Zsadist was in light gray sweatpants and a white shirt. He was even wearing white socks.
Butch was completely speechless as Zsadist walked past him in the hall. He had never seen the male in anything but unrelenting black.
He couldn't be wearing gray and white because he had nothing else to wear as the mansion had not burned down to the ground as they were currently passing one another in the upstairs hallway.
And Zsadist couldnât be wearing what he was because of a lost bet as the male didnât make bets. The few times Butch had thrown out a friendly wager, Zsadist would give him a look that said exactly what he thought about the wager and then continue on with whatever he was doing at that moment.
A heavily pregnant Bella followed Zsadist out into the hallway with a dreamy look on her face that made the female that much more beautiful with her thick mahogany hair, glowing skin and bright blue eyes.
The moment she spotted Butch she gave him a huge smile, her eyes practically shining.
âDoesnât Zsadist look amazing?â Bella sighed as she came to a stop next to Butch.
Butch made sure to take a huge step back from Bella, not willing to risk confrontation with a very protective and territorial Zsadist, who didnât like any male near his mate. His very pregnant mate.
Zsadist threw a scowl over shoulder at Bella as he continued down the hallway.
âYes?â Butch said, unsure of what his answer should be.
âI donât know what it is about males in gray sweatpants and white tees but . . .â Bella trailed off as she started fanning herself because her male looked absolutely devastating with the white shirt clinging to his defined chest and those gray sweatpants hanging off his hips giving a peek of the v of his hips.
âSo he is wearing those clothes on purpose? As in his dresser didnât catch on fire and he had nothing left to wear?â
Bella laughed as she lightly smacked Butchâs arm. Somehow having snuck closer to him without his noticing. Of course Z noticed how close his mate had gotten to Butch, his brows coming down real low as he glared at the male from across the hall.
Butch started inching away from Bella but came to a stop when she glared at him and made sure to step with him.
âWill you stop doing that!â
Butch held up his hands in surrender, unsure who he should be more afraid of: Zsadist or a very pregnant and irate Bella.
âLook, Iâm just trying to keep my head attached to my neck.â Butch said as he glanced between Zsadist and Bella, the former who was still glaring at him and then to the latter who had switched her glare from Butch to Zsadist.
âI would like to have a conversation with someone who isnât standing across the room because they are too scared to stand next to me!â Bella growled at her mate.
Bella.
Butch was definitely more afraid of Bella.
âIt isnât safe.â Zsadist replied.
âIsnât safe?!? Itâs Butch! He is safe. And he is human! I could crush him like a tin can!â Bella argued as she waved her hand towards Butch who was now standing against the wall with his hands still up.
âHey now -â Butch started because, yes, Bella could actually crush him, he would like to think it would be like trying to crush a toaster. Not a flimsy tin can. You know, it would take some work to crush him. At least he would like to think so.
Bella jerked her head to glare at him as he spoke and Butch immediately shut his mouth. That whole him being a toaster and not a tin can thing wasnât that imperative to share at the moment.
âAnd everyone in this house are either your brothers, doggen, Mary or Beth!â
âOr Boo.â Butch added. Couldnât forget the cat.
âYouâre not helping, cop.â Zsadist grumbled.
âOr Boo! Stop being crazy! You are driving me crazy!â Bella yelled at Zsadist.
Whelp, that explained why Zsadist wasnât wearing black. Anything to get on Bellaâs good side, since it looked like she was going to strangle Z.
Bella took a step over to Butch and grabbed one of his hands, holding it in hers as she lifted the other one and pointed to Zsadist in warning the moment he started growling.
âDonât you dare.â Bella growled back before she yanked on Butchâs arm and started dragging him down the hall towards the stairs.
Oh god, he was going to die. Either Z was going to kill him for touching his mate or Bella was going to kill him if he tried to pull his hand back. It was a catch 22. He was a dead man either way.
Did Vishous know to spread his ashes at Fenway? He really should have his final requests all written out given that he was living with a bunch of vampires and therefore didnât have a very long life expectancy.
âCome on. We are going to go watch Love Island since that is WHAT FRIENDS DO TOGETHER.â Bella bellowed as they passed Zsadist. âWatch Love Island while sitting next to each other! PERFECTLY SAFE!â
Zsadist scrubbed his face with his hands as he watched his mate drag the cop down the hall.
His instincts were screaming for him to get the cop away from Bella and bleed him out, but his sense of self preservation stayed his hand since Bella would most likely murder him.
