Twilight 1. Chapter 1

**PART ONE**

**LETTERS FROM THE LOST DAYS**

* * *

**AN:** I have much of this story written already. There will be regular updates once or twice a week. There will be detailed scenes of abuse in the form of memories, but I'll add warnings to each chapter that contains possible triggers.

CHAPTER ONE

JPOV

I sat looking at the stationary in front of me. Two notebooks lay side by side, one embossed with _From the Desk of Jasper Whitlock,_ the other had only two words; _Major Whitlock._ Peter had organized this weeks ago and nagged me incessantly. He wanted to try a mental exercise; a conversation between myself and my alter ego. He was aware we were unable to communicate any other way, I desperately held the Major back as best as I could, not wishing to bring forth the death soaked warrior. The out of control, bestial creature that lived for gore.

Since we left Maria, Peter had insisted the Major wasn't who I thought he was, but Peter hadn't 'woken up' from a haze surrounded by corpses, I had. Anything that caused that much destruction needed to be repressed, I couldn't just let him wander out and kill everything I held dear. Still, Peter was a persistent bastard and after a conversation with Char I caved. Char knew me too well, she understood my fears and gave me the literal kick in the arse I needed. Her words crashed around my head. I had stipulations; isolation and the promise of death if all hell broke loose.

Peter had set up a room when he arranged the stationary. A small white room with a white desk and white chair. The silly fucker even included a white mug with a picture of a walrus and a bucket with a caption '_I haz buket.' _He sure did love those memes. The mug held a selection of pens, pencils and the odd crayon. I had no idea what to say. How do you address someone who terrifies you? Someone you'll never see, yet those around you can?

Peter called out. "Just start writing anything; your thoughts, feelings, hell even you're mom's potato stew recipe."

Fuck it.

_Major,_

_I don't know what the fuck will happen when you read this. I don't even know what to write. _

_You scare me. I don't want to be a monster, I don't want to lose my friends. I've lost too much already. I'm a person I'm adrift, I don't even know who the fuck I am anymore. _

_Please don't hurt Peter and Charlotte. If you have to kill someone, kill me._

_J_

Good enough I suppose.

I took a deep breath, starting to focus my mind like Peter had taught me. I felt the slight vibration at the back of my head and moved my mind towards it, focusing on it, keeping calm. I've never purposefully released the Major before, he released himself. I knew the feeling of his impending arrival; it was one I had tried to resist. It was different allowing it to happen. The vibrations got closer.

Then there was nothing.

MPOV

He was scared shitless; I could feel the residual effects of his fear. It wasn't as blinding as usual. I shook my hands and rolled my head around getting used to the feel of the body. I only had partial awareness of the events in Jasper's life, I only got glimpses when his emotions would peak and when he hunted. It was hard to stand back while the pressure on him mounted. Poor bastard.

For the last six months I planned and waited. Peter knew me well, just as well as he knew Jasper. He knew my role and followed my orders, we were both Jasper's guardians. This had been the way it was since we first fractured. Peter understood, he could see the truth and his little gift was a true asset to the three of us. He stayed true to us and coaxed the original part of us out, Jasper. Char also knew, she was my sister just as much as she was to Jasper. I stood up and walked to the door, opening it to see Peter and Char awaiting orders.

"Good job, you both worked hard in getting him to do this. I won't take too long in responding to him, he has to trust me. It'll take a while to build up. What is the status of the Cullens?"

"Major, my Intel tells me the twerp and the pixie are arguing with the rest of the coven over the abandonment of Ms. Swan. The big one wants to return to Ms. Swan, they focus on him not noticing our mutual friend's assistance to us. Our friend will call tonight at 2100; Char will field the call while 'hunting' and I'll distract Jasper. Once Char returns from 'hunting' I will take Jasper for a hunt. We'll update you then on current developments."

"Very well, I'll respond then let Jasper back."

They nodded and left. I sat down to peruse the letter.

Jasper was right to be fearful of what lurked inside him, inside us. His fear was justified, but he couldn't know the truth yet.

This would be the first step, soon we'd be whole.

_Jasper,_

_I will not hurt you, Peter or Char. There may come a time when someone close to you will die by my hand, but by that time you'll understand why and may even take care of it yourself._

_Your family is safe from me as are you. I hope that having arranged correspondence will let you get to know yourself as well as me. You've been lost for a long time, this is the first step in finding yourself. Everything will get better. _

_Hopefully, our communication will open your eyes to the truth and ease your worry._

_As of now I have been in control for two minutes, thirty-five seconds. Feel free to check the time difference._

_I hope to hear back from you soon._

_Major._

I sighed and moved back to my place. The vibrations were home, as was the darkness that filled my consciousness.

JPOV

I felt a pulling sensation and then saw the pinprick of light expand into my field of vision. I was back in the room. I blinked a few times coming back to myself. I was surprised by the lack of disorder. "Peter? Char?" I heard their steps outside the door and flung the door open, I ran my hands over them and sniffed them for any bites or injuries. Their emotions were calm, happy even. They kept still, smiling at me. My shoulders slumped in relief. Peter touched my shoulder gently "I told you he wouldn't hurt us." Char hugged me to her as I calmed down. I knew there was a letter waiting for me, but I dreaded to read it. I needed help. Hand in hand my brother and sister walked me back to the desk. I froze as my eyes scanned the page.

I was surprised by the letter. It was articulate, almost…nice? Peter and Char's emotions were calm and I soaked in their tranquility. I was unsure what to think of the Major; fear? Yes, he was still an unknown and I knew firsthand what he is capable of. I avoided the memories of what happened during the wars and the horror of waking up to see what he'd done. My past was a blur, I preferred for it to remain that way.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

I was calm, but still feeling uneasy. I'd opened a door and couldn't unsee the possibilities it would bring. I needed time to think.

PPOV

It had been four hours since I had left Jasper in his study. Reading was an escape for him, much like sleeping or alcohol could be for humans. I glanced at the clock, quarter to nine. I heard Char announce that she was going hunting, the door clicked closed as she left. Jasper seemed happy enough reading so I went back to the white room and took both letters to file away for later. Jasper would remember the Major's letter and wouldn't need to see it again to respond.

The last six months had been interesting. Finally we were getting somewhere, soon our brother would be whole. I grabbed a book and joined Jasper in the library. It didn't hold my attention, I needed to lighten the mood a little. Jasper felt my mischievousness and raised an eyebrow, I shrugged and he went back to reading. My phone was in my pocket, I slipped it out and took a photo. Jasper rolled his eyes. I approached again and took the book he was reading, taking a photo as he tried to get it back, I then took another as he looked angry and bookless. I went to the computer and uploaded the pictures, I added the caption 'Filosoper haz book' to the first. Then 'NOOO U cannot haz book' to the second and 'Filosoper iz mad grrr' to the third. I saved them to the backup hard drive and password protected the folder, these would come in handy.

I went to YouTube to kill some time, Jasper joined me after giving up on silent contemplation. The old fucker needed cheering up. Several clips from reality TV and a few hundred LOLcat pictures later I heard Char return. "Want to hunt, Jasper?" He shrugged, but went with me outside to hunt down a critter. He was in luck, there was some type of large cat in the mood for a fight. Jasper let his instincts take over, he had never realized the Major took control for the hunt. The Major broke the cat's neck and sucked down the blood quickly as Char joined us to report. "Major, the Cullens are considering separating. None have checked on Ms. Swan."

I felt the crackle of energy up my spine as my gift brought through information. "Major, Ms. Swan will suffer over the course of the next few months, as hard as it is to stay away from your mate she needs this time to change, to become stronger and grieve for the loss of her naïve self."  
"I don't like it, Peter, but if it must be done I understand. When the time is right start sending her my correspondence with Jasper. For the moment commence writing to Ms. Swan. She needs us to stop her from giving in to the darkness." I nodded, the Major and Char had been keen to learn about Jasper's true mate since we devised the plan. Char and I would be the agony aunt and uncle she needed. Both needed to be whole, healed. No insecurities, no fear.

The Major bent and picked up the cat, holding his pose so Jasper could return without an inkling of the Major's presence. His eyes returned to their warm innocence, the haunted look of the Major receding. I laughed at the blood smeared on top of Jasper's lip, "Got blood?" I smirked at his eye roll. Despite the pain of leaving the pixie and 'family' there was an undercurrent of contentment, comfort.

For so long Jasper had battled his thirst and felt the judgment of his so called mother and father, the golden children constantly monitored him with their powers and built a wall between Jasper and the rest of the coven. Deep down he's relieved, he's finally got room to breathe. The pain won't last, we would make sure of it. While Jasper may have thought he grieved for the loss of his family, he was really grieving the loss of who he thought they were. Char and I were proud of our brother, he'd stuck to his diet with no trouble. Hell, he'd even been able to reduce the amount he fed off, I could see the bitterness in Jasper's eyes when he thought about how his control had improved, and I didn't need to be a mind reader to see Jasper thought it was too little, too late.

_Give him time_ my gift nudged me. Time maybe infinite to our kind, but they were on a schedule. There were deadlines looming, but I wouldn't let them panic me, the plan would work. Me, Char and the Major had the moves mapped out.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Here's the second chapter. There's a bit of swearing. Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter.

CHAPTER 2

PPOV

Char and I were at the local library, it was time to make first contact with the lovely Ms Swan. We set up a new email address and started our first email to our future sister;

_From: NotACullen  
To: BellaSwan_

_Miss Bella,_

_Think of us as your Fairy Godparents, after what you've been through if you need to talk to someone in the know feel free to drop us a line. We promise no judgment and no white coats. As bad as things feel now there is a change coming, one which will bring you much happiness. I can understand it's hard to trust anyone with something you perceive to be someone else's secret. We share the same secret._

_We have some advice should you wish to utilize it;_

_Firstly, there are some friends of your father's you'll need to align yourself with. They have their own secret, one which ensures the safety of your kind. They're angry and dislike your previous 'family' but don't hold their slurs against them. They have a right to be angry and trying to get them to curb their rage will only isolate you from good friends and make the outcome more dangerous._

_Second, a person's worth is not measured by another's actions or words. Release the pain and find your own self-worth. You aren't responsible for other people's actions and you aren't inferior. You have been treated poorly and that is not a reflection of you, but them. Don't let their insecurities become your own._

_Third, you have a place in our world, it has not abandoned you, nor has your choice been taken away. Allow yourself to hope for the future you want. The characters in your dreams may change, but it will be a good change._

_We are here for you._

_It's time to heal and let go._

BPOV

Through the haze the words of the email jumped out at me. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, as cryptic as the message was I knew what it meant. The hope welled up in me and I tried to suppress it as much as I could.

I know I can't live like this anymore, not eating or sleeping. Every day is such a struggle. What I wouldn't give for peace. I know they're not coming back, it hurts so much. Part of me died in that forest, a part that would never return. Not even _his_ family could heal me, but maybe I could heal myself.

I lay down, waiting for sleep to creep up on me. The nightmares are inevitable, but I wasn't ready to respond to my mysterious new pen pal just yet. It was information overload and questions were rattling around my head. No, I needed a clearer mind. Slowly I drifted off.

I felt my body twitch with adrenaline, but I couldn't remember the dream. I was thankful. The clock read 6:30 am. Six hours sleep, a personal best from the last few months. I heard Charlie fumble around the kitchen and decided to join him. "Morning Dad." Charlie was shocked, "morning Bells, did you sleep ok?"  
"Better than I have in a while. I think things are getting better." He smiled, "glad to hear it, how about we celebrate at the diner tonight? You could probably use a break from cooking. We could drop by the bookshop after work if you want?" I felt a small smile creep up on my lips, it felt foreign, but I knew it was a good thing; I hadn't smiled for a while. "Sounds good."

Charlie had been a godsend. Renee would have hovered, constantly pushing me. Dad knew better, he hurt because I was hurt, but he understood from experience that time was what I needed. He'd stayed strong, knew the right thing to say and didn't push. I remember a week after _it_ happened he sat down at the table with me while my breakfast went cold. He was picking at the eggs and bacon in front of him. "Kid, I know it's hard. I'm here if you need me, I always will be here."

Not once did Charlie yell, threaten or judge. He sat and observed, probably one of the reasons he's such a good cop. He'd seen me hug myself and correctly guessed it felt like my heart had been ripped out. I remember the sadness in his eyes. He'd been watching me one afternoon as I clutched my arms around myself trying to hold it together. He sat next to me and gently loosened the white knuckled grip I had on my arms, he put my arms around him and held me. He didn't say anything, he didn't need to.

It was only a couple of months ago that I started opening up. It all started with a question; "will it hurt forever?"  
"No Bells, one day you wake up and it's a little easier. It gets easier and easier to breathe."  
"Will I forget them?"  
"No, but you will learn to accept the memories. You'll see things differently; the good and the bad, but people who have such an impact on our lives to cause this pain can't be forgotten. Sometimes I wonder if it's to teach us to accept what life brings us and takes away."  
"That's very Zen Charlie." He nodded and we sat in silence.

He patted my shoulder and left for work. I trudged up stairs and replied to the email.

_What do I call you? It seems too strange to email a stranger like this, I hope you know I have an in with the Chief of Police so if you're planning to cause problems I suggest you quit now. My kind may not have physical strength, but we're dangerous en force._

_A few questions I need answered if your intentions are innocent._

_Are you red or gold?_

_How are you associated to the Cullens?_

_Your cryptic recommendations hint towards a gift, one that makes me uncomfortable._

_How many of you are there?_

I saved the email as a draft. If this was a prank, a hoax, I'd needed allies to help. Allies that their email had alluded to. I had to see Billy Black. I printed off the original email and my draft. After showering and dressing I headed to La Push. My vague memories helped me reach my destination, thankfully the Black's house was one of the first I came across. The sound of the engine roused the inhabitants from the house, Billy wheeled himself to the porch. His face remained stoic, I was apprehensive of my plan now I was here.

Billy nodded to me as a greeting. I exited the truck. "How can I help you, Bella?"  
"I need help with business related to the Cold Ones" his eyes widened in surprise, but he kept his neutral mask and gestured for me to enter. I sat on the couch, Billy remained quiet, waiting for me to begin. I decided on diplomacy. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to your previous warnings about them." He nodded for me to continue. "I received an email and I was wondering if I could get some advice" I handed him the first email. Billy's eyes grew less cold as he read on. "You know Bells, Charlie received an letter similar to this one years ago. He's my best friend and he asked my opinion like you have. Thank you for trusting me with this." I stared at him confused, Charlie had a letter? "I want to respond to it, here's what I have so far. Will you help me draft a reply? I need to know what damage this will cause."  
"Your right not to trust them, but it is intriguing." He grabbed a pen from the coffee table and started writing. I couldn't hold back my questions while he worked. "Does Charlie know about _them_? What happened to his letter? Has he encountered any?" Billy kept writing and I waited for a response.

Eventually he handed back the email draft, I looked over his edit.

_Know this; I have allies ready to protect us from any attack you may bring. You fuck with us and I will fuck you up._

_I need total disclosure; who are you? What is your business with me? How do you know what you know? To whom is your allegiance?_ _What is your diet?_

The cussing shocked me, I hadn't sworn in a long time, probably because _he_ thought it was crude. Something began to shift in my mind, I felt a heavy feeling in my heart and anger filled me-HE DIDN'T LIKE SWEARING! For some reason I resented that. There was nothing wrong with some swearing, hell the way Billy used it emphasized the strength of his/my words. I zoned out until Billy cleared his throat. My attention snapped back to him and I smiled, another foreign, small smile. "This sounds perfect, thank you."  
"Will you do my people a favor?" He asked, I nodded. "We are always in need more information on vampires, none of us have spoken in depth with a bloodsucker since my grandfather made the treaty with the Cullens."  
"I'll tell you anything you need to know." Why the fuck not help the Quileutes? It felt good to swear again. Why should I protect him and his family when they rejected me? Fuck them. "We'll have a bonfire next Friday night, I'll speak to Charlie and arrange for you to join us." I thanked him and left. I felt lighter already, my epiphany had lessened the effect of the gaping hole in my chest.

I returned home and sent the newly edited email. The afternoon was pleasant and, as insane as it seemed, I walked around the house swearing as much as I could. The words just flowed out, it was a release I never thought I'd get. Charlie arrived home just as I'd finished getting ready for dinner at the diner.

It was a quiet meal, we could hear the whispers around us and felt the stares on the back of our necks, but I was still reveling in the lightness that came with my epiphany. I could swear if I wanted to! Fuck, shit, piss, cunt, tits, cock muncher, cum guzzler, whore. I felt …free. We spent a good hour at the bookshop, I needed something different, I wouldn't let him get in the way of my hobbies. I ended up getting a few Terry Pratchett Discworld books. I'd never read them before. I bumped into Angela in the non-fiction section "hey Ang, how are you?"  
"Bella?" She was shocked, but a smile steadily grew on her face. I returned one of my own. "I'm good, how have you been, Ang? I'm sorry I dropped out of contact for a while." I really felt guilty, she just waved me off "I'm good. Hey, Ben wants to take me to a Kung Fu movie in Port Angeles tomorrow, would you like to come? You'd really be doing me a favor." Why the fuck not! At least it wasn't romance. "Sure, what time?"  
"We can pick you up at your house around 4pm?"  
"That sounds great."  
"Thank you. I should probably head out now, see you tomorrow." Before she could turn and leave I grabbed her into a hug. "Thanks Ang, I'll see you tomorrow." I. HAD. PLANS. Weird. Charlie was beaming, he patted my shoulder and we headed home.

It was hard getting to sleep, but I managed. The nightmares were there, but instead of running towards Edward in the forest I just stood and observed, sorting through the memories of our time together. His face was as stern as ever, his eyes hard and unforgiving. I thought about how wrapped up I'd been; I had no life outside the relationship, everything was a constant uphill battle, everything was too hard and now that he'd dumped me all those struggles seemed …unworthy. He hadn't been worth all the pain and sacrifice. I STILL hurt, but looking at him now, surrounded by the dark forest, the futility of it all hit me. He wasn't good enough. He didn't care enough, the words from that first email hit me _don't let their insecurities become your own._ He was a coward. As hollow as I felt now, I embraced the new thoughts. My voice rang out, clear and strong "fuck you, Edward."

Before I knew it, it was daytime. I started my routine; bathroom, breakfast, housework. I tried to distract myself from the computer, wondering if I'd received a reply yet. I didn't want to burst my good mood bubble just yet, I wanted to wait til tonight, after going out with my friends. I needed a human day.

Four o'clock came quickly, I'd managed to do all the house work and laundry and I was proud of myself. Charlie had picked up the slack while I was non-functional and we now had a schedule, but I wanted to thank him by getting everything out of the way so he could relax when he came home from fishing tonight. I'd prepared a lasagna and put it in the oven with instructions on how to heat it up when he came home. I wondered if Billy had said anything about the emails I'd shown him. A knock on the door broke me out of my thoughts, I was really looking forward to this afternoon.

Angela and Ben waited patiently while I grabbed my bag. The drive to the cinema was enjoyable, they updated me on what had been going on the last few months. It was the same old Forks High drama; Jess and Mike broke up and made up several times, Lauren dumped Tyler and he'd moved on to another girl in our class. Lauren was dating a college guy from UW and was just as bitchy as ever. Angela had made it onto the school netball team and Ben had been accepted for early admission into UW for Computer Science. It was startling to hear how the world had kept moving after my break up, my life felt like it was stuck on pause. It was time to change that.

The movie had been surprisingly enjoyable. I'd been nervous when I'd heard the name of it, Mr Vampire, but we'd laughed so much during it, especially at the hopping Vampires and magical post it notes that froze vampires from moving. I was definitely going to buy a copy of this for myself, maybe I could organize a movie night with the Quileutes.

I returned home to see Charlie sitting on the couch with a beer and watching sport. "Hey dad, how was fishing?" He jolted in surprise "hey! You're home. Fishing was a resounding success, the freezer's fully stocked. How was the movie?"  
"It was brilliant! I'm actually going to buy a copy of it. So funny."  
"Good to hear that." I smiled and went upstairs to get changed in to PJs and read.

It was ten o'clock when I looked up from my book, I'd become enthralled by the Discworld book. I hadn't felt so attached to a book since I first read Wuthering Heights. I cringed, there would be no turning back now- no more hopeless romance stories for me. I set aside the book and turned on the computer. The curiosity was now stronger than the fear. I had a plan and, with Billy's help, any nasty surprises these "Fairy Godparents" brought forth could be handled. Billy was confident so I decided to trust he'd have help at hand for any vampires that threatened the area.

I saw my empty inbox and sighed, just then the computer dinged, scaring the shit out of me. "Stupid vampires, virtually creeping up on me" I mumbled and opened the email.

_From: NotACullen  
To: BellaSwan_

_Whoa there little lady, we mean no harm. I pinky swear. My name's Peter and my wife is Charlotte, we also have a brother, but he won't be included in these emails. Anything you say will be just between myself, Char and you._

_Like any Fairy Godparent we're here to help, protect (if need be) and set you on the path of your destiny. Now, as for how we know what we know I have knowledge. It's a gift, I'm not a seer or any shit like that, my gift just points me in the direction of fate and honey, your fate is entwined with ours._

_As for our allegiance, we have many. Living as long as we have means you pick up quite a few friends and enemies. I guess that concerning our allegiances and how they affect you, we are family and we bring with us a lot of positive friends. We will not use you for blood, friendship or your power. We will not judge or stifle your choices. You are not a pet or mascot._

_Now, the all-important question. Diet. We drink from humans, but like you we have allies in the police force. When a criminal needs disposing of we have our own friends who supply information on worthwhile blood. While I can understand this is distasteful for you, the lives we take are necessary. _

_So, our dear Bella, how are you holding up? My gift tells me you've realized a few important things regarding yourself. Should you need to talk to someone impartial we are here._

It was definitely creepy how these people seemed to know so much. I still didn't completely trust them, but having a lifeline to the vampire world was too tempting. Edward's declaration; comparing human minds to sieves still bothered me. The emails made it easy to hold onto the reality of vampires existing. No, I didn't want to forget.

They are human drinkers, I couldn't help but shudder as I thought of the nomads I'd encountered in the baseball field. Were they all like that?


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks to everyone who has read this far. I'm rather happy with this chapter. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 3

The week passed quickly. For months after the break up I had used academia as a distraction to the pain, it had resulted in me being ahead of the class in many subjects. Now I was feeling more human. I focused on the friends around me; Angela, Ben and Eric. Eric had changed a lot, it was a relief that he no longer tried to ask me out. He'd come out of the closet during spring break and his other friends; Mike, Jess and Lauren had pushed him aside soon after they'd wrestled all the gossip they could from him. He had been okay with the separation, the old group had split and we accepted each other. School no longer felt like a lonely painful reminder, I had my friends to distract me.

Friday afternoon brought out the cheer and relief of students and staff alike, the weekend was finally here. Tonight was the bonfire on the Res, I was really looking forward to it. Dad was home when I arrived from school, he'd knocked off early to marinate steaks. I got started on salad "Bells, no need to make too much, you know how menfolk are about rabbit food" I giggled "I also know how menfolk need a balanced diet" I chastised lightly.

I changed into yoga pants, a t-shirt and a hoodie and we set off. Jake and his friends were hauling firewood to the bonfire site while several huge guys found branches and cut them to size. I called out "Hey Jake! Wait up! If you load my truck up I can drive to the bonfire site." The three boys sagged in relief and ran up, thanking me profusely. It only took another hour to complete the setup. The air chilled and the sun sank below the horizon as the flames licked up the wood. It was hypnotic, I zoned out as people barbequed and vast amounts of food were ingested.

Billy cleared his throat. "Tonight we welcome a newcomer into our tribe. Like her father before her, she will learn the stories of our past." Billy handed something to Charlie, he walked over to me and clipped it around my wrist. It was a metal chain with a tiny carving of a wolf. The detail stunned me and around me people shouted "Welcome, Sister Bella." I felt a tear slide down my cheek and went over to Billy to give him my thanks. Charlie rolled up his sleeve and showed me his bracelet with carved wolf.

Billy introduced Old Quil who began with the story telling. His voice was quiet, almost singing along to the crackling of the fire. Images swam before my eyes of Taha-aki and her tribe. I glanced at Charlie who sat stoic, he was as entranced by the story as I was. I wondered what he thought of the cold ones and how many times he'd heard the stories.

The final story was announced. My face paled and they spoke about the treaty with the cold ones with Golden eyes. My breathing deepened and I fought back nausea. Instead of finishing the story where I expected; Old Quil continued. "Many decades later our newest adoptive brother, Charlie, received a letter. As a protector of his people he had been encountering mysterious deaths. Our people brought him into the tribe and warned him about the cold ones. Our homes were endangered by this new threat. With his baby daughter and wife at home he asked for help from his kind. Agents arrived and began to evacuate the town, they knew the secret predator, but not how to destroy it. Charlie spoke with our elders and showed us the note, there was the scent of vampire attached to it. Our people asked the wolf spirit to rise anew in the tribe. Charlie's wife and daughter left, evacuating with the rest of the town, but Charlie remained to stand with us against the enemy.

"The elders of the tribe passed around the scent of the cold one to all the young men, there was one who recoiled. Our son, Billy Black, phased into this generation's first wolf spirit. The men behind the wolf, Charlie stood next to him, gun in hand. With a blur of white the cold one approached, his eyes stained with the blood of his prey as he eyed those who stood against him. Charlie fired, emptying his entire clip into the vampire. Small cracks appeared where the bullets hit, but they healed immediately. Our wolf sprang forward, faster than our eyes could see. His jaws latched onto the head of the cold one. He ripped it's head off, then it's arms. The wolf ran to our fire, the pit of which we sit around tonight, and grabbed a blazing log. He knew the stories and the way to destroy the beast. He ran, crashing into the creature. It was then the creature kicked, snapping the wolf's spine, but the log held true its course igniting the cold one, turning it to ash.

Our first wolf would never again be able to phase, but with the recent appearance of the Golden Eyed cold ones our tribe's young men have started the process again." I sat shocked; Charlie knew the whole time. There are werewolves. Dad tried to _fight_ a vampire. Billy was a wolf, he was paralyzed by a vampire, not a car crash. Mom left with me to escape a vampire. Dad stayed in Forks to protect the people. Too much information. Billy called for a break and people returned to eating and talking, but this time it was subdued. I turned to Dad, he squirmed under my gaze. "Does mom know about vampires too?" He shook his head "only me, people were evacuated officially under the guise of a natural disaster. Many returned, but your mom had been happier out of Forks, to be honest I figured you'd be safer away from the supernatural. I couldn't leave Forks, Bells, I knew of the real dangers here and I couldn't force someone else to liaise with the supernatural world, they wouldn't take it seriously until it was too late. I'm lucky, I practically grew up on the Res, I'd heard a lot of the stories, but nothing about the cold ones until the murders started."

Billy came up to us when there was a lull in the conversation. "Bella, don't be angry at your dad for not telling you."  
" I'm not mad. I'm kind of sad because this knowledge is very dangerous for humans to know. There are laws against any human knowing. I'm also kind of relieved; I don't have to keep all these secrets. Thank you, Billy. For everything." The three of us silenced, thinking of the shared knowledge between us.

Billy broke the silence. "Bella, when I asked you to give us more information on the cold ones did you really want to?"  
"Yes. If I can help you prevent the loss of life …and sanity… from the supernatural it'll set my mind at ease. Knowing this stuff is a burden, especially when there's nothing personally I can do to help."  
"Very well, when we return from break we have matters to discuss with you. Thank you."

Billy moved back to Old Quil passing on my consent. Charlie and I talked sparingly, he understood I had to mentally prepare myself for my own story. "Dad, who was it who sent you the letter with the vampire scent?"  
"I don't actually know their names, but they swore to help me protect the town. I became a bit of a vampire liaison because of the information _they _gave me. They just referred to themselves as my fairy god parents." He caught the look of shock on my face, I explained "their names are Peter and Charlotte. I got an email from them a few days ago. Billy helped me respond to them and alerted the tribe to possible trouble."  
"Huh. Cryptic bastards, aren't they?" He smiled. "I guess you're the new vampire liaison." I wonder if that was what they meant by our fates being entwined? My thoughts were cut off once again by Billy. "Our new sister has consented to tell us what she knows. We must share our knowledge to protect our human charges. Sam Uley will begin." Sam stood up "we have encountered the scent of two unknown cold ones. We nearly caught one of them this afternoon, but his partner helped him escape. The weaker one, a dark skinned male with dreadlocks was nearly caught entering the high school. We tore off an arm before the red headed female helped him get away." I gasped, Sam paused and gestured to me. I stood shakily and my voice caught a few times "what colour were the eyes of the man?"  
"Red." He was supposed to be vegetarian now. Fuck. "The male's name is Laurent, the female is Victoria."  
"Are they part of the Golden Eyes coven?"  
"No. There used to be three of them. I encountered them shortly after I moved here." Charlie and the others straightened their backs, Dad paled as he looked at me. I couldn't meet his eyes as I continued. "I was in a clearing with the Cullens, it was a stormy day and they were playing baseball. The nomads, red eyed vampires, were heading away from Forks when they heard the game and wanted to join in. The leader, James, caught my scent. He hunted me. Edward, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme tried to trick them by using my clothes, my scent, to trap him and kill him. I had to cause an argument with Dad and leave Forks with Alice and Jasper-"  
"That's why you ran!" Charlie interrupted. "Peter and Charlotte sent me a letter the following day telling me not to take what you said to heart, that you were protecting me and you'd be home soon." I nodded, ashamed that I'd hurt him, but glad to be able to explain what really happened.

"Alice and Jasper drove me to Phoenix to hide me. We stayed in a hotel room until we heard the trap hadn't worked. Alice saw that James was headed my way. The other Cullens were en route to help us take him down together. I received a call in that hotel room, it was mom's phone number. I heard her voice panicking, then James spoke. He told me to meet him in the ballet studio or he'd kill mom. I found a way to get there. He'd tricked me, he played with me for hours, taunting me and throwing me around the room like a rag doll. He bit me." I took a few deep breaths. Billy looked at me with hard steel eyes, his anger not pointed at me, but at what had happened to me.

"The Cullens arrived. They killed James and Edward sucked the venom out of the bite mark, preventing me from changing." I held up my wrist, there were growls around the bonfire and Charlie stood up "don't growl at my daughter. She was the one attacked." His face turned red with anger and he eyed each of the tall men until they bowed their head in submission. Sam spoke "I'm glad she wasn't changed, thinking of what could have happened angers us. She is a member of this tribe now and the leech's attack on her calls for justice."  
"James is dead, he was torn apart and burned. Laurent is supposed to be with another coven of Golden Eyed vampires, learning to drink animal blood only. I guess he lied. Victoria must be trying to get revenge for James's death. How long have you caught her scent in this area?"  
"The last three months. She keeps dodging us."  
"She must know the Cullens aren't here…" my stomach churned as my mind caught on to why she'd be here. I choked out "I think she's after me…James was killed because he hunted me. She might use me for revenge against the Cullens." I sat down, my legs giving way. Black spots swarmed my vision and I gulped in air. Sam grabbed a paper bread bag from the food table and held it to my face while Charlie gripped me to keep me steady.

Jake came to me with a bottle of water and soon I was able to calm down. Charlie's face was ashen, the rest of the faces were grim, but determined. I pushed the thought of Victoria and Laurent out of my mind. They needed information on vampires. Gifts. They were rare, right? Maybe they didn't know about them. I cleared my throat, but remained seated as I started to talk emotionlessly about what I knew of gifts. "Some vampires have special powers. In the Cullen coven three had gifts. Edward could read minds, Alice could see the future and Jasper could feel and manipulate emotions." Charlie blanched, but nodded to himself before explaining "one of the letters from Peter and Charlotte arrived shortly before you started school here, Bells. He told me to monitor my thoughts at all times because they weren't safe. He said my mind was safer than others, but to always play it safe and think of mundane things. It was difficult, but I'm glad he warned me. " I sighed in relief, Edward didn't know about Dad's knowledge of the supernatural.

"It could be possible Victoria has a gift for evasion." I continued, "gifts are very rare, but there are those out there with a lot of power. Any power you can imagine, I'd bet there's a strong likelihood of a vampire having it. I don't know how many vampires are in existence, but as they have a ruling monarchy I'd wager there are a lot spread out over the world. There are three kings who rule over their kind; Aro, Marcus and Caius. Carlisle lived with them during the 1700s. From what they told me the kings are ruthless. They have a whole guard of gifted vampires and they kill humans who have knowledge of their world as well as the vampires who exposed the secret. Needless to say, the Cullens weren't happy when I found out what they were. If the Kings, the Volturi, learn of my knowledge my life is forfeit, there is also a law against interfering with mated vampires. If you kill a vampire who is mated, you must kill their mate."  
"Do you know what powers the guard have?" Sam asked. I thought hard, trying to remember everything I could. "I don't remember much and I wasn't told much because Edward thought little of my ability to handle the supernatural. From what I remember Aro can read every thought you've ever had with the touch of a finger. There is a vampire that can cause pain with a single look in your direction, another vampire can cut off all your senses, another who can who can track you over continents, Marcus can read the bonds between people, there is a vampire who can manipulate bonds of loyalty which is why the coven can stay together. Vampires are territorial, the majority are nomads who travel alone. Vampire covens have two or three vampires at most. The Cullens believed their lifestyle helped them maintain some of their humanity" a few of the wolves scoffed "there are two golden eyed covens as far as I know. The Cullens have seven people, the coven in Alaska have five. While the Cullens move around a lot to be more involved in human society the Alaskans stay in a very remote part and seldom interact with humans."

"Where are these Kings?" Dad asked. "Volterra, Italy." I shivered as the picture in Carlisle's study swam through my mind. "Can humans have gifts?" Asked a very young boy. I smiled "the Cullens believe I have a gift." A few of the younger ones whooped, while the older ones leaned closer. "I don't know how true it is, it's not something I try to do, but Edward could never read my mind. Apparently I was blocking him, but Alice and Jasper's powers worked on me. Jasper could calm me down if I was agitated and Alice could see my future." I turned to dad "I may have been able to get this 'power' from you. Edward said your mind was unclear, like there was a bit of static" Charlie smirked, clearly amused. Billy chuckled to himself, anything that irritated a Cullen was great in his book.

The night wore on; Billy, Charlie, Sam and I discussed strategy. I held my wrist out for Sam to sniff, it was a weird experience, but Sam said he could smell the faint scent of venom. It stung his nose a little, but wasn't as potent as 'vampire stink.' Charlie and I arranged to move onto the Res for a month, we needed constant protection. One of the wolves, Paul, was assigned Charlie duty. He would become a volunteer at the police station to keep Charlie protected. We would hold off doing laundry and wear clothes for a week long period at a time to have as much of our scent put on our clothes. We would start leaving our heavily worn clothes in parts of the forest. The wolves would patrol, but leave big enough gaps to let a vampire through to the clothing. I would transfer to the high school on the Res for the time being. I was happy with this plan. Billy suggested contacting Peter and Charlotte and letting them know about Victoria and Laurent. Peter's 'gift' could come in handy.

The younger kids and their parents had started leaving, it was now midnight. Jake stayed behind because of Billy's role, he was looking a bit upset. I excused myself from the strategy meeting and went to talk to him. "You ok, Jake?" He shook his head and looked ashamed. "I didn't think it was real. I'm scared, Bella." He sounded so young, I took his hand, it burned. "Whoa, Jake, you're sitting too close to the fire, you're burning hot." Billy caught what I said and rolled over, he touched Jake's forehead and called to Sam. Sam touched his neck and nodded. Billy spoke up "Jake, you're going to be part of the pack." Jakes head shot up, he slowly turned green and started shaking. Billy hushed him "it's okay. You're going to be okay. You have the full support of the tribe." Jake's shaking calmed, but he whispered "it hurts. Everything's hurting." Sam lifted him up, I followed him into the woods, glancing at Billy for permission.

Just inside the trees the boys stopped. Jake sat on the ground, I sat a few feet away, not knowing what to expect. Sam ran further into the forest. We waited silently. A familiar sniffing sound came nearer, deep in the dark I could see the glint of eyes reflecting the moon light. Jake was still pale and his shaking started up again. Sam's large, black, wolfish head poked through the undergrowth. He moved slowly, we could see his furry belly was close to the ground. The size of Sam's wolf astonished me, even slinking forward slowly so as not to frighten us he was still towering over me. He nudged his head to the side, asking me to give him more room. I nodded and shuffled away, partially hiding behind a tree. Jake was shaking harder now, grunting in pain. Sweat was running down him, his t-shirt already clinging to his body from the sweat. Sam's wolf turned back and ran into the undergrowth again. He returned shortly after in human form, pulling on his jeans.

"Bella, you should leave now." He said softly. I nodded and headed back to the light of the fire. My fear had all but disappeared after seeing Sam. I could hear Jake's grunts getting louder and more animalistic. I felt bad for him, he was just a kid. I sat down next to dad and Billy. Dad turned to me "they're big, aren't they?" I nodded, breathlessly agreeing "fucking huge!" Billy smirk turned into a smile of pride "our boys can handle leeches, you'll be back to normal in no time Bells. Welcome to the tribe."  
"Thanks, I can't tell you what an honour it is to be included." Tears welled in my eyes, my mind was processing so much information; information they had trusted me with. "Bells, you've really helped us out. There was so much missing information. Just know we're here for you." I hugged him and Dad started gathering our things. "We should head home, Bells. We've got a lot of packing to do." He turned to Billy "whose on patrol tonight?"  
"Paul and Embry will patrol around your house and the rest will patrol the Res. Sam will be staying with Jake during the transformation."  
"How long does it take?"  
"A few hours. It definitely helps being able to warn the kids when they start the change, I was unprepared for mine and it was terrifying." I nodded, feeling bad for Jake and Billy.

We drove home in silence and turned in for the night. I slept deeply, it seemed like the wolves chased away the nightmares.

**AN; The next chapter will be up in a couple of days :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN; This chapter gets a little dark, but there's lots of fluff too.**

CHAPTER 4

BPOV

I awoke at 9am, feeling rested and calm. I reveled in the peace before making my way down to the kitchen. I decided to do a large fry up for the wolves who'd kept us safe during the night. A full dozen eggs scrambled, two full packets of bacon and a whole loaf of bread toasted. I dished up a normal plate for dad and me and divided the rest between two serving trays for Paul and Embry. I called to them through the back door. As dad and I sat down to eat two sets of heavy foot falls thudded down the hall towards us. The boys' eyes widened and they smiled gratefully "thank you so much Bells." They dug in, they were starving.

They headed back out after eating and we spent a few hours packing necessities. I decided to make some morning tea for the other boys at the Res. I used our entire supply of flour and milk and had to completely fill the oven with cinnamon buns a few times over. In the end I had two large baskets, we could probably feed the whole reservation. We headed to Sam's house; his wife Emily would be there and the pack were due to report back at 11am. We arrived in time to see six large boys arrive. I barely recognized Jake. He smiled towards us, running his hands through his short hair self-consciously. Charlie greeted him "hey kiddo, how are you holding up?" He shrugged; "I think I'm still in a state of shock" Charlie nodded. I set the baskets of food on the kitchen counter and announced "dig in guys." Emily cut in first and grabbed seven buns before the boys demolished them all. She handed one each to Charlie and I, set three aside for Sam and dug in to hers. "Thanks Bella, now they'll be out of my hair till Lunch, usually I'm nagged until I put food on the table." I smiled, grateful I could help.

I hadn't felt so included before. The Cullens bickered over what I was allowed to be told and made me feel inferior when I tried to give my input. Billy rolled into the house, smiling and rolling his eyes at the boys. He rolled hard into the boys' legs, shouting "there better be one left in there for me, kids" an arm stuck out of the throng holding a bun, handing it to Billy. Emily guided us into their small lounge room and left the boys to fight over the food. Emily pulled out a lap top "Sam mentioned you needed to use the net to email some vamps." She turned it on, opened the browser and handed it over. I smiled at her gratefully and typed in my username and password. I showed Billy and Charlie the emails, Sam wandered in to catch up. I started typing with everyone's help.

_Hi Peter and Charlotte,_

_I'm now in contact with the pack. They have alerted dad and me to a problem with a couple of vampires. There is a female called Victoria, I believe she's hunting me in revenge for a coven mate being killed by the Cullens. She has her other coven mate after us as well, a male named Laurent. We've made a plan to lure her into a place of our choosing. Do you have any advice?_

_I learned that my father has been in contact with a couple of vamps over the years, am I correct in assuming you're the ones who wrote to him? The tribe and my dad are fully caught up on recent events. We've moved onto the Res for the time being._

_I'm slowly healing. I see now that there were many things wrong with my relationship with Edward and the Cullens, thank you for getting the ball rolling, you've opened my eyes to a few things._

_Do you know about my power? Does dad have a similar power?_

_~ Bella_

I signed out and went to settle into the house next door to Sam and Emily's. We'd have to buy a lot of groceries to help feed the pack, but I felt so much better here. I had a purpose.

PPOV

I scanned the email. It had been one week since we'd started emailing Bella.

_Hello Little Bee,_

_My gift is telling me that your plan is a good one and it will be successful. Char and I will help you contain the situation; we'll cut off a northern escape by heading into Canada and leaving a scent trail. This will resolve the situation quicker._

_It was indeed us who contacted your father. How is Charlie? Thank you for updating them with the information, I bet it was a shock to hear your dad's experience with vampires. _ _It's good to hear you're both with the pack. Please continue to show our correspondence to your father and the wolves, and keep us up to date with any changes. I'll be sending a package to your old address; the wolves will need to pick it up. Under no circumstances should you, Bella, leave the Res. Do not underestimate Victoria, she has a gift for getting out of danger. It's possible that instinct will over-ride her gift, this is why we're headed your way. We will not be meeting yet, it's too early. _

_Keep up the healing. I would like it if you could consider the pecking order within your previous coven. Focus on the role each individual plays and how their actions differ to the image they portray._

_Now, concerning the Swan family gifts. Both you and Charlie have extremely powerful latent gifts. I can confirm yours is passive, but it will become active as well when you turn. There is little information at hand, my gift is being very vague at the moment. It pisses me off sometimes. Charlie must prepare for his destiny, he must start training with the Elder, Oona, as soon as tomorrow. In the very near future he will have to step down as Police Chief to fulfill his destiny. It will be safe for the time being for him to continue working, but as soon as I give the word he must remain on the Res and study with Oona. _

_Best of luck to you all. _

_Pete_

Now I had to get to Jasper, it's time for another chat with the Major.

I walked to the library, he'd been there since he hunted last. I grabbed his arm and lead him to the white room. "It's time Jasper." I felt nervousness leak out of him and patted him on the back, there was no time to delay.

JPOV

It had been a week since the Major became my Pen pal. I'd had plenty of time to think, but little had been accomplished. I needed more information. I recalled his letter and thought out a reply.

