going to be bad for her teeth and body, maybe, if she dared, she could beg Klaus for normal food again?
“I didn’t hear you. What did you say?” Rebekah asked as she was across the room, sorting through several magazines left out.
‘Yes,’ she mouthed, looking at Rebekah as she took another nibble of her pastry. Half was enough. She put it down on an empty plate and took another sip of her orange juice.
Klaus had been watching the exchange from his study and sighed. Shaking his head he left the doors open as he turned back to set up a blank canvas to start a new painting. “She’s not playing your game Rebekah,” he muttered.
“She will,” she whispered, playfully, but with a devious tone in her voice, before turning to Bella. “Have you ever spoken, at all? Or how about when you make noise, you feel your throat hum, right?”
Bella nodded. She didn’t like the feeling if she had to be honest. King Carlisle had told her that she was an abomination as she shouldn’t have been born with something called chords; she didn’t deserve them. When she got older, he had wanted to remove them, but Bella had already been taught to keep quiet, so he didn’t have to do it anymore.
“Well, that’s what happens when you use your voice. If you use it, words come out of your mouth, and we can actually hear you.”
‘This one doesn’t need to talk. Only to please.’
“Well, it would please all of us if you started to use your voice.”
Bella blinked at that as she considered her words. It would please them if she’d make a sound? They had said so on multiple occasions, but Bella thought it was merely said in jest. ‘This one doesn’t know how.’
“Oh, all you have to do is to identify how to use them, it has a lot to do with breathing. If you want, I could give you a little nudge in the right direction?” Rebekah closed the magazine and looked at Bella, her face suddenly had a determined look on her face, as if she was willing to learn. “Watch this, brother,” Rebekah whispered as she saw Bella nod.
Rebekah turned around so Bella couldn’t see her face, and within a second, she was in front of Bella, vamp face out, causing Bella to jump backward and scream out loud. Bella kept screaming as she backed away from Rebekah and right into a wall, despite Rebekah’s face having changed back.
Klaus left his study in a rush and pushed his sister back, away from the frightened girl. “Have you gone mad?!” he hollered at her as he stood protectively between the two.
“No, I have not!” Rebekah shot at her brother. “For her to start using her voice is to get used to the feeling!”
“Not at the cost of Bella being frightened of us! Elijah is probably higher up in her favor than you now. I can’t say I disagree with that judgment! We’ll find some other way for her to learn to speak,” he glared at her. Even though he wasn’t touching Bella, he could feel her body’s vibrations through the air. His sister was close to meeting a dagger.
“Well, I think Kol would agree with me in this case. A little bit of tough love works wonders.”
He scowled as he shook his head. “Kol is a bloody idiot as well if he feels the same. Either of you try something like this again; I won’t hesitate. I’ll put you back in your boxes for another century.”
Rebekah huffed as she picked up a dinner roll and stormed out of the room. “I didn’t hurt her!”
“No. Not this time, but I can feel her fear,” he said evenly as his body shook with his own emotions. “That is enough for me.”
Bella was forcing herself to get herself together; her king was visibly upset, and that was wrong. She had seen a vampire’s face before, but Rebekah’s was different. Scarier, with the lines visible on her face and it had taken her by surprise. The noise had hurt her throat more too. She took a step closer to Klaus and gently took his hand and squeezed it as she looked up to him with a reassuring smile. He needed that. He was upset.
Klaus turned as he looked at Bella with hesitation. He couldn’t help but smile back. “Come. You can sit with me for the day if you wish,” he murmured. “Though it would be rather boring.”
She nodded as she looked at him with a hopeful look on her face. Her king finally wanted her to be close to him; she wasn’t a complete waste of time to him. She’d do everything he pleased, he needed to feel better. Bella gently pulled him with her as she started towards the stairs, leading him back to his study.
He followed silently as he kept an eye on her. Once inside, he led her to the couch and sat down. “Bella… I think we should talk about what just happened downstairs,” he started, trying to figure out the best way to approach her.
She took a deep breath and shook her head. “No,” her voice sounded soft, raw, but it was there. She realized what she had done and beamed at him. Did it please him?