With his shoulders slumping, he followed the pair as they started towards the tv room. At least he could keep an eye on them, if he couldnât outright murder the cop for touching his mate.
âBella, Iâm not really a fan of Love Island.â Butch said as they started down the stairs.
Zsadist blinked.
Well that was dumb he thought as Bella came to a standstill and turned a hard look at Butch. Her head tilting like a predator assessing prey before it attacked. The look on her face completely flat.
Butch, seeming to realize what he had just said, scrambled to cover his ass.
âBut you know what, that was last season. I am sure this season will be better than last season and redeem itself one hundred percent.â Butch nodded as he squeezed her hand in reassurance.
Bella squinted her eyes in thought, still considering crushing Butch like a tin can he was before she nodded slightly, accepting his explanation and started back down the stairs.
Butch bit back a groan of despair. He was going to die. He was going to die and the last thing he would ever watch was Love Island.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
âThey made it through. Both Bella and her daughter.â
Rehvenge let out a shaky breath as he held his cellphone to his ear, his eyes closing as he gave silent thanks to the Scribe Virgin that his sister and his niece had survived the birth.
âTh-thank you tahlly.â And he truly was thankful that Marissa had kept him informed about Bella and the birth.
When he had first been told that Bella was in labor his immediate instinct was to go to her. The baby was early and female vampires were very likely to die when giving birth. He wanted to be there, but Xhex nixed the idea because when Rehv was worried he tended to compensate with aggression. And he was more than likely going to take his aggression out on her fucking mate Zsadist because he was the one that put her in danger in the first place, which would only add another worry for Bella given that Rehvenge and Zsadist were the two whom she loved most in this world.
So instead of going to the Brotherhood Compound he stayed at his club and took out his aggression with a few vampires and humans who owed him money.
He had just been wiping the blood off his hands when his cell phone rang. The Shadows were in the middle of dragging the badly beaten man out of the room when they paused and looked from the phone to their boss.
Rehvenge gave a jerk of his head in the direction of the door, silently telling The Shadows to leave. The Shadows hesitated, looking away from Rehv to each other. They seemed to be having a silent conversation before coming to a decision and continuing to the door. Rehvenge was willing to bet that they would not be going far, and that Xhex would be nearby as well. If the news was bad, all three of them would be needed to take him down.
Just like last time.
When Bella had been taken by those goddamn things, he had lost it. He had trashed his office and was about to start in on the club with plans to bring every worst nightmare to life for the patrons of his club while bleeding them out when he was taken down by the Moors, with Xhex stepping in to beat him unconscious because there was absolutely no reasoning with him in that state of anger and despair.
When Revenge had come to, Xhex had managed to keep him from losing it again by reminding him that just because Bella was taken, didn't mean that she was dead. With that bit of logic Rehv had been able to focus himself away from making it rain blood in Caldwell to finding his sister.
Rehvenge had leverage every contact he had, both his underground and legal business contact to no avail. The Black Dagger Brotherhood didnât leave a whole lot of lessers around for him to question, and the few he did get ahold of didnât even know that a female vampire had been taken.
When days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, they had faced the awful truth that Bella was not going to come home. Ever. After that realization, Rehvenge only managed to keep from splintering into a thousand pieces and taking everyone out with him was his mahmen. His mahmenâs faith was the only thing that was holding her together with the loss of her daughter. Her faith and her son. Rehvenge would not and could not allow himself to succumb to his rage and sorrow, leaving his mahmen alone with her grief. Â Â
As Rehv looked at the ringing phone, he realized he was almost afraid to pick up the phone, as he didn't want to hear that his sister and/or her young had died in the birthing. He had just gotten Bella back. Vampires lived a thousand years and Bella was only a little older than a quarter of a century. A blink of an eye in a vampireâs life time. When he thought Bella had died, it was all he could think of. How short her life had been.
So the news that they were both alive had sent a jolt of relief that even his sympath side felt. Â
His vision turned red, and not because his sympath side was on the loose. Tears of blood fell down his cheeks, his happiness so great that his baby sister was alive and well and so was her young.
I just found you and I'm obsessed! I have been reading the BDB series since 2011 and been in love with Z. for just as long, so your fanfics have been the best part of my week! Thank you! Are you still writing? Thanks for everything btw <3
Thank you so much! Glad I could make your week. I am writing a little bit, but not very much. @yourartmatters
Beth paused halfway down the staircase and listened. The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Usually the tv was on blast with one of Lasiters soap operas or trash talk shows that he was addicted to. There would also be the clinking of balls where Butch was hustling one of the Brothers in a game of pool.