[Excerpt from chapter one

_Jasper,_

_I will not hurt you, Peter or Char. There may come a time when someone close to you will die by my hand, but by that time you'll understand why and may even take care of it yourself._

_Your family is safe from me, as are you. I hope that having arranged correspondence will let you get to know yourself as well as me. You've been lost for a long time, this is the first step in finding yourself. Everything will get better. _

_Hopefully, our communication will open your eyes to the truth and ease your worry._

_As of now I have been in control for two minutes, thirty-five seconds. Feel free to check the time difference._

_I hope to hear back from you soon._

_Major._

End letter]

_Major,_

_Seeing tangible proof of another being existing within me still rattles me. I knew we fractured, but this situation is so surreal. Peter says that we will reach the point where both of us can exist at the same time and slowly join together. It sounds daunting, I wonder how many years it'll take to get to that point._

_What was your experience of the fracture?_

_What's your first memory? My own memories are fuzzy, I can see snippets of the past, but there are holes in my memory. I'm guessing the blank spots are when you had to take over, I feel like a coward for not coping better. I wish I'd been strong enough to handle our experiences and I'm sorry you had to be the one to suffer through them. Thinking over the last week has opened my eyes a little, you're not a cold blooded monster, from what you showed me you're an individual in their own right. By being here I feel like I'm robbing you of the peace and forcing you to deal with all the bad the world has to offer._

_Are we two halves of a whole? Or are we two entire souls trapped in one body?_

_Are you conscious where you reside in the back of our mind? Personally, my experience is like humans and their sleep, the world fades away and I'm held in stasis._

_I did some reading on Dissociative Identity Disorder, it's rare among humans and I haven't heard of another vampire with the condition. The main commonality was that there would always be an alternate personality that served as a protector. I have to have faith in both of us, trust both of us. I don't understand the carnage I sometimes awoke to, but given we survived, albeit covered in extra bites and healing from more serious injuries, I'm guessing there was a need for some violence. _

_In my reading I encountered descriptions of alternate personality case studies, there were personalities of children, men, women, heroes, villains all existing in one body. It got me thinking, how do I identify myself? How do you identify yourself? I feel like an old war horse, battered and bruised, unable to find a place I truly belong. Peter and Char give me peace, but there's something missing, I wonder if it's you? Having this condition and an empathic gift makes me feel like I don't truly belong anywhere, but this is the closest I've ever been to content._

_This is all so overwhelming._

_J_

I read through the letter, double checking and sighed. It was good enough. I pulled the calm from the other room where Peter and Char meditated, I moved back to the recesses of my mind.

MPOV

I basked in the calm of my siblings' emotions before calling them to me. "Welcome back Major, it's been a busy week. Our mutual friend within the Cullens has reported that Edward has left them on a mission to track the red headed nomad, Victoria. He is grossly unsuccessful and headed in the opposite direction of where our intel tells us she is. Bella has been brought into the tribe in La Push with her father. Her meeting solidified the bond between her and the pack. She advised us that the nomad Victoria is hunting her with Laurent. The wolves have injured Laurent, but Victoria continues to taunt the pack.

Bella and the elders have devised a plan, I don't know all the details, but my gift is telling me it will work. Char and I must travel to assist, we won't be in contact with her, we will just assist in trapping the nomad and her stray. I sent off a care package this morning with untraceable cell phones, money and scent away spray hunters use to hide from animals, it should reduce Bella and Charlie's scents enough to keep them hidden. Charlie should start his training with the Elder, Oona, this morning."  
"So, everything is in place?"  
"Yes. We're right on schedule." I dismissed them with a nod and read over the letter while they returned to the other room to meditate.

I can still feel the lingering feeling of acceptance along with nervousness from Jasper. The residue of our feelings could be a way to communicate, if he can sense my lingering sincerity and calm it could quicken the process.

_Jasper,_

_I'm glad you've returned my letter. We are definitely in a predicament, aren't we? I've noticed I can feel the residual effect of your emotions, perhaps you can feel mine? Our healing will happen sooner than you think, but we must keep working. It is time for us to live, not just survive._

_I remember the fracture clearly, it's my first memory as the person I am today. There are unfamiliar memories from before the fracture, they're fuzzy like our human memories. Did you feel the pain of the split as well? From what I remember we had been turned a month previous, there were several experiences that lead to the split, but the final straw was physical pain. We'd been starved, beaten, scarred, used and manipulated. We lived in hell all the while our gift strengthened, it added to the torture._

_We were in the middle of a particularly nasty battle when the break happened. My first clear memory was the pain of our mind splitting, it over flowed through me and flowed across the battle field incapacitating everyone and everything. Being a newborn I reacted instinctively; biting, ripping, burning anything that moved. When the foreign emotions dwindled with each true death my consciousness returned. I remember shaking with fear and I followed our scent back to camp. My hackles rose upon seeing the handful of newborns guarding the camp, the smell of old blood and rotting humans confirmed it, we were in hell. _

_Maria appeared to me then, she was angry. I had not only slaughtered the enemy army, but her own. I was punished severely for it, then 'rewarded.' I was disgusted with myself, ashamed and felt so helpless, but I made a decision; if I was going to live in hell I'd fucking well survive. Survive, we did. Don't feel guilty, you did what you had to survive. We both share painful memories, but we are strong enough to heal and confront what we couldn't handle previously. _

_I believe we are two halves of a whole, but after what we went through the split was necessary to become stronger. When we combine we will reach a level of skill and experience that few will be able to defeat. We are one soul, broken and damaged, but the scar tissue has formed, we're close. One advantage to our condition is one you pointed out, we get to slip in to unconsciousness, to give our damaged psyche respite. We do not dream, but being able to switch off the Jasper part and the Major part of our mind allows it respite from the troubles we face. In some ways we're both protectors, I protect our physical form while you protect our humanity._

_Well, my old war horse, I'd guess I see myself as the younger, battle hardened warrior. Constantly alert when inhabiting our body; calculating every defense and escape. I feel emotions like you do, but my own are stifled. That's where you come in; you suffer the emotions and feel most of ours, you work through them while they distract and cloud our mind. You're stronger than you think, you identify yourself as an old war horse, but I think you're stuck in a cyclone of emotions and they make a mess of your own, you struggle to survive emotionally, unable to see yourself through the damage. Put aside the pain for the moment and concentrate on the emotions around you. Peter and Char understand us better than you could imagine. They're stable despite the horror they've lived through, if anything it's shown them to appreciate peace when you can get it._

_Before we next converse I want you to consider your ex coven objectively. Ask Peter and Char to show you how to meditate, focus on the peace and think of each of the Cullens. How do their words compare with their actions? How do their emotions fluctuate when they talk? This should help you focus and work through the manipulations._

_M_

I walked out to speak to Peter and Char. "Teach Jasper to meditate before you leave."  
"You gave him homework?" Peter smirked. "Yes, he needs to work out the truth. It's the only way to break through the emotional fog. He's in pain and his insecurities, molded by the Cullens, are stopping him from truly accepting himself." Peter nodded, "I have Bella working through the same exercise. I think when they reach their epiphanies it'll be time to mail the letters between you and Jasper to her." "When do you leave for Canada?"  
"We leave at dusk, the sun sets at six pm and we'll arrive in plenty of time."  
"Before you leave make sure Jasper understands he needs to keep in contact with me while you're gone."  
"Yes, Major. I'll see you again soon." I returned the room and concentrated on my own emotions, amplifying them as much as I could. Hopefully Jasper would feel them when he returned. I slipped back into our mind.

JPOV

My consciousness came back, I glanced at my watch. What felt like the blink of an eye was almost five minutes. I started to read the letter, but paused at the first paragraph. He could feel my lingering emotional signature? I focused my mind away from the emotional signature of Peter and Char and concentrated on the emotions I could feel from my body. My own emotions were calm, but there was a faint undertone. I pushed my senses towards it, there was the taste of something different. It wasn't my emotional signature, but another's. It hinted at sincerity and tranquility, but it tasted different. The Major had been calm, that in itself was odd. My experience of him had been so violent I was stumped by the positive emotions. My own emotions changed, there was a flicker of trust and acceptance added to my general bewilderment.

I paused, concentrating on the Major's emotions, worried they'd fade into obscurity. This was the proof I didn't realize I needed. He definitely wasn't an uncontrollable monster. I thought back to the first letter, there was warmth to his words. He hadn't hurt Peter or Char while released, he had showed me more about himself. The flicker of trust and acceptance grew and relief coursed through me. My mind had caught up with the facts I'd been presented. Peter was right, he wasn't who I thought he was, I was beginning to understand that he was part of me just as I was part of him. The Major's sincerity and calm faded, but I knew he had been here.

I read through more of the letter, pausing as I remembered the pain of the split, the memory was fresh in my mind. I thought back to my memories from before the fracture. They were clear, but there was some static...no, not static...it was an echo. For a moment I was overwhelmed and I screamed with grief, gasping. The rage, the hunger, the pain, the panic. I remembered it, felt it and I sobbed for what I'd lost. I'd lost part of myself and that part had suffered. Both halves of us suffered so fucking much. Char's arms came around me, her whispered words breaking through the grief "you'll be together again, you'll be free. You're safe." Her emotions held love and pride. "Why are you proud?" I choked out, "because my brother is healing. You're confronting the pain and releasing it. You're no longer afraid." She held me and waited as I calmed.

"How do you feel, Jasper?" Char asked with some concern, I tuned into my emotions. Lighter, different. "I don't know" I admitted breathlessly, I was changing and I felt stronger. She led me out of the house and I caught sight of Peter, his was breathing heavily. His emotions were scrambled, and I couldn't make them out. Their overall vibe was positive. Char left us and ran into the woods, I put my arm over Pete's shoulder. He smiled, venom glazing his eyes. Pulling back, he searched my face, lingering on my eyes. Whatever he was looking for he found and smirked. "Well done, Brother." Char returned, pulling a buck towards us by the antlers and leading him to me.

I didn't feel any blood lust, but I was exhausted. I didn't let the hunting instinct take over me, I needed to stay aware for a little longer. I bit down on the buck's neck and savored the bitter taste of its blood. I had never fed so passively before. Char took away the carcass and Peter sat next to me. "We need to teach you to meditate. Do you feel up to it?"  
"Sure." I shrugged. I felt better, my mind was clearer, I felt so relaxed after the outburst of grief. Peter continued "I can't think of a better time to teach you, Jasper, you've purged and cleared your mind."

The bedroom next to the white room was filled with cushions of different sizes. The walls were lined with material of different colours; shades of blue, green and yellow. We sat in a circle. Charlotte started "lay back against the cushions and get comfortable." She spoke slowly, hypnotically.

"Slow your breathing, inhale slowly for five seconds and exhale for five seconds." The air tasted different, scents of magnolia and Daphne swirled around, it reminded me of home. "Keep your breathing slow and start focusing on your body. Start at your toes, relax the muscles. Release the tension in your calves, your thighs, your stomach, your chest, your arms, your fingers then your neck. Feel yourself sinking into the floor. Focus on the physical sensations of your body and the smell of the air as you breathe." Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, she was barely audible as she ceased talking, but I didn't need to strain to hear her. "Relax your hold over your emotions, let them move through you."

I was floating and sinking at the same time, content and calm flowed through me and around the room, Pete and Char's love diffused with the tranquility. Each of my senses basked in the heavenly stimuli around me. The room disappeared and I was surrounded by blues and greens. I had never felt this way before.

Char's voice gently joined the peace, "you're safe, you're calm, you're happy." She whispered the words, her voice grew stronger with each chant, gently pulling me out of my trance. "Start curling your toes, move them back and forward. Move your feet around, feel the movement in your ankles and the muscles contract and release with each movement, tense and relax the muscles in your thighs then tense and relax your stomach muscles. Breathe in for three seconds then exhale for three seconds, move your shoulders in a circular motion, tense and relax the muscles in your bicep then tense and relax the muscles in your forearms. Curl your fingers into a fist and then lay your hand flat, stretching out your fingers. Return your breathing to normal. Look towards the yellow silk, let your mind focus on it. Feel the heaviness in your body release. Let your eyes move around the room, take in the details. When you're ready sit up slowly."

I sat up and looked towards Peter and Charlotte. Their pupils were dilated, their eyelids heavy, their smiles relaxed. Peter giggled "I think we're stoned." Char and I giggled along with him. We stood slowly and walked towards the door, our movements sluggish. We went to the porch and sat, gazing out towards the sunset. Peter broke the silence "we have to leave for a few days, Jasper. Char and I have errands to take care of." I nodded. "You need to continue writing with the Major when we leave." I remembered the letter I needed to finish reading. "You should also spend some time meditating. There's a CD set up in the room, it will guide you. Char recorded our session so you should be able to recreate the atmosphere."  
"How long did we meditate?"  
"Two hours." I was surprised, time felt so different. Both slow and fast. Char stood up "it's time for Pete and me to leave, keep going with your healing. We'll see you soon." I hugged them both and watched their figures disappear into the horizon. When they were out of my line of sight I went back up to the white room. I had a letter to read.

BPOV

Jake had woken us up with a knock on the door. He was carrying a package and grimacing. I looked towards him with curiosity and I gestured for him to come into the living room. "It stinks" he set down the package on the coffee table, glad to have some distance from it. "Thanks Jake. I'm going to start breakfast, you hungry?" His eyes lit up and I started making a huge batch of pancakes. Charlie stumbled into the kitchen once the first pancake was put on the serving tray. He filled the coffee pot and switched it on. He held up a cup sleepily, Jake and I nodded. Charlie grabbed two more mugs out of the cabinet and got the milk and sugar ready for the coffee.

While the coffee was percolating and the pancakes were cooking Charlie moved to the couch and started opening the package Jake had delivered. Jake shuddered, I guess the smell of vampire was stronger now. Charlie pulled out a couple of small white boxes, a plastic spray bottle and a medium sized zip up bag. He found a letter at the bottom and quickly scanned it, his eyes losing their sleepiness and his mouth opening in surprise. He walked over and handed it to me as I lifted a cooked pancake from the pan and added more batter. Charlie poured the coffee as I read it.

_Hello Charlie, _

_I hope these come in handy, there are two untraceable smart phones, both with our numbers programmed into them and any accessories you may need. Keep these with you and Bella at all times and make sure their charged. We will be close by, contact us if there's an emergency._

_The Scent Off spray should come in handy for the final showdown with Victoria. Wear the clothes you have on now until Tuesday morning and do not shower. Charlie, you need to keep wearing your clothes under your uniform when you work. It's going to be unpleasant wearing the same thing for over a week, but it is vital your scent is strong. Have minimal physical interaction with the wolves to limit their scent from you. Next Tuesday night have one of the non-wolf boys lead you both to the site of the battle. Bring a pair of clean clothes and change into them on the spot. Leave your scent saturated clothing there. You can shower and change into clean clothes when you return. On Wednesday morning you'll need to spray yourself, Bella and the wolves with Scent off. _

_This will be your final week at work. My gift tells me Bella has been considering dropping out of school, let her. It will be easier for her to focus with Emily and she'll have time to finish school later. In the black bag you will find money. You and Bella will need it if you wish to feed the wolves and it will give you one less worry. Your focus should be on your new tribe. Good luck with Oona today, you have a lot to learn._

_Give our regards to your furry friends._

_Best of luck,_

_Peter &amp; Charlotte._

Charlie opened the bag with the money in it. Jake let out a low whistle. I put the last of the batter in the pan and started dishing up the pancakes. "There's $30,000 here Bells..." Dad choked out. "Holy shit!" I knew this would cover our living expenses and more. We could use the money to feed the wolves and their families. Their food bills would be astronomical, we can save them so much money. I looked at dad, I could see he was thinking the same thing.

There was a knock at the door, Emily was here to take us to meet Oona.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed the story so far. I've made a lot of changes to each character's back stories, there will be more to come soon.**

**Edit 13/06 I don't own twilight and I'm not Stephanie Meyer. She owns the characters, I just play with them when she isn't looking.**

CHAPTER 5

BPOV

The drive to Oona's house was quiet. I appreciated Emily giving us the silence while we sorted through our thoughts. We arrived at a shack bordering the woods to the north of the Res, neither Charlie or I had been here before. There was a wild looking garden surrounding the house, as we got out we could smell the strong scent of a variety of plants. We were led up a small worn path and Emily knocked and entered. Oona sat near an open fire and smiled at us as we sat on the mismatch of old armchairs around the room. "Oona, this is Charlie Swan and his daughter Bella." Emily introduced us. Oona studied our faces, smiling to herself. She leant down over the arm of her chair and riffled through some papers, before straightening with a sheet of paper and handing it too dad.

His eyes widened as he read and he passed the paper to me. The silence sat heavy in the room, there was the vibration of energy here, some of it emanating from the woman before us. This was a sacred space. I glanced at the page in front of me, it was a collection of names and lines, Oona pointed to her name at the bottom of the page. It was a family tree. On the other side of the page I saw our names;

**Family tree 2 – The bottom of the family tree with Oona and the Swans /6X5rrJT**

I followed the list upwards, not registering any of the names as I looked for a common ancestor. I searched the lines toward the top to where my branch of the tree met Oona's. At the top stood two names, one of them was familiar and sparked my interest.

**Family tree 1 – The common ancestor between Oona and the Swans /oEVOhce**

I shook away the idea, after all Peter's a common name. Topsana and...Peter. I looked at her in question, she nodded. "Welcome cousins." Her voice was so soft. Emily's head spun to us in shock, "you're related?" Oona nodded and Emily smiled widely at us. "You really are a part of the tribe, not just by invitation but by blood as well!"

Oona gave us the history of our family. "Our common ancestor is Topsana, she had a half-brother, Peter. Peter was born from a violent attack from a white master. When he was born he shocked many within the tribe; his skin was so pale, his hair was white. He had similar features to his mother, but the lack of colour to his skin was a heavy reminder of the man who had taken his mother against her will. The tribe accepted Peter as their own, they called him Ghost and were generally afraid of him. We have since suspect he was born with Albinism. Despite his differences to the tribe and their fear of him they taught him the ways of the ancestors. He went far into his studies, but never fully completed them. He was taken while out hunting. His story is an important part of our history.

The spirits who had guided him contacted another in the tribe, his mentor, an elder who had a gift for speaking with the deceased souls. He told the tribe how Peter was taken by a creature with a broken soul. Fate had absorbed Peter into legend. We believe he still walks the world, the spirits guiding him to keep the balance of good and evil. Topsana remained human and flourished within the tribe and was joined with a man, Biyen, from another tribe. They had two children, Jonah who is my ancestor, and Sarah who is yours. Jonah remained with the tribe and he and his decedents married from the tribes who shared allegiance. I have many direct cousins out there, but I am the last of this branch. My mother and father only had me. I had two uncles, but they were taken by the white man in an experiment to assimilate us and destroy our link with the past. I'm sure I have closer related cousins out there somewhere, but I have lost my link to them. They were never taught our history and our skills.

Your direct ancestors married outside of the tribe. While you don't know the histories, your blood remains strong, it has protected you." My shield! No wonder Edward couldn't read my mind and Charlie's thoughts were unclear to him. "I heard you've both been in contact with Vampires. Bella, your blood is singing through your veins, the protection of our ancestors is strong. I believe your close proximity to the cold ones strengthened the blood magic." She turned to dad. " You weren't so close to them were you, Charlie?" Dad shook his head. "I only saw them in passing. Dr Cullen and I had a professional relationship when our roles overlapped." Oona nodded to herself. "It seems that you are very close to the tribe, you may not have grown up here but the wolf spirit recognizes you. Your blood magic is different to Bella's. I have a similar gift, but it isn't as strong as yours. I need to teach you what I know, with the help of our guides we will bring you to your destiny."

Emily and I excused ourselves when Oona finished talking, we would need to return tonight to pick up Charlie. Emily explained that his training would be very draining and he would need to be driven home. I told Emily about the money, we swung by the house to get a few hundred dollar notes and headed to the local supermarket.

We fully stocked the car with groceries and had to share them amongst our houses. We spent the day together and began cooking. By 11am the wolves were sitting in the kitchen watching us kneed bread and cook pasta sauce, we put them to work washing dishes and cooking pasta. I had to keep a close eye on them so they wouldn't eat the sauce before it was served. A couple of broken wooden spoons later we chased them into the lounge room. We dished up the food soon after and called them back in.

After eating, the pack cleared the table and washed the dishes, Emily and I sat in the lounge room and talked for a bit, planning upcoming meals. My phone vibrated in my pocket, dad messaged me. '_Hi Bells, can you bring a copy of those emails from Peter?' _Typed out a quick reply. '_No problem dad, Emily and I will also bring some dinner for you an Oona. See you tonight :)'_

The wolves returned to patrol and Emily and I visited the other Elders, we made simple sandwiches to eat with them. Old Quil sat with Billy and Harry Clearwater. I told them about the money and our plans to feed the community, Harry volunteered his wife, Sue, and daughter, Leah. They updated us on the progress of the pack. None had caught the scent of the nomads in a few days and they were worried. I told them about Peter's advice, Harry spoke up "if he says the battle will happen next Wednesday we have time to prepare. We need to step up the training."

All too soon it was time to leave and start dinner, the Elders would spread the word to the families and wolves to meet at the community hall for dinner. Sue and Leah met us at the house and we started cooking. The kitchen quickly filled with heat from the oven and stove. I set aside two serves of lasagna and bread for Charlie and Oona and we made our way to the hall. Some of the wealthier families brought large bowls of salad and vegetable dishes. The table groaned under the weight of the food. When the wolves arrived everyone joined them in lining up. There was barely enough food, even with the extra dishes, but a few people brought up containers with cakes and fruit pies and soon everyone was sated.

Emily and I left early, people were taking the time to bond over their sons and their wolf spirits. The windshield of Emily's car fogged up as the temperature dropped. We arrived at Oona's at 7pm and walked straight in. Charlie looked haggard, but he smiled when he saw us. I set the table as Emily helped Oona to the dining room. Charlie slumped in his chair, tearing into the food in front of him. Oona quickly finished her own meal and cleared her throat while the rest of us finished eating. "Charlie showed me the emails from Peter, he suspected he could be our distant uncle. I concur, the spirits make me feel that he and his mate are our allies and protectors. His communication with you would make sense if he was blood kin."  
"What should we do?"  
"Peter hinted in his emails that you would meet him soon, but not till after the conflict with the nomads. In the meantime you should pass on a message, I need to meet him. I'll discuss it with the Elders and see if I can meet on our land." Emily cut in "what about the wolves? The young ones can't fight their instincts as well as they need to."  
"The cubs will learn to control their instincts, I make a tea for them that joins the boys to their wolves in a stronger way. During the first phase of a new wolf they run on pure instinct, they're dangerous and out of control. With my tea the boys remain conscious of themselves and work with their primal instincts. Each of our boys has the tea and they are training their instincts between patrols. You will learn my remedies soon, Emily dear, for now the boys need you as their den mother."

Within the hour we left, Charlie fell asleep in the back seat and it was hard to wake him and get him inside to bed. He called in sick for work and rested for the morning.

Charlie POV

I hurt all over, yesterday had been intense. When Oona had started teaching me how to make different types of tea I figured the day would be easy going. I looked through my notes and the pictures I'd taken on my camera phone. I had a fair bit to study; the different plants and their functions, the tea recipes and their use.

The afternoon and evening had been exhausting. After a tea to calm the mind we sat for hours in front of the fire. Every now and then Oona would throw something into the flames, the heavy smell of burning herbs cloying in my nose. I had to learn to locate the spirit of the crow, that hadn't been too difficult, it was a matter of communicating with the damn thing. The voice was so soft and I strained to hear it. As soon as I grew frustrated the spirit left. Even with several rest breaks my patience wore thin.

I lounged on the couch catching up with the game I'd missed last night. By the afternoon I was restless enough to return to work, Paul joined me and I gave him the usual induction for volunteers. Thankfully it was a quiet day and I was able to catch up on paperwork. I needed to find a replacement Chief fast. I searched through the files on each of the deputies, one candidate was a clear option. I called him into the office "Mark, have you ever considered becoming Chief?" He paled slightly. "I'm pretty happy where I am now, Chief."  
"I've read through your file, you're a hard worker. Would you consider applying?"  
"Sure, but where is the position?"  
"Here, I'm thinking of early retirement. I can catch you up in no time."  
"Yes, Chief."  
"Another thing before you go Mark, I have a volunteer who just started. His name's Paul, I'd like if you kept him on."  
"Sure." Mark left, hopefully he'd replace me. With Paul employed here Forks would have a link to the tribe and be easily protected. With any luck having Paul here would prevent Mark from needing to learn about the Supernatural world.

BPOV

Emily was visiting Oona today. Sue and Leah joined me in the kitchen, we bonded over cooking. Leah was looking a little ill today, she'd woken up with a fever and aching muscles so we left her to do the easier tasks.

The days had begun the blend together and we settled into an easy routine, Charlie would work half the day and head to Oona's for the afternoon to study. Emily would take dinner to them then bring Charlie home at 8pm. I would wake early and Sue and I would buy groceries then prepare lunch. Afternoons were spent reading or talking then we'd start cooking dinner at four. We coordinated with the other wives, daughters and mothers in the community for extra dishes and desert. Everyone pitched in. I joined Sue for dinner, eating at the Elder table in the hall while the cacophony of voices echoed around the room. Billy and Harry would update me on the pack and would chat about random subjects. The nomads had returned, the pack suspected they had gone hunting in Seattle, we were silent as we contemplated the lives lost to vampire sustenance.

Every night I'd return home and read for a few hours, it had become an escape for me. The words from Peter's last email remained at the back of my mind _"consider the pecking order within your previous coven. Focus on the role each individual plays and how their actions differ to the image they portray."_ The images of each Cullen popped into my mind, each face bringing with it a stab of pain. "No time like the present" I murmured to myself.

Carlisle; father, leader. He was so compassionate, he cared so much. He loved his wife and 'children' and had called me his 'newest daughter' ...but, he left me. The pain in my chest flared and I felt my eyes sting with tears. It felt so long since I'd felt the hurt, the Res had distracted me from their abandonment. That lead me to think of Edward.

I tried looking past Edward's looks to his personality. After my initial epiphany that he'd repressed my inclination towards 'vulgar language' I'd realize I had been dazzled, his looks and scent had distracted me from speaking my mind. The anger of that thought lingered, I thought through the emotion, what was it that bugged me so much? He was secretive; over protective to the point of insult. I was beginning to realize how much of myself I hid because I was afraid to be judged by him.

Alice, the best friend I'd never had just disappeared on me. So many times I'd been coerced into doing what she'd want to do, never what I'd want to do. I thought that meant something, it felt like a huge slap in the face when she left without saying anything. I felt irritated, but no betrayal. I realized then that I didn't like Alice, I'd tried to because her visions said I'd be her best friend, but she took and never gave anything. Hell, I even went to prom! I'd just been attacked by a fucking vampire and she shoved me in a dress and sent me off to a dance I had no interest in. She didn't do it for me, she did it for herself and Edward. Just like the birthday party from hell. I didn't want it, I only did it for them and then they left because I had become inconvenient. I wasn't entertaining enough. I felt so used.

Emmett, well at least he didn't treat me like an idiot or overtly manipulate me. He just wanted me to be his little sister. I remembered his eyes, there was warmth to them. He hugged me like a person, not a possession. I felt betrayed by his leaving, but I got the feeling it wasn't his choice. Maybe Rosalie forced him? She was never a fan of me. It didn't bother me that she was gone, I just missed Emmett. Maybe when I'm a vampire I'll see her again, I'd love to slap her and tell her to get over herself. Bitch.

Then there was Esme, the dutiful housewife and mother. I felt pity for her, thinking of her left a bad taste in my mouth. She seemed to helpless, trapped in a roll. She had a Stepford Wife vibe. Maybe it's because of the time period she grew up in, maybe she never recovered from losing her son and put all her energy in being an idea mother. The pressure she felt must have been crushing. I could tell she loved Carlisle and he loved her, but there was something sinister holding them back. The way her and Carlisle acted with Edward and Alice seemed wrong, maybe it was because of their gifts? I shook my head, no, it wasn't just their gifts. Edward and Alice acted like spoilt children; Alice demanded control and freedom to do what she wanted and Edward demanded control over others. Their gifts were misused, Edward judged everyone and picked holes in the people around him for weakness.

Carlisle was supposed to be leader, but he deferred to Edward and Alice. Esme went along with everything, but it's not surprising given her human husband's abuse and the need to pacify her 'children' no matter what.

Then there was Jasper. The guilt still stung, I'd cut myself on gift wrap and pushed him over the edge. It was hard not to sympathize with him, we were both weak links; he was seen as weak because of his bloodlust and I was weak because of my humanity. I knew nothing about him, his past had been deemed too distasteful for fragile little me to hear. He was kept away from me because he was viewed as the household savage. He was little more than a pet...just like me. God knows how he put up with Alice. I wondered who he was underneath it all. I could picture him with a dry wit, quiet and mysterious. The thought brought a smile to my lips. I wonder where he's from.

I tried to go back to reading, but couldn't seem to focus. I yawned and read the time; 11pm. I slipped under the covers. Dreams of Jasper played through my mind.

**AN: The next chapter will be chock full of Jaspery goodness. I'll update around the same time tomorrow**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry for the delay, MS Word made me it's bitch today. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, sorry I haven't gotten back to you.**

CHAPTER 6

[Excerpt from Chapter 4

_Jasper,_

_I'm glad you've returned my letter. We are definitely in a predicament, aren't we? I've noticed I can feel the residual effect of your emotions, perhaps you can feel mine? Our healing will happen sooner than you think, but we must keep working it is time for us to live, not just survive._

_I remember the fracture clearly; it's my first memory as the person I am today. There are unfamiliar memories from before the fracture, they're fuzzy like our human memories. Did you feel the pain of the split as well? From what I remember we had been turned a month previous, there were several experiences that lead to the split, but the final straw was physical pain. We'd been starved, beaten, scarred, used and manipulated. We lived in hell all the while our gift strengthened, it added to the torture._

_It was a particularly nasty battle when the break happened. My first clear memory as myself was the pain of our mind splitting, it over flowed through me and flowed across the battle field incapacitating everyone and everything. Being a newborn I reacted instinctively; biting, ripping, burning anything that moved. When the foreign emotions dwindled with each true death my consciousness returned. I remember shaking with fear and I followed our scent back to camp. My hackles rose upon seeing the handful of newborns guarding the camp, the smell of old blood and rotting humans confirmed it, we were in hell._

_Maria appeared to me then, she was angry I had not only slaughtered the enemy army, but her own. I was punished severely for it, then rewarded. I was disgusted with myself, ashamed and felt so helpless, but I made a decision; if I was going to live in hell I'd fucking well survive. Survive, we did. Don't feel guilty, you did what you had to survive. We both share painful memories, but we are strong enough to heal and confront what we couldn't handle previously. _

_I believe we are two halves of a whole, but after what we went through the split was necessary to become stronger. When we combine we will reach a level of skill and experience that few will be able to destroy. We are one soul, broken and damaged, but the scar tissue has formed, we're close. One advantage to our condition is one you pointed out, we get to slip in to unconsciousness, to give our damaged psyche respite. We do not dream, but being able to switch off the Jasper part and the Major part of our mind allows it respite from the troubles we face. In some ways we're both protectors, I protect our physical form while you protect our humanity._

_Well, my old war horse, I'd guess I see myself as the younger, battle hardened warrior. Constantly alert when inhabiting our body, calculating every defense and escape. I feel emotions like you do, but my own are stifled. That's where you come in; you suffer the emotions and feel most of ours, you work through them while they distract and cloud our mind. You're stronger than you think, you identify yourself as an old war horse, but I think you're stuck in a cyclone of emotions and they make a mess of your own, you struggle to survive emotionally, unable to see yourself through the damage. Put aside the pain for the moment and concentrate on the emotions around you. Peter and Char understand us better than you could imagine. They're stable despite the horror they've lived through, if anything its shown them to appreciate peace where you can get it._

_Before we next converse I want you to consider your ex coven objectively. Ask Peter and Char to show you how to meditate, focus on the peace and think of each of the Cullens. How do their words compare with their actions? How do their emotions fluctuate when they talk? This should help you focus and work through the manipulations._

_M_

Letter end]

JPOV

Pete and Char had left on their errand the night before. I'd been procrastinating a little, hesitant to follow the Major's recommendations and think about my place in the Cullen coven, but I knew I had to. My thoughts were calm as I sat in the white room and contemplated the Major's words. I could feel my evolution in progress. My mind was clear and I could feel the lingering contentment from the meditation earlier in the day. I thought through the experiences I had with the Cullens, there was less pain than I had imagined there would be. I chanted the Major's words "_we're stronger than we think."_ I pushed aside the flickers of hopelessness, oppression and self-disgust and focused on the coven.

For a long time I felt so lucky and thankful they took me in, I knew it was all down to Alice, I had thought she was my mate...at least that's what she told me. Her emotions were always so light, I had clung to them in desperation, scared to face my own emotions. Feeding from animals had been so hard, but the relief at not feeling human emotions made it worthwhile. My successes were her successes and my failures were all my own. It had been so long since I'd thought for myself, felt my own feelings and trusted myself. Even now I wear the clothes she got me, I hadn't changed. This was pathetic. I glanced at the clock, it was early enough for the shops to be open. I had to help myself, trust myself and choose what I want. The first step was getting some comfortable fucking clothes.

The Mall would be open for another two hours, I was excited and apprehensive. I hated shopping and I would be stuck around humans unchaperoned, but the thought of choosing my own clothes left me eager to try. "W_e're stronger than we think."_ The Major's words kept at me. I held onto the calm left over from meditation as I forced myself to face my worries. I drove to the mall, readying myself for the onslaught of foreign emotions and scent of hundreds of humans. I found a parking space easily and warily stepped into the Mall. I stopped in front of a store map and locked my joints. To an observer I looked like someone trying to decide where to go, but I was testing myself. I took in a small breath, several heart beats thumped around me. The back of my throat tickled, but it wasn't unmanageable. I inhaled normally, my throat flared slightly, but I was still in control. I'd definitely felt worse bloodlust over the years.

I relaxed my pose and walked to the first men's ware place I found. The jeans were torn and stained in a 'fashionable' way. Fuck that. The t-shirts weren't much better, graffiti art screamed at me. Nope, definitely not enough of a douche to carry this look off. I shuddered and moved to the next store. I found a nice deep green leather motorcycle jacket, but the rest of the clothes weren't much better than the last place.

I went from place to place and my only purchase remained the green leather jacket. I spotted a larger store, the clothes looked more subdued. I walked through aisles of jeans, t-shirts, business shirts, jumpers, blazes and shoes. Some of the clothes mimicked the smaller, more expensive stores, but there were enough plain looking clothes to hold my attention. I grabbed a few different styles of jeans in my size and went to try them on.

Skinny jeans were awful and I wondered how many men compromised their virility by wearing them. A definite no. Baggy jeans were inconvenient and slid halfway down my arse as soon as I stepped out to the corridor "dude, those pants are the shizz!" The voice of a teenage sales clerk assaulted my ear drums. I murmured my thanks to the clerk and sped back to the cubical to get out of the infernal things. I may not know who I am, but I am definitely not a dude or a shizz. I would not be taking the advice of the cretinous fetus assisting in the men's change rooms. I tried the boot cut jeans, they seemed okay.

I dumped the 'shizz' pants and the castration friendly pants on the way out of the changing rooms. I picked up a few more pairs of boot cut jeans and headed to the t-shirts. This was much easier. Solid colors, no irritating prints, long and short sleeves. I picked up a solid black long sleeve t-shirt. It would fit and it was stretchy enough to move without breaking. I grabbed a few longer sleeve shirts in dark colors. I already had a jacket, but I brought a black woolen one and a few turtlenecks. My arms were full of clothes I'd chosen. I felt proud of myself, it wasn't as irritating as shopping with my ex. I hunted down a trolley and dumped my new clothes in and heading towards the shoes. Nothing really took my eye, so I settled on a couple of pairs of motorcycle boots. They we plain and made from leather, that's all I cared about.

I decided to wander around a little; my bloodlust was under control and I wasn't irritated by shopping for once. I may as well make the most of it. I turned down the aisle at the end of the menswear section. Underwear. Okay then, let's see what options there are. I didn't like the look of the bikini briefs, boxers were made of satin and I hated the feeling of it, I sure as shit didn't wear G-strings. There were too many options. I wished they had long johns like I used to wear. Coming to the end of the aisle I spotted boxer briefs, they looked like a short version of long johns and were made from cotton. Good enough for me.

I paused in front of the entertainment aisle, shrugged and had a quick look around the CDs. Hank William the III? Well, I like the first and second Hank Williams, may as well give this one a go. Deciding I'd had enough shopping for the day I paid and headed back to the car feeling pleased with myself. In total I spent $550, it felt good.

Arriving home I put the clothes away and headed to the shower, I'd incinerate my current outfit later. The shower was good and I was thankful to get rid of the scents that clung to me at the mall. I searched through the clothes picking out a set that felt right; dark jeans, black t-shirt, green jacket and motorcycle boots. My reflection was appealing enough and I felt a little giddy at my new wardrobe.

With the clothing crisis averted I returned to the white room and kept thinking through the Cullens. My mind picked up a few extra details that I hadn't notice during my habitation with them. Esme felt so unworthy, Carlisle was uncomfortable being a coven leader; no wonder he deferred to Alice and Edward. Emmett's good people, he was worthwhile staying in contact with if I got the chance, so was Rose for that matter, although her dark emotions brought out the worst in her. She was like me; refined by pain, recovering from a past that broke her, but she cared. She honestly cared for people and listened, she may look as cuddly as barbwire, but she's worth the trust. I missed her.

Eddy could go fuck himself. Even thinking his name brought up resentment; smug little shit. I wondered why Alice didn't cause resentment, is it because she saved me? I shrugged. Edward was a pain to be around, like a small child who tried to catch you doing something wrong so he could squeal. I don't know how Bella put up with him. My stomach churned with guilt, Bella was a nice person. That seemed like such an understatement; she was kind, compassionate, opinionated and self-sacrificing. Admittedly that self-sacrificing shit had to stop, she was walked over by Alice and Edward. I would have liked the chance to get to know her, but I was a danger. Her 18th birthday proved that. I wondered what she was doing.

I shrugged and started writing a letter to the Major.

_Hello Major, _

_Can you feel the change you've brought me? I could feel your emotional signature when I returned to the land of the living. Your first memory triggered the thoughts of the fracture, a few of our personal demons were released at that point. The past is getting clearer, the emotions aren't clouding as much. You were right when you said I held the burden of our gift. It held me back, clogging me from dealing with the emotional overload. Thinking about it now I've realizes that I haven't had the chance to really let go and be myself. Between the torture Maria inflicted on us, the depression we slipped into when Pete and Char rescued us, dealing with the emotions of our human prey and the repression and oppression of the Cullens we didn't stand a chance of healing._

_Looking back at our 'salvation' I can't believe what I went through for them and for Alice. The hurt has lessened, I miss a couple of the Cullens but I feel the tingle of strength and power around me, like I've become unshackled and can move and breathe freely._

_I'll admit I went shopping today. Hundreds of humans surrounded me and I remained in control, my throat didn't scorch as much and their emotions weren't as stifling. It wasn't that bad to be honest. _

An idea struck me. If I hunted now and returned at dawn I could finish the letter and give the Major a day to himself. I truly trusted him now, he agreed with our diet and seemed in control enough not to slaughter all human life for miles around. I looked into the wardrobe, I had a few sets of clothes I'd taken when I left the Cullens. I couldn't bring myself to wear them again, even for hunting. No going back, I removed my jacket and left the rest of my clothes on. Maybe the Major would pick up clothes to his liking at the mall. I was excited to hear how he would spend the day.

I walked slowly into the forest around the property, letting my senses guide me to suitable prey. The smell of deer crossed my path and I followed it to the small stream that runs through our land. The calm had stayed with me, I held onto it and kept my instincts at bay. The doe's head jerked up as the breeze sent my scent towards her. She went to move, but I was quicker, snapping her neck and drinking every drop of blood she held. I tore through her skin and let her scent permeate the area, bringing scavengers closer. The stream was convenient and I ran my hands through the water, staining it with remnants of my meal. This had been a fairly neat hunt, I kept my wits about me as I fed.

I returned to the house and showered, my new clothes hadn't been damaged so I just left them in the laundry basket. I changed into a turtle neck and jeans and checked the internet. The weather this morning would be overcast, but there'd be no rain. Good weather for a vampire. I finished the letter.

_Major, I want you to have a day to yourself. Explore the area, interact with humans, listen to music, read, anything you want to do. It's going to be a cloudy day, I have left my credit card. Have fun and if you want to try something very interesting the bedroom next to us is set up for meditation, Charlotte recorded instructions. It was quite an experience. No need to hunt unless you want to. Man, it feels like I'm loaning you a car, this body is as much yours as it is mine. You should be free to use it when you want until we're healed._

_I hope you like the wardrobe change, feel free to augment it with your own preferences._

_Enjoy._

Slipping back was much easier this time, but I felt a nudge before my consciousness receded.

MPOV

I kept my eyes closed and tasted the lingering emotions. It was a startling change, his emotional signature had change slightly, he was lighter. He'd had his breakthrough. I opened my eyes and was pleasantly surprised by our clothes, it was a definite improvement. The clothes really suited him. His wallet sat on top of the latest letter, I moved it to the side and read the letter in surprise. He wanted me to have fun? I was touched, the breakthrough had cleared the way for him to trust me. I felt around the house with my gift for Peter and Char, as expected I was alone.

A smile crept up on my lips, I'd never been truly alone before. Usually Pete or Char were nearby or I was surrounded by enemies wanting to destroy me. It was a weird feeling, slightly unsettling. I went to the window and searched through the view getting the lay of the land. I wandered around the house, exploring each room. The laundry basket in our bedroom contained recently worn clothes, I sniffed, he'd hunted in them recently.

Giving up on staying in the house, I took Jasper's advice and went to the garage. I had never driven before. I manually pushed the car out of the garage on to the driveway and rotated it so it faced the entrance of the property. 'Hopefully I won't damage it too much.' I thought as I entered the vehicle. The keys were stuck in a lock on the control center. I leaned forward and turned the key one way, the car came to life but the pedals at my feet didn't work. I pressed different buttons, but it turned on the wireless and spat hot air in my direction. It was an uncomfortable experience. I pushed the buttons again and the car stopped acting weird. I tried moving a lever behind the big circle in front of me, the car spat water at the front window, that was hardly safe, human vision was poor. Part of the lever twisted and rubber sticks glided over the front window, clearing it of the water.

Sighing, I gave up and twisted the key in the other direction to turn it off. Maybe a good walk would be better? The key clicked further from the starting point and I could feel the vibrations from the front of the car. I tested the first pedal, pressing down on it lightly, the car growled loudly. "SHIT!" I pressed the pedal next to it and the car shuddered and stopped rolling forward.

I pressed my foot lightly on the go pedal, the car rolled forward slightly but didn't growl at me quite so loudly. The car fell quiet and stopped when I pressed the stop pedal. I moved the other lever behind the large circle in front of me, a clicking noise joined the blinking light on the control panel, it was an arrow pointing left. I moved the lever in the other direction and the clicking started again, but a different arrow blinked at me, it faced the other direction to its comrade. I nodded to myself, I'd worked out how to move left and right.

I eased up on the stop pedal and moved slowly forward, there was a natural curve in the drive way. I moved the lever to the corresponding direction. The light blinked at me ineffectually and the car kept going straight. I pressed the stop pedal again, frustrated. There was a small door in front of the seat next to me, I looked through it. Hopefully there would be an instruction manual. How hard could controlling this machine be if human children could master it? As luck would have it there was a book. I glanced through it, taking in the diagram of the control panel and the various buttons.

"Steering wheel" I poked the center of the circle in front of me and a noise erupted from it. Fucking thing. I held on to the plastic circle running around the center noise maker. It turned easily in my hand and I felt the crunch of gravel beneath me as the wheels moved left. "Huh, it's like a rudder."

There was a strange lever next to my seat, it poked out of a groove and along the groove were letters. The lever was set on N. A diagram on another page explained its use. I tried moving the lever, but it was stuck. The diagram pointed to a button on the side of the lever, I pressed it and move it to D.

Turning back to the original diagram I looked at the levers behind the 'steering wheel,' the click and blink were known as 'indicators,' I guess that made sense, cars were everywhere now days. Humans were pretty smart after all, a simple solution to a problem. I liked it. I looked at the offensive button that shot water at the front window "windshield washer" ...I suppose the glass would get dirty. This machine made a strange bit of sense. The button further down that breathed hot air in my face was called a 'heater' its neighbor was called an 'air con' I pressed that button and felt cool air hit my face. There seemed to be a method to this madness, humans weren't as resilient as my kind.

Feeling confident I moved the car forward, lightly tapping the go pedal until we reached the road. There weren't any other vehicles approaching so I maneuvered on to the road and started driving a little faster. A couple of cars were approaching me fast, I pushed slightly harder on the go pedal, or accelerator as humans called it, and held it until my speed matched theirs. A sign on the road was labeled 60, I looked at the controls, it seemed I was travelling at 65, I slowed slightly. Signs pointed me to the direction of the mall, I moved the lever and indicated my movements and gently turned the vehicle into the correct part of the road.