Hearing her voice, as low as it was, made him look to her in surprise. “Well – perhaps I shall be lenient this time on Rebekah,” he said, a smile forming at the corner of his lips. “She was correct when she told you that we all would love to hear you speak, to voice yourself.”
She felt how her body responded to him being pleased with her. She did something right, and it was oddly satisfying. Maybe she could remember how she used to speak when she was small, in secret with Rosalie, before Carlisle found out. It was such a long time ago, though. It was going to be difficult, but anything to please Klaus. She nodded slowly as she tried to get the shock of her loud noise out of her system. Seeing Rebekah’s vampire face without warning had been scary. ‘This one knows you’re—’ “V-v-vampyres.”
Klaus nodded slowly, pursing his lips at what she had started to say. “Yes. We are, just not like the Cullens. Bella – why do you not say I or me? This one? You are not just something. Someone. You are someone. Do you understand?”
‘This one exists for obedience and pleasure for others. This one should be invisible and only seen when needed. Kept secret.’
“No Bella. They were wrong, but I won’t argue the subject now. I only hope in time you come to realize the truth,” he admitted sadly. Reaching out, he tucked her hair behind her ear. “You are a beautiful girl and should never be hidden from the world. Just remember that. Now…would you like to read while I paint? Or do you wish to do something else?”
She blinked at the questions, why was he asking her what she wanted? She didn’t want for anything. ‘What would you –’ “like?”
“Personally, I would love to leave and hunt down some witches and Cullen’s for many reasons, but I find myself desiring to stay back more often than not.”
“Why?” she shuffled a little closer to him and gently put her hand on his leg. “Hunt?” She cocked her head, to make sure it sounded like a question.
“The Cullens? For ruining you and robbing you of a normal life,” Klaus said bitterly, carefully eying her hand on his leg. His body was betraying him once again by responding to her nearness. “And a long time ago, I made a trade with a witch for information. The price was some of my blood.”
‘This one— I – don’t understand.’
He thought for a moment and let out a breath. “Very well, let me start at the beginning,” he got to his feet, leaving Bella on the couch, her eyes following him to his easel. “I hope you don’t mind, but I find it’s easier to talk about this when I’m painting.”
“No,” she whispered, not minding at all that he wanted to paint. It was his wish, his will. Who was she to stop him? She had closely observed the paintings in her room and loved the details he had put in them. To see him work on a new creation, was only an honor.
Klaus told her about the origins of his family that they were the product of a Viking warrior and a human witch. Elijah, Finn and their older sister Freya were born in the old world and him, Kol, Rebekah and their baby brother Henrik were born in a town they now called Mystic Falls. Bella marveled in the details he told her, almost as if it happened yesterday, almost as if she could see it happen before her eyes. While she could follow most of the story, the part about witchcraft was still a blur to her, making the story a little hard to grasp.
He turned around to see the look on her face when he mentioned his Aunt Dahlia taking his big sister Freya, but could see that Bella had had enough for today. “Enough history for today, how about I shall tell you more tomorrow?”
‘If you wish,’ Bella replied, hoping that this wouldn’t be the end of their time together. Watching him paint was intriguing, she never had such a pull to something before, she wasn’t allowed to, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“I’m parched, how about —”
Bella quickly got off the sofa and looked around to find something for him to drink. She found some liquor bottles and headed to them, but he stopped her.
“No, you’re not going to get me anything,” he said sweetly. “We have servants for that.”
Confused, Bella thought about the vampires Carlisle had come to visit often. While the Cullens didn’t drink from her, many vampires had had a taste of her, would Klaus drink from her? She lifted her wrist to offer it to him. “Drink?”
He let out a low growl, not wanting to scare Bella off, but he wanted to take a sip so bad. “As I said, we have servants for that, love,” he said gently and took her arm and lowered it back to her body. “Have you met vampires like us before?” It was likely Bella hadn’t encountered them if Carlisle wanted to keep her hidden.
Bella nodded as she watched him pour an alcoholic drink for himself. “Yes,” she eventually managed to say. It was still weird to try and speak. It had been so long, but it felt so natural. And unnatural at the same time. When Klaus turned to her again, she continued. ‘Edward offered this one – me – to them, to drink. I had to drink from them too.’