There was also no rattling of bottles from the bar, no arguing in the library, no fighting in entry and no sounds of eating from the dining room.
Way too quiet.
Beth arched a brow in question and proceeded the rest of the way down the stairs to investigate. The last time it had been this quiet âŠ. well, actually, it had never been this quiet in the house before. That, more than anything else caused the most alarm.
Just as Beth reached the bottom of the stairs she caught sight of a group of doggen milling around in front of the door that lead to the kitchen. The oddity itself caused Beth to come to a standstill, as the doggen were never not doing anything. They were always cleaning, serving, cooking, prepping âŠ. just always doing something.
Beth started forward and just as she opened her mouth to ask what was going on, Mary came through the kitchen door. The door swung back and forth, giving peeks at what looked to be a national disaster that had decimated the kitchen.
Mary looked absolutely exasperated, as if she had reached her melting point and was going to explode. That in itself was another red flag that something was very wrong. Mary had the patience of a saint (pretty much a job requirement with a mate like Rhage), and anything that overset that femaleâs chill factor was something to pay attention to.
Mary answered Bethâs question before she could even ask it.
âBella is trying to cook again.â
Beth shut her mouth and groaned in despair. No wonder the first floor was deserted and the doggen were all looking like they were going to have anxiety attacks.
That one sentence explained everything.
Cooking wasnât really Bellaâs strong point. To be blunt: Bella was terrible at it. As in she should be banned from ever picking up cooking or baking paraphernalia. Anything that required a stove, oven, or even a microwave usually ended very, very, very, very badly for the food.
The exception being sandwiches and cereal. And even then there was an exception to the exception when things had gotten dicy when Bella had gotten it into her head to make her own bread. Fritz had not only had to buy a new breadmaker, but had gone so far as to hiding it and only using it in the Pitâs kitchen.
It was still a mystery how Bella managed to melt a hole into the granite countertop with the breadmaker. The incident had spawned a running joke about Bella and the breadmaker being equal to Vishous and his glowing hand.
The worst part of Bellaâs culinary efforts was that the mansion would reek of burnt food for days, no matter what the doggen did to try and air out the house. And that was saying something because the doggen were pretty much the end all be all in getting things clean and fresh.
Mary had tried to assist Bella with cooking and baking, but Bella had declined any and all offers of help because she was determined to do it all on her own. Bella had seen what pleasure it brought Rhage when he was eating a meal made by his female and Bella wanted to do the same for Zsadist.
Except that Bellaâs culinary endeavors were no where near edible.
Mary and Beth had thought that Bella would give up eventually. After all, Bella was an intelligent female and was bound to realize that her talents did not include cooking or baking. Especially after all the recipes that she had decimated.
What they didnât take into consideration was Bellaâs stubborn determination, the same stubborn determination that had captured Zsadistâs heart.
It also didnât help that Lasiter was encouraging Bella to keep up her efforts in cooking by watching Food Network and the Cooking Channel with her, pointing out all the mouth watering dishes that looked just soooooo easy to make. Talk about the devil whispering in Bellaâs ear.
And as with anything involving the devil or Lasiter, it never turns out like they promise.
On the bright side, Lasiter would end up persona non grata after one of Bellaâs culinary fiascos, so The Brotherhood didnât have to deal Lasiter or his daytime talk shows for about a week.
And as if the whole cooking thing couldnât get any worse - just add Zsadist into the mix.
No matter how badly the food Bella had made turned out - nothing could keep Zsadist from eating the food his mate had prepared for him. As a warrior, Zsadist found great pleasure in feeding his female from his own hand, but to have his female cook for him was an honor beyond measure (the whole reason Bella was cooking in the first place). So he ate what Bella made with great gusto. And you would think that it would please his mate to have him eat what she had made him, but in fact it pissed Bella off to no end to have Zsadist decimate every last bite of the meal.
Bella knew the food she had made was terrible. It looked terrible, smelled terrible and tasted terrible, but Zsadist would eat it anyway. He had been a slave for 100 years and kept himself starved for a 100 years after that. Food was food and the fact that his nalla had made it for him made it the most delicious cuisine on the planet.
Bella thought he was just placating her, which again, pissed her off to no end.
And when Bella was pissed off at her hellren, Zsadist reverted back to being a mean ass mother fucker. He was downright brutal when he and his mate were on the outs.