I followed the signs at a slower pace and entered a concrete building for cars. There was a space up ahead so I steered the car into it and hit the stop pedal. I moved the lever beside me to P and turned the key to the middle position. The car turned off. The key slipped easily out of its lock behind the steering wheel and I got out of the machine. The key chain had a picture of a lock and one that looked a little like a speaker icon. I pressed the lock button and tried to open the door. Excellent, the car couldn't be penetrated by thieves. I pressed the speaker button and the car beeped at me. When I tried to open the door again a klaxon sounded, I pressed the speaker button again to silence it. I didn't want to draw unnecessary attention. The klaxon stopped, I pressed the button again and the car beeped in response. It was a simple defense mechanism.

I headed through the huge garage towards the main building. The fluorescent lighting merged with garish signs and the white noise of several hundred beating hearts and conversation. This place felt more natural to me. I looked at a map and took note of the exits then started my expedition to find suitable clothing. A bare glance into the stores was enough to dissuade me from entering. The apparel was not appealing to me in the slightest. I headed towards the end of a corridor where a large store stood. I entered smelling our scent from a previous visit. I followed it to shelves stacked with clothes. I compared the jeans I wore against the styles in front of me, I was happy with the cut of them and decided to buy a couple more pairs in black. I held a black pair in front of me, judging the size and style with the ones I wore. Boot cut. That made sense.

I made my way to the shirt section and picked out a couple of thin cotton long sleeved shirts; red, navy blue and black. Upon a search in other aisles I came across soft cotton pants. They would be ideal for hunting so I grabbed five pairs, no point in ruining jeans. A basket lay abandoned at the end of an aisle, I grabbed it and folded my new clothes into it. I looked through each of the isles, but nothing held my interest. I paused by the underwear, the boxers and briefs looked horrid, I remembered feeling the irritation of both types of underwear on hunting trips with Alice, she chose the damn things. I quickly and stealthily pulled the front of my jeans open, these were much more pleasant. I brought a few extra 'boxer briefs' and made my way to the registers.

I couldn't pick up a trail of our scent to follow so I ventured off on my own. In a smaller corridor was a group of shops, the scent of leather lead me to one of the stores. There were all varieties of leather goods. I worked my way through the store picking up three new pairs of cowboy boots and a black Stetson. Along one wall were several types of jackets. I picked out a black leather trench coat, soft calf hide. It was too tempting not to purchase. I brought the items to the shop keeper and paid with the credit card before returning to the stream of humans meandering the corridors.

A foul stench increased as I headed to a new section. The sound of conversation increased and I could hear the sound of human's feeding. I purchased a bottle of water from one vendor and sat amongst the maze of tables, watching and listening to random people and their conversations. Soon the populace of the mall thinned and I returned home. Driving had gotten easier thanks to my perfect memory. The sun dipped below the horizon as I maneuvered the car into the garage and left it turned off with the keys in the lock just as I'd found it. It had been an enjoyable day.

After packing away the new clothing I headed to the meditation room. A faint scent of magnolia lingered and reduced the restlessness of my solitude. I turned on the stereo and let Charlotte's voice guide me. I lay in peace enjoying the feel of my body sinking into the cushions. I could feel a difference in my mind, Jasper? Could I feel him? I sent my gift toward him, his emotional slate was empty, but I could feel him in stasis. This was new, this was good. We were so close to joining.

I returned back to the white room after Charlotte's voice guided me back from meditation. I felt like I'd slept, I was refreshed. Quickly reading through Jasper's letter I started my reply to him.

_Jasper,_

_I had a very enjoyable day. Lots of new experiences. I taught myself to drive, but while it is a convenience, I'll stick to travelling on foot when I can. I took up your suggestions and went shopping, your new wardrobe is infinitely more pleasant than the clothes our ex forced us into, I added a few extra pieces to our collection._

_The meditation room was as interesting as you mentioned, while in the trance I could feel your presence. Your emotions were blank, but there was an almost physical space nudging the back of my mind. I believe the gap between our personalities is closing._

_Your emotional signature has changed too, you're no longer swamped in pain and sadness. Perhaps during your meditation you could try to locate me? _

_Major_

I closed my eyes, but I couldn't find the buzzing feeling that would let me slip away into unconsciousness. Fuck, what do I do? Instead of trying to recede back I mentally prodded the black lump that housed Jasper, I felt something weird. Panic started to grow inside me, but I stomped it down, there was no time for that shit. I tried pulling the lump forward, it wouldn't budge. Shit! I need Jasper. A buzz went through my leg, I yelped in surprise before realizing it was our phone. At least Pete had taught me this bit of technology.

"Major, get to the meditation room. You'll be able to bring him forward to consciousness."  
"Explain Lieutenant"  
"When you reach the trance you'll be able to feel his presence. The place that hides you from each other thins out. You'll be able to break him free. It'll sting a bit, just to warn you."  
"What about the black space? How will I go back?"  
"You won't. It's time for you and Jasper to formally meet. It'll be ok, Major."  
"It better be, if anything happens to either of us your head is mine."  
"It'll be okay, Brother. We don't want to lose either of you, my gift is telling me it's time."  
"Fine." I hung up and put the infernal device on the desk. We can do this, we can do this, I chanted to myself as I went to the meditation room.

I paced trying to calm myself, forcing myself to meditate wouldn't work. Meditation was a passive exercise, I needed to let it happen. I lay back on the cushions with the remote for the stereo in my hand. My body started to relax so I cleared my mind and pressed play.

It took longer to reach the trance, but I was lucid enough to keep control. The trance held so I got to work. He was here, the black spot was thin, like a plastic bag holding him in place. My mental grip held him as I started pulling him. A tear appeared in the black lining and a sharp pain stabbed through me, my teeth gritted as I strained to move him. I felt him shake, he was hurting too. 'Come on Jasper, push through the pain, I know it hurts. We can do this.' I felt his determination come through, it strengthened my resolve. Pulling harder, I felt the tear widen. A painful snap ricocheted through us as I felt him beside me. I panted in relief.

A jolt of shock went through me "Major?"

JPOV

I felt something. I was aware, but trapped. Darkness. I waited, my senses open and straining to hear, see, feel, anything. After a while I felt a pull, it started to hurt. The pain increased and I felt a rip in the thing holding me. The pain increased, as did the pull. Panic overwhelmed me and I started to shake. A whisper of a voice called me, I pushed myself forward. Another rip, more pain. This was my escape, I pushed as hard as I could and felt myself spring forward. It was agony. I felt myself in the body, I twitched my fingers and realized I wasn't alone in here. "Major?"


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: An early update because I owned Word with my powers of awesomeness. BOW DOWN BEFORE ME, MS OFFICE! I'm really happy you guys enjoyed Chapter 6. To answer a question from ****redboneslady; I'm actually Australian, turns out the dear Major was more accurate in referring to the blinking arrow things as click and blinkers, we call them indicators here :) Aussies also tend to shorten words rather than use initialisms like a/c, we call it air con. Interestingly, while I've heard Americans refer to McDonalds as MickyDs we call it Maccas. There are probably a few Australianisms thrown in here and there. When I was writing I Did It My Way I made the mistake of calling Bella's truck a 'ute' we call large vans 'trucks' and trucks like Bella's 'Utes' [short for utility vehicle.] We're an odd people.**

**Also, I completely forgot to add disclaimers to each chapter, I'll rectify that now.**

**I'm not Stephanie Meyer…blah blah blah…twilight not mine… characters changed etc.**

**Enjoy **

CHAPTER 7

PPOV

It was the day of the attack and we were in position. The sun was high in the sky, but we stayed hidden in the trees. We'd spent the last few days leaving scent trails on the northern bank of the Dickey River before crossing it and finding a place to wait on the south bank.

The red headed bitch was near. I grabbed Char and jumped to the ground. We moved to intercept. "South west" I grunted. I could see the flash of red getting closer, she spotted us and stopped. I could see her weighing her chances against us so I took off my shirt to show her my scars. The sound of thudding of paws in the distance caused her to freeze in shock, there was nowhere to run. A line of wolves closed in, creating a circle around her and going in for the kill. We watched and waited, still as statues. From our years at war the sound of our kind being ripped apart didn't cause us to flinch. My gift told me to keep still, this was going to be an interesting meeting.

As the first wisps of purple smoke rose from the shreds of Victoria's remains the tallest wolf ran into the forest. I could feel a change in the atmosphere, waves of power radiated from the spot the wolf had run to. I large humanoid ran towards us, the other wolves watched the burning remains, unconcerned with the actions of the man running towards us. We held our pose, we may have looked at ease, but our muscles were coiled to attack as soon as we perceived any threat.

"I am Sam Uley of the Quileute nation, Alpha of the pack." He introduced himself. "Peter Whitlock, but I was born Peter Crow." I knew they'd recognize the name, Oona had passed on the histories of our tribe. "You have tribal blood?" Sam asked, I nodded and explained "the man who forced my mother to conceive was white."  
"You from the southern states?" He already knew the answer, I nodded. He shocked me by smiling. He was smiled at me...ME! "I heard your story, Peter. One of your descents resides with us." Char let out a breath in relief, the kid seemed comfortable around us. "Oona's my great + grandniece. I haven't met her, but my gift told me she had learnt her craft from our ancestors. Is she well? Has Charlie started training?"  
"Yes, he started when you recommended it. Thank you by the way. Oona's getting on in years but strong as an ox"  
"Charlie will be very powerful" I said. Sam didn't look surprised. "You can feel it too, Sam?"  
"Yes, the wolves have been able to sense his power, as have our Elders."  
"You have a strong connection with your wolf spirit." I observed. Sam nodded "it's what lets us transform and gives us strength to take on Cold Ones. I can see you also have a strong connection, Peter, but your imprint doesn't."  
"My people were spirit walkers, we didn't transform but our ancestors are bonded with a select few from the tribe, much like the wolf spirit bonds with certain members of your tribe. I was halfway through training when I was turned." I could see Sam thinking hard. "Do you hate your sire for giving you this life?"  
"No, I love him. I accepted my fate during the burn of transformation. I saw the lines of fate as they would occur, not all knowledge mind you, just enough to get me on the right path. Besides, there were upsides. My sire brought me to my mate and freed us to continue our destiny."  
"What about your diet?"  
"We drink from human monsters. Having lived as long as we do we've made connections, not to mention the spirits guide us. There are many people working for justice that are unable to remove the scum of society through legal means, we step in when needed."  
"And that's enough? Are there that many humans needing to be offed?"  
"You'd be surprised, Sam. Evil exists everywhere. Thanks to my gift I'm able to take out those that fuck with destiny."  
"Ever taken out anyone infamous?" I nodded, "the most famous was the Zodiac killer, even to this day humans don't know who he was or how we ended him. There were worse people though, nomadic humans who hunted children, my Charlotte gave many a fitting end." He cringed, he maybe a protector of human life, but I'm a protector of fate. True, the people we had drained meant a lot of lives would be safe, but some monsters had to live to kill innocents. It was one of the things I hated about my role; I couldn't fuck with fate. Ever. It made me powerful and helpless at the same time. "I trust the spirits Sam, I have to or what is my reason for existing in this form?"  
"I'm not a fan of yours and Charlotte's diet, but I can understand the responsibility."  
"Thank you." I hesitated a bit, I had information to pass on and the wolves wouldn't like it. "There is a path of fate I have to ensure remains strong, please don't shoot the messenger, I mean no harm." He nodded and steeled himself "Bella must become a vampire." His gaze darkened and he started to shake "she is a sister of my people, what good will come of it? Why her? She's suffered so much already." His voice became rougher with each word. I spoke quickly, hoping he wouldn't go after us. "She has a destiny, a powerful one like Charlie. She will help me bring unity to the supernatural world, one where there is harmony among all our kind."  
"If she's so powerful why not just train her like we're training Charlie?"  
"She isn't destined for the same fate as Charlie, she's a protector, an instrument of fate like me, but stronger. Fate brought her into the paths of vampires for a reason, being in close proximity to vampires triggered the blood magic of our tribe."  
"But Charlie was also around vampires-"  
"Not as close as Bella, she was in a romantic relationship with a vampire and considered family by his coven. Vampires are attracted to her like a magnet, you've seen her bite mark, you've seen how Victoria and Laurent kept coming back to her. It's one of the reasons she needs to be changed, if not she'll keep getting attacked."  
"We can protect her!" He shouted. I shook my head and sighed "all it takes is her being at the wrong place at the wrong time and she will be snuffed out of existence. The supernatural world needs her. She will save a whole species from extinction and bring peace. Imagine a world where your people could choose whether they wish phase? Where the vampire threat is contained? This is big picture stuff Sam."  
"What about Charlie?" He was getting desperate. I sighed, "my people became spirit walkers for a reason, but there were two types of spirit walker; protectors and healers. Charlie is a healer and Bella is a protector. This is what the spirits chose, it's why they brought her not only to the world of vampires, but shifters like you also. Look how your people accepted her; it wasn't just her association with Charlie and his friendship with the community. You can feel her strength, her acceptance of both our species, her compassion. Can you feel the power emanating from her?" He thought about what I'd said and nodded reluctantly before replying "her power grows stronger every day, she is part of my people."  
"Yes Sam, she is also part of the vampire world."  
"Just how strong will Charlie be?"  
"The fates haven't shown me everything Sam. I just know he's instrumental to the unity between our species, for some reason Oona is the only one who can teach him to channel that power. He will be a true spirit walker. His life will be long, I can't tell how long, but the line of his fate travels further than I can see." I could see his resolve waiver. "You've given me a lot to think about, Peter. I will discuss this with the Elders and Oona."  
"One more thing before you head back, what happened with Laurent?"  
"He was an easy kill, our young ones took care of him. He was a good first kill for them."  
"Thanks, Sam. Bella and Charlie have our contact details, should you and your tribe need anything give us a call. I may be a vampire, but I'm still kin." He nodded and walked off.

Charlotte relaxed her shoulders "that was awkward. How could you breathe through his smell?"  
"His scent wasn't as potent to me." We turned and started running back home. I could tell Charlotte was digesting all the information she'd been given. I gave her time. She soon broke the silence "so, that's your gift? You are still in touch with the spirits of your family?"  
"Yes." I put my shirt back on while we ran. "Why didn't you tell me?" She wasn't angry, but her voice sounded strange, almost disappointed.

"I didn't know, I suspected it, but it made sense while speaking with the alpha. His power is strong, like mine. It's got a similar flavor to mine, but the differences are caused by the type of spirit. I may be connected to the ancestors, but I don't hear them speak or see their image. It's more like a random thought popping into my head. It doesn't feel foreign to my thoughts, then again it might not given my heritage." I felt the grief creep up on me, it sometimes came to me when I thought of my human home. It always led me to thoughts about my mother. She had healed after the attack and loved me despite what I reminded her of, but she had a sadness about her. It ran deep, I hated the fates for breaking her like that. I wish I'd killed the man who fathered me, but in the end he died a painful, slow death. It still didn't feel like justice. He just rotted away in his body, lingering in his own filth.

My gift pulled me towards a town. Time to feed again? We ended up in front of a book shop. No, there were no deviation here. I followed my gift down the aisles and it directed me to a series of books. Terry Pratchett? Someone has good taste. I already owned the full series, no need to buy it again, I'd read them a few times since buying them years ago. Maybe Jasper will like them? I focused my mind on better things to improve my mood.

JPOV

I felt sick, my head had stopped hurting, but the shock was getting to me. "It's hard Jasper, but we're made of tougher stuff" I could hear the Major's voice like it was coming from outside my body. "How do you feel?" Was this as weird for him as it is for me? "I'm not used to being out like this." He commented idly. That was understandable. "I wasn't ready for this Jasper, I thought it'd take longer"  
"What should we do now?"  
"I wrote you a note, you could read it if you like?" I..we..ugh, what pronouns to we use now? "Just stick to the first person pronouns." I walked to the white room started reading.

When I read that he taught himself to drive images flashed through my mind, I chuckled in surprise. "Was that your memories?" He groaned "yes." I tampered down my amusement "sorry Major, I assumed you'd know how to drive, didn't Peter teach you?"  
"I was never around for long enough. But, he did teach me to use the portable phone, that device irritates me." Another flash of memory came through; a vibration down my leg and a squawk of surprise. "Damnit, Jasper, don't laugh."  
"Sorry Major." I grinned sheepishly and changed the subject. "So, how did you find shopping?" I felt a mental shrug "I brought some stuff, you should take a look. I think you'll approve." I moved to the bedroom and looked through the closet and squealed. I heard the Major chuckle as I spoke excitedly, "you got us boots!" I hadn't had cowboy boots in too long. I immediately took off the motorcycle boots and put on a black pair of cowboy boots with red stitching. I loved them. "Look up Jasper" there was a Stetson on the shelf above the clothes, my excitement went up a few notches at the feel of the leather in my hands. I put it on, I was positively giddy "calm down Jasper, you'll have me singing show tunes if you get any happier."  
"You know show tunes?" I asked as my amusement spiked. The Major groaned and mumbled "shut up."

These new clothes were perfect, I didn't realize how much I'd missed my roots. It reminded me of the CD I brought the other day. "Do you like Hank Williams, Major?" I felt a mental nod and grabbed the disc from my room and the letter from the white room and headed into the meditation room. I switched out the disc and relaxed back on the cushions as the music started. It was definitely different, the familiar voice started up, he had the same voice as his father and grandfather, but this had the heavy guitar sound. The voice coming through the speaker got louder; singing "this aint country music" I started chuckling as I heard the Major mumble "no shit."  
"You don't like it?" I asked him. "I do actually, it's different in a good way. I like the heavier music"  
"Huh, it suits you actually." I said before continuing to read the letter, at his mention of the clothes Alice had forced on us I remembered my idea of a bonfire, the Major chuckled then added "there's a farm about two miles from us, we should dress the livestock in the clothes and send pictures to the bitch, then burn the clothes." I barked out a laugh. "Maybe tonight, Major. Hopefully Pete and Char will be back by then, I know they'd love to participate." I heard the phone vibrate in the other room, "I'm guessing that's Pete." Major said as I went to retrieve the phone. _Don't do anything without us, we'll be home in a couple of hours._

I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to music, occasionally we'd comment, but it was a peaceful afternoon.

Pete and Char arrived just as the sun started to set. Peter walked up and looked into my eyes, he had a look of satisfaction on his face "hello in there, you two." He smiled. Char hugged me "I love the new look."  
"Actually, the Major got the boots and hat." She nodded "very spiffy."

We moved to the lounge room and got comfortable, Peter started talking. "I don't know how up to date you are with recent events Jasper." I shrugged, "All I know is that you had errands to run."  
"Okay." I felt Pete's nervousness increase. "Well, we've known the Major since we met you. We know him as well as we know you, he knows us as well as you do." I gestured for him to continue. "As you know my gift follows the path of fate, I can see parts of the future but its unchangeable, sometimes I'm given warning if something deviates from the path of fate and needs to be changed. It's what lead me to befriend you, I thought I could help heal the fracture and draw you back from the horror we lived in. Unfortunately, fate can't be changed and you stayed split no matter what I did. The Major and I grew close, he's our brother as much as you are.

"We kept in contact with the Major over the years, he understood the importance of my gift and what it means. What you don't know is that every time you gave over to instinct during the hunt the Major would appear, I kept him updated." I was shocked, he'd been around that often? The Major interrupted "don't be angry, I'm your protector."  
"What about those times I blacked out and woke up to carnage all around me?" Peter cringed. "We'll get to that J" He took a deep breath and continued. "There's a lot going on in the world that you're unaware of at the moment."  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
"We didn't hide anything to hurt you. This wasn't your job, it was the Major's. Some tasks need the Major's input." I felt so useless, the Major spoke up "quit it. You have your tasks just like I have mine. Remember your roll is to deal with the emotional stuff, my mind is more tactical. Now we're together we'll both be more hands on. We'll achieve a lot more, a lot of good."

"Anyway, as I was saying..." Peter continued "you can't fuck with fate. Fate told me the Major had to be involved with certain decision making and, as much as some things sucked, they needed to happen to get us to this point."  
"You mean Alice?" I started to get angry, the Major barked at me "she was necessary. She brought us to our diet and, despite being a controlling bitch, gave you time to deal with some of the past we lived. When Peter and Charlotte rescued us we were a mess, neither one of us could handle the emotions of our prey. Changing to the animal diet is almost impossible, especially with our bloody past, we needed a safe environment to change. We can hate her as much as we want, I sure as fuck do, but she was necessary for our survival."  
"Did you ever speak to her?"  
"No, we never hunted together, she probably saw what would happen if she got too close. Look Jasper, we couldn't get to the point of healing without her involvement."

Pete continued. "During your time with the Cullens the Major and I kept in communication, building allies. There's a huge change coming and you are instrumental to it, just as we are."  
"Do the Cullens know anything about us?"  
"Only one of them, she's a strong ally to have, no one even suspects her involvement."  
"Who?"  
"Rose. She truly is our sister, her mate will be filled in when the time is right. She's achieved a lot of good."  
"I miss her."  
"You'll see her and Emmett soon, Edward has left the family to sulk in South America. She's keeping her eyes on Alice."  
"Why?"  
"Alice has set her sights on Volterra since she kicked you out. She wants power, but it's not what fate has in store for her." I shuddered, the only Volturi without a mate and with power was Marcus and he'd been through enough. The last thing he needed was someone like Alice. The major spoke up then, I could hear my voice and feel my mouth move "she won't get close enough to get her claws in Marcus." Peter and Char stared at me "that's fucking amazing" Peter said, the Major stepped into the background while I was pushed forward into control of the body once more.

Peter shook himself and got back to it "with Rose playing look out we'll have plenty of time to warn Caius."  
"Why Caius?"  
"Well...he's actually an ancestor of yours and Charlottes."  
"WHAT?" What the fuck was going on? Char spoke up for the first time "you're my distant cousin and Caius is a great uncle."  
"How did you... we find out?" I asked, Pete explained what happened. "Soon after we escaped from Maria, the Volturi and Caius were sent to do a cleanup of the south. We intercepted him." Charlotte interrupted Pete. "Peter scared the shit out of me at that point, shocked the Major too. He just started running and we followed, we ran straight into Caius. He saw our scars and 'invited' us to Volterra. The Major was in control at that point, it was a terrifying moment, I thought we were going to be on trial, but Caius had been impressed we'd survived and wanted us for his guard. When we arrived in the throne room Marcus spoke for us, he saw the familial bond between you and I connected with Caius."  
"But aren't the kings blood brothers?" I asked. Char shook her head "Marcus is actually Aro's uncle, the two of them ruled and came across Caius, he was just a guard member until one day he was promoted."  
"Wow." I breathed, Char kept speaking "I'll go into more detail of that story at a later date. It's a huge secret, but the kings are not as you'd expect them to be. They're fairly just, but they do kill those who break the laws."  
"Is our link with Caius why we survived?" Char shook her head "no, Maria turned you and forced us into this existence without teaching us the rules. She got into a fair bit of trouble over that; she has to remain a nomad and she isn't allowed company. The only reason she wasn't killed straight away is because she's powerful amongst us, she doesn't have any gifts, but her experience and skill have been needed so for the time being she lives. Although any more trouble from her and its death."

Peter took up the story from there. "We have allies keeping tabs on quite a few people, we work for the Volturi, but aren't part of their guard. We're more freelance. When Aro read us he was delighted, he saw what fate had planned for us and sent us on our merry way. Few know our allegiance with them, they approve of that. Believe it or not they don't force people into the guard against their will and we knew we could achieve more in the world than in their castle. We check in every now and then, but for the most part our time is our own."

"Okay. Now tell me about what happened those times I blacked out and woke up amongst mountains of corpses." Dread shot through Peter, Char... And the Major. I felt him push himself to the forefront of our mind, taking over the story telling aloud. "You and I are not the only inhabitants of this body." I stilled. "From your reading on Dissociative Identity Disorder did you take note of the roles alternate personalities take?" I nodded, but he explained anyway.

"There's the primary, which is you. You're the original personality, the one that needed to be protected from the abuse Maria caused. I'm the protector, but also the alt who can communicate with other alts. There is a third personality, it's unnamed. _It_ is the primal part of you, one that came to be around the time we fractured. It didn't make itself known except for the worst of situations. When the pressure was too bad for you or I to deal with _it _took over. I couldn't control it, but I could talk to it. I'm not as strong an empath as you are, I guess it's because emotions weren't something I could deal with, so I was unable to subdue _it_."  
"What about now?" I asked, I didn't bother using the body to talk. The Major repeated my question out loud and continued talking. "Now we are stronger, _it_ has grown weaker. It could probably take over if we lost our shit badly enough, but we'll heal before that. We'll have to share memories and come further in our healing before he binds with us." The Major shuddered. "His memories are ugly, so much death, but despite that he is a small part of our psyche. We didn't feel _it_ during the fracture because _it's_ not a whole personality like we are. _It's_ only been released a handful of times, but it's where our reputation came from. That's not to say we're weaker, we could cause atrocities, but we aren't that type of person."  
"If he's that bad why do we have to bind with him? Why not leave him trapped?" The Major repeated my question aloud and answered "because as bad as _it_ is, _it_ is part of who we are. We aren't inherently evil, but there is a darkness in us. There's a darkness in everyone. We need to be complete, Jasper, we deserve to be complete and you shouldn't fear any part of yourself."  
"But _it's_ evil!" I shouted, my words echoing through my mind. "Even evil things can do good. It's a matter of channeling that part of us. Think about it Jasper, we've got average strength and speed and better than average fighting skills, I'm a master tactician and you hold our gift, controlling it in ways I can't imagine, but _IT_ is holding us back, he controls part of our strength, speed and fighting ability. What the fuck is the point of us going through that hell otherwise? We were tortured in every way possible and it broke us, but it also had the power to make us stronger. We need that strength to face our destiny."  
"He's right Jasper" Peter said. "You need to be whole, you deserve to reap the reward for everything that's been hurled at you. This is your chance to live, you've been in survival mode too long." The Major receded into the background and I took control again. "Damn that's cool" Char murmured. I smiled at her and turned to Peter "what's the plan now?"  
"Well, the plan for the immediate future is meditation. You need it and I'd be interested to hear what the Major thinks of it with your gift." Pete giggled. I remembered the feeling and felt the Major's shock "you got inebriated?"  
"Yes, Major. Let me show you how it's done." I smirked.

We shuffled upstairs and Char began instructing as soon as we were comfortable on the cushions.

**AN 2; The Author's Note Strikes Back.**

**I haven't forgotten about the plan Jasper and the Major have regarding his previous attire, that scene will come up soon.**

**I also noticed the family tree I so carefully typed became illegible so I turned it into a picture and uploaded it.**

**Family tree 1 – The common ancestor between Oona and the Swans /oEVOhce**

**Family tree 2 – The bottom of the family tree with Oona and the Swans /6X5rrJT**

**I've updated Chapter 5 with this info too**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Just a short chapter for today. I'll update again tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, sorry I haven't been able to reply to all of you. **

**I don't own twilight, characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

CHAPTER 8

JPOV

"That was amazing; we should do it more often. Is this how humans feel when they're drunk?" The Major was babbling at me, we had just finished our first meditation session together. "I wish I had your power, Jasper, that was incredible. I feel soooo gooood." He was drawing out words, I giggled at him. Pete and Char smiled "how'd he enjoying J?" Peter asked. I smirked at him "the Major's babbling." The Major whined "I don't babble, stop being a buzz kill."  
"Yes, Major."  
"And Jasper? We're sooo doing that again." He giggled at me. I let out a full belly laugh, I'd never imagined the Major stoned. He started singing bawdy songs so I decided it was time for a distraction. I headed to the library, Peter followed us and threw a book at me. "You need some variety brother, I'm sick of you scowling at the inaccuracies in my history books. I shrugged and got to reading.

BPOV

A FEW DAYS EARLIER IN LA PUSH

I decided it was time to give up high school. Life was too busy as the moment, there was so much to do on the Res and I couldn't concentrate in class. Sue arrived to start dinner. "Where's Leah?" I asked, I hadn't seen her in a few days, Sue looked like she'd barely slept. "She's turning" tears welled up in her eyes, I hugged her "hey, you should be with her, don't worry about dinner, I have it under control. You look like you could use some sleep."  
"Thanks Bells, but I need the distraction." We got to work and fell into our usual rhythm. While dinner was cooking in the oven I decided to speak up "I'm thinking of dropping out of school." She looked surprised and was quiet for a while. As the silence started to turn awkward Sue broke it "that's probably a good idea. From what I've heard from the Elders you have an eternity to complete high school. As much as I don't want you to stop your education a selfish part of me wants you to keep doing what you're doing. You've brought such a change to our community, many parents couldn't afford to feed their kids when they became wolves and the community dinners have brought us all closer. Everyone is happier with you here." I blinked back a few tears and smiled. "It was the least we could do, you've all accepted me, protected me and the people of Forks, I'll never be able to fully show my gratitude for that."

As Sue hugged me a few stray tears slipped out. She was like another mom, thankfully not like Renee, she was more like a stronger version of Esme. My heart hurt to think of Esme, but I pushed it back. The Cullens made their choice and it wasn't my responsibility to force them to change, where would I even start? What could a human like me do? Sue let me go and smiled "you still think of them don't you?" I knew she was talking about the Cullens. "Sometimes, but I'm getting better." I said. "Will you tell me about them?" She asked. I was surprised. "Are you sure? They are Vampires."  
"They were also your family" I scoffed, but she continued "besides, you could use someone to talk to. I know your dad's been there and helped you a lot, but there are somethings that are easier to discuss with a woman." I shrugged and started telling her about what I'd realized. Part of me felt like I was betraying them by speaking so negatively, but there was also relief.

"You mean that poor woman, Esme, stays home; cooking and cleaning? Does she have any hobbies?"  
"She loves gardening and decorating."  
"But she never goes out to meet other women? Does she have any friends?"  
"No, she's a vampire."  
"So are Carlisle and the kids, but they work and go to school. Why can't she have a life outside the house? She could have started an interior decorating company or studied, hell she could have taken up knitting." I couldn't refute that, she made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat.

"Some of those kids sound like spoilt brats-" She said when I told her about the others. I tried to explain their lifestyle. "Well, they have been alive a lot longer than they seem, and they can afford to be extravagant. Alice watches the stock market so she contributes to their wealth." Sue scoffed again "her and your ex sound insufferable. What about the other kids?"  
"Rose hates me and kept out of my way. Emmett was like a big brother, but he was mated to Rose so when she left he followed." Sue shook her head "Jasper was nice, but I didn't get a chance to know him, they said he was too dangerous."  
"That's bull Bells, he went to school with the rest of them, yes?" I nodded "sounds like his control is good enough. Anyway, your blood was irresistible to Edward and how did he get in control? By stalking you! I'm not saying Jasper should have stalked you, but keeping you away from him was absolute crap. Why not let him get used to your scent?" I shrugged as she kept ranting. "You know why? Because he was under Alice's control and you were under Edward's control. I don't like it Bells, something is off with that whole situation."  
"I agree."  
"Of course the poor boy was going to take a snap at you, you said he could feel emotions right?" I nodded. "Well shit, pardon my language, but he could probably feel everyone's low opinion of him. Vampire gifts drain their strength, right?" I nodded "so here's this poor guy standing in a room of people who treat him like dirt and expect him to slaughter the town at a moments notice, he can't switch off his gift and Alice seems like the type who'd boss him around, not giving him time to hunt. On top of that he struggles with his thirst because he was a human drinker when he joined the Cullens. Then when an accident happens, and there's a teeny bit of blood, he snaps! Of course he's going to snap." It was almost funny to see how riled up Sue had become about the Cullens, not to mention her defense of Jasper. I agreed with her completely. "I'd love to put Edward and Alice over my knee, I don't care how old they are..." she continued even as we arrived at the community hall and dished up food.

The Elders ate while eavesdropping on Sue's rant "... Carlisle calls himself a leader? Baloney! You wouldn't catch an alpha putting up with that shit..." I caught Billy's eyes and he started chuckling quietly and whispered "thanks, she's needed a distraction from Leah turning. How are you holding up?"  
"Pretty good actually, Sue's been a huge help."  
"So I see" he chuckled again and kept eating, Old Quil smiled at me too.

Emily and I headed to Oona's, the food we had put aside for Dad and Oona fogged up the windows. The ride was quiet, but pleasant. Emily was in a good mood. When we got into the more remote part of the Res I asked Em what was going on. She flushed and whispered "I'm pregnant" I gaped "that's brilliant! What did Sam say? How far along are you? Who else knows?"  
"Sam's overjoyed, I'm about five weeks and so far only you, Sue, the Elders and Oona know. We haven't announced it yet, people recommend not announcing it until the three month mark, just in case." Her eyes dimmed. "It'll be okay Em, you're really healthy and Sam's got the wolf blood in him. I'm so happy for you!" The silence returned, both of us lost in happy thoughts. A new cub!

Oona smiled widely at us when we walked through the door. "Your father is doing extremely well." She ushered us into the small kitchenette/dining room and we dished up the food. Dad had started to look different after each day he studied with Oona. It was like he was more confident, it was a similar feeling that Sam gave off when he issued Alpha orders. I smiled at him "how're you doing, dad?"  
"Good, there's so much to learn, but it's not tiring me as much anymore." They dug into their dinner as Emily and I updated them on what had been happening. "So you two go for your walk in the woods tomorrow?" Oona asked dad and I. "Yep and tomorrow night we finally get to shower and change clothes" I sighed in relief. I felt awful having to wear the same things all the time. Dad nodded "I just want it over with, once these leeches are gone we can relax." It was still odd hearing dad talk about vampires so casually.

Shortly after dinner we headed back home. It was the last night we'd have to sleep in these clothes. I was definitely going to burn them once Victoria and Laurent were gone.

Sue's words went through my mind as I drifted off. I felt so bad for Jasper, I hope he didn't blame himself for snapping. Somehow I doubted the rest of the Cullens had passed on my message to him; telling him I wasn't mad at him. Hopefully they weren't giving him a hard time about it. I fell into a restless sleep.

The morning light woke me up, it felt like I'd just fallen asleep. I practically fell out of the bed and sluggishly stumbled to the kitchen. Charlie had set up the coffee pot before heading to work, best dad ever. This would be his last day at work and he'd by home by lunchtime for our afternoon the walk into the woods. There was a knock on the door, "morning Bells!" Seth was far too cheerful for this hour of the day. I mumbled "morning" to him and guided him to the kitchen. We were going to discuss which route we'd take on our walk, he was given the responsibility of leading us as the child of an Elder. He wasn't a wolf like his sister . "How's Leah doing?"  
"She's upset, but physically she's fine. She phased for the first time a few days ago. She has really pale grey fur in her wolf form."  
"Really? I thought all the wolves were black or brown."  
"Nah. I haven't seen all of them, but I've heard there are darker grey wolves and some with red fur."  
"That's pretty cool. Why is Leah upset?"  
"Sam's the alpha, they used to date, but he imprinted on Emily and they had to break up."  
"That's rough."  
"Yeah, it doesn't help that she's the first ever female wolf as well."  
"Really? No wonder she's upset."

We spent a few hours chatting while looking over the map. Charlie walked in looking as tired as I felt. He waved and move to the bedroom to remove his uniform, it fit terribly over the clothes he'd been wearing for a week. He grabbed the back pack with our fresh change of clothes and the 'scent off' spray. I made a few sandwiches, got some bottles of water from the fridge and we set off. It was a clear and sunny day, we sweated through the layers of clothing we had on, I couldn't wait to change. An hour later we were deep in the woods, Seth stopped and pointed me to a bushy area "you can change over there if you'd like" before he'd even finished I grabbed the bag off dad and sprinted behind the bush. It was such a relief to be out of those clothes. I walked back over to the guys and took out the 'scent off' spray while handing the bag back to dad.

Seth began to spray me down for the trip back and did the same with dad when he returned. We had both chosen shorts and t-shirts. The walk back went faster, we walked quickly, desperate for the first shower in a week. I let dad go first, he'd be quicker than me and I'd be able to stay in longer. The fridge and pantry were looking bare so I called Emily and arranged to go grocery shopping. We could do pasta for dinner tonight and put on a few slow cookers worth of stew for tomorrow.

As soon as dad walked out in his clean clothes I rushed to the bathroom and threw off my clothes. Jumping in the shower after so long was an almost transcendental experience. I looked down, wondering what color the water had turned, it was still clear. I hadn't done much to get dirty in the last week. The water in the shower had started to cool after half an hour, I was shampooing for the third time so I quickly rinsed off and conditioned. I felt so much better. Dad took the cruiser and headed to Oona's and I walked next door to meet up with Emily. The day passed very quickly and before long it was bedtime again.

Despite the long hike and little sleep the night before it was a struggle getting to sleep. I sat up reading and before I knew it was morning. I lay in bed for another few hours; the wolves would be out all day and were skipping lunch to stay in the woods and wait for the vampires.

By 11am I'd gotten all the sleep I could and shuffled out of bed. Dad was still in his pajamas and reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee, I waved and grabbed myself a cup.

By 3pm I was at Emily's making fresh bread rolls and peeling potatoes for the stew. Emily and I decided to make a cake in celebration for when the pack returned. We started out with a large circular tin and a square tin and filled them with four cakes worth of batter. As soon as it was cooked and cooled down we shaped, then iced it. Emily went to her pantry and pulled out a chocolate bar, taking it out of its wrapper and plunging it into the middle of the cake. We started laughing. There was a knock on the door and Dad walked in, he burst out laughing as soon as he saw the cake. It was in the shape of a stereotypical vampire, white icing for the face and black icing for the hair and cape, we'd piped more black icing in the shape of x's for eyes and the chocolate bar looked like a stake through the heart.

"Do you girls need any help?"  
"Can you peel the rest of the potatoes, dad?" He got to work and before long it was time to leave for the town hall. The hall was packed when we arrived, many families brought extra food. Tonight had turned into an impromptu feast. Oona sat at the table of elders between Billy and Harry, she waved us over. We quickly hid the cake in the fridge, we'd unveil it when the pack arrived. A few ladies walked in with cheese cakes, trifles and ice-cream slices, we were able to stock up the fridge and keep the cake secret.

Oona winked at us and I looked to dad who grinned sheepishly. When everyone had gotten a plate of food, Emily and dad brought out the rest of the stew, mashed potatoes and bread rolls for when the pack arrived. Just as they sat down the wolves walked in, smiling and joking with each other. Thunderous applause echoed through the hall, the pack were greeted like rock stars. They made a beeline for the food and heaped their plates as high as they'd go. I looked over each of them, a few had scratches but were healing quickly. There had been no major injuries and all wolves we present and accounted for. I caught Emily checking them as well, she turned and smiled at me. They joined us at the table of elders and practically inhaled their food.

All too soon the plates were emptied. Emily, Charlie, Sue and I started bringing out the deserts, saving out cake for last. Sue was bent over with laughter as she followed us out with the cake. A cheer went up when we unveiled it, the wolf pack stood up and applauded. I blushed heavily and people started serving themselves, there was a fight over the chocolate bar 'stake,' but Sam got it in the end. The celebration lasted long into the night. We finally arrived home in the early hours of the morning, Oona would be staying at our house tonight. Charlie snored on the couch and Oona was passed out in his room. I sent a quick email to Peter.

_Thank you for being there and helping the pack take them down. I hope you're both safe and well._

_Goodnight Peter and Charlotte._

I fell asleep smiling, Victoria and Laurent were dead. My wolves, my tribe, my father and I were safe.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: We're nearly at the half way point for Part One; Letters from the Lost days. Thanks to everyone who reviewed :) **

**S. Meyer owns all. **

CHAPTER 9

BPOV

Emily's house was packed with the wolves and Elders, we spread out through the lounge and kitchen as Sam gave an in-depth report on the fight. "...they arrived in the early afternoon from the south east. We were spread out enough to remain undetected and they didn't pick up our scent until it was too late. That 'scent off' spray worked wonders. They had another vampire with them; he was savage, his eyes practically glowed red. He was stronger than the other two.

"We got him in the end, Paul and Embry took care of the one with the dreads, he was weakened from having an arm torn off by us recently. The rest of us took on the unfamiliar leech and the red head ran off. I think she counted on her friends being cannon fodder. With the two vamps down we caught up with the red head quickly, we had help. Peter and Charlotte were there, blocking her escape. The fight was over before we knew it. Peter had some interesting things to say." He turned to Oona "he is the one from your tribe's history, he was born Peter Crow, but now goes by Peter Whitlock. He has a strong connection to the spirit word and protects the path of fate."

Sam looked at me then, his eyes sad "Bella has to become a vampire." A chorus of growls started up "she, like Charlie, has a gift. She is a protector like Peter. If you doubt her destiny look at her, really look at her. She has power radiating off her. It gets stronger every day. Who are we to change the path of fate? I don't like this any more than the rest of you, but this is her life, we cannot dictate how it plays out. Peter told me that because of her many innocent lives will be saved."  
"How do you know he isn't lying?" Paul was upset. Oona spoke up, her voice strong with a hidden power I hadn't heard before. "Peter speaks the truth. My people have kept the balance and worked towards protecting the lines of fate, I have heard this from others in my tribe. I was chosen to teach Charlie and help this tribe connect with their spirit wolf, I was chosen to watch the human with the vampire bite and guide her to our great uncle. Her place is with them, but she is still part of us." No one argued, Oona was a trusted advisor to the elders.

The mood had turned down, many looked at me like I had a terminal illness. I spoke up "I will not be a human drinker, my allegiance lies with this tribe and the protection of those I love. Will you accept me? My body will change, but I won't." My voice stayed strong, but as I sat down I could feel the blush creep up on my cheeks and I had to blink back tears, these people were my family, I didn't want them to reject me. I could barely handle the Cullens leaving, if I lost the Quileute too I didn't know if I'd survive. Charlie cleared his throat and spoke up "she isn't just my daughter, she is the daughter of this tribe. Somehow I knew she'd become a vampire, I saw how comfortable she was with the Cullens and I see how comfortable she is with you. I see it in her eyes, she'd sacrifice herself for any one of us." He glared at each person in the house except for Oona and me. There was a deafening silence. Billy looked at me "you'll still be a part of our tribe." He said. Harry nodded, backing him up.

The meeting adjourned and we left Sam and Emily to themselves. Charlie stopped me on the way to my room "you okay Bells?" I nodded "I don't want to lose them."  
"I'll make sure you don't." He vowed.

I spent the day in my room, the wolves were spending the day with their family so the community dinner was cancelled for the day. I checked my email, Charlotte had replied.

_Hi Little Bee,_

_We're well, we didn't see any action, just stood by as the wolves took care of her. Peter's gone into town, he's posting you something. We met the alpha, its good you've found a family. Peter told me to pass a message to you "your species won't matter, they're family." I hope they aren't giving you any trouble._

_Stay safe honey, give our regards to Charlie._

_x Char_

I smiled. Hopefully I'll meet them soon.

The next few days flew by, the Elders and wolves had calmed down. I still got the occasional look of sadness, but I resolved to prove to them wrong. I wouldn't let them abandon me, I would fight for them.

A package arrived this morning, there were a series of letters. I tucked them under my pillow resolved to read them tonight before sleep.

The day flew quickly, I went to read the first letter and froze at the letterhead; _From the Desk of Jasper Whitlock._ I messaged Peter, I needed a response NOW.

_Care to explain why you sent me letters from Jasper? Is this the same Jasper I think it is?_

He messaged me back quickly. _Jasper has reverted to his human name, Whitlock. I sent them to you because you need to read them. Have patience._

I rolled my eyes and started reading. The first couple of letters didn't make any sense until I read what Jasper wrote about Dissociative Identity Disorder. I wiped furiously at my eyes, but the tears kept blurring my vision. I took a break and cleaned my room a little in an effort to calm down. What the fuck happened to him? My heart broke for him. I couldn't settle down and gave up, lying down and hugging the letters to my chest.