Klaus fought the urge to throw his glass through the room, and he had to keep his strength in check in case the glass would shatter. He now realized what it meant when Cami said that Bella’s blood was made safe with his blood. No other vampire would be able to turn her, it would make her safe around them. Pretty smart, he had to hand it to the man. A walking, no-talking blood bag to keep the vampires happy while discussing business and they couldn’t turn her and take her away.
Anger rose in him again when he realized that Bella must have come close to death many times.
Bella noticed his tension again and smiled at him, caressing his arm. ‘You can drink from me. I will be fine.’
While he applauded her use of the first person, he was this close to indeed take a bite out of her and drink from her to comfort him. “I think it’s best if you’d leave now, Bella,” he managed to say kindly. “We shall continue our talk tomorrow.”
Dropping her arms to her side, she bowed slightly and quietly made her way out of his study. He listened to see where she was going, and it seemed like her bedroom. When he heard the door quietly close, he let out a roar and threw his glass through the room.
Someone was going to die.
It took him all night, but he managed to track down the witch he had traded his blood with all those years ago. It was almost as if she had known something was going to happen; she had made it nearly impossible to be found.
Almost.
“Becky, you have been a very naughty girl,” he said as he shoved her against the wall, pinning her hands above her head. “What gave you the right to redistribute my blood?”
“It became mine the moment you handed the vial to me, Klaus,” she said defiantly, kicking him in his groin, hoping he would let go of her, but he didn’t. “And I told you, I had an interested buyer for your blood, but you wouldn’t listen. Too self-absorbed with finding more information on your curse.”
“What did they promise you in return for my blood?”
“Protection from you.”
Klaus scoffed. “Obviously they failed,” he bit her neck and started to drink her blood, but as expected, it was laced with vervain and wolfsbane. Pity. He spat out the blood and angrily looked at her. “You know those herbs won’t stop me,” he let go of her, and before she could run off, he grabbed her tightly. “Thanks to your actions, an innocent girl got hurt. Experimented on. You compromised me and my family. I’m going to make sure you won’t ever do that again.”
With those words, he lifted her up and broke her back over his knee before throwing her on the floor and pulled her head off her body in one swift movement. Taking it as a trophy to show his siblings, he left her establishment, picking up her grimoire on his way out.
He returned to the compound covered in the witch’s blood and tossed her head into Elijah’s bedroom before continuing his way to his study. He was welcomed by the sweet scent of their guest on the corridor; but it was stronger inside his study. Quietly making his way in, he found her asleep, in his bed.
Despite everything she’d gone through, she looked like an angel, undisturbed in her slumber and there he was, covered in blood like some monster. He was a monster, but he didn’t want her to see that just yet. Backing out of his sleeping quarters, he headed towards the bathroom and cleaned himself up.
What was she doing in his bed? He had sent her away earlier that day because he had been afraid to hurt her in his anger, but there she was. Klaus wasn’t going to get any sleep at all; he was simply going to watch her sleep.
“Niklaus what—” Elijah’s loudly demanded as he barged into the room.
“Quiet,” he growled as he looked at his brother from his chair. “Don’t wake her.”
“She’s in your bed?” Elijah replied, his voice lowered at his brother’s request. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” he replied defensively. “She was already there when I returned.”
Elijah hummed as he leaned against the doorway. “I see you’ve been hunting. Any particular reason you ever so rudely tossed a head in my room?”
Klaus smirked widely. “That was the witch who gave the Cullens my blood. I had to make sure she wouldn’t do something like that again. Ruining an innocent life and compromising our safety. I am sure, her name will amuse Rebekah greatly as the witch was called Rebecca.”
“Of course,” he replied as if it was the most reasonable thing to do. “Speaking of Rebekah, our sister told me about what happened today. Care to elaborate?”
“I will have to make my apologies to her,” Klaus sighed as he rubbed his eyes. “As it turns out, she wasn’t completely in the wrong. Oh, Elijah, Bella’s voice…”
“She speaks?”