The last time Zsadist and Bella had a falling out the doggen had to fix a Rhage sized hole in the dining room wall as well as replace the buffet and a couple of dining room chairs. Butch had ended up walking with a limp for a few days and for a while you couldnât tell which side of Vishousâ face had the tattoo because of the matching black eyes he was sporting. Not to mention Phury had gone missing for a full 24 hours before showing back up at the mansion covered in blood and dirt.
So it was in everyoneâs best interests to try and stop Bella from doing any form of cooking or baking in the kitchen and if that didnât work, try and get as far away from the kitchen and Zsadist as possible.
And based off of Maryâs exasperated look, stoping Bella from cooking was a no go, so it looked as if everyone in the mansion had taken the only option open to them and that was to get away as far and as fast as possible.
The only ones who didnât leave the immediate area were the doggen. It was almost like when a female went into her needing - and the males became incapable of leaving the area around the female. The doggen were the same way, they were absolutely incapable of leaving the area of a mess, let alone a mess of epic proportions.
âWhat is she making?â Beth asked and then immediately held up her hands and shook her head. âNo, no. Donât tell me.â
Mary had to smile at that. For some reason, Beth would always crave the dish that Bella had tried to make and utterly destroyed. The doggen were always happy to make said dish for the Queen, except that it would usually cause a delay in the reconciliation between Bella and Zsadist, because Zsadist would comment that the dish Bella had made was much better, which would just set Bella off again and then it was back to everyone ducking for cover.
Beth was just about suggest her and Mary leave the mansion and go a hotel with a spa (as she and Mary were one of the very few who didnât have to fear sunlight, a hotel was a legitimate option for them as the Pit and the training center were probably jam packed with other members of the household) when Mary suddenly blurted out a loud curse.
âOh shit.â
Beth opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when she noticed that Mary wasnât even looking at her. She was looking behind her. Turning, Beth looked to see what had caught Maryâs attention and then let out a curse of her own.
âOh shit!â
Dressed in his signature turtleneck, black leathers and shit kicker boots, Zsadist had just walked through the front door.
Talk about making a bad situation worse. Like swimming in a tank full of sharks and then throwing in some piranhas just to make it that much more fun.
Everyone knew the relationship between Zsadist and Rehvenge was contentious at best. And that was putting it nicely.
Rehvenge still held the belief that no male was good enough for his sister. Bella was the light of his life and he made keeping her safe and happy a top priority. He would kill for her.
In fact, he had killed for her. He had killed that bastard who was biologically her sire, but was in no way in hell a father. So Rehvenge wouldn't hesitate to put her mate six feet under should he ever make Bella unhappy.
So, âOh Shitâ was a very appropriate response to what was about to go down. And given what was about to go down, it was probably prudent for Mary and Beth to leave the immediate area, but they couldnât seem to move.
It was like going past a car accident, they couldnât not look.
Another reason why the females stayed was because they wanted to see Rehvengeâs reaction to Bellaâs cooking. No one actually knew for sure if Rehv was aware of what a terrible cook his sister was. He was never around during the âincidentsâ and there was never any sort of reaction when a comment was made about Bella in the kitchen.
There was a debate that Rehvenge didnât know what a terrible cook Bella was because of the kitchen in the barn house Bella used to own. The barn house that Rehvenge had bought for his sister and remodeled the kitchen, making it look like it belonged in Better Homes & Gardens magazine. If Rehvenge actually knew what a terrible cook Bella was he wouldnât have bothered remodeling the kitchen as that would be akin to knitting a sweater for a dead squirrel.
Of course it was argued that Bellaâs sweet kitchen in the barn house wasnât a confirmation that Rehvenge did or didnât know about his sister's skills in the kitchen. Rehv was the type of male who had outfitted aka blinged out his garage which he didnât even use, so why wouldnât he remodel his sister's kitchen, even if she couldnât cook to save her life.
So Mary and Beth stayed just outside the kitchen to 1) see if Rehvenge and Zsadist were going to come to blows and 2) answer the question as to if Rehvenge knew how bad of a cook his sister was.
Both Zsadist and Rehvenge nodded at the two females as they made their way to the kitchen, the doggen who had been milling around the door scattered like birds as they approached, clearing the pathway for the two large males who strode past them and into the kitchen.
Beth and Mary creeped forward towards the kitchen, as the doggen reformed around the door that the two big males just went through, but making sure to keep the pathway clear, as if they too knew the situation was going to come to a bad end and didn't want to get mowed down by any large male bodies flying through the kitchen door.