Charlie knocked on my door at 10am, he panicked when he saw my haggard condition, I quickly explained. "Peter sent me some letters from a friend of his, Jasper. Jasper was writing about his past. It's bad." I told him. I took a deep breath to calm myself. Dad stood there, thinking about something. "Do you want me to get Emily over here?" I shook my head "No thanks Dad, but could you ask Sue to come over?"  
"Sure thing kiddo, I'm going to call Emily and let her know you won't be over today."  
"Thanks."  
"No problem kid. I'm off to see Oona, will you be ok?" I nodded and waved goodbye.

Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. "Come in." I croaked. Sue made her way to my room and sat down on the bed "Charlie said you needed to talk to me."  
"It's Jasper, Peter is his friend and he sent me these letters. He was tortured." I started crying again and handed her the letters I'd already read. I could see when she read to the section on Dissociative Identity Disorder. "That's absolutely tragic Bells. Poor boy." She hugged me "I need help getting through the rest of the letters, will you stay here and read with me?" I asked. "Of course. I should probably warn you after reading what I have so far I'm tempted to hunt down the Cullens and barbecue their arses."  
"After what I read last night I'll join you."

I lay down and Sue kept reading them aloud to me, the rest of the letters were more positive. We stayed deep in thought as we read the last letter. Why wasn't Alice with him? White hot rage went through me as I thought of her and how she'd treated him. Sue's voice broke through my quiet, seething rage. "He's a strong man."  
"He definitely is."  
"I kind of want to hug him." She admitted. I chuckled at her, "don't let Harry catch you saying that."  
"Bella, they told me what Peter said, that you're destined to become a vampire." I cringed and nodded. I braced myself, expecting her to get angry. Her voice was soft, "you won't forget about us will you?"  
"Of course not. Sue, I know I have to be turned, but I'm scared I'll lose everyone here."  
"You won't, I promise. I'll wring the neck of anyone who hurts you." She spoke so fiercely, it was a relief.

We moved to the kitchen and started cooking, Sue had arranged for some of the women in the tribe to take over my spot in Emily's kitchen so Sue and I started making a few side dishes to add to the main meal. We chatted lightly throughout the day, neither of us mentioning vampires. As dinner time approached we gathered in the town hall, the atmosphere had become lighter since the Victoria saga. Leah sat next to her mom on the other side of the table, her hair had been cut short and she'd grown a lot since I first saw her at the bonfire. It felt like a lifetime had passed, but in reality it had only been a few weeks. So much had changed.

I caught Leah's eyes and smiled, she returned it shyly. I whispered to her knowing she'd hear me over the din "how are you holding up?" She shrugged "okay, it takes some getting used to." That was an understatement. "Are you still in pain from the first phase?" She shook her head "no, thank god. It's just really weird. I spend so much time with the rest of the pack and when I'm in wolf form I can hear their thoughts. It's not much fun hearing the thoughts of several teenage boys." I laughed quietly "I can imagine." She grimaced. I had an idea, "since the immediate threat of vampires over how about we have a girls day out?" Her eyes lit up "I haven't felt very girly lately."  
"That's not surprising, we can go to the mall and wander around a bit, maybe get our hair done?" I was surprised at the feeling of excitement going through me, I'd never wanted to do this stuff before. Sue looked over to us "that's a great idea, Bells. How about going tomorrow? I'll help Emily with the food and you can spend a full day having fun. You could even make it a sleep over and watch some movies!" I remembered my new DVD, Mr. Vampire. I couldn't wait to show Leah. "That sounds perfect. I'll ask Charlie if he'd mind staying at Oona's tomorrow night." Leah's eyes lost their spark "I have to ask Sam, he's got us training and patrolling and might need me to keep going." Sue got up and walked over to him, they spoke a few words and he nodded. It would happen. We parted ways and headed home to sleep.

The next day was a buzz of excitement. I cooked a few simple meals and packed them for Charlie to take to Oona's. He was happy to see me having fun and I was happy he'd be able to work with Oona uninterrupted. I loaded a basket of food and handed it to Charlie as he left. Leah arrived shortly after and Sue waved as she walked to Emily's place next door. We headed for my truck and headed towards Port Angeles.

After several hours walking from shop to shop before we stopped for lunch. Leah had protested when I tried spending money on her, but allowed it. She had lost quite a few clothes to phasing, now she had at least ten sets of clothes and five summer dresses. I'd picked up a few bags worth of clothes for myself. The tension had leaked out of Leah's shoulders as the day wore on. We headed to the hair salon where they neatened up her hair and trimmed mine. She opted to have a few streaks of blue added to her new pixie cut so I decided to let them add a few streaks of bright red to my hair. It was a change we'd both desperately needed. Leah stopped in front of a piercing studio, looking longingly. "What do you want to get pierced?" I asked her. "My ears. I miss wearing earrings. I had them pierced when I was little, but I'd lost the studs and couldn't afford buy another pair, the holes closed up." I tugged her inside and paid, she was taken to a chair near the back. I turned my head to avoid getting sick and heard the two pops of the piercing gun. I shuddered. She walked back to me, there were tears in her eyes "that stung a bit" she sniffed and smiled. I picked up a few pairs of studs for her.

The piercing studio held a morbid curiosity for me. I felt the urge to get something, but shook it off. I was too squeamish. Leah and I talked about body art, on her 18th birthday she'd be getting a tattoo on the Res. One of the younger men had gotten qualified and each member of the community could choose if they wanted a traditional tribal tattoo. I was intrigued, I hated needles and the smell of blood, but the idea of sharing something so permanent with the tribe wouldn't leave my mind. My mind wandered back to the piercing studio, did I really want a piercing that badly? The answer was yes. I took a few deep breaths and pulled Leah in the direction of the store, she froze in shock "you're getting a piercing Bells?!" I nodded grimly "I don't know why, but I need to."  
"Charlie's going to throw a shit fit."  
"Probably, but he'll get over it. He knows I'm a responsible person. One little piercing won't change that."

Leah held my hand and stood next to me. I shook in the chair as I felt the alcohol swab wipe over my left eyebrow. It was official, I was insane. The sharp sting of a needle punctured my skin, I felt my heart drop into my stomach and nausea started to rise. I felt a tugging and sliding and realized they'd taken out the needle and put in the barbell. I concentrated on my breathing and the nausea receded. I stumbled a bit as I stood up, Leah handed me a chocolate muffin "it'll make you feel better. Your blood sugar drops after a piercing." I nodded and tore off a chunk. A few mouthfuls were enough to bring the color to my cheeks. "We should probably head off now, Bells, you're looking a little green."  
"I'll be fine, I'm not so woozy now." Leah kept her eyes on me as I drove home.

We changed into our PJs and I loaded up the movie. "A Vampire movie? Really Bells?"  
"Trust me, Leah, this is a good one."

Leah complained when her stomach started to hurt from laughing too much. "Post it notes? Really?"  
"I know! If only I'd had them on me when I was attacked. Instead I tried using the Mace dad got me" she busted out laughing again "Mace? Are you serious?" I nodded. "It did nothing to him, god knows what he thought." Leah kept cackling "we'll at least we know not to bother macing leeches. Oh man." I smiled. It was getting late, we put on another movie, but didn't really pay attention to it, we kept talking and gradually fell asleep on the couch.

We started awake, Charlie had yelled out "WHAT THE FUCK?" I looked to him feeling the prickle of shame, he looked shocked. Sue rushed in and Leah eyes widened "oh shit." Our parents stood there looking at us, we heard Billy enter and I became mortified, trying to sink into the couch and disappear. Billy chuckled "I like the new look girls." Dad and Sue glared at him, he shrugged "don't be so hypocritical. They're smart kids, let them live a little."  
"But she isn't like this! She hates needles! What was she thinking?" Dad bellowed. "Easy Charlie, I remember you being in a similar situation when you were a little younger than she is now."  
"But she's the smart one!" Billy shook his head, Sue had lost the frown and looked at Billy...amused. Huh. "She is smart, so what if she got a piercing? It's hardly going to ruin her life." Billy said, Dad became silent. "Besides, you still have your piercing-"  
"WHAT?" I yelled. What the fuck was going on with my dad? Billy looked over and smiled maliciously "your dear old dad here got his belly button pierced years ago." Charlie mumbled "it was a dare..." The tension ebbed away. "Why the belly button, dad?"  
"I needed to be able to hide it from my parents. It's Billy's fault, he dared me to." I sat up trying to look as stern as possible "and if Billy told you to jump off a cliff you'd do that too?" Sue started laughing "he did!"  
"Cliff jumping is perfectly safe." He started to explain, I interrupted "you jumped off a cliff?" Who the hell was this man? "It's a popular pass time around here." He blushed. The anger had receded, Charlie kept looking at the piercing. Billy wheeled over to me and whispered "I think he's jealous." I guess facial piercing wasn't acceptable for the chief of police. I grinned at dad and he warily returned it. "No tattoos Bella" he grunted out, Sue smacked him "she's an adult and part of the tribe, it's her choice. Need I remind you of your tattoo?" Dad grunted, but didn't say anything. I walked over to him "can I see?" He nodded and lifted up the sleeve of his t-shirt, a wolf the size of my palm was inked on his bicep. "That's really cool, dad." He nodded and smiled.

The conversation turned to our living arrangements. Dad asked "do you want to return to Forks?" I shook my head, I'd been thinking of returning, but we'd made a life here. "What do you think about selling our old place?" Dad asked. "I guess. It feels kind of weird to think about. It's our house, but it feels like we've moved on."  
"I agree. Living on the Res feels right."  
"Definitely, I want to keep close to the tribe and you need to keep studying with Oona."  
"I'll call the estate agent tomorrow. How about we swing by the Forks house this afternoon and see what we want to keep?"  
"Sounds good dad. We should make a list of stuff we won't need, someone here might be able to use it."  
"Good idea." Dad said. Sue, Leah and Billy smiled.

**AN #2: The Notening; There can be only one!**

**I know I didn't mention Riley in the previous PPOV, Sam deliberately didn't tell them. I want his character to keep a few things from the vampires when possible. There'll still be an emotional distance between the wolves and vampires, they can't get over all those years of animosity too quickly.**

**I included references to the film Mr. Vampire because it's one of the best vampire movies in existence. **


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Things are progressing :) Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I've tried improving the paragraphs of dialogue, I hope it's easier to read.**

**I'm not Stephanie Meyer.**

CHAPTER 10

PPOV

The past week had been fascinating. Seeing our brother switch between the Major and Jasper was something I hadn't truly believed would happen. But, as usual, Fate knew what it was doing. Jasper devoured the books I gave him, it had made a change to his attitude, usually he'd read civil war books and ooze irritation around the house at the inaccuracy. This time round he would get lost in the stories, occasionally his amusement would spike and sometimes he would stop to think about something. It was amazing to watch his eyes flicker as he switched between the Major and Jasper, their internal dialogue becoming easier. I knew Bella had read the letters, but I didn't know how she'd reacted after sending her message to me.

Jasper was gaining some of the memories from the Major, they trickled into his part of the mind gently decreasing the gap between the two of them. Soon we'd return to Washington and he'd be healed. The book he'd been reading fell onto the floor as Jasper writhed on the couch "ease up a bit there, Major." I scolded him, it was times like this that the difference between the two personalities was particularly apparent. Where the Major had detached himself emotionally from the past, Jasper wasn't able to. I focused on calming my thoughts, but the prickle of pain wouldn't leave. They were still hurting, a century and change worth of memories took time to sort through.

Jasper stilled then sighed, leaning back on the couch. I walked over to him and sat on the floor in front of the couch. "How you doing there J?"  
"Not too bad." It was an obvious lie. "Don't bullshit me brother. You know me and Char are here for you, accept our help and talk to us if you need to. There's no need to sugar-coat shit, we were there too."  
"Sorry, I just don't want you to relive it." He shuddered. "The stuff Maria put us through, I don't know how we survived."  
"No point looking a gift horse in the mouth J, you survived that's all that matters. Now, tell me what's going through your mind when you see those memories."  
"Pain. So much pain and guilt. I killed so many. They could have lived, they were young and I killed them all because of Maria and my own ignorance."  
"Hey, Char and I have been where you are now. One of the reasons why the Major wanted you to learn meditation is because of this. This hurts because you are thinking about it. I know it's easier said than done, but this is the stuff of emotions. Feel the emotions without thinking and berating yourself over what happened.

"Major, I know you're in there so listen up. This is going to need a group effort. We can make more progress is we all head to the meditation room. We'll guide Jasper and you can slowly release the memories. Slowly, Major, give him time to feel. Remember, if you overload him _it_ will come out and then we'll be fucked." The Major flickered through Jasper's eyes and he nodded his head. We made our way up stairs and Char arrived milliseconds after, she'd heard our conversation and joined us. I redirected our phone calls to Rosalie, Garrett and Tanya, they would be able to handle any emergencies.

I switched off our phones and started "before you begin you both need to understand that all this evil is not your fault, nor is it your responsibility. Dwelling on this will only make you feel like shit. Keep in mind that you both did the best you could at the time, don't question it, just accept it and move on. I'm trusting you, Major, to take this slow, we'll keep an eye on his emotions, you keep an eye on his thoughts. If he goes on a tangent and starts blaming himself stop and let us know."  
"What will you do when we need to stop?" Jasper asked. "Easy, we'll focus on the calm. All this is going to happen under meditation. You need to let the emotions flow out, just like you've done other times you meditated. The principal is the same even with the negative emotions."  
"but you'll feel the pain-" I shook my head "quit over thinking it, this will be easier if you concentrate on your feelings and not ours. If anything you're more likely to hurt us if you get lost in your thoughts, you'll not only increase your pain, but you'll release_ it _to us."

He lay back, Char and I sat and waited. When his nerves disappeared and calm swirled around us Char signaled the Major to begin "slow Major, really slow." The emotions changed, there was the underlying calm, but it was punctuated with fear and pain. Gradually the negative emotions receded. He was doing it! The negative emotions seeped back as he was hit with another memory, I saw his hands clench and teeth grit as he breathed through the pain. We focused on keeping our emotions calm, we were his anchor. Slowly he relaxed his hands, this memory took longer to escape.

The memories ebbed and flowed through him, sometimes pain, fear and sadness would spike, but no matter how long it took we anchored him with calm. Time had crawled by, we couldn't tell if it had been hours, days or weeks, but there was a change in the emotions swirling around the room.

White hot rage bombarded us and it took a while to regain the calm. A roar broke through Jasper, shaking the window panes and echoing off the mountains surrounding the property. _It_ was here. Our brother's body jumped up from the floor, his eyes swirled with darkness. I saw the occasional flicker of the Major and Jasper, his body stumbled out the door and he flung himself into the white room. Char ran to grab a few thermos of animal blood from the kitchen and I stood back.

Char returned with three thermoses and gently rolled them into the room. The door slammed shut and the sound of growls and crashing tore through the air. I hope they know what they're doing. A metallic screech could be heard and Char and I paled. We tried opening the door, but it was locked, I was about to crash through the door when a wave of emotion threw us away from the room. It was like a punch to the gut. We curled up gasping and heard the Major's strained voice "keep back." We weren't going to argue.

We huddled into a corner of the hallway, waiting. The growls increased and there was an occasional crash of furniture. There were no more metallic screeches. The noises slowly quieted and we started breathing again. The smell of old animal blood hit our noses. That was a good sign, wasn't it? We felt the floorboards shake as a heavy body hit the floor. Jasper's voice called out, it was so weak we barely heard it. "It's safe now."

"We'll be back soon, we'll just go grab you some lunch." I yelled as we sped out of the house and grabbed the first animals we could find. I was dragging a bear and Char was dragging a buck towards the house. We'd knocked creatures out with a light tap to the head. This was going to be messy.

When we finally got to the top of the stairs we opened the door to the white room and threw the animals inside, closing the door behind us. We felt Jasper's shuffled footsteps followed by the tearing of flesh. The bodies of the animals drop to the floor. We moved closer and opened the door. The reek of old blood assaulted out noses and we gaped in shock, the room was no longer white. Droplets of blood fell on us from the ceiling, a twisted mural of death and flame surrounded us. Piles of bodies had been drawn in the blood from the twisted thermoses, the eyes of the dead stared blankly at us. "_It's_ gone now." Jasper's voice drew our eyes to him. His clothes lay in shreds around him, he was sitting in a corner with streaks of blood over his body. A thin rim of gold surrounded large, black dilated pupils. Blood caked his hands and tufts of fur and skin clung to him, the remains of his feed were almost unrecognizable. I walked over to him and helped him up. He wavered slightly and I guided him into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He sat on the shower floor, blooms of red mixing with the water.

Jasper reached for the soap and started cleaning himself. I sat next to the shower, not wanting to leave him alone. I handed him a towel as he shut off the water. "What happened in there Jasper?"  
"We got through the Major's memories and I started to share mine with him. He lost control when I showed him some stuff that happened while we were with Cullen coven, _it_ took over-"  
"Hang on, the Major lost control?" Jasper nodded and continued "As soon as we realized what was happening we held on to our consciousness and the three of us fought for control of the body. The Major was better at controlling _it_ and moved us to the white room. _It_ released the rage, he broke the thermoses in half and when I felt you approach I had to get you away from us. _It_ may have known not to attack you, but we weren't willing to risk it. I'm sorry by the way-"  
"Don't worry about it" I interrupted. "What happened next?"  
"The blood sent _it_ into a frenzy, he started...redecorating. I could feel his anger and pain, Pete, I've never felt anything like that. It took both me and the Major to keep him confined to the room. After he'd painted the room in blood he kind of withered. It's hard to explain what happened, but he just receded."  
"You two must have been holding in a hell of a lot of anger over the years." He nodded.

"Do you feel angry now J?"  
"Yeah, showing the Major what he'd missed made me realize how badly they used me, he lost his shit. I guess we just needed to let it out." Jasper sighed. "What do we do now? How do we stop _it _from returning?" I shrugged, "I guess we just have to find a way to channel your anger."  
"But, I don't even know when I'm angry, it just sneaks up and I don't want to snap like that."  
"Give yourselves time Jasper, you've been stuck in an emotional downward spiral for years. I'm no therapist, but maybe if we spar regularly it'll give you the chance to vent the anger. Besides, it's always good to keep practicing." I grinned and left him to get dressed.

In no time Jasper was back in the library, he picked up his book and was about to start reading when Char and I joined him. "How's the Major feeling?" Char asked. "He's irritated at himself for losing control like that." Jasper said as he rolled his eyes. Char leant over in front of him "Major, quit your bitching and come out now." Jasper's eyes flickered as the Major took control. He grunted at Char. "There you are. Now listen to me, quit beating yourself up about losing control. Believe it or not me and Pete reacted similarly after every visit with the Cullens. We re-arranged many forests because of them. You were right to feel angry, but you have to do what Jasper did and let the emotion flow through you, accept that shit did happen. The fact of the matter is that neither of you are stuck with Maria, nor are you stuck with the Cullens. All the shit you both went through is done, use that anger to ensure you're never treated like that again." The Major nodded and receded. Jasper smiled at Char "thanks" he murmured.

I grabbed his discarded book "we have some livestock to dress, brother." I felt a spike of excitement, there was an echo to it. Jasper and The Major were both eager to give his previous attire a decent send off. I ran to his room and raided the closet for everything beige and neutral toned. I fucking hate beige. The Major was in control of the body and standing next to Char when I reached them outside. The Major led the way, we followed behind him.

It took no time to get to the neighboring farm. We searched the area for humans and discovered they'd gone out somewhere. This was perfect, I could get good photos this way. The Major chuckled lowly as he gently wrestled a pig into the clothes Jasper had worn when he arrived here. Char held a sheep like a shearer and tugged a sweater and khaki pants on to it. The poor animal bleated helplessly before being released. I headed to the hen house and wrestled the rooster and a couple of chickens in to various shirts. They ran out as soon as I clothed them. They looked like little business men as they scrambled about.

After an hour all the smaller livestock were dressed. A paddock nearby had a few curious cows, but I didn't have the heart to dress them in this shit. We took many pictures of the animals and struck a few poses with them. I heard a car approach; we carefully tore the clothes off the animals and released them. We carried the remains of the clothes back home and decided to use the fireplace in the lounge room. Many of the clothes turned out to be polyester and clouds of nasty chemical smelling smoke filled the house. Char went to grab a bucket of water while J and I opened the windows.

It was worth it. I saved the photos to the backup drive with the LOLsper meme I'd created a while ago. I joined J and Char outside. We lay on the grass all night looking at the stars. "Is Bella really our mate?" J asked, I nodded. He stayed silent after that.

BPOV

Two weeks passed quickly, it was Leah's birthday today and I went with her to see Jared, the tribe's tattooist. I'd debated getting a tattoo since I got my piercing, but the only down side I could see what the process of getting tattooed itself. Charlie didn't approve of the idea of me getting one, but he accepted it with some prodding from Sue and Billy. Leah and I had applied the numbing cream 15 minutes ago and I had menthol chest rub lining my nose, dad had actually given me the idea when he was telling embarrassing stories of me as a baby. He'd used the menthol rub on his nose while changing my diaper. I hoped that it would be enough against the smell of blood.

Leah went first, I could hear the buzzing of the tattoo gun. It took longer than expected, but her tattoo was more intricate as a member of the pack. After two hours I reapplied the numbing cream and put more menthol rub up my nose. Jared cleaned off the equipment and replaced the needles after bandaging Leah's arm. She showed me a peek of the tattoo as Jared got ready for me. It was beautiful, bold black lines melded with grey wisps "they include the color of your wolf?" I asked. "Yep, Jared's got deep brown running through his tattoo." He approached to show me, there was a slight difference in the pattern. I ran my fingers over his tattoo feeling the slight bump of scar tissue.

Jared saw my interest and explained "I changed the design a little for Leah, making it more feminine."  
"It suits her." I agreed. He led me over to the chair and swabbed alcohol on to my upper arm. He pulled out a piece of paper and explained "I made a different design for you, Oona helped me with it. I wanted to create something that would not only show you place in our community, but reflect your destiny as well." A pattern of fine lines in the shape of an arch sprang to life. There were two human looking silhouettes; one with glowing gold eyes, the other red. Next to them was an animalistic silhouette; half wolf, half man. The top of the arch had the figure of a wolf. The lines around the boarder flowed together and apart in an intricate web. The only color would come from the vampire eyes, the rest would be black on skin tone.

"You ready?" Jared asked after applying the stencil. "Yes, but if I faint promise me you'll keep going." He chuckled, finding it amusing that the smell of blood got to me. I kept my eyes on Leah, she smiled. I felt the vibration of the tattoo gun against my skin "I thought it'd be hugely painful" I stammered. She shook her head "the numbing cream helps, but mine wore off after half an hour. Even then the pain wasn't too bad, it was just like a grazed knee." I let out a breath in relief "now, that's something I'm accustomed to." Leah kept me talking, distracting me from the process. Gradually a slight stinging started on my skin, it was exactly like Leah had said. We paused after an hour and a half and Leah took out some sandwiches from her bag "got to keep your blood sugar up" she said. She handed a few to Jared as he peeled off his gloves. "You're doing really well, Bella. Another 45 minutes in the chair and you'll be finished."

The time passed quickly and before I knew it he was adding the color to the vampires' eyes. He sprayed my arm with something and wiped the excess ink and blood off before covered it in ointment and a bandage. Leah drove us home.

When Charlie arrived home he was surprisingly happy with the tattoo. "He did a great job, I might get him to touch up my one." He said after inspecting it. He rolled up his sleeve and looked at the tattooed wolf on his arm, it had faded slightly over the years, but the detail was still easy enough to see. "You should speak to Oona, she helped Jared design my one." He was surprised at first, but then I could tell an idea had occurred to him. "Can I try something Oona's been teaching me?" He asked. I nodded. He took the bandage off my arm and touched the raw skin, I kept still and watched him close his eyes and chant softly. My arm tingled a little and I looked over it when he opened his eyes. He grinned. I touched the tattoo, the skin was smooth. My head snapped up "you healed it?" His grin widened and he nodded. "Dad! That's so cool! What else have you learnt?"  
"Mostly tea recipies; one to help the kids connect with their wolf spirit so they stay in control while phased, different types of healing tea, one to communicate with spirits, even a few to help vampires with their blood lust. It's pretty interesting stuff."

The next day Charlie brought Oona home, they were doing a practical test of his ability. She looked over my now healed tattoo "very good Charlie. Let's see how you go with older injuries." She smiled when she heard a knock on the door. Emily and Sam stood there looking nervous. Dad composed himself and started chanting softly. I listened hard, but I was unable to make out the language. A small spot of light appeared where dad touched the scars on Emily's face.

The scars started to shine and a tear slid down Emily's cheek, leaving a wet trail behind it. We held our collective breath as the light began to dim, the scars had healed. Oona clapped cheerfully "excellent work cousin! I've been trying to heal those scars for the last few years." Emily shook her head "you make them less noticeable Oona, you helped me so much." Sam smiled, looking slightly dazed. I grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her to the bathroom, standing her in front of the mirror. Her mouth fell open, her hands touching lightly down her cheek looking for any sign the scars had been there. "Wow," she breathed. I nodded "pretty cool, huh?"

The others were talking quietly when we returned to the lounge room. I caught Oona's voice "Charlie, it's time. I've taught you everything I can. You need more training than I can give."  
"My life is here with Bella and the wolves. Everything I care about is here." Charlie said, Billy cut in "you will always be a part of this tribe, but you must follow your destiny." Oona looked up and called to me "Bella, can you lend me you phone?" I handed it over and Billy helped her use it. She held it up her ear "Hello Uncle, it's time."

PPOV

"Hello Uncle, it's time" Char and Jasper froze in the middle of sparing. "Oona, it's good to hear from you." I heard a door slam in the background and the crunch of gravel as Oona moved away from the house. She spoke quietly. "I've taught Charlie everything I can."  
"Okay, where will we pick them up?"  
"The Elders have agreed to let you on our land. The wolves will meet you on route 101 halfway between Forks and the Res."  
"It'll take us two days to reach you. We have my sire with us."  
"We know, Pete. You guys will be safe here."

There was a little silence, I searched for something to say. "Okay, Sam seems like a decent guy." Oona sighed "time is running out."  
"Oona, we're on schedule, if anything we're ahead of time."  
"No, Pete. My time is running out." My stomach plummeted "Oh." Jasper sent a wave of content and I shook it off, another one of my sister's decedents was circling the drain. Char came over, I held her to me and asked Oona "how long do you have left?"  
"Not long." I heard her sniff, her voice breaking "a few days. Charlie can't be here when I expire, he's powerful enough to bring me back, if he does the balance of fate will shift."  
"I know."  
"He'll feel it, when I die. He's guided by your mother's spirit."  
"Where will your destiny lie?"  
"My father, Homer, had two older brothers. They were taken by the government in an effort to assimilate them in the white world. His decedents live near your destination, but they don't know their heritage. I'm to guide them from the spirit world. You need to take Charlie to the Alabama-Coushatta Res in Texas, there are spirit walkers there who can continue his training."

"We're in Texas now, we moved here a year ago. I had a feeling we'd need to be here for some reason, but I haven't come across any Res-"  
"The spirit walkers that reside there keep it hidden, that's why no other person from our tribe was turned during the Vampire wars."  
"Well, our house is fit for human habitation-"  
"Bella can stay there, but Charlie will need to stay on the Res."  
"Why?"  
"The Res is protected against your kind. I called the alpha spirit walker there, she's expecting him."  
"How will we get him there if it's protected."  
"I'll give Bella directions, about a mile out she'll have to leave you on the side of the road. She'll be able to visit and he'll be able to leave to see you, but you cannot set foot on the land."  
"Okay Oona, I'd better get going. If we leave now we'll be there by dawn the day after tomorrow."  
"Thank you."  
"No problem, Oona. We'll see you soon."

I hung up the phone, Jasper and Charlotte had heard every word. They began packing clothes for the trip. I ran to a convenience store and brought some bottles of water, chips and chocolate for the humans. I arrived back home just as Jasper and Charlotte finished loading my truck and Charlotte's sedan. It was 10pm now. We'd have time to hunt on the way. Char drove her sedan and Jasper and I followed in my truck.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Hi guys, in the last chapter Pete mentioned redirecting their phone calls to Tanya, Garrett and Rose. They're allies to the Whitlock coven and work with the Major when he's around. Now that Jasper has seen the Major's memories the Major doesn't have to hide his secret missions anymore. There will be a lot more detail coming up. We've barely scratched the surface of this story, there's a lot going on. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate the recommendations a couple of you made to help make this story easier to read.**

**Oh… and I suppose all things twilighty belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

CHAPTER 11

PPOV

He was restless. Jasper knew Bella was his mate, but he was scared of her reaction to him. The Major had spilled the beans about me sending their correspondence to Bella. Jasper was not happy. "She's going to be scared of me..." he'd been muttering about their upcoming meeting for the last few hours, my patience was wearing thin."...She's read the letters, she'll think I'm insane, she'll want to stay with the wolves, she'll probably run screaming from me..."

Char could hear his muttering from her seat in the sedan behind us, she interrupted Jasper's mumbling, "give her some fucking credit, Jasper. She's your destiny, don't tar her with the same brush as the Cullens. She's your true mate."  
"But-"  
"No buts, wait and see. Don't condemn her without getting to know her." He leant back in the seat next to me, still moping.

I saw a flicker of the Major in his eyes "quit whinging, Jasper" his arm moved up and slapped him across the face. I burst out laughing, I could hear Char's laughter from the other car. Jasper's embarrassment leaked out. The Major took control of the body and pushed Jasper into the background. I turned to him, "you're not nervous, Major?" I asked. "Nope, if she's our mate, she'll be strong enough to handle whatever we throw at her." He retreated back into their mind as Jasper pushed in front. I was kind of sad to see him go. The Major had been coming out less and less lately and Jasper seemed to absorb some of his personality at times, although at moments like this it really showed how far they had to go to heal.

It was past 2am as we headed over the Washington boarder. We found a place to hunt. Jasper headed into the forest while Char and I left the cars in a mall parking lot, we headed for the city of Portland. My gift was telling me there were a couple of people needing to be disposed of.

As soon as we reached the city limits we came across a group of men who were brawling, there were about ten in total. I looked into their paths of fate; three of them were high level members in the organized crime business. Their expertise were in human trafficking and abduction of minors. We heard sirens approach and the men scattered. It was too easy to pick off the ones that fate had chosen sustain us tonight. Char took the biggest one, he looked like a shaved gorilla, she always liked the big ones. I took the two smaller ones. We dragged them into a local park, snapped their necks, fed and disposed of the bodies. The blood should last us a few days at least.

Jasper was standing by the car when we returned. He looked disheveled. "Did you feed or play with that deer?" I asked. "Actually, the damn thing rammed me. It was a fourteen pointer." He said. "You're a fucking vampire, Jasper, how do you not jump out of the way of a charging animal?"  
"Easy, I let it." He shrugged, "I felt like venting a little."  
"Good," I said, "you were becoming annoying." He rolled his eyes at me and hopped into the driver's seat of the truck, it was my turn to be a passenger, but I was still stuck with the mopey one. Char got into the sedan and we headed to Forks. As he drove I wondered if the Major had continued his game of 'stop hitting yourself' on the hunt. He felt my amusement and flipped me the bird.

In no time we smelt the wolves, I could see Char and Jasper wrinkling their nose, the wolves didn't smell too bad to me, just a little stale. Sam and two others in human form jumped into the bed of the truck, they gave us directions to the Swan's house. The house was only twenty minutes away from where the wolves hitched a ride. It was a relief to get out and have a break from Jasper. I loved the guy, but he was so damn gloomy sometimes.

We were parked in front of a small blue, weatherboard house, I felt Jasper's anxiety shoot up. I gave him a warning glare, "quit worrying before the Major smacks you again. Do you want Bella to see that? What's she going to think if you start hitting yourself?" Char smacked my head "for fucks sake Peter, we're here to support him, now let's calm the fuck down so he can work his magic." I grimaced and centered myself. Jasper soon stopped fidgeting and we finally headed towards the house.

Sam looked on amused. He led us in to the house where a female wolf was putting on the coffee. There were a few boxes, taped up and labeled, around the room and two suit cases. An older lady approached "my name's Sue, which one of you is Jasper?" We pointed him out, he stood there looking constipated as usual. "Be nice" I warned him quietly, he whispered back "her emotions are freaking me out, she's feeling ...affectionate." Sue walked towards him and threw her arms around him. Leah snapped a photo on her phone and rushed off to wake the humans. Jasper stuttered at the woman holding him "um... hello ma'am, how can I help you?" Smooth, Jasper, real smooth.

The woman straightened, there was the sheen of tears on her eyes "I'm a close friend of Bella's, she needed to talk to someone about ...stuff" she finished weakly. Despite her blush she grabbed one of Jasper's hands "how are you, dear?"  
"Fine, ma'am. I hunted before we arrived... animals of course...-" She interrupted him "of course you're managing your thirst, I was asking how you are."  
"Oh... I'm well. How are you?" The silver tongued devil. Char was beaming at this strange woman, huh.

We heard a body thump to the floor followed by a quiet "fuck!" Jasper stilled and stopped breathing. Sue rolled her eyes "she's a clumsy little thing, isn't she?" Jasper remained still, but Sue was having none of it "now you listen to me, Jasper, you're around friends and we have every confidence in your control. So relax, she still feels guilty about her 18th birthday." Jasper inhaled in shock and relaxed his shoulders when he didn't smell fresh blood "she told you?" He asked her, Sue nodded and explained. "She blames herself of course, but I reckon it had to do with those other vamps. Honestly, if I could get my hands on them..." she trailed off "anyway, you lot come and sit down. Charlie and Bella will be out shortly, I'm going to start their breakfast. I've opened a window so it shouldn't smell too bad. You just make yourselves comfortable."  
"Thank you ma'am" we chorused. "Please, call me Sue."

The female wolf returned, I approached her carefully and whispered "can I get a copy of that picture, miss?"  
"Sure, I'm Leah by the way." She held out her hand, I shook it and introduced myself. "I'm Peter, over there we have Charlotte, she's my imprint and Jasper is the one in the corner, he's my brother and sire."  
"Nice to meet you guys." She waved at them. "So where are you guys headed?"  
"We have a property in a remote part of Texas, it's close to the Res where Charlie will be living." She nodded in approval.

Two sets of foots steps came towards us, Bella was smaller than I'd expected, red streaked hair, eye brow piercing and an arm tattoo visible under the sleeve of her t-shirt. I'd pictured someone plainer. She yawned and blushed "hi guys" she said quietly. I walked up to her "I'm Peter, of course you know Jasper and over there, is my Charlotte."  
"Nice to meet you all." She headed over to Jasper and stood next to his armchair, she smiled shyly at him. She was adorable. I looked over to Charlie, his hair was tousled and eyes puffy. He nodded at us and approached "so you're our Uncle Peter, nice to meet you" I shook his hand. Sue carried a couple of plates over to the dining table and Bella and Charlie sat down and dug in.

Leah and Sam loaded up the truck with a couple of boxes and the suitcases. "We have more of their stuff, would I be able to get your address so we can send the rest down?" Leah asked as she carried one last box to the truck. "Sure, if you want you can come down sometime. We've plenty of room." Sue nodded, "we'll arrange it when things calm down." She came up to me "can we have a word outside?" I followed her out "would you mind if I took you to see Oona? She wanted to meet you, but was too sick to travel." I nodded and we headed out in her car.

"How bad is she?" I asked, Oona's house seemed to be in the middle of nowhere "not good. She said her goodbyes to Charlie and Bella after she phoned you." We pulled up at the house and I was surprised to see the lights on. "She waited for you, Peter. She didn't want to go without meeting her Uncle." I followed her in silently, scared that making a noise would somehow break Oona. My niece was slumped in a chair, wheezing heavily. I knelt down in front of her and touched her shoulder "Oona? You okay in there?" She tried to talk, but ended up coughing. Sue ran and grabbed her a glass of water. "I'll wait in the car while you two talk." Sue said as she handed me the water and left.

Oona took a sip of water and cleared her throat "it's good to finally see you, Peter. I waited a long time." I smiled at her and she continued. "Before I die I have to share part of my power with you, it'll bring you closer to your guardians and make your gift stronger. You'll need to pass some of it on to Charlie when I die." I nodded and she continued. "When you arrive home you need to start training Bella to fight, it'll prepare her."  
"What can you see?" I asked her.  
"With you near I can see the path fate has in store for me. Our descendants will remain human aside from Bella and Charlie. There is so much to accomplish, but you're well on your way. Have Charlie heal Jasper after he mates with Bella, he'll be calmer."  
"What about his third personality?"  
"They released their anger, all of it, they are so close to becoming whole. Bella's love for him will dissolve his insecurities and permanently tame _it_."

"Do you see what'll happen with the Cullens?" I asked. "They aren't clear, their seer has messed with fate. There will be consequences, but I don't know about the rest. I see a couple with you, but the other four are in flux." I nodded, you can't fuck with fate. I kissed Oona's forehead, her skin burned with fever. A tingle shot through me, my body felt different. A wave of white light hit me and I was surrounded by peace and euphoria. I felt the moment pass and hugged her gently. "Goodbye, Sweetheart. I hope you find peace." I whispered and left her, it wouldn't be long. We had to get a move on.

The ride back with Sue was quiet and short. Char, Jasper, Charlie and Bella were waiting by the cars, "sorry, I had some official business to attend to." They nodded, but Jasper felt my grief, I whisper to him "later." He nodded. Charlie rode with Char and I in the sedan. Jasper drove the truck with Bella by his side. I could tell both were nervous to be around the other. Dawn had just started. We drove off into the sunrise.

BPOV

Jasper kept casting me sideways glances. "Bella, if you'd rather ride with the others I'd understand-"  
"NO!" I didn't mean to yell. "Jazz, I'm happy to be driving with you. I never got a chance to get to know you."  
"Why are you nervous?" He asked. Damn empath. I tried to explain; "I learned some things about you and I don't know what to say."  
"Are you uncomfortable with me?"  
"No...maybe a little, but it's not you. There's so much I want to say and to ask, but I don't know where to start and I don't want to upset you or make you uncomfortable."

There was silence for a bit. I looked over to Jasper, his body language had changed. His shoulders had relaxed and he held himself straighter, more confident. He was relaxed and smiling. He caught my eye "I'm the Major, Miss Bella. It's a pleasure." He had a thick southern drawl, this was his alternate personality?

This was weird, but maybe it's for the best. "Is Jasper okay?"  
"He'll live, he's just worried."  
"Why?"  
"He thinks you're scared of him, that you'll run screaming away from us." He winked at me. Damn, the Major was a cocky fucker. "I'm not scared, I promise. It's just hard when there are all these questions and I'm worried I'll blurt them out and he'll be offended."  
"Well, I'm not him."  
"I can see that" I mumbled. He let out a dark chuckle "ask anything you like, I don't do emotions and I won't get offended."

"Okay then, how long have you guys been able to co-exist in the one mind?"  
"Well, we fractured during the 1860s, but Jasper and I have only been in contact recently. Did you read the letters Pete sent you?" I nodded. "After he gave me a day of freedom something changed. I tried to bring him back and hand over control, but I couldn't find him. Our mind had changed. With Peter's help we broke the wall between our personalities and we've been together ever since. It's been about a month."  
"That's pretty cool."

I smiled at him and saw something flicker in his eyes, "you aren't scared of the crazy vampire?" Jasper was back. "Nope, it's unusual, but after reading the letters I'm more focused on how strong you two are."  
"I don't understand" he admitted, I tried to explain. "The way I see it Jazz, you fought and survived a literal hell. Yes, you came out with an extra personality, but neither of you are...bad? I don't know how to explain it, but I see the good in you both. From what I read, the Major seems like a protective big brother."

I could see him thinking hard about what I'd said. Jasper broke the silence after a few minutes. "You can ask me, us, anything. We won't get offended." His voice was so quiet, so different to the Major. I patted his arm "okay, but feel free to pass on any questions you're uncomfortable with."  
"Okay"  
"What happened after everyone left Forks?"  
"We fought. Emmett, Rose and I wanted to stay behind. As much as we were a danger to you, there were far greater dangers out there. The others wouldn't listen."

Anger jolted through me "I knew it!" I gritted out, Jasper glanced at me in surprise "knew what?" I huffed, "Pete started sending me emails a couple of months ago. He was helping me heal. I had my first epiphany thanks to him. I realized Edward had stopped me swearing and gradually changed me into someone I didn't recognize. He was overbearing, I had a feeling he was the same with the rest of you."  
"Em, Rose and I weren't treated well, our opinion didn't count for anything, but Esme was hit the hardest, she was constantly monitored by the others." Jasper admitted. I nodded and continued.

"Peter had me think through what I'd observed of each of the Cullens. I got angry. Later I received the letters between you and the Major, you have so much depth to you. It's a shame they were too arrogant to see it."  
"Did the letters upset you?"  
"Yes, I had to ask Sue to help me get through them. I was so angry for you, you'd been surrounded by people who were supposed to be family for decades and they hurt you."  
"Would you ever want to see them again?" He asked me. I pretended to think about it. "Only, if I could cause some physical damage." He chuckled "you're different to how I remember you. I like it" he smiled and looked back at the road.

"How did you meet Peter and Charlotte?" I asked. He seemed to choose his answer carefully. "I knew them from before. I actually turned them." He said. I gestured for him to continue, he sighed "it's not a pretty story, but you already read a snippet of it in the letters. I'll tell you more if you want."  
"Only if it doesn't hurt either of you. I don't want to force you to open up old wounds." He shrugged, but I could tell he was worried. "I'll be fine," he promised, "we survived it the first time, but I think I'll ask the Major to take over. He was the conscious personality through most of it."

His eyes flickered back and his posture changed again. Confidence oozed from him. The Major flashed me his signature grin, "I told Jasper you'd be okay with us." His grin turned into a smirk, "by the way, I love your new look. I could see you in Jasper's memories from before. It's a good change." I saw his eyes flicker again and his hand came up and slapped him across the face. "Jasper!" I chastised him breathlessly, "no hitting the Major, he was just being nice." The Major smirked at himself in the rearview mirror, "Major, no taunting Jasper. Don't make me separate you two!" The words left me before I could rein them in. I was relieved when he... they... started laughing. The three of us relaxed, the tension had broken with my brain fart. Jasper was back at the helm, he leaned back in his seat, a genuine smile on his face. "Emmett was right, you are the coolest human ever." I smiled back.

He turned serious after a pause. "We can tell you our history if you still want to hear it?" He asked. "Of course, but only if you're both okay." I said, I could see him brace himself. "When I was human I fought in the Civil war. I got turned when three vampires took a liking to me. They saw something in me, I don't know if they had a gift to see my ability or if they'd seen me with the troop I commanded. The change was terrifying, I was burning in agony and it didn't seem to stop. I thought I'd been sent to hell.

"Looking back I realize I really was in hell. The southern states were a huge battlefield, armies of vampires were created to fight over territory. The more humans in that area, the more violent the attacks. I didn't know I had a gift for a while, I was too blood thirsty and the emotions from the other vampires overwhelmed me, I couldn't think straight." He took a deep breath. "A month later I fractured and the Major was born..." his eyes flickered as the Major took over.

"You already know what happened, the pain it caused. Jasper and I separated, coming into our own. All I knew was the fight for survival. There was only rage, hate and lust. I'm not as Empathic as Jasper is. Most of our ability lay dormant with him." The Major's mood began to lift. "One day I changed a man, Maria had been watching him and ordered me to turn him. I followed orders. When the man woke up he was different. For the first time in our vampire life I felt calm. It was a foreign emotion, but one that sowed the seed for Jasper's return."

The Major turned to me and smiled, "Peter saved us. He likes to say that we saved him and his mate, but he brought out something in me. The cloud of rage lifted and I could think clearer. I think Jasper may have broken through a few times, he knew he was at war, but it was a blur. I could remember everything, but didn't have the emotions weighing me down. Peter sought me out, talked to me, got under my skin and became our brother.