“Barely, but her voice, Elijah, it’s… music to my ears.”
“Oh dear god, you’re even further gone than I initially thought.”
“Oh, you’ll think the same thing when you hear it,” Klaus smiled at him. “I’ve also started to tell her about our family after she asked why I wanted to hunt down the witch and the Cullens, which I explained to her. Because she didn’t understand, I started to tell her our history.”
“How did she respond?”
“I think I lost her a little bit when I mentioned witchcraft, but I shall continue tomorrow. Bella offered me her wrist without blinking when I said I was parched.”
“She did what?”
“Edward had her offer herself to vampires of our kind for them to drink. And they fed her their blood, but she never turned.”
“Camille said that he had used your blood to make her blood safe,” he muttered and breathed in sharply. “Oh, that poor girl.”
“I had to send her away as I was very close to losing it, so imagine my surprise to find her in my bed.”
Elijah nodded slowly. “If I’m not mistaken, she’s also quite naked,” he replied. He then remembered her nudity in the beginning; it had started to get less and less, mainly because he’d insisted that she’d be dressed when he came to bring her her breakfast. “At first I thought she was an exhibitionist like yourself or Kol.”
“How so?”
He shuffled a little with his feet, not daring to look at his brother. “I’ve seen her nude, quite a few times when I brought her food in the morning. Hence why I insisted that she’d wear clothes and receive her own.”
His brother had seen her without clothes on, and it made him angry. At least he didn’t sound as if he had been getting off on that, but instead tried to make her look decent in the morning. “You reckon that if you hadn’t stepped in, she’d be walking around naked all day?”
“It is most probable, yes,” he replied sadly. “Especially when you keep in mind her need to be ready.”
“While there’s nothing wrong with walking around naked, she has to want it herself, not because it’s conditioned,” Klaus said with a low growl, not moving from his chair. “I’m going to kill them.”
“And I’m sure we all gladly want to help you do that,” Elijah replied, agreeing with him. “However, don’t get yourself all worked up again. You have a tiny human in your bed.”
Sighing, he relaxed in his chair. “How are we going to fix her, Elijah? Without using compulsion?”
“A lot of patience. Look at what we’ve achieved in the time she’s been with us, Niklaus. She discovered new food, she’s leaving her room, she’s using her voice. We still have an awful long way to go, but the first few steps are there.”
“I wish—”
“Don’t we all,” he turned around and headed to the door. “Do try and get some rest, brother. You’ll need your wits if you’re going to tell her more of our story.”
Klaus didn’t say anything but turned his gaze back to Bella as his brother left again. It was easier said than done with the resting part with the girl in his bed. He could take the sofa, but that wasn’t comfortable, and he could easily do without a night of rest.
A soft moan rose him from his thoughts, and he quietly watched her as she stirred, her hand was moving in her slumber, he could see it move underneath the sheets towards what looked like her core. Klaus blinked. Was she going to satisfy herself in her sleep?
Perhaps it was wrong to deny her, now that he knew of that part of her, was it wrong of him to deny her services? He’d used prostitutes for fun in the past, watched them go mad from need and withdrawal because they were so used to having sex every day. It started the same as Bella was currently exhibiting now and —
No. He had to stop himself there, was he seriously considering giving in to her? Yes. He had his own needs. Maybe it would satisfy the need inside of him, the need to surround himself with her scent, having her would mean that she’d be on him. No harm would be done, he could always compel her to forget their encounter. But he’d feel guilty.
He couldn’t stop watching her as she indeed, started to satisfy herself. He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever gotten real pleasure whenever she’d been used by the Cullens or their friends or anyone Edward fancied loaning her to.
Groaning, he forced himself to retreat to the bathroom to take a cold shower until she was done. He was going to compel her alright, to dull her conditioned desires until she would know the difference. Or would he do more harm than good with it? What if she’d never figure out what the difference was?
She was just going to have to spend her nights in her own bed. He wasn’t going to allow her to sleep in his until that happened. Maybe, because she was sleeping, she was dreaming pleasantly, and this was her desire. He could always take a peek in her head…
Turning off the shower, he made his way back into the room and decided to do just that, maybe it would give him some more insight into her. If there was indeed hope for restoring her. Klaus quietly sat down on the bed and caressed her hair out of her face. He had to smile, as it seemed she was enjoying herself. A small smile was dancing across her lips as she continued to stimulate herself.