Mary, Beth and the doggen all fell silent as they strained to listen to what was going on in the kitchen. They could hear some pots and pans banging around and the murmur of low voices, but nothing to herald the the shit storm they were all anticipating.
A few minutes passed, and then another few. More time passed with again just the low ebb of voices and and the sound of movement around the kitchen.
Beth and Mary were silently debating whether or not to risk taking a peek into the kitchen when there was a sudden explosion of sound, making the females and the doggen all jump up and back away from the kitchen door in surprise.
The first bang was followed by another explosive bang, sounding suspiciously like a pan being thrown against the wall, and voices being raised. Well one voice actually, Bellaâs.
Everyone outside the kitchen door braced for what was to come next and were damn flabbergasted when Rehvenge walked out of the kitchen.
Walked out.
Not thrown out of the kitchen. Walked out of the kitchen.
And not only walked out of the kitchen, walked out of the kitchen with Bella thrown over his shoulder like she was a sack of flour.
Mary and Beth would have laughed if they had not been so shocked, as they had been expecting a fight of epic proportions.
âRehv! Put me down!â Bella bellowed as she as she tried to get free of her brotherâs hold and got absolutely nowhere fast.
âLet your male eat the food you made for him in peace, Bella.â Rehvenge said, as he walked carefully towards the front door of the mansion, his cane tapping loudly on the marble floor.
âI donât want him to eat it in peace. In fact I donât want him to eat it at all. It terrible. I absolutely ruined it. I wouldnât even feed it to the racoons who lived behind my barn house.â Bella said as she continued to try and wiggle free out of her brotherâs grip.
âHe doesn't care how it tastes, let him eat it.â Rehvenge said in such a reasonable tone of voice that Mary and Beth both did a double take, and started to seriously question whether or not they were in the Twilight Zone, because in what dimension was Bellaâs very dangerous and very temperamental brother ever reasonable?
âI care how it tastes.â Bella exclaimed with a frown. âIf I don't even want raccoons to eat it, why would I let my hellren eat it?â
Even though the question was rhetorical, Rehv answered it anyway. âI highly doubt your mate allows anyone to let him do anything.â
âThe same could be said for you and I didn't let you eat the food I made for you when I lived at home.â
âThat is because it tasted terrible and I wouldn't have eaten it anyway.â Rehvenge said as turned to the side Bella was on and nudged her to open up the front door to the mansion.
Mary and Beth missed Bellaâs response as the sound of the door being opened muffled her voice, and then the both of them were outside, the dual door system closing tightly behind them.
âWell that answers that question.â Beth said, glad to know that Rehvenge did actually know what a terrible cook his sister was. Knowing him, he probably why he didn't think it necessitated a response when the subject is his sister's lack of cooking skills came up. It was probably akin to asking if the Pope was a Catholic.
Mary and Beth stood their for a moment, quietly stunned by the anticlimactic ending of what they had anticipated to be a huge throwdown between shellan and hellren and the two brother-in-laws.
The sound of activity in the kitchen pulled Beth and Maryâs attention away from the front doors of the mansion to the kitchen door. The doggen were all gone, and they could hear the sound of them cleaning the kitchen. You would think that they would wait until Zsadist was done eating and out of the kitchen before they would go in there, but they just couldnât help themselves when there was a mess to take care of.
âDo you think they are still going to fight about this?â Mary asked as she looked hard at the kitchen door, as if it would have the answer to her question.
Beth chewed on her lip thoughtfully as she glanced from the kitchen door to Mary. âKnowing Bella, yup. Just because Rehvenge took her out of the mansion, doesnât mean she still isnât going to be mad about Zsadist eating the meal she made for him.â
Mary thought about that for a moment and then nodded her head, agreeing with the answer.
âSo, it would probably be a good idea for us to leave for a while. There is this hotel downtown that just opened up a new spa and I thought we could hang out there for a while, until this blows over.â Beth said as she looped an arm through Maryâs and headed for the front door.
âGood idea.â Mary said, knowing that the mansion was probably not the best place to be for the next few days.
Review Here
Would love to know what you think. Sorry I it took so long to post - I just couldnât seem to find my mojo. Hope you liked it.Â
Just got done reading The Chosen - all I can say is I need to see more of Syn in the next book and for him to be BROTP with Zsadist. Two bad ass savage motherfuckers who will fuck your shit up.
So I have short story almost done - about 2K words - but I have been stuck on the ending for weeks. Sorry for the delay - I just have no damn idea how to end it.Â