"That was when things changed. Instead of going into battle blind and fueled by emotion I got smarter. Peter was by my side the entire time helping me plan our attacks to cause maximum damage to our opponents and minimum damage to ourselves. Because of our success our sire, Maria, had vampires who had passed their newborn year; the year where our kind is at its strongest due to the human blood in their veins. She saw our army as disposable. Pete and I were ordered to cull our troops and we carried out her orders. The process restarted annually; when each batch of newborns reached a year old, Pete and I would have to kill them. It was just how it was.

"A couple of decades into my second life I felt my second positive emotion. Peter had been a vampire for a decade and we were due to kill our charges. As soon as Peter saw Charlotte he froze, I felt their love, their pull towards each other. I haven't felt anything like that since." I thought of Emily and Sam and remembered them telling me about imprinting. "I know what happened." I said. The Major had been lost in thought, but snapped to attention as I explained. "In the wolf pack when they meet their mate they are instantly attached. Sam said it was like gravity. It doesn't matter what bonds existed before it, as soon as he saw Emily she became the one thing that held him to earth. They call it imprinting."

The Major thought through my description of imprinting. "That makes sense. It was so different to Vampire mating."  
"How so?" I was glad he was willing to share information, it meant a lot. I'd been kept in the dark with the Cullens. His eyes flickered, Jasper was back "Vampire mating isn't instantaneous. It's like human love, but once you love someone, and they love you, your body changes, you develop an addiction to them. Vampires have potential mates and true mate. With a potential mate a love can grow strong, but it can break further down the track. With a true mate the bond develops before the love. When true mates consummate their relationship their scent mixes together and you choose to give in to the mating bond. Once the bond is consummated nothing can undo it."

"So, Edward didn't want to consummate our relationship because he would have been tied to me forever?" I asked. Jasper shook his head "consummation doesn't make a mating bond, only solidifies it. If it doesn't exist then the relationship can break. Look at Alice and I, we had a similar relationship to you and Edward. We loved them, and while Alice and I consummated our relationship she easily severed ties when it no longer suited her. Edward loved you, he still loves you, but he is incapable of giving himself to another being." Damn, that was complicated.

I sighed, it was time for me to show him my emotional scars. My pain felt so petty in comparison to his, especially now I'd freed myself from Edward's hold. Jasper had compared potential mating to an addiction, it was morbidly appropriate. "Do you know what he said to me when he broke up with me?" Jasper shook his head. "The gist was 'you're not good enough, you're just a distraction and I'm tired of pretending. I'm going to take all the stuff we gave you and abandon you while my family fucks off without a word.'" My imitation of his voice was wrong, but it got my point across. I glanced at the body beside me, I couldn't work out who was in control, Jasper or the Major. His hands were clenched around the steering wheel.

"Major? Jasper? Are you guys okay in there?" His head shook, his voice taking on a different tone "we're here." He looked to me "We're sorry he did that to you. You deserve better than that."  
"I know that now, it hurt for a while but I had support. My dad, the wolves, Pete and Char all helped me. When we arrive in Texas I should show you the emails between us." I said, he nodded curtly and made a tempting offer. "If you want us to hunt down Edward just say the word."  
"Nah, I'm good. The best revenge is living a good life. Now, I can be myself and I have a nifty new destiny to concentrate on. Besides, Edward's crime is also his punishment. If he wants to wallow for eternity I say let him." I smirked at him and received a smile in response.

I looked at him closer, "by the way, which one of you two is in control at the moment?"  
"We both are."  
"I didn't know you could do that! That's cool." He laughed quietly "neither did we. It seems you're healing us."  
"How so?"  
"You told us what Edward said, we both got angry and we thought the same thing. We haven't done this before because our personalities are so different. You put us in sync."  
"So what should I call you? Majper? Jasor?" he smiled "cute, but no. Peter sometimes calls us J, I'm happy with that if you are."  
"Sounds good to me."

The car we were following pulled over, I saw Charlie get out and stretch his legs, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. We parked next to them in front of a diner. J put his hand around my shoulder and leaned in "thank you."  
"Happy to help." I smiled at him and he released me. As Charlie and I headed into the diner, we heard Peter yell "hey Majper! How you feel now?" There was the distinctive sound of someone slapping the side of Pete's head and I let out a laugh. "Sorry J" I whispered, knowing he'd hear.

Our vampire escorts joined us after roughhousing in the parking lot for a bit. "Did you get any sleep Bells?" Dad asked, I shook my head "nah, we were catching up on the gossip." Dad smiled and turned to Pete. "So where are we now?"  
"We're in bumfuck nowhere, Oregon. Our plan is to head through California and grab a motel for the night.

Charlie and I switched cars, he rode with J and I rode with my uncle and aunt. "I hope you don't mind sitting with us Bella." Peter said as we drove ahead. "Not at all." I wanted to enjoy the family reunion. Char smiled at me briefly through the mirror of the sun visor. Her eyes darkened slowly as she continued. "Thanks, hon. Charlie's about to get some bad news and will need J's help." I saw Pete's face fall, but he tried to look nonchalant. "What's wrong?" I asked. I felt dread creep up in me.

Peter's eyes turned sad, "Oona's time is nearly up." I felt like I'd been punched in the gut, a tear slid down my cheek. "I'm sorry Peter. I wish you had more time to get to know her." I choked out. "Thanks, Bells. It helps knowing her destiny will continue when she leaves her physical body. Maybe I'll be able to be in her presence again."  
"That's one good thing about the supernatural world that the mortal world doesn't have," I said quietly. "Death isn't the end of a life, sometimes it's just a change in form." Pete nodded and cleared his throat before speaking softly. "That's something my Elders taught me as a human, it was hard to wrap my head around at the time, but when I was turned it made sense. I saw my path in front of me and the responsibility I had in creating the ideal future."

We were quiet for a while, but unlike the companionable silence I had with Jasper, we were waiting for Oona to join her ancestors. Pete broke the silence "did you know my mother is Charlie's guide?" That was a surprise. I searched for a response, but ended up sounded like a hack psychologist "how does that make you feel?" I felt so lame for asking. Peter shrugged "pretty good actually. I miss her and I don't remember her face, but to know she's close and still looking after our family helps."

Peter's head snapped towards J's. I saw him nod and we turned off the next exit. "We should find a room for the night." Char's voice was rough. I looked at Peter, his eyes echoed my grief "she passed." I said, it wasn't a question, but Peter nodded to me in confirmation.


	12. Chapter 12

**Stephanie Meyer owns twilight.**

CHAPTER 12

BPOV

We had arrived at a hotel just off the interstate. Pete and Char had taken off somewhere; they needed an hour to themselves to grieve. J booked us two rooms and helped me get dad settled. Dad was now curled up in bed. I took a seat next to the bed in an old armchair. J sat in the chair next to mine, he kept his eyes closed and his body still, focusing his gift on dad.

A while later Peter came in carrying our suitcases. "I'll take care of him" he said and ushered us out of the room. J led Char and I to the other room he'd booked. Char patted my hand "I'm sorry Oona passed, Charlie told us a bit about her, you must miss her terribly." I nodded and sat down. "I'll be okay." I assured her.

J and Char sat next to me on the couch. "Will you tell us about her?" J asked. It was difficult trying to describe Oona. "She was amazing...nothing like you'd expect. There was a power in her that silently screamed, but when someone talked she listened, she really cared. She'd stand up for anyone and saw the worth in everything. She sure as hell knew how to keep the other Elders inline." I smiled and I felt tears run down my cheeks. "I didn't spend as much time with her as dad did, but I could feel her intensity everywhere I went. She was respected, it was easy to understand why; if there was something to she could do to help someone she did it, if she couldn't help she was by your side, lending you her strength." I trailed off.

We were all stuck in thought; Char broke me from my memories "can you tell me what was going on with Sue?"  
"You mean when you guys arrived?" I asked J nodded. "She became my sounding board" I looked at J, feeling guilty. "I told Quileutes everything about you guys. There was a bonfire where the stories were being shared. I'd been brought in to the tribe that night and they'd told me so much about their history. When they told me there were nomads close by I told them about the Cullens, vampire gifts, even the Volturi. I'm sorry-"  
"You did nothing wrong, Bella." J's voice was so strong, I could hear something behind his words, but couldn't make it out.

I looked to him in confusion, he explained. "The tribe needs to know that information, Bella. It helped save your life and the lives of others. They're protectors and have a right to know exactly what they're up against." I nodded, the guilt still lingered. "Talk to us Bella" he begged me. I felt like shit and admitted "I was angry at the Cullens when I told them."  
"You have every right to be angry" J said as he tilted my face up to meet his "you went through a lot with us, we're lucky you had the intelligence to talk to the people who would use that information for good."

"So, about Sue?" Char prodded. I got back on topic. "We became close, she was interested to hear more about the Cullens, genuinely interested. I started talking with her and everything came out; the anger, sympathy, hate and hurt. I'd been thinking about them since Peter's email, but saying the words aloud was an emotional release." I looked to J "she became your champion." He cringed, "I noticed. She's rather ...fond?" He said awkwardly.

"When your letters arrived I needed her support. Reading about that one memory you shared... it was intense. After what I'd told her about you and the Cullens I wouldn't be surprised if she'd find a way to turn them to ash." Char caught my eye, there was an understanding there that I shared. We'd help Sue if given the chance.

"They didn't treat you any better, Bella." J said in a small voice. He had a point. "True, but you were with them for decades, J! Look at you now; you're not only away from them, you're hanging out with me, you don't even look like your struggling." He shrugged "I've thought about that a lot since Alice kicked me out. I don't understand how I could snap at you during your birthday party, yet you don't trigger my thirst at all now."  
"You're strong, J. We've also got the chance to know each other. I think you saw yourself as weak because they said you were." Char nodded, agreeing with me. J became lost in thought.

"What does it feel like?" I asked him, I clarified when I saw his look of confusion "how does it feel being both the Major and Jasper at the same time?"  
"It's a bit strange. There's an echo, it feels the same as it did just before the fracture, only there isn't anything trying to kill me and I'm not surrounded by death."  
"I'm glad you're healing, J."  
"Me too."

Sometime later I felt my body start to slump in the chair. I could smell J's scent as his arms scooped me up and tuck me into bed. I fell into a deep sleep.

PPOV

Charlie had fallen asleep a while ago. I'd told him about Oona's destiny, it was a small comfort; knowing she still existed, but in a different form. Being near him like this was strange. I could feel my descendants watching over him, the room felt crowded with static.

My gift nudged me, stronger than it had ever. A thought popped into my head_ 'he amplifies your connection to us.' _This was different. A whisper brushed against my ear '_listen_.' I closed my eyes and focused my hearing. Behind the static of the room and the surrounding human noise I heard a voice. It was so soft, but I could just make out what it said; '_Peter, remember Oona's power. You must pass some of it to Charlie, you must also pass him some of your strength'._ The feminine voice brought back memories of a bonfire and smell of cornbread. '_Mom?'_ I struggled to match her frequency, the voiced commanded me; '_do it now, we'll help you tap into the powers and guide them to him.'_ I nodded.

My focus tuned into the core of my being, I felt a pull. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable. I kept my eyes closed, worried that regaining my sight would distract me from my task. I pushed myself towards the pull, feeling something drain from me, the feeling didn't last long. '_Thank you'_ the same whisper said to me. I asked the question that my human self would have screamed '_will I be able to speak to you again?'_ I felt the brush of something against my shoulder '_you won't, but you'll feel my presence when you're near Charlie.'  
'Don't leave me'_ I started to panic. '_I'm not gone, Peter, I'm part of this destiny. We fight together for the paths of fate.'_ I smiled.

My gift nudged me again and a thought joined it "_incoming_!" I was knocked back as a burst of energy hit my chest. I grunted, my gift popped up again _"Oona's spirit is on her journey, she's stronger in this form. In thanks she passed some power from the ancestors to you." _I teeth my gritted. "Thanks" I murmured.

I watched Charlie as he slept. I know it was creepy, but his presence calmed me. The power that had passed from me to him seemed to move across his skin, jumping like little solar flares. I wondered whether the others would be able to see this. I heard their voices in the room next door and smiled, Bella was perfect for J, she'd hold him together until Charlie could finish healing the fracture.

I distracted myself by looking at the paths before me; Charlie's fate would branch off and intersect with ours from time to time. J and Bella's paths had begun to entwine. The colors of their souls danced around each other. They weren't mates yet, but it was destiny and I could see how their paths would weave together into a tightly bound chord. I looked at my own path and saw Char's tightly bound to it. My bond with Char sat closely next to J and Bella's, there were circles of light clamping us together. Was this the fate's power? Or was this a result of the familial bond between us?

Charlie's path was changing; the ribbons of his soul were bright, glowing as a streak of red moved in and out. It grew until it disappeared into the future. He was going to be immortal. I sighed in relief, I didn't want to lose him and now Bella would never be without a father.

I decided to look at the bonds of others; Charlie's amplification had made the paths so clear. Maria's path was crumbling, she wouldn't live much longer. The paths of the Cullens were broken, aside from Rosalie and Emmett's bond- that branched towards our own. I examined each path closely. Charlie's bond intercepted so many others. I took a mental step back and saw the spider's web of Charlie's path lying over so many. I exhaled heavily, no wonder he's been given the power he has.

The sun began to rise and Charlie's snores grew louder, his sleep had lightened. I put on the kettle and made him a coffee. The click of the kettle turning off had awoken him. "Morning" I smiled, handing him the cup "thanks, where are the others?" His voice was still groggy. I listened in to the other room, Bella was sleeping and J and Char were talking quietly. "They're next door, Bella's still asleep." He nodded and sipped his coffee. I ordered some breakfast for him and Bella and asked for a couple of newspapers to be brought up.

J and Char pulled a half asleep Bella into the room, she looked more disheveled than Charlie. She grinned and practically pounced when the room service was delivered. The two humans dug in, Charlie and I read the paper and Bella ate quickly, heading to the bathroom to shower.

J, Char and I started packing up and loading the car as the humans got ready for the day. We were on the road in no time; J, Bella and Char were in the sedan while Charlie and I took the truck. We talked a little, he was good company, but I could tell he was thinking hard about something.

"What's up Charlie?" I asked him. He broke away from his thoughts and spoke bluntly, "is J still split down the middle?"  
"Kind of, but Jasper and the Major are closer than they've ever been to rejoining."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I heard him say his thoughts are like an echo, the personalities are in sync. It was actually Bella that got him to that point."  
"He's important to her." He observed. I agreed with him, "he is, they're destined to be together."  
"I don't know how I feel about that Pete." Charlie cringed. I turned to him, "there's nothing for you to feel, its fate. All you can do is accept it." He was quiet for a while.

"What's he like? I mean really like." I knew he was talking about J. I thought back over the years and tried to do my brother justice. "Strong. Loyal to those he cares for. He's a good man, but his past held him back."

"Was he meant to be with Alice?" I shook my head and explained; "not long term. She was a means to an end and she took advantage of him as much as she could."  
"I thought Alice was a good friend of Bella's. I don't know what to think now, I'm disappointed in her." He said, I nodded. Alice had disappointed many. "She has too much power and it corrupted her." I told him.  
"What'll happen to her and the others?" He asked. I shrugged, "I don't actually know, she's messed with fate and dragged others into it. The consequences won't be pretty."  
"Will they affect us?" He was worried. I shook my head. "No, we're safe. I protect fate and managed to keep J on the right path. Although, Alice did one good thing; she released him when she was meant to. Whether she did that because it was the right thing to do or if fate forced her hand I don't know."

By lunchtime we were driving along the coast of California. We stopped before the boarder of Arizona at a little diner. J, Char and I stayed in the cars while the humans ate and went to the bathroom. We'd debated with them and in the end persuaded them to eat inside. Neither me nor Char were wanting to put up with the smell of freshly cooked human food and we couldn't risk sparkling in the sun.

Charlie remained my passenger in the truck for the rest of the day. Char and Bella were getting along well, it warmed my heart to see her interact with my mate. All too soon the sun began to set. We'd offered to stop for the night at a motel, but both Charlie and Bella were keen to keep driving and sleep in the car.

They slept lightly, we stopped at rest stops a couple of times for their human moments. When they awoke we were most of the way through New Mexico. After another stop for food and amenities we discussed the route we'd take into Texas. Their excitement amped up when they heard we were about ten hours from our destination. They grabbed a couple of sandwiches from a convenience store determined to keep going.

BPOV

My back started to ache a little. I'd been sitting too long. J took the next exit, frowning at me "you should have told us to stop for a rest."  
"I just want to get the trip over and done with."  
"Doesn't matter, you're still human and you have to listen to your body. It hurts for a reason."  
"Fine, we'll stop for a bit." J shook his head "we're going to call it a day, we're not in a rush and we've made really good time."  
"Another night in a hotel?" I whined. J grinned "yep. I need to hunt." My irritation disappeared, I slapped my forehead "I forgot you're a vampire." He laughed "I'll take that as a compliment." His eyes held a spark of humor. He looked younger, he was kind of pretty.

I was enjoying my time with J and Char, she was like a sister, but my feelings for J were different. I was connected with him on a deep emotional level, a deep friendship had formed in the last couple of days. I needed him.

Pete and dad parked next to us, dad was rubbing his back trying to ease the stiffness. Our vampires headed out to hunt while dad and I arranged the rooms. I could already tell that Peter would be sitting in dad's room while Char and J stayed with me. Dad looked a little lost without Pete nearby. "You okay dad?"  
"Sure, I just feel a little weird."  
"About Pete?" I guessed. "No, not just that. There's something changing in me. When Pete's nearby I feel stronger, clearer."

Char joined us a few minutes later. "I didn't need to feed much so I headed back after Pete and I shared a snack." It was odd to hear her talk about her diet so casually, but I was glad she felt comfortable enough to do so. I turned to her, "Char, do you know what's going on between Pete and Dad?" She nodded. "From what I understand you both have tribal protection running through your blood. At the moment you're pretty powerful Bells, it's because of your interaction with the Cullens. Having us around, of course, is a bonus. Charlie didn't have much interaction with vampires before now so he's kind of catching up. Because of Pete's familial bond they're augmenting each other. Charlie is bringing Pete closer to his spirit guides and Pete is triggering the tribal magic due to his species. The familial bond increases his power quickly."  
"Are there any side effects?" Dad asked. Char nodded, "with you there are; you'll find yourself needing less sleep, but you'll need to eat more. It effects Pete in a similar way, he needs to feed more regularly." She responded.

I thought of another question "how will it change when we hand dad over to the Res?" She shrugged "Pete will probably return to normal, but his gift will be enhanced and Charlie will remain the same." She turned to him as she spoke. "The Spirit Walkers will only train you, you already have the power inside you, Charlie, you just need to channel it and hone your skills."

When Pete and J returned we headed out for an evening of site seeing. Walking around on a warm dusk evening was much better when vampires accompanied you, the mosquitos and bugs stayed away from us. We grabbed a pizza and ate in the park. We lazily walked back to the hotel and had an early night.

The next day was cloudy, our vampires seemed relieved. They let us sleep in until 10 am and ordered room service. All too soon we were back in the cars. We passed the Texas boarder within 20 minutes of setting out. Our vampires seemed to relax in their home state. The further in we went the more familiar the land became to them. Occasionally they would point out a land mark which they remembered either from the wars or their human years.

We stopped at a bakery for a late lunch, Pete showed us the route dad would take to the reservation. The plan was simple enough; the vampires and I would take the sedan and Charlie would drive into the Res in the truck. "Take the truck. It's yours-" Pete was persistent. Dad tried to argue with Peter, but was cut off by our uncle "listen to me Charlie, you are my descendant, think of this as a delayed inheritance. We have more money than we could ever use. This money was cultivated using the guidance of our ancestors, that means it belongs to all of us and the Res. Take the truck and don't argue, you need these resources to fulfill your destiny." Dad nodded.

Dad's phone beeped. "Sue sent me a text, Oona's funeral is the day after tomorrow."  
"Will we be able to go, dad?" Char answered for him. "We already have airline tickets, we're invited as well." I smiled at her "I'm glad you can join us."  
"We'll all have to fly back straight after the funeral, but we'll be able to say goodbye."

We headed out. Charlie was in the truck as planned and the rest of us were behind him in the sedan. J and I were in the back, with Pete and Char up front. J took my hand "are you okay?" I smiled at him "I'm fine, dad's only half an hour away. I'll miss him though."  
"You can visit any time Bella, we'll be seeing him soon." He said. We fell into silence.

The road became bumpy as we got further into the forest. We jolted along the rough terrain and, once we passed a thicket of trees and thick scrub, a house came into view. It was a large log cabin that blended into the surrounding woods. There was a wooden car port with a black jeep and two empty car spaces.

Pete and Char led me into the house, J disappeared with my luggage. The inside had been rendered and painted white with dark stained wood paneling. It was comfortable looking. A column of bricks lead to the roof, there was a gap at the bottom, it was a fire place.

I looked around taking in the details; there was a mezzanine level that looked over the living area. We headed to the right, leading under the mezzanine. There was a short corridor, to the left was an opening showing a gleaming kitchen, next to it was a dark stain door. We passed the doorway to the kitchen and Char opened the door next to it.

It was heaven; green leather upholstered arm chairs sat in front of a window, facing us. On the other side of the room stood a soft green couch facing the windows. The walls were lined with bookshelves, dark stained wood matching the rest of the house. There were a few small tables dotted around, a desk in the corner with a computer and a variety of lamps. The carpet was a deep red color that seemed to fit with the green leather of the seats and the dark stain of the wood. I could see myself spending a lot of time here. On one of the tables I noticed a book lying open face down. The cover was familiar "who's reading Discworld?"  
"J just started reading them" Peter's voice surprised me, he'd snuck up behind me.

We headed back to the corridor, there was a door at the end. Char lead me through to a huge room. There were large windows looking out over the property, the land sloped giving us a view of the mountain ranges. I looked around the room, one corner held a large TV surrounded by various types of gaming consoles. The wall running alongside it was packed full of DVDs. A couch divided the room. On the other side of the couch was a pool table, behind it was a stereo nestled into shelves containing vinyl records, CDs and cassettes. The floor was black slate covered in red rugs.

We headed back out and walked into the kitchen, hidden away beside the fridge was a staircase. I looked at it suspiciously wondering how soon before I tripped down it. Peter left us there and joined J somewhere in the house. I moved up the stairs with Char, taking in the pictures. There were color photos of Pete and Char in different locations, the photos became black and white further up the staircase.

One picture showed a haunted looking Jasper near Pete and Char. They were in some kind of bar "that was taken in Philadelphia during the late 1940s." Char said. It was interesting seeing the vampires try to fit in with 1950's humans. Char's long blond hair curled past her shoulders, she wore a knee length flower print dress with short sleeves and cinched waist. Pete was wearing a dark cotton suit with white shirt. His sunglasses hid his eyes and his long white hair was slicked back, it fell to his shoulders and looked very out of place. Jasper was standing alone in the background, hunched in a coat and looking away from the camera.

"That was a few weeks before he met Alice." Char shook her head, looking displeased with the photo. "Sometimes I wish he never met her, but he's better off for it now." She sighed. The next few photos were similar. At the top was a sepia picture of Jasper, he looked different; his face rounder, his eyes brighter despite his ridged pose and serious countenance. "This was taken before he went off to war as a human." I studied the picture closer, my breath steaming up the glass a little. He looked very young, about 16. Char saw my curiosity "he lied about his age so he could join."

We reached a wide hall that overlooked the lounge room below. Char opened the first door on the left, it was a room full of cushions, silk lined the walls in blues and greens and yellows. "This is our meditation room, you should join us sometime, Bella. J makes it interesting" she smirked.

Next to it, in a corner, was a white door. It stood out from the rest of the house. She led us inside, the smell of bleach and fresh paint was strong in here. I walked over to the desk in front of the window, two notepads lay untouched, the familiar letterheads breaking through the stark white of the room; _from the desk of Jasper Whitlock _on one and _The Major_ written on the other. Jasper joined us "this is where I started to heal" his voice was quiet. I hugged him "you okay?" he nodded. "This room holds a lot of memories, even though I didn't spend much time in it."

We went back to the hall and started investigating the doors on the right. The first room was clearly J's. The walls were painted a dark blue, it fit with the dark stain of the floors and decor. A day bed lay along one wall a large dresser beside it. There were a few shelves which held knick knacks. Pictures and paintings lined some of the walls making the room look lived in. There was another door on the other side of the day bed, it led to an ensuite. There was a deep, white claw foot bath with brass fittings on one side and a shower next to the vanity unit on the other. The floor appeared to be black granite that sparkled in the light. The wall we stood against was surrounded by an arch of shelves varnished in a light beech color. It held dark blue and white towels, toiletries and cleaning products.

We headed back out, the room next to it was a surprise. There was a double bed in the centre of it with rich brown bed spread and pale green sheets. My suitcase sat on the bed "this is your room." Char explained. The walls were a deep green color, the floor mirrored the dark stained floor boards in J's room. There was a wardrobe, stained the same dark shade as the rest of the wood in the house. Next to it was a dresser with an oval mirror sitting on top.

There were a couple of scenic paintings on either side of the door. I turned to the door next to the bed, the ensuite was similar to J's; dark grey granite floors with facets that glittered in the light, the bath was identical but had silver fittings. A matching lightly stained arch of shelves held green and white towels, toiletries and supplies. I was glad to see there was a toilet that sat just out of view beside the shower. I turned to Char and J "I love it, thank you."

We headed to the last room; like mine and J's room it had the same dark stained floor. This room was a deep purple color. It was Pete and Char's room. There were shelves along one wall with pictures, books and souvenirs from their travels. I walked closer looking at some very old looking arrow heads, Char explained "Pete salvaged them after the wars, there was very little left of his people."

Char continued the tour of their room. There was a double bed in the same position that my bed was, the covers were red and purple. There were two doors, one either side. She pointed to the door to the right "that's the closet, we don't have many clothes so we mostly use it for storage." We followed her to the other door, she lead us into the bathroom. The floor was white granite, it matches the walls. Another claw foot tub sat in the room, this one had copper fittings. It was the same set up as the other ensuites, but the towels were purple and white.

Char led the way to the kitchen, there was a sandwich and glass of milk waiting for me. I ate quickly and went back to my room to shower. It'd been a long day.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, sorry I haven't been able to get back to you. **

**In the last chapter I had Charlie and Bella drive to TX with the vampers, I did this for a few reasons. True, it meant Charlie could be contained when Oona passed away, but if it had happened on a plane there would have been issues. Oona's death had to happen quickly after they left so Charlie would be open to receiving the power from Pete and Oona before he got to the Res. Having them drive also had the advantage of giving them all time to bond and it meant Charlie and Bella could take most of their stuff from La Push to the Res and the Whitlock home. **

**I know it seems strange to have them arrive, only for them to leave within a couple of days, but this way Jasper and Bella were able to grow close. I've done a lot of rewriting over the last 24 hours, I cut out a lot because, frankly, it was tedious and I want to keep the ball rolling. Let's face it; in the last 12 Chapters Bella has gotten over most of her emotional baggage, Charlie's been trained, Pete and Char have befriended the wolves, everyone's caught up and Jasper's healing. Thank you all for your patience.**

CHAPTER 13

BPOV

The morning sun woke me up. I headed to the bathroom and got ready for the day. I wanted to spend time with the others...especially Jasper. I was happy around him, even without him using his gift.

I walked down to the kitchen and saw my aunt and uncle. "Morning guys" I yawned. Pete was reading the newspaper and Char dished up a few pancakes for me "thanks Char, you didn't need to cook for me."  
"Oh hush, let me spoil my niece." I smiled; I'd never had an extended family before. This place felt like home.

"What's on the agenda today?" I asked them. Char sat next to me as I ate "I was thinking we could go into town and get a little shopping done."  
"Sounds good." I agreed. "This afternoon Pete and J are going to start showing you the basics of fighting." She said, I was shocked. Pete rolled his eyes "I know you're still human, but it helps to learn self-defense and some attacks. We'll be training at human pace with lots of padding so you can let loose without breaking anything." It sounded a bit daunting, but figured it would be interesting. "Where's J?" I asked. "He's outside making a few calls." Pete smirked at me, I blushed.

J hadn't returned by the time I finished eating. I felt a little disappointed as Char and I headed out. Pete waved at us as we left; we were in the sedan and headed to town. "Do you have any clothes for the funeral tomorrow?" She asked. I nodded "I still have a few clothes there, I have a black wool dress in one of the boxes and a heavy black wool coat."  
"What about shoes?"  
"I have some black knee-high boots, nothing fancy, they're plain enough to be suitable."

Char smiled sadly "I haven't been to a funeral before." I looked at her in shock, she explained. "I haven't had human friends since I was one myself, but back then I'd been lucky. My grandparents hadn't died until after I was turned. My parents died while I was still in the vampire wars. I lost track of my other relatives."  
"You're not missing much. Funerals are a somber celebration of a person's life. There are readings, anecdotes and music. I don't know the tradition of Quileute funerals, but there probably won't be much difference." I told her.

Char was fun to shop with, I heard about her human life. She'd been born in the late 1860s in Louisiana. Her family had immigrated to America from France at the start of the Crimean war ten years before her birth. In her late teens she was sent to Oklahoma to meet the man her family wanted her to marry. Her cousin, Henrik, chaperoned her. As they passed through Texas they'd been stopped. Henrik tried to defend Char, but died as a newborn attacked.

She remembered the first time she saw the Major. She didn't know if he was an angel or a demon. He slapped the newborn away from her cousin, but it was too late. Henrik was dead. She remembered him approach her and bite into her neck. She thought she'd been delivered to hell.

She hated J for a long time, but that changed when she saw Peter. She remembered how J had looked between her and Pete and told them to leave and never return. "But you did return." I said. She sighed, "the guilt was eating at us, we'd found peace in the north. Peter told me all about J; from the Major to the man inside, Jasper. I knew then that they were brothers, not just allies. We didn't know if he was dead or alive, but we had to find out.

"It had been ten years since our escape. We'd bought a house and set up a life in South Dakota. Once we'd made the decision to get him out Peter got one of his feelings. We headed to Arkansas, Maria had gained and lost a lot of territory during those years. Her camp was on the boarder of Arkansas and the corner of Texas. There was so much death. Peter's gift kept nudging him on." Her voice turned sad. "We hardly recognized J when we found him. His hair was still the same sandy blond, but it was caked in mud, we couldn't even see his clothes, he was dressed in rags, his eyes black with thirst. Blood and dirt covered him.

"He didn't seem to recognize us. He was walking into an enemy camp, looking for death. Pete picked him up, he didn't struggle. I ran ahead and booked a hotel room. It was 1890 and many of the guests were too inebriated from the hotel bar to care when Pete walked through the lobby carrying a man in rags. Pete had taken him hunting, breaking the necks of their pray so J wouldn't have to feel their emotions.

"He was so weak. He'd been starving himself for months, I could feel it with my gift-"  
"You have a gift?" I asked her, I thought Pete and J were the only ones with gifts. She nodded "I can sense and manipulate bloodlust."  
"Wouldn't J be able to do the same thing? Isn't bloodlust an emotion?" I asked, she shook her head and explained "bloodlust is more instinctual than emotional. I guess you could say J can work with pure emotions, whereas bloodlust is more of a need. It wasn't a powerful enough gift to be considered useful by Maria which is why I joined the cull of the other newborns. I was lucky Pete had imprinted on me when he did." She trailed off.

"Wouldn't Pete have seen you before then?" I asked, she shrugged and replied. "Pete looked after a different set of troops, the easier vampires. J was my commander, my newborn year was difficult because of my bloodlust and feeling others bloodlust. My troop was considered to be the 'difficult one' which is why the Major trained us. We were the more savage vampires, the Major used that to his advantage in battle. We'd head in as a first wave attack and Pete's troop would be the second wave. We probably saw each other on the battlefield, but weren't able to imprint because we were in a life threatening situation. When I was lead out to be culled, I really saw Pete for the first time.

She paused and picked up where I'd interrupted her. "Pete took J to the bathroom in our hotel room and cleaned him up. He had so many new scars. I'd never truly known hate until I saw him then, Maria and taken a good man and broke him, all for her fucking greed."

"What happened to Maria?" I asked, I hoped she was dead. I hope she'd been broken the way J had been. I wanted to piss on her ashes and ..."She's alive" Char's said, her face twisted in fury, I'm sure my face held a similar expression. I growled, "she won't go near him or you two ever again. I'll kill her, take her apart and torture her until she begs for the fire." Char patted me on the shoulder "at times like this Pete likes to say 'she has her own path and she'll get what's coming to her.'" She sighed "I hate knowing she still exists, but she's alone now. The Volturi decreed that she cannot be near our kind unless in their presence. She's been alone for the last 70 years and is watched by the Masters." Char shook her head "I just pray that when justice is served we're there to watch it." I nodded.

Our mood lightened when we walked along the main street. There were bright colors in the windows of the various little boutique stores. We picked up a couple more pairs of yoga pants for fight training, a few sundresses and comfortable sandals. On the way back Char stopped at a car lot "what are we doing here, Char?"  
"Honey, you need a car-"  
"But-"  
"No buts, you need your independence, Bella."  
"It's too much."  
"Sugar, it's not. I'm your aunty, let me spoil you." She'd used this excuse once already, but I caved. It'd be good to go see Charlie without needing a lift.

I headed towards the used car lot, there was an older model hatchback that I liked the look of, it was cheap too. "You sure you want that one Bells? We can get you a new car if you want."  
"No thanks, this one's perfect." She looked at the millage and nodded "it's got less than 80,000 miles on the clock. This model is known for its reliability, but it's not very powerful."  
"That doesn't matter, I'll only need it to go to the Res and to the supermarket."  
"It's a nice color." She said, I liked it too. It was a dark aqua color that had been popular in the mid 1990's.

A sales man approached and Char dealt with him, I was both embarrassed and impressed. She'd haggled the price down to $2000 and increased the warranty to two years. She transferred the money and I loaded up my new car with my shopping. Char handed me a book from within her sedan "it's a road map. Why not explore a little." I thanked her and headed a bit further out of town. I pulled in for gas at the first petrol station I saw, it was pretty economical. I was happy with my choice.

I drove out a bit more and came across a camping store. I popped in and looked at the fishing rods and lures. A teenage boy with a badge labeled 'Brad' came up. He put together a basic fishing kit for dad. I paid and headed to the supermarket to pick up some groceries for him. I was going to visit the Res.

The Res was easy to find. I slowed and stopped in front of an information kiosk. A friendly woman my age was behind the counter, she had long, straight black hair, fair skin and deep brown eyes. I introduced myself. "Hello, I'm Bella Swan-"  
"Oh! You must be Charlie's daughter. Let me call Theresa, she's his mentor and the alpha of the Spirit walkers." I smiled, relieved that they were so welcoming. I'd been worried they'd react badly to me because of my vampires. Hopefully, I wasn't interrupting dad. I walked around the kiosk as I waited for the Alpha. There were a lot of dried herbs and souvenirs. A lady walked in, she was tall around 5'10" with long, straight black hair, almond eyes and fair skin. She walked up to me "you must be Bella, we've heard so much about you." I returned her smile. "I hope I've come at a convenient time." I said sheepishly, "you're welcome anytime, Bella. Charlie's working with the other spirit healers at the moment, but I can give you a tour if you like." I nodded, "we're having a bonfire tonight, you're welcome to join us." She offered, I was feeling a little homesick so I agreed to join in. I missed La Push already.

The air was stifling and heavy with humidity, but there was a peacefulness here. There were trees all around us and it reminded me of a warm version of Forks. I saw some men fishing by the lake, I was really glad I'd bought dad some gear. He hadn't fished in a while.

We turned around a sharp corner, towards a large tinted glass building "this is our greenhouse. We grow a lot of plants here on the Res that can survive the Texas weather, but there are a few that need special care. We've collected plants from all over the world and included them into our healing. Charlie told me that he healed your tattoo, may I see it?" I nodded and brought my arm closer, she ran her fingers over it. "This was done recently?"  
"About a week ago. Dad healed my friend Emily as well."  
"He's very gifted. I had assumed Oona only taught him the basics, but he'd a fast learner and very talented." I was pretty proud of dad. The expression on Emily's face when she saw her healed cheek was one of my favorite memories.

She led me back to my car, beside it was an old land cruiser. Theresa got in her truck and asked me to follow her. We drove down a dirt road to the outer part of the Res on the other side of the lake. There was a small scattering of houses, she parked outside a smaller house that stood away from the others "this is your dad's place. It's nearly lunch time so he should be home soon." She unlocked the door for me "I have to head out to a meeting, but I'm sure Charlie wouldn't mind you waiting. It was good to meet you, hopefully I'll see you later at the bonfire. It starts at 8pm." She smiled and left, I waved and watched her truck disappear down the road.

I unloaded the groceries I'd brought for Charlie, thankfully the car had stayed cool enough so nothing had spoiled. I packed the food away and started making a couple of sandwiches. Charlie smiled as he walked in and saw me "this is a surprise. How are you, kid?"  
"Good, dad. Char bought me a car and took me shopping. I thought I'd visit you, I got some groceries for you."  
"You didn't need to do that Bells, but thanks."

We sat down and started eating. "What do you think of the Res?" Dad asked. "It reminds me of Forks, but it's a lot warmer. I met Theresa, she seems really nice." I said. Dad nodded "she is. I met the other Spirit walkers last night. There are two protectors and four other healers. I've been working with the couple who live next door, Lucas and Celia. It's been really interesting."  
"That's great. Theresa said she was impressed by how much you could do, dad. She invited me to the bonfire tonight. I'm going to head back to the vampires after lunch and return later." He smiled.

Dad walked me out to the car "you made a good choice, that car has a good reputation for safety." I took the new fishing gear out from the boot and handed it to him "I got you a house warming present." I could tell he was relieved "I haven't fished in ages, thanks Bells. Now quit buying me stuff, I'm the parent remember?" He said, I laughed "sure, sure. I'll go back to acting like a teenager."

The drive home was easy until I hit the dirt road, it was a bit rough to navigate the terrain. The car and I arrived in one piece. J was waiting for me as I drove up, Pete was beside him covered in different types of padding. I ran inside, put away my clothes then joined them. J showed me some moves and I practiced them on Pete. After a few tries we moved faster. We kept repeating a few basic blocking techniques over and over. After a few hours J called it a night. Peter removed the padding, the afternoon had been a little tedious, but it was a good work out.

"We'll continue when we get back from Washington." J announced. It was 5 pm, I was hungry from the exercise. "I'm going to head back to the Res tonight, Theresa invited me to the bonfire." I told them. "Good, I hope you enjoy hearing the histories." Pete said, smiling. "How about we drop you off at the entrance and we'll pick you up when you're finished. I know you'll be tired." He offered. I was relieved I wouldn't have to drive again today.

Char had a plate of steak and vegetables waiting for me. I ate quickly and went to shower. She knocked on my door after I'd gotten dressed and helped me comb my hair. "Pete said you're doing well."  
"Thanks." I smiled. "It's a bit boring isn't it?" She whispered grinning. I nodded as she continued. "It was the same for me when I started, you'll probably be a bit sore tomorrow but it'll be worth it. Pete and J are very patient, the way they teach cements the moves into our minds and it becomes instinctual."

I decided to head out early, it would be a good idea to teach dad a couple of easy meals so he could cook for himself. Pete was just ending a phone call when I got to the bottom of the stairs, he looked up and smiled "I just spoke to Charlie. I was thinking, there isn't much point in you packing for tomorrow if you have clothes there already. We'll take a couple of empty suitcases and fill them up before coming back."  
"Sounds good." I agreed.

Pete drove J's jeep, I had to point out the entrance to him. He'd almost drove past it. "What do you mean there's an entrance there?" He said, looking around confused. "It's right there, Uncle Pete. There's the dirt road with wooden gates and a big white sign."  
"I just see trees." He closed his eyes and concentrated. His eyes flashed open and he stared "I can feel a disturbance in the force. Damn, they must be powerful to hide it from vampires like this."  
"Don't you see Charlie? He's walking over here now." Pete shook his head, but jumped a little when Charlie was a couple of feet from the car. "Holy shit!" He yelled. "You just came out of nowhere!" Dad chuckled and explained "they have a powerful shield. It was cast around two hundred years ago. Each generation of protectors adds to its strength."

Pete got out of the car and tried to walk in a straight line towards the entrance. He veered off course and shook his head. Dad laughed, "Theresa explained it's impossible for vampires to cross the threshold. The shield can't choose between the good vampires and the bad so it just keeps them all out. No exceptions I'm afraid." Dad explained. "That's fucking incredible. I'm glad you're protected that strongly." Pete said.

Dad and I reached his truck "I sorted through the boxes and these two have some of your stuff." We grabbed a box each and headed back to Pete who was still staring in our direction. When we came into view he smiled "I could hear you talking, but I couldn't see any change when you two disappeared and reappeared." He took the boxes "I'll head home and put these in your room, Bella. J will meet you here when you're ready to come home. Just send him a message, he'll be able to follow your scent to this spot. I've also broken a few strategic branches, it's one of the signs we used during the wars. He'll find the place no problems." He turned to dad "I'll meet you at the airport at 5:30am tomorrow. Oona's funeral starts at 3pm, we'll have plenty of time."

I showed dad an easy recipe and wrote down instructions for him to try later. He ate in silence as we watched the news. It was a relaxing evening, but my muscles were starting to hurt a little from training.

The bonfire was similar to the one at La Push, the histories were a little different. They told us the origin of the spirit walkers and how they branched out to protectors and healers. The shield that protected the place was maintained by each generation, they used their own power to reinforce it. Charlie told them about Pete's experience with it, they were intrigued. They'd never been in a position to hear how successful it was and what Vampires saw, or didn't see.

A couple of hours into the bonfire we had a break. Four men and two women approached us; a tall man with green eyes and long, straight back hair spoke first. "My name is Micah, this is my wife Sally" he gestured to a tall, lean lady with short black hair and brown eyes. She was very cheerful, a contrast to Micah's seriousness. "We're both protectors, I see you have that gift as well, Bella."  
"Yeah, I didn't know our heritage and befriended a coven of vampires. My shield grew stronger, one of the coven wasn't able to use his gift on me." I said, Micah grinned "I haven't actually encountered a vampire before, but it's good to know we might be safe from their gifts."  
"Some gifts still work on me, but I was safe from the one I needed protection from the most."

Another man, slightly shorter with a crew cut and matching green eyes came closer "I'm Micah's brother, Thomas, I'm a healer like Lucas and Celia over there." He pointed to a couple behind him, then gestured to Theresa "I heard you met our Alpha. She's a healer too." Theresa caught my eye and waved happily, I smiled and waved back.

Thomas came closer and looked me over "you're with the one from the stories? Your uncle?"  
"Yep, he and his sire are training me."  
"You're lucky, I can't imagine how powerful he is now. I hope we meet him sometime." He said, I was glad they were so open minded.

Thomas spoke, "Charlie said you have a vampire bite mark?" I held out my wrist and told them its origin. "I got this in a vampire attack, my old coven killed the one who bit me." They nodded "we've never come across a bite like that on a human." Lucas said. "The venom was sucked out." I explained.

Lucas nodded and walked closer to inspect James' bite. "I can see why you're being trained by vampires, the traces of venom have changed your power slightly. Your scent has and edge to it I haven't smelt before." He saw the worry on my face and continued "it's not a bad thing, Bella. The power in this community can be divided between protectors and healers, but we have different roles within those two categories. I can sense when something has corrupted fate" he pointed to my wrist "this isn't a deviation. You were meant to be on this path. You're a protector like Micah and Sally, you'll just be a different species." He smiled warmly. I relaxed slightly.

Theresa cleared her throat and started talking when we quieted, she introduced us and told the others about the Quileutes and their battles against the cold ones. We received a few questions about the vampires and wolves, we answered what we could. Oona had been the liaison between the two tribes, now Charlie would fit that roll, amongst others. I gave Theresa my phone number as well as Pete's. I knew he wouldn't mind.