This was wrong on so many levels.
He tuned out her quiet moans, the scent of her juices underneath the blankets and closed his eyes, so he didn’t have to see her beautiful face. He quickly found a way inside her mind, but immediately retreated again without having had a glimpse of what was going on. Klaus got off the bed and headed back into the bathroom. He couldn’t do this to her. Not to her. Not ever to her. While he had no qualms about doing this to his siblings on occasion, he simply couldn’t do it to Bella.
Cold shower and her sleeping in her own bed was the solution to this. Compulsion wouldn’t work. It was a good thing that she expressed desire in her sleep, what if the compulsion would stunt all of her emotions? She had only just started to show pieces of herself that had been buried for so long, and it would be a shame if she couldn’t experience them properly.
If she wanted to sleep in his bed, it should be because she wanted to; not because she felt the obligation to. Not because of her training, but because of what she wanted.
~o.O.o~
He made sure he was out of the room when Bella awoke a few hours later. He did not want to see her naked body out of respect to her and was the first to sit down at the breakfast table. Klaus hoped that Bella would join them voluntarily, but he feared that she wouldn’t. Which was alright, Rebekah had given her quite the scare the day before.
But much to his surprise, Bella was the next one joining him. “Good” ‘Morning,’ she greeted Klaus with a little smile on her face. She smelled freshly washed, and she was wearing a pair of jeans that didn’t come with Camille’s shopping trip. While Cami’s shopping trip had been mostly for comfort, these undoubtedly came from Rebekah. They fit her perfectly, as did her shirt.
“Good morning, Bella,” he responded as he watched her round the table to walk to him with no hesitation in her step. She then got to her knees in front of him and looked up at him through her eyelashes. Bloody hell. He swallowed hard and forced himself to keep calm. “Did you sleep well?”
‘Did I do something to displease you?’
He was glad that she had started to refer to herself as a person and not as an object, but the question baffled him. “You did not.”
‘Is my body not pleasing enough for you?’
“What do you mean?” Could she stop looking at him like that? Or could someone walk in, now? Of course not.
‘Hearing my voice pleased’ “you” ‘the day before today. My appearance in your bed did’ “not?”
Klaus sighed and tiredly ran a hand over his face. “No. Yes. Well…” Was he blushing? “It was certainly unexpected.”
“Why?”
While he was pleased that she was starting to ask questions, he didn’t know how to proceed. “What were you expecting me to do?”
She now added biting her lip to her seduction technique. He was certain she had more in her arsenal, and he secretly hoped to see them all, but not now. ‘Whatever you wished.’
“Bella…”
‘Is this body not pleasing to you?’ She tugged on her shirt, almost as if she wanted to pull it off of her to reveal herself to him. He found him quietly staring at her as she kept tugging, keeping her eyes fixed on him. ‘I admit, I gained a little bit of weight…’
He just looked at her, shocked about her being so forward all of a sudden. Had yesterday been an awakening for her? “I didn’t come home until very late,” he eventually said.
Bella removed her shirt, revealing herself to him. She proudly pressed her breasts forward and met his eyes again. “I could” ‘have given you a massage. For your hard work.’
He sucked in a breath as she moved between his legs, her arms resting on them and her hands were close to his groin. He hoped someone would come in now, but it was more likely that they were waiting somewhere out of sight to see what would happen.
‘You deserve some release,’ she smiled at him, her hands moving even further to his groin, they were dangerously close now.
“Please stop.”
“Why?”
He let out a low growl as he finally managed to grab her hands and gently put them somewhere else other than close to his penis, it was already throbbing with desire. “What do you want, Bella?”
‘I want to please’ “you.”
“Is that what you want or is that what you think you need to do?” He grabbed her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. “Because if this comes from your need and desire other than it being a conditioned response, then we’ll have to have a different conversation.”