The bonfire concluded at midnight. I was sad to leave, but I knew I'd be suffering tomorrow. I messaged J and dad drove me to the meeting spot outside the Res gates.

He arrived five minutes later in the black Jeep. I fell asleep as we headed back and felt the jeep stop as we arrived home, my eyelids were too heavy to open. I felt J hook his arms under my back and knees and carry me to my room. He smelled of citrus and magnolia, it was an unusual fragrance, but it comforted me.

I felt him remove my shoes and tuck me into bed. He whispered good night and kissed my forehead. I snuggled into the mattress and passed out.

**AN #2: Armed and Fabulous.  
A lot of Jasperella fics have Jasper feeling other's bloodlust. I love that! It's a good explanation of why Jazz snapped at Bella's 18****th****. For the purposed of this fic I have bloodlust manipulation to Char, you'll see why soon ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: I've been keen to post this since I wrote it weeks ago. This is a very busy chapter. **

**I'm speeding through a few things, but it'll work out. I cut out 6k words so far. Thanks again for reading. Stephanie Meyer owns twilight, etc.**

**Possible trigger warning, I've clearly labeled the parts which could be painful to read.**

CHAPTER 14

BPOV

A knock on the door woke me. I looked towards the window, it was still dark outside. The clock read 4:30 am. I shuffled out of bed and quickly got ready. J was outside my door with a cup of coffee. I groaned "oh, thank god" and took the cup from him, moaning at the first sip. J froze "you haven't had coffee before have you?" I asked. He shook his head "think of it as a good grizzly bear fresh from hibernation." I said. He chuckled, "that seems to be accurate, your feelings match Emmett's when he finds a particularly irritable bear."

I shuffled down stairs and groaned with each step, my thighs were killing me. J shot me an apologetic look "it'll get easier I promise."  
"I know J, I'm just a little sore at the moment. I haven't been one for exercise in the past."

"I was thinking about your balance last night" he said "you mean my lack of balance?" I murmured. "Umm... yeah." He continued sheepishly. "There's one thing we can try and it's much easier on your muscles. We'll still have to train you, but if we use the Wii fit you can learn more about how to position and move yourself in a more stable way."  
"Sounds good."

We reached the kitchen. I threw a couple of slices of bread into the toaster and munched on them between sips of coffee. Char carried a few empty suitcases to the car and we headed off.

The flight was the usual boring ride. We travelled in silence, the vampires pretended to sleep. Charlie and I talked quietly. Pete suddenly sat up, his eyes glazed "something's wrong." The seatbelt light came on and the voice of the pilot announced we'd be landing soon. Dad turned to Peter, looking over the top of our chairs "what's wrong Pete?"  
"It's Harry." Shit.

J sent out calm, careful to keep it controlled to our little group. The plane was circling the runway "when, Pete?" Dad's voice was strained "soon, we'll arrive just in time." Pete said softly. "What's coming?" I asked, I hoped to god it wasn't another fucking vampire. "I can't see, I just know we have to get to the Res fast. You can help him Charlie." Peter said.  
"Fuck" dad gritted through his teeth.

The plane bumped onto the tarmac, it was another ten minutes until we could leave. As soon as we were off the small metal staircase we sprinted into the warmth of the airport. J sniffed the air, announcing "wolves, two of them." After yelling out a quick hello we kept up our sprint to the car park. Char was updating Jared and Leah on what was happening, dad spotted the small La Push community bus and Leah ran ahead and opened the door for us to pile in. Pete asked to drive, Leah was about to argue but I cut her off "his reflexes are good and his gift will identify any speed traps." She slumped next to me and cradled her face in her hands. "Pete says we'll arrive in time, there's a chance dad will be able to help" I tried to comfort her.

It was a nerve-wracking ride from Seattle to La Push, we went on the ferry and the wolves paced the deck calming themselves from the confines of the bus and the vampire scent within. The ride from Puget Sound was tense.

Five minutes from La Push Peter jolted and looked sadly at Leah. She started crying, Peter pushed harder on the accelerator and the bus shook under the strain. "We'll be there in time, we should arrive two minutes before the EMTs. Will you have enough time Charlie?" He gritted out.  
"I'll do my best."  
"That's all anyone can ask." Pete said kindly.

As soon as we parked in front of Sue's house dad jumped out and sprinted inside. Sue was crying in the kitchen, Leah ran over and hugged her mom, J and I stayed close to them. J sent waves of calm to Sue and Leah, I put my arm around Sue as she hugged her daughter "dad's with him now, he might be able to reduce the damage." I assured her. Sue nodded against Leah's shoulder and whispered, "thanks." We heard the sirens, I quickly asked her "is it okay if dad rides with him in the ambulance?" She nodded, J led me, Sue and Leah to her car "I can drive you to the hospital." He offered, Sue nodded and asked "where are Peter and Charlotte?" He answered her "they've gone to tell Sam."

Sue and Leah were quiet, the drive to the hospital seemed to take forever, I could only hope dad was able to help. Dad was in the corridor with Seth as we burst into the ER. Dad patted Seth's bare shoulder and updated us. "They were able to stabilize him, he's in theatre at the moment." Pete and Char walked in and joined us "Sam was able to delay the funeral for an hour." He said.

Seth was leaning against a wall, tears running down his cheeks. He pushed forward and approached Pete "Sam pulled me off patrol, I ran here as soon as I heard. Thanks for helping us." He had become a wolf in the last few days, his hair was cut short and he'd grown a lot since I saw him last. Pete smiled sadly then turned to J "would you mind staying with Sue and the kids while we attend the funeral? I'm sorry to ask-" J cut him off. "No problem, by the time you come back we should have some news."

Peter, Charlotte, dad and I took a taxi back to the Res, our belongings were at Sam and Emily's house. We quickly changed and piled into the bus, it had filled up while we were getting ready. Old Quil was up the front with Billy, Jake and young Quil. Peter sat awkwardly at the back, I would have laughed at the two vampires sitting amongst wolves and humans if it wasn't such a sad occasion.

The funeral was more uplifting than somber, it was an informal affair where people shared anecdotes of their time with Oona. A few people gave readings. As the funeral ended many of the older people stood up and started to sing 'Take me home, country road.' We boarded the bus and headed to the community hall for the wake.

People started drifting home, hugs were exchanged as well as condolences. We headed back to the hospital, still wearing the clothes from the funeral.

Jasper was sitting alone in the reception waiting for us when we arrived. He got up and came over with a smile on his face "you did it Charlie, the doctors said it was a miracle his heart wasn't as damaged as it should be." Dad collapsed in a chair, the shock mixing with the relief "he's going to be okay?" He asked, J nodded, "Sue and the kids are in the ICU with him now. How was the funeral?" Venom welled up in Char's eyes as she answered "it was amazing, I never expected it to be so ...healing?" Charlie nodded and added "it was a perfect send off for her. She would have loved it."

Sue and the two wolves came out a few minutes after we sat down. They ran to Charlie and hugged him tightly, he shushed them and cooed words of comfort. I hadn't seen him this way, it was probably something he had to do when he was Chief, only this time he'd been the cause of good news. Sue sniffed and turned to J "thanks for staying with us, it means a lot." He nodded to them "it's good he's on the mend," he said quietly. Sue turned to the rest of us to let us know what was happening; "He was still unconscious while we were there, but the machines were beeping. The surgeon met with us, they had to give him a bypass. They said he was so lucky to stay alive. I don't know what would have happened if you guys hadn't arrived when you did."

Dr Gerandy walked up to our group, he stared at J for a bit. The doctor's face turned red and he spat out "you Cullen's boy?" His jaw was clenched as he stared down the vampire in front of him. J nodded. The doctor turned to Sue, talking to her and sending glares to J. "Harry needs to change his diet, we have a nutritionist on staff. He should wake up by tomorrow morning."  
"How long until he's walking about?" Dad asked. "We like to get all patients walking the day after surgery." The doc's demeanor improved when he spoke to dad. "That soon?" Sue gaped. Dr Gerandy nodded "we find it helps them heal and keeps them from becoming sedentary while here."  
"How will it affect his heart?"  
"Exercise is always recommended, the more frequently he gets his heart rate up the better. He'll need physiotherapy for a few weeks so he gets a routine that will strengthen him, but not tear any stitches. You may want to head home for the night, he's stable and responding well. It's unlikely he'll wake up until tomorrow."

We led Sue and Leah to their car, dad drove us back. The vampires would run with Seth and meet us at the Res. When we walked in to Sue's house Char had cooked a simple dinner of pasta and veggies. Sue smiled at her "thanks, you've all been so wonderful. I'm so glad we met." Peter walked up to her "I've arranged for a nurse to help take care of him, we've already paid her and the physiotherapist." Sue began to sob, but this time it was out of relief.

Sam and Emily arrived once we'd finished eating, they'd packed the rest of our belongings into the empty suitcases. Pete did the dishes and dad made a few cups of calming tea for Sue, Leah and Seth. Emily stayed with them while Sam drove us to the airport, he'd loaded our luggage into their minivan. We were catching a late flight back to Texas.

Charlie stayed with us that night, Pete drove the truck he'd given to dad to our place with the luggage. The rest of us bundled in to the sedan. Dad took J's room and I headed to mine, it was nearly 2am when we went to sleep.

I woke up to the sound of dad's cell phone followed by a thump. I stumbled out of bed and knocked on his door, a muffled "come in" came from inside. Dad's phone lay on the floor a snore sounded from the lump on the bed. I picked up his phone and shook him "you have a missed call from Theresa"  
"whattimeisit?" He slurred, I looked at his phone. "9.30" he groaned and rolled out of bed, landing hard on the floor and crawling into the bathroom. Dad wasn't a morning person, it was something I'd inherited from him.

I took a moment to freshen up and padded down stairs, Pete stood in front of the stove "morning sunshine!" He boomed and handed me a plate of hash browns, scrambled eggs and bacon. I hugged him and mumbled "best uncle ever." He sat a cup of coffee in front of where I'd slumped at the dinner table. Charlie shuffled in; "ohmigodcoffee" he greeted Pete unconventionally. After he took a sip he said a coherent "thanks." He shoveled his food in his mouth, finishing before me. "Healing Harry has really sapped my energy, but I'm glad I was able to help."

Pete took off his apron and brought out a binder from one of the shelves. He handed it to Charlie "Char and I have travelled a lot over the years. I kept notes on a lot of traditional medicines. There are illustrations, descriptions on how to use each plant and recipes. In the back are dormant seeds to each plant described here. At some point you'll have to settle down and start your own garden. You can contribute to the Res greenhouse if you wish, but keep some seeds for yourself. A few of these plants are considered extinct."  
"This is too much Pete, you should hold on to it." Charlie tried to hand the binder back, but Peter refused, pulling out another binder "I have my own copy."  
"Okay, thanks Pete."  
"Happy to help. We have to make sure our knowledge doesn't die out, it must keep growing and adapting through time. Inside you'll find an envelope, give it to Theresa." Dad nodded and said "I'd better get back to the Res, Theresa's arranged a few hours training this afternoon." Char helped him collect his belongings and we said goodbye.

After dad left J took me outside and showed me a few stretches to ease the stiffness in my muscles. "Where did you learn to do this?" I asked him. "Internet. We didn't know about this kind of thing when I was human," he replied. We warmed up with a short jog and started going over the blocking techniques he'd taught me a couple of days ago. After a few repetitions we moved on to incapacitating moves.

I started turning a little green as he went into eye gouging techniques and described the weak spot on the neck which would allow for an easy decapitation. When he noticed my sour mood he sat me down on the grass "all this may sound a bit barbaric, but keep in mind that when you're in a fight you attacker will do whatever they can to destroy you. Just keep in mind that vampires don't throw up and hopefully, with us nearby, you'll never need to use these techniques as a human."  
"How will I be able to do this, J? Blood makes me faint, the thought of sticking my thumbs in someone's eyes until they pop really sickens me." He shrugged "this isn't something to dwell on, the important thing is you know what options are available if you're in trouble."

We got back to training, learning how to disarm holds by putting pressure on joints. He put on the pads and attempted a few attacks at human pace, throwing out a few suggestions as I blocked and hit. He let me improvise with what he'd taught me. We called it a day at around four o'clock and sat down enjoying the cool breeze coming up from the valley.

"Thanks for training me J." He turned to me, "I want to protect you, Bella, keep you safe. The only way I know how to do that is by teaching you to protect yourself."  
" I appreciate that. I felt so helpless while with the Cullens, they kept me in the dark and never let me help myself."  
"They did the same with me and my blood lust. At some point you've got to trust the person you care about. I'm not your father, your keeper or a police warden. I can't promise I won't get bossy from time to time, but you'll be able to shut me up when I cross a line. You're a part of this coven." I took his hand. "Thanks, J."

He stood and pulled me up, he used a little too much strength and I crashed into him. "Oops" I blushed, he steadied me and smiled. My mind went blank, he looked at me concerned, but I just shook my head. Damn male vampires and their prettiness. I headed inside, remembering the feel of his hard body against mine, there were contours I could only imagine. He was stunning. Ugh the last thing I need now is a crush.

JPOV

TRIGGER WARNING

I sat down on the couch and heard the shower turn on in Bella's room, she was so soft. It had been a long time since I felt the softness of a female. I shuddered at the memory of bedding Alice and Maria. Alice was too thin, too petite and she wanted to rush through sex as if it was some sort of chore. Maria disgusted me, she starved me until my blood lust was insatiable and then grabbed me, I'd lost the fight many times. I'd been so unwilling, but my body reacted to her hands and mouth instinctively.

END OF TRIGGER WARNING

There was a softness with Bella that went beyond her being human, she was comfort. I tried to push back the memories of Maria, but they flooded my mind. I was so disgusted with myself. I sat frozen, unable to escape the images.

I felt a warm pressure against my cheeks. My mind was stuck in hell, but I could feel my body. Warm fingertips traced over my face. The smell of jasmine and fresh cotton tickled my throat. I saw brown. It filled my field of vision and warmed me.

I moved closer to the brown, brown was safe. The scent of fresh, clean cotton and jasmine surrounded me. Closer. Need more. I felt a softness against my lips, my eyes closed instinctively, but I could still see brown. Brown was soft against my skin, it tasted like home. It was mine.

Another scent swirled into the mix; the smell of campfires and pine. It was weak, but approaching. My growl was muted against the softness that surrounded me. A throat cleared, breaking the spell.

Bella, my lips were on hers. She was leaning towards me full of jasmine and cotton and brown. She moved back, her lips were swollen, her face was bright red and her heart hammered in her chest. "You okay there, J?" Her voice called roughly to me, I nodded. She held her arms out and sent me some curiosity, I pulled her onto my lap, hugging her tightly to me.

Soft, warm, kind, incredible. A small sound footsteps echoed lightly towards us, Charlotte? "Charlie's on his way." She announced, was he angry at me? I looked at Peter, he explained "you had a flashback, J. Do you still feel the echo?" I shook my head, not ready to talk yet, everything was hazy, confusing. "Bella got you back from the memories. The Major and _it _have fused with Jasper. It was lucky really, she's got perfect timing. You had a make or break moment, she made it. Charlie needs to work his power to keep you bound." The words didn't make sense. Bella was confused too, I could feel it.

Char spoke quietly, talking to my mate "Bells, when your dad arrives I'll explain everything to you." I felt her head move up and down under my chin. I felt her reluctance and purred to calm her. I moved my mouth down to her ear and whispered "are you hurt?" Her answer was just as quiet "no" I felt Pete and Char leave the room to give us privacy. "Are you okay, Bella?"  
"Yes."  
"Do you need me to move?"  
"No." She paused for a moment "are you okay, J?"  
"Yep"  
"Do you need me to move?"  
"No." I opened my feelings to her and spoke; "Bella, I love you." I waited for her to respond, holding her, running my nose through her hair. She was so still, the smell of salt in the air. "Breathe, Bella." She gasped. I whispered to her "please don't fear me. I promise never to hurt you." The white noise surrounding her emotions lowered; I felt butterflies swarm in my stomach, my skin tingled at our contact and my heart felt heavy in my chest, growing in size and pulling towards her. She whispered, so quietly "I love you too J."

The front door slammed, echoing around us like a gunshot.

Char moved towards us, her slow measured movements looked calm, but her happiness flowed into me, making me feel lighter. She knelt down to Bella, gently pulling her arm towards her "come on Bella, it's time for Charlie to work his magic. You can have J back soon." Bella staggered after her, still in a trance. I wasn't much better. My feelings were too strong, they weighed me down, I wasn't used to this.

Peter came over and hoisted me up, a rougher voice spoke in the background "we need to take him outside."  
"What will happen?" Pete asked. The rough voice responded, "the spirits will use me as a conduit, binding him together. From what I understand it's unnatural for the mind to be separated like this. His mind wants to heal, but between the amount of time he spent fragmented and the division of memories between the Major, _it_ and the Jasper he has grown metaphorical scar tissue. The three parts of himself have merged, but he needs a little help keeping them together."  
"Why do we have to go outside?" Pete asked. I recognized the rougher voice as Charlie's.  
"He's been separated for over a century and a half. Most of his life has been spent either trapped in his mind or tortured. Darkness builds up and there's likely to be some fall out, especially with him being an empath."  
"Is this safe for you?"  
"I'll be protected, I was shielded before I came here. It's temporary, but it'll keep me safe until my training is further along and I'm bound between the spirit world and mortal world."

The words made no sense. Bella's voiced yelled out "is it going to hurt him?"  
"Yes, but the hurt will heal." Pete yelled back.  
"Dad! Don't heal his physical scars!" Charlie lifted my head, looking me straight in the eye. "Is that what you want, J?"  
"Anything my mate wants." My voice was flat. He shrugged and leaned closer "if you change your mind I can be here to heal them as much as I can, talk it over with Bells when you're ready."

I stumbled down the hill while being supported by Pete. Charlie walked slowly. The ground leveled off. I felt the ground come closer, the grass felt soft on my back, cool and dry. Pete's voice came to me "how are you feeling, J?"  
"I don't know."  
"Send me your emotions" I collected my emotions, condensing them into a ball and slowly focused them towards Pete. His voice changed direction "I think he's in shock, he feels hazy and confused."  
"We'd better move quickly, I know shock is bad for humans, but I don't know how it affects your kind. Given the fact that J has an illness I'd only ever heard of in humans I'm going to guess he needs to be bound now."

Rough, callused hands lay over my eyes and forehead. I closed my eyes. I saw a light through my closed lids and started feeling claustrophobic. "Hold him down Pete, it's about to get painful." Pain built behind my eye lids, the light was too bright and it burned. Jolts of power seemed to travel down my optic nerves, straight through to the back of my mind. Pain. Pulsing, electrifying pain grew in my head. I struggled against it, my eyes rolling in my head and my hands clawing at the ground as I felt a steel grip hold my arms in place.

I was overheating, unable to escape the light. I felt something tear away from me, but part of it still clung to me, holding on to me by a thread. I screamed, the thread was being pulled. I was sure at any moment my eyes would explode and my brain would melt. "BELLA! BELLA!" My voice screamed. Another voice joined my screams and I felt the thread snap, it sprung away from me and moved into the hands that burnt me with light.

I felt weightless, suspended. The light remained bright, but no longer burned. It cooled my mind, like rivers of water running around the singed remains in my head. I felt thousands of little shocks, not painful, more like a strong case of pins and needles. The feeling intensified, going from numbing, to itchy, to painful. It was a different type of pain, pressure, building, growing, overwhelming me. I grunted in pain. The hands moved from my wrists, freeing my arms. The weight moved to the hands on my face, holding them steady. My head hurt, like it had been put into a trash compactor. I whimpered, feeling the ache turn to a strong blunt pain. It kept growing, the pressure more than I could handle...then release; I felt a strong burst of energy emanate from me taking the pain with it. I felt a breeze of movement and heard a series of crashes.

I curled up, feeling a warm body slump to the ground next to me. The sound of my name called me from the distance, growing louder, the gentle patter of light footsteps coming closer. A hand stroked through my hair, I felt whole.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Hi folks, I'm updating early. I'm going to try and update again sometime in the next 12 hours because I'm babysitting overnight and won't get a chance to update at the usual time this weekend. Did any of you find the first J/Bella kiss last chapter confusing? This chapter starts with a BPOV of J's healing.**

**I should warn you that there is a trigger warning in this chapter as well, a memory is discussed and it alludes to sexual abuse. **

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 15

BPOV

Char had dropped a bombshell of information; J is my mate. It was a foreign concept, I'd been a 'mate' in the past, this felt different. The feelings were too strong to identify. What I'd thought was a crush was so powerful, so fundamental to my existence. It brought fear, love and longing. I needed him. "Mate, _mate, _**mate, **MATE." No matter how I said it, it felt different. I had known love with Edward and thought that was 'mate,' but it was more like an addiction. It hurt me, burned intensely before slipping out of my reach leaving my empty. 'Mate' was whole, deep, visceral. There was love, but it wasn't painful. Instead of trapping me I felt free.

'Mate' the word conjured up the feeling of a warm fluffy blanket in winter, a cool breeze in summer, the fresh air of autumn and the sweet smell of spring. It was constant. It was almost tangible.

It felt like I'd shattered to pieces when he screamed, his voice begging for me. Without thinking I ran, it wasn't conscious, it was instinctual. _Protect my mate._ Char held me back, I struggled. He needed me. Adrenaline pumped through me, my skin burned. The pull dragged me and I pushed myself forward as hard as I could. I could feel the muscles in Char's stone arms strain. I caught sight of him on the lawn at the bottom of the valley; they looked so small in the distance. J was lying vulnerable with Peter holding him down. A blinding bright light shined from Charlie's hands. He was no longer my father, he was my enemy and he was hurting my mate. I felt Char's grip slip, she pushed her weight forward landing on top of me. I clawed at her, the ground, anything. My fingertips burned as I struggled to get a hold.

Something moved in the light, a faint dark shade moved from J and up Charlie's arms. I stilled, watching as dad threw his head back and screamed. A column of darkness left him, dissipating quickly in the air like ash. J stilled. The light never wavered, but a faint wisp of color snaked its way into J. He grunted, his muscles taut with strain. He was hurting again.

The light grew even brighter. Peter released his hold on J's arms and moved to kneel opposite dad, anchoring my dad's hands to my mate's face. J whimpered. Then, like a sonic boom, a wave of energy left him, a wave of air flowed outwards, passing through Charlie and flinging Pete deep into the forest. Trees fell in its wake, their roots upturned. By the time it travelled up the hill towards us it lost its power. My hair lifted to the breeze. The light left Charlie and he slumped to the ground. I took my chance and ran to J. Pete had recovered and reached Charlie, checking him over. I heard J's name and realized I was calling him. I fell to my knees and gently moved my fingers through his hair.

Sometime later he responded, turning his head and nuzzling his nose into my hand. I felt the tickle of his breath against my skin as he took in my scent. His muscles grew lax. I moved my hand back to his hair, moving my fingers through his soft blond curls. Char walked close to us, gently placing a tray on the ground next to me. Pete propped up Charlie so he was sitting. Char lifted a cup of sweet smelling tea to dad, tipping small mouthfuls into him.

When dad was able to hold himself upright she handed him a sandwich. Through mouthfuls of bread dad asked Pete, "did it work?" Peter's eyes unfocussed looking at something in the distance, his mouth grew into a wide grin, his eyes sparkling "it did. He just needs some time to adjust." Pete put his arm around dad "Best. Nephew. Ever!" Dad smiled at him and said "I'm glad. I want him free from his past." Dad looked over to me and I smiled, "thanks, dad. Thank you so much." He bumped my shoulder lightly "take care of him, he'll be fine soon."  
"I promise."

Char helped me drink a mug of tea, I didn't have the heart to move away from J. The tea was sweet with herbs, but I could taste mint. I felt more awake and alert. I looked to dad "did you make this?" He nodded "I think I've found something better than coffee!" I said. He chuckled at me and murmured; "nothing will replace coffee in my book."

I ate my sandwich single handed, occasionally catching a strange glance from dad, Pete and Char. "What's up, guys?" I asked them. Dad cleared his throat and responded "your power grew."  
"No shit! Seriously?" I blurted out. Char nodded, "I had a hard time holding you back, it felt like something stopped me from getting a grip on you."  
"Really?"  
"When you got away you scared the shit out of me, I had to tackle you and was so worried I'd hurt you. Human bodies aren't equipped to handle our weight."

"Huh" I said. Pete took over from Char "we can see it now. It's like a thin film of glass that moves with you."  
"But I'm touching J. I don't feel any barrier or any difference."  
"Probably because he's your mate. You're powerful Bells, but nothing can get between mates, literally in your case. In fact I'd wager that as your power grows you'll start subconsciously shielding him."  
"I can protect him?"  
"Definitely, but that's something we'll work on later. We still need to train you in fighting and defense. When your power gets stronger we'll be able to see what your shield can do." Pete said.

"When do you think we can start working on it?" I was eager to learn, I'd never been able to protect anyone like this. I felt stronger, more confident. "Probably when you're turned." Pete continued, "The future is clear; you'll be changed soon. I can't see when, it's one of those decisions that fate has allowed some wiggle room for. It's inevitable that you'll turn, but it won't change fate if you choose it sometime in the near future."

I finished my sandwich and saw Pete lead dad into the house "don't leave yet, I want to spend some time hanging out" I called to dad.

Char handed me a thermos "do you want to feed J?"  
"Is that possible while I'm still human?" I asked. She nodded, "you're his mate, even unconsummated, his instincts won't harm you." I smiled "thanks Char. I don't want to move away from him at the moment." She loosened the lids of the three thermoses sitting on the tray and headed towards the house "wait ten seconds before you start, if he thinks I'm too close his instincts could take over." I nodded.

I looked back up the hill, it had been a little longer than ten seconds. I removed the lid that rested on the first thermos and pushed the release button. I could smell the tang of blood, but it didn't bother me, my mate needed it. I tilted him over so he was lying back and saw his nostrils flare at the scent from the thermos. He lifted his head up and I tilted the thermos, letting the blood pour into his mouth. I watched in fascination as his throat moved with each gulp and smiled.

As soon as it was empty I picked up another, feeding him, watching him. His eyelids lost the purple bruises and his eyes slowly turned gold. I was pouring the third and final thermos into his mouth, his cheeks looked flushed with a very light pink. Once empty I put it aside and watched him ease himself into sitting position. I grabbed his hand and traced my fingers over his stone skin "how do you feel J?"  
"Good. Weird, but good." His voice was soft and his eyes looked at me with longing. He slowly straightened, sitting on his knees. His other hand reached out to me, I moved it aside and pushed myself into a kneeling position, hugging him with all my strength.

He whispered in my ear, echoing the questions from earlier. "Are you okay, Bella?" His voice was muffled in my shoulder "yeah."  
"Do you want to head inside?"  
"Soon." I said, I wasn't ready to move yet. My mouth to repeat the words from before, "I love you J." I tightened my grip on him as he said "I love you too."

Two weeks had passed since J had healed. I hardly left his side; while we could handle being a part it hurt a little. We had developed a routine; Char had taken over my training and we were building my repertoire of attacks. The idea of hurting someone still shook me, but I was able to keep focus. My shield had strengthened, but it was beginning to use more energy than I had. I would have to be turned soon. The pain of the change was something that I was dreading, but what was three days of agony compared to an eternity with my family and mate?

Charlie had grown stronger too. I spent every second evening on the Res, he'd started to enjoy cooking and was having fun blending different types of ingredients together. He'd incorporated his training into cooking and had developed some super charged recipes. He was a beginning to teach me a few things.

He'd made a few breakthroughs adapting recipes he'd learnt through Oona with the knowledge Pete had passed on from his travels and the teachings from the healers he lived with. His appearance had changed drastically as well, there was a faint glow to his skin, not like the glitter of vampire skin, he was a little illuminated. His face had lost the wrinkles he'd earned and his skin looked smoother. He was sleeping and eating less, his body was losing the need for human refreshment.

J and dad grew close, they had found common ground and went to a historical reenactment. I'd planned to attend, but when I tried on the costume the layers of petticoats and thick cotton dresses were suffocating. Once a month J and dad were going to head over to a golf course dressed in the uniforms of J's human days. Dad would fight for the union and J would reprise his role in the confederates. I'd never get used to J acting so human, he'd completely lost the haunted look in his eyes. When working and talking to allies he was serious and confident; whether he was gathering intel from his friends or reporting to the Volturi Masters.

I'd almost started hyperventilating when he told me the Major freelanced for the Volturi. I was certain I'd be put to death, that La Push and Dad's tribe would be under attack at any moment. It was a shock to hear otherwise. The Volturi already knew about me, the La Push Wolves and the Spirit Walkers. I had trouble trusting that there was no danger from them.

Yesterday he made a call to the mysterious "mutual friend," they'd avoid using names incase Alice would get a vision or if the communication was compromised. I'd been on the computer emailing Sue and Leah when J sat on an armchair close by. The phone conversation had turned from intel gathering to friendly banter as he confirmed his healing. He was so different, the gentle part of him came through without the insecurity, it mixed with the confident part of him and was so sexy. He had caught my eye and winked making me giggle like a school girl. I'd become embarrassed and turned away from him, groaning. He affected me so much. I heard him explain my actions, a high feminine squeal came from the phone as he referred to me as 'The one.'

"Who is it?" I'd whispered. He mouthed 'Rose' and I cringed, he handed the phone to me without warning and flitted out of the room, laughing. 'Fuck you, J' I'd growled out and heard laughter come from the speaker in the phone. I held it up to my ear. My voice was strained with awkwardness "hi" I'd tried to speak as emotionlessly as I could and failed. "Hi" her voice sounded nervous "how are you?" She asked, I enjoyed her awkwardness. "Just dandy, how about you?" She sighed through the speaker "as well as expected."  
"What do you mean?" I was expecting her to snap at me at any moment, part of me wanted her to so I could tell her exactly what I thought of her. "I hate it here" she'd said in a small voice.

She explained using the code names they'd come up with a long time ago. I wasn't familiar with them, but I could tell who she was talking about from the information Pete, Char and J had given me. "The head of the family (Carlisle) is lost, looking for guidance in two who have their own agenda. His mate (Esme)has given into the grief about the lost ones (J and I). When the twerp (Edward) was here he did what he could to shift focus back to himself by putting everyone down. The manipulator (Alice) is oblivious, flouncing around the house cheerfully and sending backhanded compliments to everyone she sees."

"Your mate's darker half (The Major) ran the show when he could. It's such a change to hear his voice now that he's healed."  
"Are you going to cause trouble between my mate and I?" I asked, my tone turned hard, I wasn't going to let anyone treat me or J like shit ever again. Rose was instantly contrite, "No. Look, I'm sorry for how I acted before, really. I hated the dynamic between you and the twerp and foolishly thought you were like him; pious, judgmental and likely to backstab us."

Rose's voice picked up speed, but I could still hear her clearly. "I was also angry how your true mate (J) was being treated, it felt like I was the only one who could see his worth. When the twerp would steer you away from him you would follow blindly. Your mate was his gentler self (Jasper) and didn't know his destiny was with you. His darker half did, I saw his disappointment, but he never said anything or judged you. I'm sorry for making assumptions."  
"Thanks, but you do realize back then you were acting pious, judgmental and likely to backstab us?" I threw her words back at her. I wasn't ready to concede yet, I'd put up with enough from her family. "You're right. I'm sorry about that now." She admitted.

There was an awkward pause, I pushed down the need to break it. Rose sighed and I could tell she was uncomfortable. Good. "He sounds so different since the healing." She said lightly. "He is." I agreed. "Will you tell me what happened?" She asked. Her voice sounded weak. I thought for a moment and said "You care about him, don't you?" At least she seemed to care. "He's my brother." She said fervently.

"Fine. What exactly do you need to know?" I asked. "Was he triggered?" She asked. I thought through her question before answering. "I don't know, I came downstairs and saw him still as a statue."  
"Were his eyes black and unfocussed?"  
"I think so. I tried calling to him-"  
"What happened before that?" She cut me off. I thought back over the afternoon before our first kiss. "Nothing, we were talking outside and then went in."

She exhaled heavily and began to talk, "his past was a living nightmare. Sometimes it creeps up on him, anything would trigger him and it'd take a few days for him to come out of it. We'd have to run interference so the leader and his mate wouldn't notice."  
"What do you mean?"  
"The leader had caught him during an episode in the past, he made it worse. He turned all his attention on your mate, watching him like he was a guinea pig. He was so wrapped up in studying the effect of PTSD in Vampires he neglected to protect him like a good leader should. He'd do things to stimulate a response. The episode lasted longer than the one's he had after."

"What happened, what did the leader do to my mate?" My voice became a growl. **[Trigger warning]**"He opened up a bag of human blood. After that that he tried to get the manipulator to have sex with him. All this happened during that first flashback he had with us." Her voice turned into a growl and I could feel the blood drain from my face.  
"Fuck, what an idiot" my voice broke, Carlisle intentionally hurt my mate. I would make sure he got what was coming to him.

"We were so angry." Rose continued. "The leader had no idea what abuse he was going up against, it wasn't just physical and emotional. Do you know that? She used him, FORCED him."** [Trigger end]** I heard her breathe deeply before she continued. "Thankfully, the Twerp and the Manipulator were on our side when it came to running interference. The Twerp was scared and neither of them liked the shift in attention-" I cut her off, I could easily guess how Edward and Alice would react. "-So when the Twerp could read an episode he and the Manipulator would bring focus back to them?"  
"Yeah, the down side was that they'd use it against him. It was an excuse to monitor him and beat him down... he never believed me when I told him he wasn't really having a slip. He'd come to covered with blood, animal blood, but he hadn't slipped in the traditional sense since he joined. The darker part made sure of it." Rose said.

I'd gotten to know the Major well through the letters and talking with both him and Jasper. "I can see that. The darker part has a sweet side, he's a cocky shit but very protective and charming." I said, Rose's voice lost its awkwardness at that "his drawl is something else, isn't it?" She whispered. We laughed a little "yeah." There was that damn blush again.

We had paused and something occurred to me "I think I know what triggered him." I heard her intake of breath as I explained, "we were sitting down outside, talking, but when he stood up he gave me a hand up. I fell forward, he probably felt my body against his, I triggered him."

J walked into the room, I knew Rose would be able to hear as he spoke, "you didn't cause the trigger I did. You feel so different to me, my mate, and it's not just because you're human. It got me thinking about how much better you are for me. My thoughts turned to the past when things weren't so great... You didn't trigger me, my own thoughts did. Stop feeling guilty. You pulled me out of that episode, you got me to a point where I could be healed and you were the one to bring the healer to us. You saved me." J said and put his arms around me.

"How did you bring him out of the episode?" Rose's voice sounded tinny as I held the phone away slightly. J answered for me "she was there for me, everything about her draws me in like never before."  
"You kissed me for the first time then" I said and smiled at the memory. Rose made a sound like 'awww.' I laughed and called her a 'bitch.'

"I really like the new you, you're different to how you were with the Twerp." Rose said. I grinned as J's eyes grew wide. He answered her; "You have no idea, wait till you see her, Sister." He ran his hand over my tattoo, he loved my 'make over.'

"Can I visit you soon?" She asked. J started to respond "I don't know-" but had been cut off by Pete walking into the room. I threw my arms in the air "for fucks sake, I know you're hearing is good, but could you vamps at least pretend not to listen?" I groused. Pete smirked. "Nope, get over it Little Bee." He looked towards the phone and answered for us "the Twerp hasn't returned?" he asked Rose, she answered "nope, we don't know where he is."  
"Good, I don't think he'll be back for a while. He's probably still wallowing and waiting for his mommy and daddy to beg him for his return. What's the manipulator up to?" Pete asked. "Not much, there's been no change. I've notified the masters of her plan." Rose said.

"Good, I'll call the Masters and update them on things at this end. I get the feeling she'll be headed their way after you and your mate leave." Pete said, I heard Rose sigh "is there any reason for us to stay?"  
"Not as far as I can see." Pete responded "how far away are you?"  
"We're in the north east, about three days travel as the Vampire drives."  
"Okay, if you suggest you're headed on another honeymoon you'll be able to leave without any suspicion. Will the Manipulator be a problem?" He asked. "I don't think so, she seems so unfocussed. I think she's losing touch with reality." Pete let out a breath "that's good. The fates must be interceding. Give it a week and see if there's any change. If you even suspect something's up call us straight away. Otherwise we'll see you in ten days."

**AN #2; The Squeakquel**

**That memory Rose spoke about; the first time she saw Jasper have an episode and Carlisle's subsequent treatment, was the memory Jasper shared with the Major that caused the Major to lose control and release it. Jasper/J/It/the Major don't remember exactly what happened, but Jasper was told about what happened at the time once he recovered from that first episode. Eddie and Alice also made sure to rub it in his face, repeatedly. I've added this now because it'll be a while before we get to the confrontation with the Cullens and I wanted to let you guys know ASAP.**

**What did you think of how Bella confronted Rose? I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any.**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: I've had many reviews asking me to turn Bella, I promise it will happen in this chapter. I've been in a rush to post this so I haven't been able to respond to any reviews. I promise I'll get back to you ASAP. I won't be able to update for a few days because of real life business. **

**Thanks for your patience, I know it's taken a lot to get to this point and I appreciate that you've all waited very patiently as I've laid the foundations for the rest of the story. There is a lot of stuff to come in this story. Some parts of this chapter may be uncomfortable to read and I'm really sorry if it upsets anyone.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight.**

CHAPTER 16

BPOV

Rose had called the day after we spoke on the phone, Esme and Carlisle had been invited to Denali at the end of the month. Peter suspected Caius had stepped in to assist. The plan had changed, Rose and Emmett would head our way under the guise of another honeymoon and Esme and Carlisle would head to Denali with Alice. Tanya and Irena had arranged to take Alice shopping in Anchorage, a new boutique had opened up, it was a perfect distraction.

It was the last day of the month and we were waiting at the airport. Peter, Char and dad had gone to a reenactment for the day to give J and I space to explain to Emmett what had been going on. We were sitting in the driver's section of the limo we'd hired, waiting for them to arrive. We'd paid a guy in a business suit to stand in the arrivals with a sign labeled McCarty.

I saw the business man lead Rose and Em our way, he opened the door for them. Rose handed the guy a couple of hundred dollar bills for his help. We'd kept the screen up between us and them, not only did it shield us from their view, but it also kept our scent confined. I could hear Em trying to get more information about his "surprise." She'd finally shut him up by kissing him. As they made out in the back J's eyes darkened and he cringed, I touched his arm and he turned and smiled, shaking his head to indicate he was okay.

The limo bounced down the dirt road to our property, Emmett was asking about the local wildlife "do they have bears here? Do the seasons change? Is it even cold in winter?" His questions exploded out of him quicker and quicker, J smiled at his brother. My chest hurt a little, I'd missed Em so much. J turned to me and mouthed 'soon.'

As soon as the limo stopped Em opened the door and stilled, he'd smelled our scent "what the fuck's going on?" He growled, Rose tried to pacify him "it's okay Em, it's the surprise."  
"She's here? We can see her?" He didn't sound angry now, he sounded so excited. J took that moment to get out "what am I? Chopped liver?" Em rushed towards him, hugging him like his life depended on it.

"Holy shit man, I missed you. What's been happening? Where's Belly?" I got out of the car "I'm here Em." His head snapped over to me, his and Rose's eyes widened as she saw my piercing, tattoo and stripey hair, "holy shit" she whispered. J came over to me and put arm around me, kissing my cheek "WHAT THE FUCK?" Emmett's voice echoed around the valley, he looked towards a grinning Rose "you knew?" She nodded, "there's been a lot of shit going on Em."

We headed inside. "Start talking." Em demanded when we sat down in the lounge room. Rose stood up and started to debrief "Em, you know things at home have been fucked up for a really long time-"  
"No shit, Rose. Details." Pete, Char and dad arrived then, hours earlier than expected. "Let me explain" Pete started. "I have a gift, it gives me a connection to the spirits of my ancestors. The community I lived in were guardians; some were protectors and some were healers. When J turned me I was training to be a protector, my training turned into a gift and I have become a guardian of fate. It can see some of what is going to happen in the future, but it's different to Alice, her gift is based on decisions. My gift shows the absolute future.

"The reason why you've been out of the loop is because my gift told me it wasn't time for you to know. The fewer people in the know the fewer people we have to watch. Fate happens effortlessly, we're unaware of it happening most of the time. Awareness can cause complications.

"Rose is the only one in the Cullens who know what's truly going on, she was close enough to J to help. Their scars were similar, Em. You know firsthand how that affects the person you love-" Em turned to Rose "you could have told me-"She shook her head and cut him off. "Em, you know me. I can't share a secret that isn't mine to spill-" J interrupted her. "It was my fault Em, I was ashamed-" Em cut him off "I get it man, I do. But, you could have trusted me. You know I'd support you."  
"I do. I've heard how you help Rose and it's helped me."

Peter interrupted Emmett and J, "the reason why no one told you what was going on or what had happened in J's past is due to my gift, you would have acted differently and fought for him, no matter what fate needed you to do. Rose and he were already close having been designated twins, it didn't look suspicious if they spent hours together. Everything else that's happened has been arranged between us and the Major, Jasper wasn't even in the know-"  
"You mean only the Major knew?" Em shrieked, Pete nodded "J's been healing the last few months, a couple of weeks ago Charlie completed the healing process."

Em peered at dad "you look different Chief Swan"  
"I'm not Chief anymore Emmett, just Charlie."  
"What did he mean when he said you healed Jazz?"  
"I'm a descendant of Pete's, Bells and I have similar powers to the community Pete grew up in. I'm a healer, part of the supernatural like the wolf pack of La Push. Bella's a protector and her powers will fully develop when she becomes a vampire."

"So... you know about us?" Em said, he looked a little scared. Dad smirked "I knew about you before Bells did." Em was frozen in shock next to an amused Rose. "What about the Volturi?" Em was worried. I shrugged and turned to Pete as he started to explain "they know, we have an in with them." He tried to brush it off, but Em looked pissed off, he wasn't going to be left in the dark about this one. He glared at Pete, but it was J who explained "Char and I are decedents of Caius. A couple of the guard and Caius headed to clean up the south after we escaped, we ran into them and they took us to Volterra. Marcus saw our familial bond to Caius and now we work freelance for them."

"Did you know this, Rose?" Em asked his mate, she nodded, "I couldn't say anything. Anytime I tried Pete would message me" she got her phone out of her bag and pressed a few buttons. "See?" She showed us her text message inbox, the screen was full of texts from "The Irritating One" all of them said the same thing "not yet." Peter grunted "the Irritating One? Way to show the love." She shrugged "it fits. You've been so cryptic over the years and it was irritating that you wouldn't let me tell Em."

Small groups of conversation started as we caught Emmett up. Dad and I started giving each other shit over our confrontations with vampires; "Dad, you're the one who tried to shoot a damn nomad!"  
"Oh please, Bells. At least I had back up, I was just giving Billy's wolf time to attack-"  
"You had no idea he was a wolf!"  
"Hey, you're the one who went mano a mano with that James vamp and tried to use pepper spray-"  
"You gave it to me-"  
"- for use against humans-" Pete put his hands up "quit it, you two. You were both adorably naive when going against vampires. You're lucky we were keeping an eye out." We looked around, we'd gathered an audience. I hadn't realized we were talking so loud. Emmett looked like he was caught between amusement and shock. The conversation started up again as everyone finished telling Emmett what had been happening over the last few decades.

Rose came over to me while Em talked with the others, "I love the new look." She said. "Thanks, I felt like a change."  
"It suits you. I love the tattoo." I looked down to my bicep, I'd chosen to wear a tank top today. "Thanks, one of the wolves did it. The elder that trained Charlie helped design it."  
"You were inked by a werewolf?!" Em's head whipped towards me "dude, that's bad arse!" J patted his back "you were right Em, she's the coolest human ever." I turned to dad "wasn't your tattoo done by a wolf as well?" He nodded, "Jared's dad did it after I tried to shoot the vamp. I spoke to Theresa, one of the men in the tribe is going to design a tattoo to add to the wolf one and freshen it up a little. I'll get Jared to do the work, he did a great job on yours."

"Hell yeah! You guys are the coolest humans, Eddie boy would shit himself if he saw you two now!" Em crowed at us, "hang on, how did Ed not find out that you knew what we are, Charlie?" Dad shrugged "Uncle Pete told me to guard my thoughts. I had some fun with it though" I looked at him curiously we'd never really discussed what he thought about around Edward, he smirked as he told us his evil plan "I mostly focused on my memories of you when you were little, specifically changing your diaper."

Em laughed "that would have done it, he hated nudity and anything associated with it." Dad cringed "I hadn't thought about that, I just wanted him to infantilize her and get him to keep his distance."  
"Don't worry dad, he probably avoided your thoughts. Hang on! Did you know he stayed in my room at night?" Dad looked shocked "he what?!"  
"As soon as I moved to Forks and met him at school he watched me sleep every night."  
"Shit, just as well Pete warned me. I received a letter from him a week before the Cullens moved to town. He said I had to guard my thoughts at all times, I spoke to Harry who arranged for Sue's sister to visit, her sister was part of a neighboring tribe and they had a few specialties of their own to guard against vampires, she taught me focusing techniques. She also brought her daughter, Emily, with her and that was when Sam imprinted on her. Leah was crushed, she was dating Sam at the time."  
"I didn't know Emily and Leah were cousins." I said. "Yeah, Leah was bitter for a while afterwards but they reconnected after Emily got her scars." Dad explained.

"Poor Leah, poor Emily. I'm glad it worked out in the end, but I can understand why many of the tribe hated the Cullens." I said, so many choices had been taken away from the Quileutes. "What do you mean?" Rose asked. I explained. "When vampires are close it triggers the wolf gene to activate, only the wolves imprint. If they hadn't connected with the wolf spirit Sam and Leah would still be together."  
"Damn, by just being there we changed so many lives. We took away their choice." Rose looked upset "you didn't know Rose, none of you did. It happened because it needed to happen, it was fate." Pete explained.

We separated soon afterward, but Rose's reaction caused a question to bloom in my mind. J was helping me move my stuff into his room, we had decided to turn my room into Charlie's room. I headed back down stairs. Rose was watching Pete and Em play pool "can we go somewhere and talk privately?" I asked her. She nodded and we headed outside to my car and drove to town.

When we were ten minutes away Rose turned to me "it'll be safe to talk now." I nodded and began; "I have a question; when I was with Edward I asked him why you hated me. He said you were jealous of my humanity. Were you?" She shook her head "not at all. Edward likes to think he knows everything because he reads minds, but there's a lot more to a person than the thoughts in the front of their mind. His gift has a weakness, it can't tap into the subconscious or background thoughts.

"Em and I would constantly think about sex to block him. I was a foolproof way to keep him out of our thoughts."  
"Why?" I asked. Her face looked serious "think about when he was turned. It was a very repressed, conservative time, Bella. Women were seen as weak, pitiful creatures who's only purpose in life was babies. We were little more than incubators. To Edward the idea of sex being pleasurable was unthinkable. He hasn't matured at all, probably because he was spoiled as a human and as a vampire. It didn't help that his final human moments involved him seeing his parents die, withering from an illness that crossed social economic lines. I think losing his parents made him twist the values they taught him."

That made sense. I nodded and she continued "Carlisle continued to indulge him, he'd been so lonely and was desperate to keep Edward in his life. When Carlisle changed Esme and fell in love with her she was in a deep depression, she'd been beaten down by her human husband and lost her son. It took time before she'd become intimate with Carlisle, so she had too long to get to know Edward and not enough time to get to know herself. She never had a chance to recover from her human life. Edward needed a mother and she stepped up to the role, complying with Edward's views on gender roles. Carlisle allowed it assuming Edward understood the modern world better.

"Then I came along. I was raised in the roaring 1920s to wealthy parents who celebrated decadence while the rest of the population struggled to survive. The depression had hit hard, but never affected my family and I. While my parents blamed the poor for their lot in life they had a less conservative view on pleasure."

She paused "I came into this life based on the poor decisions of others and a lack of control over my own destiny. Things were really rocky between me and the others, but especially Edward. He had this idea of how women should behave and I didn't fit that mold. I was angry and bitter over how I'd come into this life, but what he never understood is that I love being a vampire. In this form I have true power over myself. When I met Emmett I learnt about love and how freeing it truly was.

"I was so sick of Edward's judgments of my thoughts that we devised a way to make him avoid us. We thought about our intimacy and it worked. Now, looking back on Edward's view of sex solely being for procreation he assumed we were 'obsessed with fornication' as a surrogacy for the reproduction our bodies weren't capable of. Thus, he thought that you being of child bearing age and ability that I 'must be jealous for something impossible for our kind.'"  
"Wow. It continues to surprise me just how shitty a person he is." I said. Rose grew quiet, giving me time to consider everything she'd told me.

"Do you mind me asking what lead to you being turned?" I asked. She shrugged "sure, but please don't pity me. Remember what I told you about my parents and their plan for my future?" I nodded "They had set me up for a life they believed to be successful; marriage, kids, education, wealth... I was to have it all, but it would be a gilded cage. I'd become comfortable in my position in life, so I accepted the plan not knowing there was a choice. You see, in the upper echelons of society marriage was a business merger, not a romantic ideal. Reality taught me about the need for choice in the hardest way possible.

"I hadn't been engaged long when I visited a friend of mine. She was poor, but married for love. I saw the meaning her life had and was envious of her ability to choose. Her husband was a kind man and he always showed me the respect afforded to my wealth. When I walked home after visiting them one night I encountered my fiancé. He gorged himself on any of the pleasures the world had to offer, he saw me as another outlet for his pleasure. He and his friends were inebriated. I say that not to excuse their actions, but to explain why he dropped his mask so easily. They attacked me, brutalized me, used me and left me dying; broken, bloody and covered in their muck.

"All of my naivety died that night, I'd hoped to grow to love him and wanted to make my parents proud. He'd stripped me of that and made me realize that life was never meant for me, I never would have found the happiness I have now. Carlisle smelled the blood and took me back to his house, he turned me. Esme took it upon her to care for me, she cleaned me up and redressed me in much more conservative clothes. I appreciated that at the time, I hated my beauty because of how it was used; my parents used it to network themselves to a higher rank in society, my fiancé used it for his own pleasure and others saw it as a barricade. I was a trinket and little else. Hiding myself in conservative dress made me feel safe. Esme and I grew close and she helped me heal, but Edward would block any attempts I made to help her. He thought I was a corrupting influence."

I thought for a few minutes. "Rose, actions have consequences, you've experienced a lot of pain but it made you stronger. I can respect that. One of the things Peter told me was that Alice had fucked with fate and she would face the consequences of that. I believe Carlisle and Edward are headed the same way; Carlisle for his compliance and Edward for his arrogance. Did the others ever tell you how Peter, Char and I emailed each other after the family left Forks?" She shook her head, I explained "he lead me to heal myself from the abandonment. Edward had been cruel; telling me I was just a distraction and I wasn't good enough for me. The fact that everyone left on top of that hurt me greatly." She tried to interrupt and apologize "quit it Rose, I'm not telling you to hurt you or to get sympathy. I'm telling you this so you understand what lead me to this point.

"Peter helped me realize how smothering and controlling Edward was, that ours was a relationship built on obsession, not love. In one email he asked me to think back over the time I spent with the whole family. I'll admit I wanted to slap you for how you acted, I can't guarantee I won't when I'm turned, but I remembered how each of you were treated. Carlisle was a puppet, Esme was a door mat, Edward and Alice were the true coven leaders and they did anything they could to keep that power. I hated how Em was seen as the comic relief and his intelligence was underrated, but I was stuck on Jasper. I knew nothing about him, but got angry that he'd never been given the chance to speak up, I realized he and I were both the weak links of the family; my human form was my weakness and his was his bloodlust. I surmised that J's considered failure was a product of manipulation and insecurity rather than a lack of control."

Rose smiled, "one of the things I did notice about you from the beginning was your keen sense of observation. It always surprised me how you never noticed Edward's true demeanor. Thank you for being honest."  
"As I said Rose, it was a relationship built by obsession, not love."  
"I see that now. Thanks for giving me a chance to get to know you." I shrugged "no problem. I know you truly care for J and that means a lot." She smiled "so how did you two get to know each other?"  
"Peter had J write letters to himself. Jasper and the Major had never been able to communicate so with Pete and Char's assistance the two wrote to each other. It started them healing. When the barrier between his two personalities started to heal they could communicate without needing to swap their control over his body. Pete sent me those letters; it taught me a lot about J. He's amazing." I sighed "How did Alice not see what was going on?" Rose asked.

I grinned; my uncle was a mad genius. I explained how the Wolves had helped. "Pete said her powers are blocked by the wolves. In the first email from them he told me to form an alliance with the La Push tribe. I doubt she's seen anything about us since then, Pete's pretty sneaky I'm sure everything he plans has something involving the pack so any decision he makes won't be seen by her." She nodded "smart. When did you meet up with J, Pete and Char?"  
"When my dad's mentor had taught him everything she could, she called Pete from my phone and told him to come and collect us. They drove up in Pete's truck and Char's sedan and were allowed on the Res. Some of the pack had already met Pete and Char, they fought together recently. Victoria and Laurent came after me, so we all made a plan and Pete, Char and the wolves trapped them and killed them off. A tentative trust grew, it probably helped that Peter was our ancestor and had been part of a tribe as a human."  
"He's Native American?" I nodded "his father was a white master who forced himself on his mother, Pete was born with Albinism inherited from his father."

We continued to talk, occasionally stopping to stretch our legs and do a little shopping. An easy camaraderie formed, I think it surprised both of us how easy it was to talk to each other. We'd both formed a no bullshit attitude born out of failed relationships. We headed back home so I could eat dinner with Charlie. My phone started to vibrate, but before I could answer I saw a flash of red eyes and a hard body connected with the car. I was pinned in, crumpled metal trapping me. Rose ripped through the roof and blurred towards a pale figure. They fought their movements were faster than I could see. Blood gushed from my head, left arm and left thigh. The body had connected with my side of the car.

Pete, J and Emmett arrived just in time. Another five vampires were headed our way. J and Pete took care of them, body parts flying in all directions. Emmett rushed to help Rose; the vampire that had started the attack had his teeth firmly embedded in her arm and was trying to rip it off. Once it was taken care of Rose yelled at Em to help me, he gently rolled the metal back from my body and lifted me from the remains of my car, he wasn't breathing. I heard Pete yell something and J flew towards me, checking me over. "I need to change you, are you okay with that?" He asked. I nodded, black spots started to appear in my vision as I felt his teeth break through the skin on my neck. I felt the feeling of ice cold venom flow into my veins and before long the pain erupted.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Thanks for your patience and reviews. The next chapter will be up sometime tomorrow :)**

**S. Meyer owns twlight**

CHAPTER 17

JPOV

Fuck! I had changed Bella, I knew it was inevitable but I was hoping for a little more time with her as a human. Em and Pete collected the body parts of the scouts that had attacked. Pete was right; she was a magnet for vampires. Rose helped me keep her steady as we ran back to the house, Bella's teeth clenched against the pain. There was an explosion of fire in the distance and I knew Pete and Em had chucked the bodies in the car and lit it on fire. They caught up with us just as we hit the property line.

Pete started to report; "emergency services are on way to contain the blaze, there should be enough personal belongings left to convince the humans that Bella died. They'll see the ash and be able to make out the VIN to link it back to her."  
"Good job. We'll need to call Caius as soon as possible, those scouts were trained newborns. Someone's creating an army. I will not let the south fall to the wars again. This is my fucking home and I intend to keep it safe." I said. I was getting angry. Whoever sent that troop would be dust in the fucking wind. I'd just come to my home state for the first time since the wars and I wasn't about to be driven away by other people's greed. They had hurt my mate. I would make sure the Wars ended for good.  
"Yes, J. I'll get Charlie to call the Res so they're on guard. We'll arrange patrols." Pete said.

Pete looked to me "Charlie needs to stay with us, he'll help her." He said. "Will Bella be able to handle it?" I wasn't about to put her father in danger. Pete shook his head and smiled "I wouldn't risk the life of my nephew, J. He'll be safe. Also, I have a feeling he'll be able to help her."  
"You sure, Pete?" He nodded at me "Charlie isn't human anymore. He's completed his transformation. Think about it, J. His scent is different and he has no heartbeat." I sighed, he was right. It was a relief my mate wouldn't have to separate from her father.

Peter walked up the steps and headed straight for Charlie, Rose took Bella upstairs to clean and dress her in more comfortable clothes. I stayed downstairs to give her some privacy and listened to Pete. "I'm sorry Charlie we were too late, J turned her." Charlie crumpled to the ground. "Will she survive?" He asked Pete. He nodded his head and answered. "Definitely."

"Do I have to leave? I know newborns are pretty feral." Charlie asked, the relief he felt at knowing his daughter would survive was overtaken by anxiety. Pete had told Charlie everything about vampires to prepare him for Bella's change. Pete shook his head "you won't incite any blood lust. You no longer smell human."  
"What do you mean?" Charlie asked. "The spirits have changed your form and bound you to them. You're a hundred percent supernatural." Pete explained. Charlie sighed in relief. "Thank fuck. I'm not ready to leave, I want to be here for her." I crouched down to talk to him. "You'll be there to help her, but Charlie, we need you to call the Res and warn them. Someone's making a newborn army. No one can leave the Res until the threat's taken care of." I glanced at Pete. "Pete, call the Masters, they'll send some back up."

Peter headed outside to call the Volturi while Charlie composed himself to call Theresa. I joined him on the couch and sent some calm his way. He quickly told the spirit walkers to stay on guard warning them about the newborn army and to stay on tribal land, he hung up and smiled weakly at me.

We sat in silence for a moment, Charlie was deep in thought. "J, would you be able to accompany me to the Res? If I can get some stuff I'll be able to help Bells." I nodded, "we'll take my jeep. I'll stay at the entrance where we usually meet while you get what you need to." We headed out leaving a short note for the others.

As soon as we were a few minutes away from the house Charlie turned to me. "How long can I stay with you guys, J?" I glanced at him as I drove. "As long as you want. Speak with Theresa and we'll work something out." I told him. He was a good father, I knew he'd help Bella in any way he could.

We passed the site of Bella's attack, there were Emergency crews inspecting the charred remains of her car. The fire had been put out. Charlie swore angrily. She was lucky to have survived. "How many were there?" He asked me. "Six. We took care of them, but there could be others. The ones who attacked us were scouts, I'd wager there were another twenty back with their Maker. The scouts were young, they had little training or skill. The others in their group will be better trained." I said.

When we arrived at our usual meeting point in front of the Res I parked so Charlie could take the wheel. He disappeared from view as soon as he drove onto tribal land. I looked around for any indication of their settlement, there was none. They were powerful protectors, I could only imagine how strong Bella would be.

I quickly ran a perimeter. I caught the newborns' scent heading for the Res, but it veered off towards the direction where Bella had been attacked. I couldn't sense any other vampires for miles around, hopefully whoever was behind the creation of the army would assume the territory had been claimed and would try elsewhere.

I headed back towards the meeting point, keeping my senses open for signs of vampires. Charlie appeared a few minutes after my return. We'd been extremely lucky there had only been one group of newborn scouts. A large duffle bag lay along the back seat, the heavy smell of dried leaves clung to it. He moved to the passenger seat so I could drive us home.

"What sort of help can you give Bella?" I asked him as we sped home, Charlie gripped the seatbelt, clinging for dear life, but not complaining about the speed I drove, I appreciated that. I had to get back to Bella. He turned his head to reply "there are some herbs I can burn which will get her in touch with the spirit world, Theresa had suggested it when I told her Bells was going to be turned. It should disconnect her from her body and our ancestors can teach her about her power.

"When she wakes I can brew a tea to help control her blood lust and focus her mind. Pete mentioned how difficult the newborn year is with the amplification of her senses and blood lust. This should ease her in." I exhaled in relief "thanks Charlie, I know you'd do anything to help your daughter, but I'm so glad you're able to help. I know she'll be happy she can spend more time with you."

We arrived back at the house in silence and I raced up the stairs to check on my mate. Charlie set up and called for me to get some blood for when she awakes. I returned downstairs, Pete touched my shoulder "we have something to deal with before you start getting blood for her, the authorities will call her mother when they connect the car with Bella. It'll help if Charlie is pronounced dead too."  
"How do we do that?" Charlie asked as he heard our conversation. I answered him; "If we call the police now and tell them you and Bella went out and haven't come back they'll assume you were in the car with her when it exploded."

Charlie agreed easily, joining me in the lounge room with Pete as he made the call to the police. I called Jenks and arranged new documents for the Swans. "What name do you want to go by?" I asked Charlie while Jenks waited, he thought for a second and turned to Pete. "What was your surname when you were human?" Pete smiled "Crow. I changed it to Whitlock after we escaped in thanks to J." Charlie nodded. "I'll keep my first and middle names; Charles Robert Crow. I'll keep it in the family."  
"Sounds good, I'll do the same for Bella; Isabella Marie Crow." I said.

"Why not Whitlock?" Charlie asked once I'd hung up. Pete had finished his phone call and butted in. "She can always become a Whitlock later if she wants, besides I think Crow is a good maiden name." He said, Charlie smirked at me "welcome to the family, J. Now I know you're old fashioned Jasper, but don't you dare even think about asking for my blessing, Bella would have our guts for garters. You just do what feels right and respect her choices."  
"Will do, Charlie, will do." This was surreal, one minute we're discussing faking Charlie and Bella's death, next minute we're talking about marriage.

Pete slapped me on the back and headed outside with an amused Rose. Char and Emmett had been patrolling since Bella's attacked and had just arrived back from their final sweep. Emmett sat next to Charlie "how are you holding up, Chief?"  
"I don't actually know, it's pretty overwhelming. My daughter's changing into a vampire, I just found out I'm no longer human and my ex-wife is about to find out Bella and I are dead. It's a bit much."  
"Sounds like it. What do you have in the bag?" Em asked. Charlie opened it and started explaining what each herb did. Emmett was engrossed in what he was saying.

A piece of paper fell onto the floor. Emmett glanced towards it casually then froze in shock. Charlie picked it up "oh, this is the family tree. Oona had a record that her father made, she kept it updated with the help of the Quileutes and Theresa. See? It shows Peter is my uncle. It's a bit strange having an aunt and uncle that look younger than me, I get that he's old as dirt but he doesn't act like it..." Charlie's trailed off as he took in Emmett's still form. He looked at it, searching for a reason why Emmett would react this way. I could feel his surprise when he found what he was looking for. "Your surname's McCarty?" Charlie asked, Emmett nodded.

I grabbed the piece of paper, reading through it.

**See profile link Family tree 3**

Well fuck...

PPOV

Rose and I did another circuit of the property; there were no new scents, no hint of anything near us. The sun rose in the sky and we headed back. We needed to report. Char ran to meet us and updated us on her phone call to Caius. She'd been acting as a watcher, scanning her eyes over the distance for any signs of an enemy.

Char started to report what she'd learned "Caius is sending a few of his guard. Demitri will try and locate any other vampires here in Texas, I told them to look at the states to the west of us and gave him a few locations that were active army camps during our time. He'll bring Alec, Jane, Felix and Maggie."  
"Maggie's part of the guard?" She was part of the Irish coven last I'd heard. Char shook her head and replied, "No, she was visiting Sulpicia and volunteered to come along."

"Did you tell them about the others?" I asked her, a lot had changed since our last report to Caius. "Of course; they're pleased with Charlie's progress and non-human status, they sent their condolences for the attack on Bella and are pleased Rose and Emmett have joined us." Char confirmed.

"What about the Denalis?" I asked, hopefully the Cullens were trying to behave themselves around their 'friends.' Char filled us in on what she'd learnt. "Eleazar is keeping Aro informed on the Cullens. They're also keeping an eye on and assessing Alice. Eleazar has noticed Alice's gift has dimmed, Irina has been using her psychiatry qualifications to assess Alice's mental health. It appears she's devolving, possibly headed for a complete psychotic break."  
"Holy shit!" Rose gasped. Fate had really hit Alice hard. "She seemed so oblivious, but I had no idea it was that serious." Rose said.

Char nodded at her and continued. "That 'boutique' you mentioned Tanya and Kate wanted to show Alice; it's a thrift store. She had no idea."  
"Any news on Esme and Carlisle?" Rose looked hopeful, but Char shook her head sadly. "They're drifting apart. The long term effects of relying on Alice and Edward's gifts are breaking their bond. Irina and Carmen are trying a few marriage counseling techniques, but it doesn't look hopeful. Esme seems to be getting stronger thankfully." That was good news, it seemed fate was going to be kind to her.

We headed inside to report the others and caught them looking at each other in shock. My gift nudged me, it felt like I would get some good news. Rose and Char looked at me, I shrugged "what's up guys?" I asked, J walked over to me and pointed to a sheet of paper. I started laughing as soon as I saw Emmett's name "that's pretty great!" Emmett snapped out of his thoughts and smiled "this is some kind of fucked up family reunion." He said. Rose and Char smiled.

Charlie recovered at that point and commented idly "I never had much family growing up, no wonder considering I have two uncles and two aunts who are vampires. This is fucking weird."  
"Bella's going to be over the moon, during one of our talks she mentioned she missed Em and said he was a big brother." J announced, he looked to Rose who had stopped smiling "she doesn't hate you, when I saw her at the accident site she was worried about you, she had a sisterly vibe going on." Rose smiled, but stayed silent.

I couldn't wait for Bella to wake up. Just then my gift slammed me in the head, I landed hard and blacked out, I saw the image of four people; Bella, J, Char and I. We were walking in slow motion just like the guys in Reservoir Dogs. The scene tickled me. A thought drifted into my mind _The Four Horsemen_. I looked closer at each of us. Bella looked amazing, the word _death_ popped up, I moved my focus to J _war_, this was incredible! I moved to Char _famine_...that left me with Pestilence. DAMN IT!

JPOV

Charlie was looking over Peter's prostrate form. Vampires did not pass out. Char was shaking, Rose held her close, her face grim. "I can feel his emotions, he started off confused, but now he's giddy." I grinned, maybe there was some good news coming our way. His emotions turned to irritation and his eyes flashed open. Charlie stood back and Peter ran out of the house with a quick explanation "IhavetogetsomethingforBellabacksoon." Char was going to slap him silly for this.

Charlie headed to the kitchen and turned on the kettle, Rose kept holding Char who was recovering from her panic. Her anger was growing rapidly. Whatever Peter was up to he'd better have a damn good explanation. "Hey Jasper" Charlie called from the kitchen, "why don't you head out and collect some blood for when Bells wakes up? I'll help Char" he gestured to a cup of hot water that had herbs floating around in it. It smelled rather pleasant. I nodded and headed out as he started making himself some coffee. Maybe I could find a bear? She was Emmett's niece after all.

I had been in luck, deep in the forest I came across a cave. I knocked the bear out with my gift and carried it back to the house. I saw Charlie do a double take as I lay the bear down on the ground, I shrugged and yelled "I forgot the thermoses" Char rolled her eyes and headed to the kitchen. Emmett was eyeballing the bear hungrily, Rose sighed and dragged him in the opposite direction "I'll take him hunting." Char came out with a huge soup pot, she held it as I drained the blood. I felt Charlie's interest and turned my head towards him "you wouldn't like it Charlie." I smirked as he shuddered "I was not wondering about the taste, I've just never seen a bear handled that way."

I headed up to our room to check on Bella. Her skin had hardened, for form had lengthened, her hair had darkened, but the red dye streaking through her hair hadn't faded. Rose had put her in yoga pants and a tank top, it had become Bella's signature outfit since we had started training. I saw with some relief her tattoo hadn't faded, the silver barbell through her eyebrow glinted. I'd loved how Bella had changed her appearance, she was nothing like the person I'd met and she was sexy as hell.

Despite the burn of the transformation she seemed to be at peace, it seemed that Charlie had been successful in saving her from the pain. I went to hold her hand, but saw the mud and fur caked all over me. I headed to the bathroom and showered quickly. I walked out with a towel wrapped around me and opened my wardrobe, I heard a throat clear behind me. Charlie smirked "I hope you're not going to change in here with my daughter lying unconscious" he was radiating amusement, I rolled my eyes at him "of course not, I was filthy from hunting for my mate and couldn't bring clean clothes with me without dirtying them." I raised an eye brow and he chuckled.

I quickly changed in the bathroom and returned. "Did you know you don't have a heartbeat anymore?" I asked him, he wouldn't have been able to sneak up on me otherwise. "Really?" I nodded. Charlie continued. "Huh, I wonder if that's part of the non-human thing." He shrugged it off, not having a heart beat would definitely help in encountering vampires.

"You smell different too." I told him. "What do you mean?" He asked. "Your smell blends in with the forest, it doesn't have the sweet tang of human blood. Have you noticed any change in eye sight, hearing or strength?" He nodded and clarified, "I could hear Pete and Rose talking to Char when they met up from patrol yesterday, saw them clearly too."  
"They were about a mile away" I confirmed, Charlie nodded. "That's excellent Charlie, it'll help you blend into the supernatural world. I'll have a chat to Pete; would you be interested in learning how to fight and defend yourself?"  
"Sure, I know some basics from my time as a cop, but I'm always happy to learn." He said.

We sat in silence for a bit. Charlie was thinking hard about something "what's on your mind?"  
"Just seeing if I can sense where Bella is. How long do transformations last?"  
"About three days give or take a few hours."  
"So Bells has another full day?" I nodded and added; "I pumped a fair bit of venom into her, hopefully it'll be shorter."  
"I hope so too, I can feel her becoming grounded. She's returning from the spirit world."  
"Is there some sort of analgesic you can make?" He shook his head, looking worried. "It's okay Charlie, she's been lucky enough to be detached this long, I can take some of the pain she feels and swamp her in calm, but it'll still sting."

I wondered how his change had felt "did you feel your transformation, Charlie?" He shook his head, "it wasn't a sensation, it was more like a dream. I'd go to sleep and meet the spirits of my ancestors. I met Pete's little sister and his mom-" I had to stop him there "do you know her name?" He nodded "you should tell him, he lost a lot of human memories during the change, he has regretted forgetting his mom's name especially."  
"I'll talk to him before I go to sleep, I'm due for a little down time. I'll see if he's got any questions I can ask on his behalf."  
"That'll mean a lot Charlie." I sent him my gratitude. Charlie was thinking hard "hopefully he'll be back from whatever errand he had to run, have you ever seen him collapse like that?" I shook my head and added "vampires usually don't collapse. Whatever intel he received had better be worth it." Charlie nodded "Char's going to kick his arse isn't she?" I nodded, she had calmed down, but still held some anger. "Yep, whatever he's doing better be worth it." I said quietly.

PPOV

I drove onto the dirt road, the new car I'd gotten Bella handled like a dream, she'd better appreciate it. I parked it next to Charlie's truck and covered it. I knew I was in trouble, but hoped Charlie had worked his magic. As soon as I stepped into the house a hand slapped me hard across the face. "Sorry Char" I took on a submissive pose. "Whatever you're up to better be worth it." She scowled. I gave her my best puppy dog eyes "I promise it is! I'll tell you about it soon."  
"At least tell me something Peter, you scared the shit out of us!"  
"All I can say is we got a promotion. We need to get ready, Bella will be waking up very soon." Char and I raced up stairs, Rose and Em stood at the bottom of the staircase, they knew better than to overcrowd a newborn.

I called to my nephew "Charlie! Get down to the kitchen, it's nearly time. You need to prepare the blood!" Charlie sprinted past me, he was slightly faster than a human. Char and I stood vigil outside the door. I heard J shuffle to the corner of the room and sit down. Bella's heart sped up and she let out an ear shattering scream. "GODDAMNIT! FUCKING CUM GUZZLING, FELCHING WHORE!..." I had to admit she was creative and knowledgeable in the art of swearing.

I heard a surprised laugh come from the kitchen "she better not hear that Charlie or she'll tear you a new one." I said. He abruptly stopped and I heard him working faster. The smell of blood and herbs permeated the house. "Isn't she meant to have more time to change? It's only been two days" Charlie asked. "She's special" I shrugged "I have a feeling it has to do with her long-term exposure to vampires and shifters."  
"I hope this works" Charlie mumbled to himself.

Her heart stopped beating and I heard her sigh in relief. J kept still, not moving or talking so he wouldn't alarm her. I heard her shuffle as she rolled over and landed heavily on the floor. "Fucker!" She swore, I felt a stab of humor from J before he reeled it in. "J?" Her voice held the vampiric musical lilt. J whispered "I'm here honey"  
"Why are you hiding in the corner?" She giggled a little, I felt uneasy, newborns weren't meant to be like this. J replied to her "I didn't want to scare you." I heard her light footsteps move towards him "come here, J, I'm fine." I'd never heard a newborn so controlled before. I heard them kiss and her voice became breathless "damn, your scars are even hotter with vamp vision."


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: This is the final chapter for Hell Fire: Part One, Letters for the lost days. Chapter one of Part Two will be up tomorrow. It won't be a separate story to this one, just an additional chapter to this story along with the rest of part two and part three. This is a big chapter and many questions will be answered. There's a Discworld reference at the end.**

CHAPTER 18

JPOV

Bella was amazing. She looked so calm despite the emotional turmoil she was experiencing. It was an emotional cocktail I was used to from the wars. Her eyes skittered around the room taking everything in. Occasionally she'd become distracted and stare at the room blankly. I stood still and spoke very quietly to avoid setting her off. "You're doing well, Honey. Come with me, there's some blood for you in the kitchen."

She flitted over to the door, her emotions spiked as she tried to turn the door knob, inadvertently obliterating it. "It'll take some time to get used to your strength, you'll need some help in the meantime." I smiled at her and gently pushed the door open. "Thanks J. I'll be okay, it just takes some getting used to. There are so many sights, sounds and smells."

Her emotions spiked again when she saw Pete and Char. She held herself together well and looked outwardly calm. Pete's emotions were borderline panicking, he wasn't used to a newborn as calm as Bella. She was struggling, but she was strong enough to keep in control. "Hi guys." She greeted them softly, they both tried to reign in their shock and smiled at her. We headed down the staircase, Rose and Em had scooted back to the lounge room and were sitting comfortably on the couch. I sent them a burst of gratitude, Bella needed to feed before she could handle all of us in one room.

We reached the kitchen. Bella froze when she saw Charlie, I could feel the panic overtake her. She was headed for a meltdown. I threw calm at her and ran to her dad, picking up the first thermos and opening it. Bella's eyes began to droop so I dialed down my power and tilted her head up. She automatically opened her mouth and I poured the blood down her throat.

Her emotions began to level out slightly. Charlie handed me the second thermos, he'd taken the lid off all together, there was barely a pause as I kept pouring blood into her. She held up a hand half way through the third thermos and I stopped. "Feeling better?" I asked. "Much. How am I not trying to munch on my dad?" Her eyes had lost their frenzied look, her emotions were still fluctuating wildly, but she was coping a lot better.

"I'm not human anymore Bells." Charlie said, smiling. Bella was taken aback, she sniffed the air and relaxed. "Oh, okay. Did you whip these thermoses together for me?" She asked, returning his smile. Charlie shrugged. "It was a joint effort, J got the blood and I threw in some herbs."  
"Thanks, both of you."

I reached to get the lid of the thermos, Charlie put his hand on top of mine "give it a try, J. Let me know what you think." I took a sip and groaned "this is amazing, it tastes better than human, what's in it?"  
"A few things, I adapted the recipe from Oona, her's smelled terrible. It was just a case of working out which combination of ingredients smelled good together and at what dosage they'd be effective. This one works on blood lust in two ways; it enriches the blood so you don't need as much and it actually curbs the blood lust itself." I felt better, stronger and more satisfied than I had since I came into the animal diet. I caught my reflection in the glass of the microwave door, my eyes were still gold.

I was amazed at how good I felt. I sent him my gratitude. "It works well, I actually feel sated for the first time in decades. Having a diet of animal blood limits us a little and the burn of the thirst usually remains constant."  
"That's good to know," he turned to his daughter "how do you feel Bells?"  
"Calmer, the burn from my throat has gone. I'm still being overloaded from my senses, but it's more manageable. Thanks dad."  
"You'll need to feed regularly to keep control and help you deal with the stimuli assaulting your senses, but first, we need to update you on the events of the last 52 hours." I said.

The others congregated in the lounge room next door, they were curious about the blood and Bella's control. "Do you feel up to seeing the others?" I asked her, she nodded. We walked in with Charlie following, he joined us on the sofa. Pete began "quite a lot has happened while you were incapacitated-" Em interrupted "can I tell her?" Pete nodded. "I'm you uncle!" He blurted out, she cringed back into the sofa "not so loud Em, she just woke up." I chastised him, he mumbled out a 'sorry' and looked at her expectantly. She leaned forward "what do you mean, Em?"  
"I saw Charlie's copy of your family tree. Your grandmother, Marie, was my niece."  
"That's awesome Em!" She paused and looked between her dad and Emmett "can you cover your mustache, dad? I want to see something" he complied and we all straightened up a little. Rose spoke first "I can't believe I didn't see it earlier, they have the same curly hair and their facial features are almost identical. You could pass as brothers."

"This is so weird" Bella said "I can't help but wonder who else in the family is a vampire." Peter answered her, "there's no one else. It's just me, Em, Charlie and you, Bella, who are blood relations."  
"Shouldn't Em have a power too? We all have Peter as our common ancestor" she pondered. Em looked excited, he'd always wanted a power since Alice and Edward had gloated so much about theirs. "I can check that, if you want?" Charlie asked, he explained when he saw their confused looks. "When I sleep I'm closer to the ancestors and can speak to them. They might know whether you have a power." He turned to Pete and smiled gently. "you're mother's name was Carmelina, she was born with a different name but never learned it before being stolen and placed in slavery."  
"Really?" Pete was beyond happy, surprised too. He got lost in thought.

Charlie patted his shoulder "do you want me to ask her anything for you?"  
"I don't know, I guess I'd like to hear stories from when I was human, I only remember long hours training with the elders and other spirit walkers."  
"No problem" Charlie yawned "it's been a couple of days since I got some shut eye, I'm going to turn in for a few hours. While I'm asleep it might be worth getting a few large urns, I have a few recipes I can try out. Get some blood too, animal blood only of course."

Pete and Char cringed, they hadn't enjoyed their attempt at feeding on animal blood after I introduced them to the Cullens decades ago. Bella asked her father, "is it worth trying cow and pig blood? Butchers sell it sometimes and it could make it easier to feed without screwing up the wild life." The rest of us, except Charlie, grimaced. Livestock tasted awful. Charlie nodded "I'm happy to give it a shot. I'll work on it after you get the supplies."  
"Do you have enough herbs?" I asked, he nodded, "I brought all the herbs needed for vampire remedies. Theresa said she can mail more herbs if needed." He yawned again and stretched to his full height. "Night all"  
"Night Charlie" we chorused.

Em looked to Bella after her dad had left "are you okay with me being your great uncle?" She smiled, her emotions full of warmth for Emmett. "I am, but I've always seen you as my big brother. I'd prefer to see you that way." Em smiled at her. We updated her on what we'd learned.

Pete was staring off into the distance and started to explain his earlier actions. "The ancestors told me we've been promoted in a way. J, Bella, Char and I have been upgraded to instruments of fate. It means we have a lot of work ahead of us."  
"What do you mean, Pete?" I asked, Bella's anxiety shot up. I slowly sent a trickle of calm her way. Pete sighed and stood up straight "we will protect the paths of fate, ensure the balance of the world is kept in order. The pendulum has begun to swing in our favor, but we will earn our titles, we will unveil the lies and secrets that have plagued the mortal and supernatural worlds. We are now the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and we will change the world." Silence. There was absolute silence. Even Charlie's snores quieted.

Char was looking down to her hands and whispered "is that why you passed out? Is that why you ran?" Her eyes moved to his, there was hurt and fear and determination. She had worked by Pete's side since she first laid eyes on him, she knew almost as much as he when it came to Fate and Destiny. I felt her trying to push down her fear, trying to trust Pete's words. He walked over to his mate and knelt down in front of her "this is a good change. You know that Fate is neither good nor evil, it is balance. For millennia fate has been corrupted, we are few, but we can do this. We will do this and we'll be side by fucking side." Char's determination grew at Pete's words. Bella's emotions switched to determination after hearing her uncle's speech.

Pete turned to Emmett and Rosalie. "I have checked your paths and the ancestors want you both to train with Charlie." Emmett eyeballed Pete curiously. "Are you sure?" He asked. Pete nodded and explained. "You don't have a power yet, but you have intelligence and perfect memory. Something tells me Charlie will need all the help he can get. I understand you both have medical degrees?" He asked, Rose answered him. "Yeah, we've been to medical school a few times and interned enough times to be accustomed to blood and guts. Does this mean we don't have to return to the Cullens?" She asked. I nodded, they both sighed in relief.

Bella smiled and asked "so none of us ever have to go to high school again?" Pete nodded and there was a collective sigh of relief. Bella smiled and looked at us, "I don't know how you guys did it, I didn't even make it through high school once before dropping out." She said. "You dropped out?" Rose was surprised, Bella nodded "there were more important things going on, I helped feed and take care of the pack."

My phone started vibrating and I saw it was Leah "Hi, J. I haven't heard from Bella in a while, is everything okay?"  
"Sorry Leah, I should have called sooner. We had to turn her, there was an incident with a few newborn vamps, but we took care of them. She woke up an hour ago. I can put her on speaker if you like? Pete, Char, Rose and Em are here too."  
"Hi everybody."  
"Leah! I'm a vampire now!" Bella's mood soared.

Leah was careful to keep her voice quiet. "What's it like? Did the venom undo your new look?" She asked, Rose jolted in surprise and ran out of the room. "I don't know, I haven't actually seen myself yet." Rose returned with the slim, full length mirror from Pete and Char's room and held it in front of Bella. "Leah! My eyes are bright fucking red!" She cringed as her voice echoed around the room. I explained to her gently, "That's normal, your body is full from your human blood. They'll turn gold in a while." Bella looked closer "at least my eyes match the red streaks in my hair."

"What about your tattoo? You're eyebrow piercing?" Leah's voice was excited for her friend. "They're still there! The tattoo really stands out against my skin. The weird thing is there's a strange clear film around me" I looked at her closer and asked "what do you mean Bella?"  
"It's my shield, when I was turning the Ancestors told me about it and showed me a glimpse of its power. You guys don't see it?" We shook our heads.

Leah steered the conversation. "So, how's your dad going at the Res?"  
"Dad's actually here, he's upstairs-" Leah cut Bella off. "I thought new vampires weren't able to be around humans for a while?"  
"We aren't, dad's not human anymore." Bella grinned at the phone. Leah's voice became more cheerful. "Cool! So he's a full spirit walker now?"  
"Yep, he looks different too. He glows a little and looks younger."

Bella's emotions grew positive, she sat up, her excitement growing even higher. "Guess what, Leah!"  
"What?"  
"You remember Emmett from the Cullens?" Leah grunted in agreement "turns out he's my uncle too!"  
"Does that make Rose your aunt?" I heard the amusement in Leah's voice. Rose stilled, Bella continued "yep!" She looked to Rose and smirked "turns out she's not as big a bitch as I thought she was." Rose scoffed "I am too, you're just on my good side." Bella stuck her tongue out at her as Leah continued to ask questions.

At one point Sue joined the conversation, Bella told her how Charlie had healed me. "Oh Jasper! That's wonderful." Sue cooed through the phone. I could almost feel her affection for me, Em and Rose laughed silently. "Thanks, Sue. Bella really helped me get to that stage" I said, I looked to my mate and announced "we're together now." Bella smiled, she'd be blushing if she could, Sue gasped and Leah let out a muffled squeal, I could tell she had her hand over her mouth, Bella cringed a little, but smiled. "I'm happy for you Bells-" Sue said. Leah interrupted her mom "you better not hurt her J or you'll have a whole pack of wolves to deal with"  
"I won't, she's my mate." I vowed. Sue's voice cut in, there was an edge to it "leave him alone Leah, he's a good one."  
"Sure, sure." Leah changed the subject. "So Bells, what are you up to on your first day as a vampire?" Bella shrugged and answered "not sure. Probably keep training to fight, learn how to cope with the extra senses. It's a huge change."

The conversation continued, each of us updating Leah on what had been going on. "Let us know if you need help against the newborn army, we've still got you back Bells." Leah said. "Thanks Leah. How's your dad going?" Bella asked, I could hear the happiness in Sue's voice as she spoke. "His strength had improved, but he's still complaining about the change in diet." Leah chuckled in the background.

"How much weight has he lost so far?" Bella asked them. "Twenty pounds. All the extra vegetables, salads and chicken breast has made the weight fall off him. We can't thank Charlie enough, dad has more energy." Leah's voice was light with happiness.

"Are you guys still keeping up the community dinners?" Pete asked. Sue answered happily. "Yeah, we've modified a few recipes to make them healthier. It's made a huge change, our people are stronger for it. There was a cold going through the Res last week and none of the Elders or young ones passed away, the humans got better a lot quicker. I think this was the wakeup call we needed."

"I'm glad to hear it, how are you guys going for money?" Pete asked. "We're fine Pete, the cheques you send every month have really changed our lives, we actually have a surplus. We made a community garden and greenhouse so we can grow our own food. One of the ladies here is a nurse at Forks hospital, she's been working with a couple of doctors to make a community health plan."  
"That's great news. Let us know if you need help, we're here for you as much as you're there for us." I said. The phone battery was nearly drained, we cut the conversation short. Char stood up "how about we show Bella the meditation room?" She smirked.

Char POV

Emmett's body landed hard, dirt flew up around him and he caused a crater. Bella had lost focus during her training and gave Em a flying lesson he's never forget. She was due for her next feed. Charlie's head popped out of the back door "come on guys, it's time for some lunch." Emmett looked gratefully at Charlie "thank god" he groaned. He was Bella's attack dummy.

Bella snapped out of her newborn rage when Emmett's back cracked audibly as he straightened up "sorry Em." She murmured, her guilt rising. He waved her off "quit apologizing kid, we've all been there. You're actually doing really well." I walked over and hugged her "Em's right sweetheart, you're very controlled. Now, let's go inside and see if Charlie's been able to make bull's blood edible." Bella laughed at us as our noses wrinkled in dread. Rose shuddered "this is going to suck." J didn't look as disgusted, that bear's blood Charlie gave Bella must have been something. The worst case scenario was that Charlie had wasted a few herbs.

It had been a week since Bella was turned. Pete and I had gotten over our shock at her calm appearance. Rose had taken us aside and told us how they felt when they woke up with the Cullens "our experiences differ. When you guys awoke after the change you were surrounded by violence and hate. When Em and I awoke we acted instinctively, but it was an easier transition. We didn't have to fight, just control our senses. We both had instances where we lost control, but given the manipulation we learnt to curb our instincts. Bella's the first human we've encountered who chose to change and had full disclosure. I can see how J looks at her; her emotions are within normal range for a newborn, but she's aware of what's going on. That's what is causing the difference between her and other newborns."

Pete and I had calmed down after our chat with Rose. We were still wary, but we didn't feel the need to hover. Bella had only had one meltdown since she awoke. It was two days after she'd finished the transformation. She was frustrated, there was no peace from our senses. J had calmed her down and I used my power as soon as she started losing it; bloodlust made everything worse. Rose and I took her outside, we brought foam yoga matts and lay down under the stars, talking and taking in the surrounds.

She had found control that night. It was the closest thing we could give her to a controlled environment. We had developed a routine with her; training during the day and meditation for a couple of hours every night. In truth it helped us all. We all fed regularly with Bells, enjoying a cup of Charlie's pigs blood while Bella drank her thermos. The blood wasn't nearly as bad as I'd expected. True, it wasn't as good as human, but it was better than the animals we'd hunted with the Cullens. We were all sated and calm, a rarity for a coven our size.