Bella blinked at what he was saying, and how he was putting her shirt back on. He didn’t like her body, did he? It didn’t please him. She needed to make sure that it would. Eat and rinse, probably, because they wouldn’t allow her not to eat either. She thought they had built up something between them yesterday. He was the one hearing her voice for the first time, and he was the leader. She was his, what was he talking about?
“Are you doing it to please me, or yourself?”
If she was doing this for herself, she was in big trouble, wasn’t she? “You.”
“Wrong answer. Sit down and have breakfast.”
“Me! Me, me!” she said quickly, panicked from Klaus’ tone. She had made him angry with her, and that was bad. She was screwing this up. She had come too close, she even noticed it in her response to him. But she wanted it, she needed it. There was so much tension in her body from not having had anyone using it that she felt as if she was going to explode. Edward always allowed her to climax when she did something that pleased him. He’d help her along with his hand, or sometimes with something warmer, and left her to finish herself.
If he’d refuse her, she’d try it Kol or Elijah. And otherwise, she’d simply have to help herself, she could stay quiet, nobody would know the difference. Or maybe, with trying it on Kol or Elijah would cause Klaus to get angry and give her to someone as punishment. She needed a release. ‘I need, please.’ Begging for it was another mistake. She’d punish herself later, but she was desperate.
Was denying her sex a form of torture, conditioning, on itself? He felt sick about it, his entire being screamed that he just had to take her, but his refusal could be a lesson to her. He could always find himself a whore if needed, but to use her? That was out of the question. However, knowing her craftiness, he was certain she’d try to get someone else to use her body for their sexual pleasures if she offered it so willingly, and that was cause for concern.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he gently cupped her chin and made him look at her, desperation was all over her face. “You will not offer yourself for sexual pleasures to anyone until you have figured out if it’s what you want, or if it’s something you have been taught. If you’re high strung, you have to tell me, and we will figure something out to help you. Do you understand?” Of course she understood, he just compelled her to save him from the misery of seeing her do this to his brothers or worse, someone he didn’t trust at all. When she nodded, he released her. “Now, please take your seat and let’s have some breakfast. I’m sure my siblings will arrive soon; they probably have overheard our entire conversation.”
The moment his siblings entered the room, Bella spoke up again, pausing after every word as if it was a difficult to find the right way to speak. “Am I allowed to help myself and come after breakfast?”
The one full sentence she spoke in her voice, still raw and soft, but her first full sentence, and it was about finishing herself off? His siblings looked stupefied at both the sound of her voice and the question, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Rebekah will buy you something that will give you pleasure after breakfast so that you don’t have to use your fingers.”
“I am?”
“Yes, you are.”
Kol looked at Bella in awe as he leaned on the table. “Please say something again, that was beautiful.”
“Good morning?” Bella took a sip of her water. Her throat felt dry and still hurting from the hot tea from a few days ago. She then coughed and took a deep breath.
“Easy, Poppet, tiny little steps,” Kol smirked and reached across the table to he ruffle her hair. “Take your time, there’s no rush to form complete sentences yet. Have a pancake.” He flopped a pancake onto her plate and poured a generous amount of syrup all over it.
“I owe you an apology, sister,” Klaus said after he had managed to collect himself again. “It seems that your approach worked. However, the next time you want to do something like that, run it by me first.”
Rebekah huffed as she buttered a roll and put some cheese in it. “Sure Nik, I want to have sex tonight, is that alright with you?”
“When matters concern her, Rebekah,” he growled.
“What are your plans for today, Bella?” Kol asked her. He didn’t like her pushing around her pancake, but at least she was eating something. “Any exciting things planned?”
She looked at Klaus for an answer, but he didn’t respond. In fact, he seemed just as eager as Kol to hear the answer. ‘If it pleases him, watch Klaus paint and hear his story.’
“And she’ll satisfy herself after lunch,” Rebekah rolled her eyes and stabbed a boiled egg with her knife. “I can’t believe you’re making me pick up a vibrator for her,” she muttered towards Klaus, causing Kol to snicker.
“Why not? You use one all the time, why not give her one?”
“She’s innocent!”
“Hardly,” Kol coughed as he choked on his food.