J and Rose spent a lot of time together, supporting each other over the scars of their past. Rose had decided to allow Charlie to heal her, but she wanted time before that happened. This was her time to strengthen herself. Charlie could take away the darkness, but it was up to them to learn to live with their pasts. I admired her strength. Rose and Em had started training with Charlie, they thrived with him. They had a purpose they hadn't had before. They were wanted and needed and important.

Bella drank her blood. We each had a cup; this was the first time we tried bull's blood. It smelled great, this recipe was different to the one he'd made for Bella's first feed. "What's this one going to do?" I asked Charlie. "It should help level out emotions and enrich the blood so you won't need much." I took a sip, it was sweeter than his first batch. There was an underlying gaminess from the bull's blood, but the herbs Charlie had used seemed to blend and disguise much of it. It wasn't as nice as the first batch, but carnivores always tasted better.

"Not bad, Charlie. It's sweeter than the last batch. "J said, he smiled. "It's pretty good Charlie." Rose said as Em chugged down the blood, he held his cup out for more. "I can probably manage a diet of this stuff." I told him. I'd been considering a change in diet for a while, Pete was as well. While we knew the lives that sustained us were killed to assist Fate, it was good to have another option.

Charlie understood our position on being human drinkers. We had spoken about it once, Charlie's words of understanding had given us relief; "I was a cop for many years, I've seen the damage humans cause to each other. Believe me, there are times when the legal system isn't able to remain just and protect the innocent."

Pete and I had decided to pass information of potential prey to a couple of contacts. This way we'd serve fate and we could change diet without compromising our control and strength. Garrett was our main contact. When Pete got the information on someone who needed to be offed he would text Garrett who would in turn tell others or take care of the humans in question. The Ancestors seemed to approve of this, they gave Pete all the information needed for others to hunt wisely.

We headed back out to train, Bella was learning quickly, it was a matter of her using what she learned and applying it practically. Unfortunately, her newborn instincts sometimes took over. Em and Rose were brushing up on their training too, they hadn't had much chance to fight while monitoring the Cullens. Charlie decided to join us, he worked directly with Pete. As a spirit walker, Charlie could defend himself from attack, but against vampires he needed help. Healers didn't have the reflexes that protectors did. Pete had started Charlie's training in a similar way he'd learned as a human.

The wind changed and brought the scent of vampires heading towards us. I looked at Pete, his sense of smell had always been better "there are 15 headed our way, the Volturi aren't far behind them but we'll have to hold our own for a few minutes." Shit, a few minutes was a long time when it came to battle. Pete picked up Charlie and took him inside. J sent some calm to Bella, she'd bristled when she caught the scent. "Stay behind me Bella, we'll do what we can. Don't panic when you see another group join in the fight, if they have black cloaks on they're on our side."

Pete shook his head and called to him. "J, Bella needs to be in front." I hope my mate knows what he's talking about. J yelled at him "she's not ready. I'm not risking her."  
"J, this is my gift. It's never failed you in the past. We have to trust it." He waved her forward and J stood next to her. This would be the first time Bella would use her gift in combat, it would be a sight to behold.

I saw Bells nod her head grimly and get into position. Her shield was only visible to her at the moment, but soon it would thicken and ignite. It was fortunate we'd just fed; we were all at our strongest. Bella would be able to concentrate through the melee.

A rhythmic thudding grew louder as our attackers grew near. Pete and Em grew worried and I could feel their gaze on Bella. J whispered down to her "remember what we've taught you, just do your best. We'll help you. You can do this." I just hope Pete's gift was right.

They came into view; fourteen were newborns, their clothes torn, venom dripped from their chins. Their pupils were dialated, black aside from a thin circle of vibrant red at the edge. My gift exploded with the force of their thirst. Their leader had been starving them. It was the typical signature of a newborn army. "Breathe Bella. You're doing well." J whispered. Peter straightened, a deep growl erupted from him. His eyes were pitch black, he said the one name destined to rain down fire and brimstone "Maria." My eyes blackened, Bella's shield thickened and wrapped around J.

I held onto the bloodlust, waiting for the vicious bitch to reveal herself. I would show her true thirst. The law claimed her life, but we would have a chance to play. My gift had strengthened, I could feel it. In the past I'd only been able to hit one or two with power, but somehow I knew I could do more. I felt different. Stronger. I chuckled darkly; I really had been promoted. I watched calmly from behind Peter, twisting the bloodlust from the newborns and drawing it to me. They would be weakened. They would die.

The newborns halted and a small figure came to the front of the howling mess. She seemed smaller, weaker, but I knew not to underestimate her. She saw J and I felt a spike of disgust as her eyes darkened and her arousal permeated the air. I stiffened, fuck no. She wouldn't use him again. I saw Rose put her hand on his shoulder. His disgust ebbed, the thirst for vengeance permeated our group. I couldn't differential between my need to destroy Maria and J's.

Maria's grin faulted as she saw J smirk, she knew then that she would never control him again. I saw her eyes turn angry as she looked at Bella. I started to crouch, ready to tear that bitch to hell. Emmett's whispered command reached through our eagerness to attack "wait a sec guys, you can't kill her yet." Maria looked to Pete and I, her brow creasing. She was disappointed. She looked to Bella again and I saw the exact moment she noticed the thin ring of color in her eyes, she smiled and assumed Bella was a typical newborn. She turned and made her way to the back of her army. She always was a coward.

"Kill the brunette" her voice rang out. The newborns rushed forward. Pete, J and I moved in perfect choreography. J and Pete headed for Maria. I stayed with the others, tearing at the densely packed bodies surrounding us. I looked towards Bella, all I could see was a red glow. It took me a second to realize it was fire. They would all burn. Emmett and Rose worked in tandem, ripping through newborns like they were Christmas crackers. I took down quite a few, but Bella was beyond anything I'd seen before. The newborns melted at her touch, but she concentrated on her actions, dodging, kicking, punching, biting. She was in control as her shield devoured the newborns.

The army thinned out. Em, Rose and I had run out of newborns. Bella was toying with the last one. With a quick stab of her fingers into his eye sockets, the last attacker fell. I shuddered, I always hated that move. I turned to watch Maria, she had turned and started to run. Pete and J caught her easily and restrained her, she struggled in their arms, her teeth snapping at them trying to latch onto anything. She was pathetic. Rose approached J "show her what you felt, make her feel everything she did to you. Let it out Jasper, break her like she broke you." His eyes darkened further, he was letting the memories swirl around him. I joined them, still holding onto the bloodlust of her victims.

J was still in control. The memories no longer trapped him, but their onslaught would trap Maria. I saw him pushed them into her and waited for their overflow. It didn't come, he was using his skin as a conduit. I was impressed, J had never been able to use his gift like that in the past. I was glad. I wanted Maria to feel all of it. Maria sagged in his arms like a sack of shit. Her eyes glazed over and her skin paled.

"Rose" J gritted out. Rose's eyes blacked and she touched J's hand, he shuddered at her touch and gripped harder onto Maria. He was sending Maria Rose's emotional hell. I stepped up to J "allow me brother, I have a gift for her." J's black eyes warmed, he nodded. I decided to try to use my gift like he had his. I slapped my hand hard against Maria's cheek and held it there as I pumped her with every ounce of bloodlust from her army and Bella. She writhed against us. Her eyes lost all look of life as she battled the emotions from J, Rose and Pete and the bloodlust from her army.

The footfalls of more vampires approached. J kept up the emotional attack on Maria and he turned his head slightly. We saw five figures cloaked in black. The Volturi guards had arrived. I heard a delighted squeal and ran. Jane smiled and squealed back "Janey! How are you, sweetheart?" I hugged her.

I smelled Alec approach J. "Hi Major, mind if I take over?" He nodded and released Maria. She stilled as Alec removed her senses. J dropped her to the ground and headed towards Bella. Emmett was beaming with pride, Bella was standing, surrounded by a large circle of ash, "that's my fucking Niece!" I agreed with his sentiment. She was a week old and she already had a lot of control over her gift. "Hey! She's my niece too!" Pete grumbled.

Alec stood back keeping his distance and guarding Maria. Jane and Maggie were by my side. Demitri and Felix were walking with Pete. Bella and J turned to head into the house, Charlie was standing there and looking out the window, pride on his face. "Dinner's up guys" he said quietly. He grabbed a tray from the coffee table and headed towards us, we moved towards him slowly. We were still full from lunch, but Bella and the Volturi needed to feed.

Charlie was handing out mugs of blood. The Volturi were hesitant to drink the blood, but chugged it down and thanked him. We headed inside and made introductions. Alec joined us and leaned Maria's frozen form against a wall. He accepted a mug from Charlie and thanked him. Charlie sat down next to Bella and J on the couch.

Demitri started his report. "We caught up with Maria a few days ago, Caius had suspected she was behind it and told me to track her directly rather than searching for the essence of vampires in the area. We were lucky he was right. Maria was approaching a small town nearby, searching for recruits. They started running as soon as they caught our scent, Jane and Alec were able to incapacitate a few of them and we were able to dispose of them quickly, but head start the army had was growing. We're lucky you were in their path."

"What'll happen to Maria now?" Bella asked. Felix answered, his voice was a soft tenor, it was a contrast to his size. "There will be a trial. It'll take a while to start because we must investigate thoroughly; ensure no other armies have started up. This will give you some of time to train and work through your blood lust, Bella." He turned to the rest of us. "I'm sure the Masters will invite you to the trial, you've all been impacted by this bitch's actions, you have a right to testify if you wish to."

"We'd appreciate that, Felix. When will you return to Volterra?" Pete asked, Felix turned and answered him. "We'll head back tonight to deliver Maria and we'll be back in a week to search for other armies. Aro will read her and get any information she knows about other war lords to help us in our search." Peter looked thoughtful and spoke to the group "my gift is telling me that, with Charlie's help, Bella will be able to control her bloodlust very quickly. If we make an active start this afternoon then we may be able to help you search for other newborns and their makers in a couple of weeks."

"That's extraordinary!" Alec was stunned. "How old are you Bella?"  
"I've been a vampire for a week and am 19 years old." She said meekly. Jane smiled at her "you're very controlled, but having tasted your father's concoction I can appreciate that. We can help you train your blood lust if you wish, we need to hunt despite your generosity." Their eyes were still rather dark. "When was the last time you fed?" I asked. "A few weeks ago, usually we last longer but with using our powers and running at full speed for several days we're a bit drained." I nodded. "Totally understandable. If you could pick up some scent samples and blood that would help us greatly." J said.

Pete stood up "Char and I don't need to feed, but we can guide you to humans that need culling. There are a gang of humans in Austin that have planned a robbery, if they carry out their plan a few important humans will be killed." The guards nodded and Pete continued "first however I have a present for Bella." His mischief rose and he tugged her out of the house. Finally, we were going to see what he'd got her after he'd passed out.

BPOV

Pete lead me to the front of the house, towards a car hidden by a plastic cover. "You got me a new car?" I jolted in surprise, but I knew I was still in control. He let out a chuckle "this one's special" he winked at me and pulled off the cover. It was new. It was light green. Light reflected off the Mustang's emblem. I circled, admiring it. I stopped when I saw the number plate; BINKY. I burst out laughing, Peter's voice was somber as he spoke. "**I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and she who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with her. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.**"

**AN #2 Longer, harder, uncut**

**In the Discworld Books the character of death rides a white horse called Binky. Pete got the car after his collapse in tribute to her new role. Also in the Discworld books, Death has a granddaughter called Ysabella. It was something I added for shits and giggles.**

**The Four Horsemen are:  
Bella – Death  
Jasper – War  
Char – Famine  
Peter – Pestilence [that part was a joke by the ancestors because of how cryptic and irritating Pete could be about his gift.] The traditional role of this horseman is Conquest which fits as he fights guided by Fate, but the name Pestilence will stick with him.**


	19. Part 2 Chapter 1

**AN: Yay! We've reached Part two! There's a small lemon in this chapter ;)**

**Enjoy!  
Stephanie Meyer owns twilight.**

**PART TWO**

**THE FOUR HORSEMEN**

CHAPTER 1

BPOV

It had been two weeks since Peter handed me my new car and explained our promotion. My new job title scared me, but I was slowly getting used to it after several philosophical conversations with Peter and the others. "For the last time Emmett, we aren't going to end the world." Pete and Em were having their own philosophical discussion.  
"But you're going to bring about the Apocalypse!" Em said. Pete shook his head and sighed. "Forget about what you know of pop culture and human society. This isn't a battle of good against evil, fate isn't good or evil. We will bring change and aide in the unity of the supernatural world. Apocalypse really means 'lifting the veil' not the 'total destruction of all life.'"  
"But you said fate was neither good nor evil, what your describing sounds good. It doesn't make sense."  
"Yes, the future will be good. But think on it; think of all the pain that has been caused in the past. Those were bad times, man. The pendulum of fate swings both ways. Bad stuff happened and now the pendulum swings in our favor."

"Does that mean there will be bad times ahead as well?"  
"Yes, but not for a long time. Everything in our existence belongs to the balance of fate and the cycles of good and bad. Every action has consequences, both good and bad. Embrace the idea of a good future and appreciate it. Learn from the bad, grow and adapt. That is our purpose Emmett. Vampires have remained in stasis for too long, the world has changed and now it's time for our species to catch up."  
"So, you're not evil?" Emmett said. Pete sighed, "none of us are truly good or evil, Emmett. Our job description doesn't make us one or the other. We work for fate, we are instruments of fate; we are impartial guardians."

"How were you assigned your rolls? Why is Bella Death? Char Famine? You Pestilence and J War?" Emmett asked. This was something we all wanted to know. Why us? Why now? Pete explained. "I didn't assign them, remember when I collapsed?" He nodded at Peter "the ancestors passed on the message. Believe me I wasn't happy with my assigned name, traditionally my name would be Conquest, but the Ancestors have a sense of humor and called me Pestilence. I can kind of understand the others though." I could understand too.

"What do you mean?" Emmett asked. Pete answered. "Take Jasper, he lived and thrived in war; both human and vampire-"  
"But he was broken!" Em said. Pete nodded "And he was healed, that fracture gave both sides of him time to focus and grow stronger. Fate guided me to help him, Bella's love brought his two halves together and Charlie bound him, making him whole again."  
"What if Jazz breaks again, you said he is War-"  
"He's stronger now and protected. Those who serve fate have fate on their side. There is no master more powerful than fate. Unlike J's past with Maria and Alice he will have freedom, he will make his own decisions and fate will guide him, just as it will guide us."

"Well, what about Char?" He asked, few people knew Char's gift. She explained; "I have a gift. I can control and manipulate bloodlust like J can manipulate emotions."  
"Blood lust isn't an emotion?" Em asked. Char shook her head. "Not in the strictest sense. Blood lust is closer to the hind brain function, like instinct. Emotions are more cerebral."

"What about Bella?" He asked. J answered him. "You've seen her power, it cut through the strongest of our species like a hot knife through butter. You see Emmett, death isn't evil or bad. Death can mean change or a new beginning, look at our transformation from human to vampire. We died, but it wasn't the end of our existence. The problem is you're attaching human ideals to universal phenomena. Forget how you saw things as a human, put aside what you learned and look at the big picture." Emmett nodded and left to ponder. He had been the most troubled by our promotion.

I headed to dad's room and knocked. "Come in" he said. I gently turned the handle. I'd finally gotten some control over my strength, but I still made some mistakes. "Hey dad. How are you?"  
"I'm good. Are you okay?" He asked, he had heard the conversation downstairs. I nodded and sat down next to him on the bed, he was looking through the binder Pete had given him a while ago.

He looked over to me "don't worry about Emmett, Bells. He doesn't mean anything by what he says."  
"I know, I'm just getting used to my new job title."  
"You know Pete's right, this doesn't mean the four of you are evil. I think that's what is causing Emmett's confusion; he knows each of you very well. Unfortunately fate decided to give you titles that the western world associates with fear."  
"What about you dad? What do you think?"  
"I'm lucky, Oona taught me well and explained the spiritual side of fate." He paused. "I think I'll go talk to Emmett, Pete doesn't seem to be succeeding." He said. He patted my shoulder and headed downstairs to hunt him down.

I could hear J in our room, I decided to join him. He looked up as I entered, he was reading one of my books. We'd hardly had anytime to ourselves since we'd gotten together. "Where is everyone?" J asked "Char and Rose are in their room, Emmett's outside with dad and Pete's in the lounge room." I took the book from him and lay it on the table next to him. "Lay with me for a bit" I pulled him over to the bed, we hadn't done anything beyond kiss a couple of times, nor would we be able to until we got some time to ourselves, but cuddling on the bed would do for now. He tucked me into his side and I undid the buttons of his shirt. I loved tracing his scars with my fingers.

We lay side by side for a bit. J rolled towards me and kissed me. My hands travelled around his chest, the slight bumps of his scars brushing against my fingertips. He deepened the kiss and brought me closer to him, my lust spiked and his eyes turned black. "I love you" he whispered in my ear, I shivered, overwhelmed by our connection.

We kissed for a little longer, J's breaths were heavy like my own. He looked deeply into my eyes and spoke softly "I know we're limited in what we can do in a crowded house, but we have a little privacy now, would you like to try something?" Heat rushed through my veins "what do you suggest?" He shrugged "we'll go slow, see what you're comfortable with." He knew how inexperienced I was, I loved how he didn't see that as a barrier to overcome.

He started kissing me, I kept my hands running over his chest. His hands moved under my tank top, his fingers lightly grazed my sides. I groaned into his mouth, the feel of his hands against my skin tingled. My hands slid down to his sides. I lightly gripped his hips, pulling him even closer. His hands moved up, barely skimming the bottom of my bra. I felt him hard against me and shuddered. I needed him so much right now. I vaguely heard Peter come up the stairs and order Rose and Char to go out with him. I felt a burst of gratitude from J and realized we were now alone in the house. I felt a flutter in my chest, not a heartbeat, but hope.

J broke the kiss and started nuzzling my neck and kissing my collarbone "can I take this off?" He tugged on my tank top in question. I sat up slightly and let him lift it off me. I pushed his shirt off his shoulders and let it slide on to the mattress. We started kissing again, I pushed my chest into his, desperate for the friction of our skin. His hands danced up my back causing me to shiver and moan.

He reached the clasp of my bra and tugged gently in question, I nodded slightly, careful not to break the kiss. The slight pressure of my bra loosened as he unclasped in, his fingers moved to my shoulders, brushing the straps off me, I lifted my arms slightly and he pushed the bra off me. I pulled him on top of me and groaned at the feeling of his bare chest against mine. He moved his mouth away from mine and whispered against my skin "anytime you want me to stop, just say it. I won't hurt you."  
"I know" he kissed me again, it became more passionate and my hands moved down his back, I loved the texture of the scars against my skin.

His hands moved up, slowly edging towards my breasts. My own hands moved down his back and I dipped my hands into the back of his pants, pulling him closer. He nudged my legs apart and leaned into me. I wrapped my legs around him, pressing myself to him. He moved against me, his hands moving over my nipples and his mouth sucking lightly on my neck. I could feel pressure build up inside me as I moved faster against him.

His thrusts met my own, our pants were a barrier between our skin. He lay his forehead on my shoulder and groaned, the sound of his voice made the pressure inside me grow. We moved more frantically against each other, J started to grunt, my moans mixed with his as I became desperate, fevered.

I pushed harder against him, I could feel him against my clit. Electricity shot through me, sending me over the edge. He continued to thrust against me, moving faster and faster and I rode the wave of pleasure, I felt him twitch against me and still. I was coming down from the euphoria, but I took over thrusting against him and he panted against my neck. His sudden low moan spurred me on, I kept moving as his twitching grew. He stilled, growling as I felt a wetness seep through to my skin.

He slowly rolled off me and faced me, lying on his side. His armed moved around me and he brought me to him. Our breathing was heavy and he whispered "holy shit" I giggled feeling a sense of pride mix with satisfaction. We lay together, topless, our clothed legs entwined on top of the covers. It was peaceful. We kissed occasionally, smiling widely at each other.

We heard a car approach; Pete, Char and Rose were on their way back. J kissed me once more and whispered "will you shower with me?" I nodded, feeling confident. He grabbed my hand and led me to the bathroom. He tugged down my pants and underwear, I let them fall to the floor and stepped out of them. I kissed him as I undid his fly, his pants tore under my strength. The remains falling to the floor. I felt him smile against me and he hooked his thumbs under the elastic of his underwear slowly moving them down. He stepped out of them and moved to turn on the shower. I looked over his naked body, he was covered on scars everywhere. He left my spike of lust and smirked at me. He was a cocky fucker, but he had good reason to be. He guided me into the shower before stepping in and joining me.

I adjusted the taps, the water steamed against us. He grabbed a face washer and soap, lathering it up. I stood still and let him wash me, he paid particular attention to my chest and I laughed "they're clean now J." He shrugged "I'm a guy" and moved to wash the rest of me. I took the other face washer, lathering it up to return the favor. I moved it between his legs and he looked at me in amusement "it's clean now Bella" I shrugged nonchalantly "I'm a chick." He laughed and I moved to clean the rest of him. He pecked my lips and opened the shower door to get two towels. I turned off the taps, monitoring my strength so I wouldn't break them.

We dried quickly and tucked the towels around us. I got him to help me put on my bra, something he took very seriously. He spent quite a bit of time tucking me into the contraption before handing me a clean tank top and yoga pants. He dressed himself in clean, intact jeans and grabbed a singlet. I grinned, I love seeing his scars.

The sound of the front door opening signaled the return of the others. Their voices carried upstairs, they were discussing the return of the Volturi guard. We headed downstairs to meet them. Pete grinned at us and nodded at J's attire while the others were absorbed in conversation. They turned their attention to us and stared at J, he rolled his eyes.

I looked for an explanation, Rose explained "we're not used to seeing Jazz without long sleeves." She turned to him "it looks good" she nodded in approval and turned back to the conversation. A quick look of relief flashed on J's face, he leaned down and whispered to me "I was insecure about my scars, the others used to feel scared." I shook my head "philistines, I happen to like them" I ran my fingertips down his arms and smirked as he shivered slightly. Char gave me a sneaky thumbs up and returned to the conversation.

Pete led us all to the lounge carrying a large package. He set it down on the coffee table, Char sat a smaller package next to it. I looked at both of them, they were stamped and postmarked from Italy. He tore open the larger box and handed bundles of material to each of us. J unfolded his and draped it around him, it was similar to the cloaks of the Volturi guard. I unfolded mine gently and put it on. It was thick, dark blue, almost black, material lined with dark blue silk, I looked at J's and saw the same colors. Pete and Char put their cloaks on as well, they matched ours; navy with dark blue lining.

Em, Rose and Charlie had deep green cloaks lined with white silk. Char opened the smaller package, it clinked as she moved it. She handed out heavy looking chains which held large pendants. Pete, Char, J's and mine were made from a dark grey metal, I looked at Char "anodized titanium." She said. My eyebrow barbell was made of the same metal.

Our pendants were dark grey, a large V with a sword down the center and a sapphire in the hilt of the sword. The pendant was as long as my pinky finger. The black chain holding it was the same thick, dark grey metal. It was long enough to pull over my head and didn't have a clasp.

Char handed out the other pendants to Charlie, Em and Rose. Theirs were a light silver color with a similar design. Each of their pendants were in the shape of a V with a delicately woven caduceus symbol in the center and a vivid green emerald in-between the wings of the caduceus. Pete grabbed a piece of paper from the bottom and began to read.

_Dearest Friends,_

_We thank you for your assistance in the investigation and elimination of suspected Newborn Armies. Please find enclosed cloaks and pendants which will identify your alliance with our guard. From the information Peter gave us we specially designed the cloaks and pendants to reflect your roles. Please wear these while on your mission, they will show your authority and protect you from those of our kind who may feel inclined to interfere with your mission. It is law that any attack against one who wears our identifiers must immediately be put to death for treason._

_Our guard will arrive shortly after you receive this package, they will brief you on what we discovered. We will keep you informed of the upcoming trial._

_Best of luck to you all._

_Warmest Regards,_

_Caius, Aro and Marcus_

I brushed my fingers lightly over my pendant. Dad and I looked towards each other and smiled. Shit just got real.

We each removed our cloaks, but left on the pendants. Peter notified us that the guard would arrive at three tomorrow afternoon, we stayed in the lounge room and discussed the upcoming mission. "Will we all be going?" Rose asked, Peter answered her; "in a way yes. You, Em and Charlie will travel with us, but you won't see any battle. We'll set up a secure location to act as headquarters. The three of you will have to stay there, this will keep Charlie protected and you can work on your knowledge." Pete turned to dad "do you have any healing recipes in your repertoire?" He asked, dad nodded "a few, different recipes for different injuries."

Em perked up after hearing that, he may have enjoyed fighting but he wasn't stupid enough to get tangled up in a mission like ours without serious back up. Protection duty served him well and he was glad his nephew and Rose would be away from enemies, but able to help. He knew better than the worry about me, he'd seen me with Maria's newborns. "Do you foresee any casualties, Peter?" He asked. Pete shook his head, "Emmett, we'll be scoping out each search area and we'll be careful. I don't see anything happening, but we must plan for every eventuality."

"How will we search? Will we be split up?" I asked. Pete gestured to J to answer this one. "We usually split up into groups of three or four. In the past we'd be separated and placed with two Volturi guards, the groups depended on gifts and skill. On the last mission the Pete, Char and I worked with the Volturi I was with Heidi and Demitri; Demitri would be able to sense the leader and locate them, then Heidi would perform the role of bait, she'd head out first and use her power of seduction to draw the leader away from the newborns. I would incapacitate them."

"What if the leader didn't fall for Heidi's bait?" I asked. He smirked at me "then I'd give it a go. Anyway, once the leader was incapacitated we'd dismantle him and pack him into duffle bags en route to Volterra. During our attack the other two teams would sweep in and destroy the army. Peter's group would attack from one side, his gift would be able to sense any curveballs-"  
"Curveballs?" Dad asked, J's voice darkened "vampire newborns with a gift or skillset that would make the attack harder. We learned the hard way on that one, we encountered a newborn with the gift to drain energy, they were left vulnerable until Jane was able to zap him with her power."

J shuddered "the last time we worked together Pete was paired with Alec and Felix, Alec would cut off as many senses as possible while Felix and Pete would attack and kill. They would form the first wave of attack and distract the group from the rest of us. Newborns have the attention span of a kitten with ADD," he looked at me apologetically and continued "Jane, Afton and Char would prevent any escape and attack from behind. Afton has the gift of stealth he would start picking off newborns while Char amped up the bloodlust of the better fighters which would keep them from focusing on us and they'd break into a frenzy, they would sometimes start attacking each other, Jane would incapacitate some with her gift and we'd mow through them fairly quickly.

"That last army we took down was large, after incapacitating the leader I joined the other two groups to clean up the rest of the newborns. One managed to get past us, but Heidi took him down quickly."  
"Will it be a similar set up this time?" I asked. He nodded at me "we don't know which of the guard will come, but we'll work on which teams we'll grouped into tomorrow. It should be fairly easy. Maria usually has the largest army, she's impatient and greedy. There's a chance that any armies we come across with be much smaller. Either way, our squad will be overkill."

"What about the Res?" Dad asked after the conversation died down. Peter thought for a second "they'll be fine as long as they don't leave. Have you keeped them updated on progress?" Dad nodded "I spoke to Theresa yesterday, I'll call her after we're done here and let them know the guard will arrive and we're all headed out together."  
"Good, how are they for supplies?"  
"They had an order delivered last night, they'll be good for weeks."  
"Excellent, hopefully it won't take that long." Pete looked towards me "how's the blood lust training going?"  
"Great, I think. Dad added some herbs to the blood you and the guard have brought here, it still smells great, but tastes like shit." Dad added "the people on the Res eat the same combination of herbs to make their blood unpalatable to vampires. It changes their scent, but when added to human blood directly it can be used as a taste aversion."

"To what extent?" J asked. Dad smiled at me and reported. "I put a drop of human blood on Bella's nose, her eyes didn't darken. We've incorporated a recording of beating hearts, clothes worn by humans, everything but the real thing."

Pete nodded to dad, "we'll need a practical test. I have every faith that Bella can handle herself." He looked at the clock display on the blue ray player "it's 16:00 now. J, Char, take Binky and do a drive through town with the windows open." Peter turned to dad to explain "living human blood has a more appealing scent" shit, the blood I'd been working with was hard enough to resist. Pete continued "Char can monitor and control blood lust, but she'll only intervene if Bella starts to lose it. Jasper can keep her calm if her emotions spike. When it comes to vamps, heightened emotions can exacerbate blood lust." Dad nodded "makes sense Pete."

Char got the keys to my car and led me out. J told me what to expect "we'll be driving very slowly, on top of dealing with your blood lust, you need to observe their movements. If you handle our trip through the back streets and still feel comfortable we'll go ahead with the second part of the drive through, we'll head to major arterials, by that time people will be heading home from work and many humans will be out in the open air."

"We'll remain in the car all time?" I asked, he nodded "the windows will be down so you'll hear many heart beats and smell a large population of them, but you won't be able to hunt them. The fact that Peter suggested the drive test means he thinks you're ready. It's a very good thing." He said, sending me his pride.

I looked longingly at the driver's seat "I guess I won't be able to drive?" Char shook her head "for your first contact with humans you must be focused, putting you behind the wheel could cause and accident" I nodded, I'd expected as much. Char continued with a smile "if you do really well we might let you drive back part of the way." I was going to do this, I hadn't been able to drive Binky since I got him, I had been too busy with training my strength, speed and fighting.


	20. Part 2 Chapter 2

**AN: This chapter is going to establish a few things before we get to their mission, it's a bit of a filler chapter. I've included it because it outlines Bella's training with blood lust and imitating humans. The next chapter will be more interesting, I promise.**

**Stephanie Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 2

BPOV

The trip into town was more exciting than I thought it would be, I had only seen these roads while human. We passed a scorched area; tree trunks were blackened and the earth around it had charred. Green shoots had started growing "that was where the newborns attacked, wasn't it?" I asked, Char nodded "we loaded up your old car with the vampire body parts and set it on fire. Emergency services arrived less than five minutes later and Pete called to report you and Charlie missing, they put two and two together and your deaths became official."

Seeing the accident site hit me hard, I knew Charlie and I were dead to the human world, but seeing this made it too real. "Has anyone checked on my mom?" I asked, J spoke quietly "Sue called her to offer her condolences." He paused warring with himself "just tell me J."  
"Your mom's pregnant" I felt a spike of happiness, J continued "it's a girl, they're going to call her Bella-"  
"Mom's calling another kid Isabella?" I gaped. He shook his head "no, they're just going to call her Bella."  
"Oh. I don't know how I feel about that." I said. J smiled sadly "actually you're feeling uncomfortable, sad and excited for your mom." I rolled my eyes "thanks smart arse." He shrugged, happy to feel my amusement. Damn Empath.

The first few houses came into view, J slowed the car. "Deep slow breaths, honey. Focus your mind." The smell of humans hit me, my blood lust rose, but so did my disgust. Dad's taste aversion worked well. I kept my control, my throat burned but it was manageable. Char turned and smiled "great work, Bella."  
"We'll head further into town, keep doing what you're doing honey" J said, smiling at me through the rearview mirror.

The scent grew stronger, but while my throat burned the disgust held my blood lust in check. "She's amazing J." I heard Char whisper, J smiled at me through the mirror and sent me his pride. We drove for another twenty minutes, the scent of humans had plateaued. We were stuck in peak hour traffic. Hundreds of heart beats thudded around me, my focus waivered and venom pooled in my mouth. Char looked at me, her face creased with worry. I shook my head at her, hoping to signal her not to intervene. I swallowed and concentrated on my emotions, namely the disgust. The burn of my throat dimmed slightly and I kept inhaling. "That was amazing Bella!" Char grinned at me, "did you see that J? She totally kicked its arse!"

We circled the town and took the backstreets back home. J parked the car in the outskirts of town and opened my door "your turn" he smiled at me. I gently maneuvered myself behind the wheel and ran my hands gently over the leather of the steering wheel. "Before you start the car, hold the steering wheel as loosely as you hold a pen, underneath the leather is plastic, apply that to level of pressure and you shouldn't break anything." Char twisted in her seat next to me. "I'm going to tap to your foot, keep in mind the pressure I apply, it's what pressure you should apply to the pedals." She moved her legs over the center console. I felt a very slight pressure. "Now try to use that pressure on my foot" I mirrored the pressure on her foot, she winced. I let up and held my foot when she exhaled in relief "that's it. Now lift up and try again." I tapped her lighter and she nodded in approval. I tried a couple more times and got the hang of it.

I slowly turned the key, the engine purred to life, I tapped the accelerator as light as I could. The car rolled forward, I increased the pressure very slightly and was soon driving at the speed limit. The burn in my throat dimmed further as I focused on my body and the feel of the car. All too soon we reached the dirt road, I slowed the car and got used to the change in sensation.

We were near the end of our driveway now. I gently tapped on brake and steered the car into my parking spot and turned it off. I calmly got out of the car and squealed in victory. "I did it!" The others came outside and congratulated me.

I followed dad into the kitchen, J followed close by. Dad stirred a pot on the stove, "pig's blood?" I asked "nah, this is cow. It's the same recipe I made for your first feed." He handed me a cup, the cow's blood held a sour taste but the spiciness of the herbs complimented it. I gulped it down and put the cup in the sink, dad started laughing at me "you got a little blood 'stache going on there Bells" I licked my upper lip, J's shoulders were shaking as he tried to suppress his laughter. I poked my tongue out at him "you're lucky your cute" I teased J and headed into the lounge room, dad was still laughing.

"So what's next on the blood lust agenda?" I asked the room at large, Rose looked at Char and announced "shopping!" I groaned "my choice, right?"  
"Of course. You're running low on clothes. We'll head out tomorrow when J and Pete go to meet the Volturi at the airport. We're just going to get some basics and see how you do while in close contact with humans." Char said. "As long as we take it slow I'll manage." I told at my aunties.

"Now, let's see how you go at mirroring human behavior." Pete requested, I stood up slowly, estimating the speed of my movements. I hadn't seen any of the humans sit or stand since I was one, it was difficult to judge. I headed to the end of the room and walked the length of it keeping my steps measured. Rose came over "you were a little fast getting up, but your walk was perfect. A couple of things I recommend when walking amongst humans; keep your posture straight, move your hips more and always look like you're on your way to something important. It's important to seem unattainable, the less human contact you have the easier it'll be to blend in." She said.

"What if someone tries to talk to me?" I asked. Rose smiled and answered me. "Keep your responses monosyllabic, look away a lot and glare at your phone. If that doesn't work, gently pushed past them, be a bitch if you have to. Hell, be a bitch for shits and giggles." Rose smirked. "I learn from the best" I sang, I bumped her shoulder and laughed.

"Now, watch me and try to mirror what I do." She instructed. Her hips swayed with each step, I matched her pace "good, now look up and walk with your shoulders back, stick out those boobs."  
"Rose, my dad and uncles are in the room-"  
"Just do it." She barked. I straightened just like she taught me, "use your peripheral vision as much as you can so you can stay aware of your surroundings, avoid moving your head and eyes, it lends to the illusion that you're too busy to deal with idiots." I took a few more paces, we'd nearly completed a circuit of the room. She stopped and walked behind me, her hands on my hips, guiding them with each step "try and maintain the swing, you won't fall." She removed her hands and I kept walking "looking good, Bella, keep going"  
"Rose I feel ridiculous."  
"Well you don't look it, so shut up and keep going" she slapped my arse and moved to sit down. I used to peripheral vision to watch J, he was smirking and watching my butt. Men.

After a few more circuits Char called me over "let's work on sitting down and getting up." She did a few repetitions, I copied her. This was easy. She showed me the correct way to stand up and sit down in a dress or skirt and how to get in and out of a car gracefully. "Why do I need to know this?" I asked, Char rolled her eyes. "Bella, you've seen the covers of those trashy magazines, ladies today have no idea how to get out of a car the right way, there are too many up skirt pictures out there, many of the ones published are of starlets going commando. There's no need to reenact that scene from Basic Instinct." She said. I shuddered and practiced with her.

Rose sped up stairs and came down with a white shoebox. "I know you won't like this, but it's something we have to teach you" she opened the box, there was a simple black pair of heels. "This style is a kitten heel, it's the one you should aim for if you ever have to buy high heels." She put them on my feet "now, your weight is going to be concentrated on the heel so you need to be mindful of your weight distribution, you don't want to break the shoes or the floor. When you get up, at human speed, keep your weight on your toes then gently rock back on your heels. Try to keep your weight balanced between the toes and your heels. Give it a go." I slowly stood up, wobbling slightly, this was strange. I kept my weight on my toes and rocked back slowly, the heels snapped. "Shit!"

"Don't sweat it. We have plenty to practice with, move your center of gravity, keeping it on the middle of your arch-" Em interrupted Rose "I have an idea that could work!" I took off the heels and followed him into the game room. He pressed a few buttons and brought out a white plastic board. "This is the Wii fit, it has a balancing game that shows you where your center of gravity is, if you try it without the heels you may be able to get it right."  
"That's brilliant Em!" Rose beamed.

"Won't I break it if I step too hard?" I asked. Pete shrugged. "You will, but we've reinforced it a little. Step on lightly and see how you go, we have plenty of replacements." He loaded up the yoga exercises and pointed at the screen "this one helps you work on your center of gravity while keeping your balance." I gingerly stepped onto the pad, and gently dragged my other foot on to the board, keeping my weight as even as possible. "Good job, kid." Emmett smiled. The screen showed a demonstration, I matched my speed to the demonstration. The screen changed to a view of the board and a green dot appeared off center "that's what your weight distribution looks like, try to move it to the center of the cross."

I'd overshot the mark several times and was getting flustered. "You're moving too fast, kid. Take a deep breath, close your eyes and try to estimate where the green dot is."  
"Like pin the tail on the donkey?" I joked. Emmett laughed. I followed his instructions and opened my eyes when I was in position. "See! You did it, I have to say I think your clumsiness as a human could have been brought on by you overthinking your movements. You were concentrating too hard and missed out the warnings your body gave you telling you, you were off balance. Now try again."

I successfully corrected my balance five times in a row, Rose handed me another pair of kitten heels "now give it a go, try it on the Wii fit just like you did before." The heels didn't snap, I gently stepped of the board and circuited the room at normal human speed. "Good, now straighten your back and swing those hips." Rose ordered. I was a little wobbly for the first few steps, but got the hang of it. Char smirked at Rose and ran upstairs. I moved to the chair, maintaining my human speed and movements, and sat down just as Char had taught me. Who knew walking was so tedious.

Char returned and took off the kitten heels "I'll leave these in your closet with a couple more pairs, you never know when you'll need them." She pulled out another white shoe box and opened it, "these heels are average height, it'll take some getting used to, but you've done well so far, especially with Emmett's instruction on the Wii." She slipped the matte black heels onto my feet, I stood up carefully and wobbled. I took a few deep breaths a cleared my mind. I shifted my weight until it felt similar to the kitten heels and took a step. Success!

I took a few more steps getting used to the feel of the shoes. In no time I was keeping my posture straight and swinging my hips just as Rose instructed. "Good work, now try sitting down and standing up." I sat down slowly, keeping my weight balanced between my toes and heels. I reversed the movement and stood up. I repeated standing up and sitting down with no damage to the shoes or the floor. Rose brought down another pair of shoes, "these are five inch pumps, once you've mastered these, you've mastered heels completely."

Within the hour I was given permission to quit for the night. I could now walk in anything with a heel. I vowed to avoid them at all cost, just because I'd gotten used to them and would be able to recall the exact movements and distribution of weight didn't mean I'd liked them.

We turned in for the night. I showered with J, keeping things innocent considering my dad was next door, and we lay down. Our hands roamed over each other, we kissed and cuddled occasionally, relishing the feel of skin against skin. As dawn approached J sat up "I've had an idea, once we've completed our mission do you want to rent a hotel for the weekend?"  
"You mean one away from the family?" I asked, he nodded cautiously "fuck yeah" I breathed. I tugged him back on the bed and kissed him "it's too early to get up, let's lie down for a couple more hours." He smiled and tucked me into his arms.

At nine am we finally decided to join the others. We dressed and packed a bag, all we needed was a couple of changes of clothes. "What happens if our cloaks get damaged or dirty?" I asked. "They're pretty easy to clean and maintain, the guard treat the material with protective spray, dirt and venom just wipe right off. Besides, these cloaks are only for this mission, the guard have a constant influx of replacement robes."  
"What about our pendants, they could be ripped off."  
"The titanium is strengthened with vampire ash and werewolf venom, there is a weakened link at the back so if an attacker grabs hold of it it'll break in a specific part and not decapitate us, it's easily fixed. Felix's always breaks, he just ends up using it as a garrote, its effective too, he's decapitated quite a few enemy combatants that way."

We made our way down stairs, Charlie forced me to drink two cups of the enriched cows blood he'd made up yesterday. I was feeling overly full as Char, Rose and I headed into the city to shop.

Rose turned to me from the front passenger seat. "So, dear niece, how are things going with J?" I didn't rise to the bait, the wolves had cured me of my embarrassment. "Good, but I can't help but feel that everyone's cockblocking us." I said casually. Rose grimaced "I keep expecting you to blush for look embarrassed" She said. I shrugged, "I spent a lot of time with the wolves, they phase naked so their clothes aren't destroyed. I got over my shyness very quickly."  
"Damnit. Well there goes my fun." Rose complained.

Char rolled her eyes at Rose "regardless of Rose's feelings on the matter I still want details, how far have you gone? What's he like in bed?"  
"You do realize he's effectively your cousin" I smirked, she shook her head "don't care, Rose and I have been mated for decades, let us live vicariously in the new love." Rose cringed at her "Char, he's practically my brother. I don't want to know too much about him." An evil idea popped into my head, Rose couldn't make me cringe, but I could make her cringe. I cackled evilly. Char turned to look at me and I covertly nodded in Rose's direction, she caught on quickly.

"Come on Bella, we want details." Char winked. "Well, we haven't done much, it's hard to when we're in a house full of vampires and my father lives in the room next door. But we shower together and engaged in a little dry humping." Rose turned her concentration to the scenery outside the car and tried to tune out our conversation. "Is he big?" Char asked. I nodded "a good eight inches, it's not that veiny either. The skin looks really smooth."  
"Uh huh, is he cut?" Char asked, I shook my head, smirking.

"So, you haven't had sex with him?" Char asked. I met her eyes in the rear view mirror. "Nope, I'm still a virgin. It's a struggle, I can't wait till he's buried in me to the hilt."  
"Oh yeah, balls deep." Char nodded in approval. Rose turned on the radio and we burst out laughing, she caught on to what we were doing "you bitches!" I batted my eyelashes at her, "Whatever do you mean, Aunty Rose?" I said, feigning innocence. Her laughter joined our own.

There were plenty of parking spots in the undercover parking garage. It was a week day so fewer people would be around. We stuck to the main corridor and the shadows to avoid sparkling, it was easy to keep my blood lust under control, I practically sloshed from dad over feeding me. The humans smelled nice and my throat burned a little, but I was no danger to them. A small child ran past and fell over, skinning his knee. Char and Rose grabbed my hands in preparation, the blood didn't bother me. I was overfull and enjoying the trip away from home.

We passed a shoe store and I froze, my eyes zeroed in on a pair of cherry red, lace up, knee high boots with a flat sole. I wasn't usually into shoes, but these were so pretty. Rose and Char joined me "they'd suit you, Bells. We should look around, try on a few pairs." Rose said as she led me into the store and asked for a pair of those boots in my size "they also come in green and black as well as red." The shop assistant offered. I nodded and tried on the pair of red boots she brought out, they fit like a glove. I set them aside and requested a green pair as well.

I headed towards Char, she stood in front of a wall of cowboy boots. She leaned over and whispered conspiratorially "J has a thing for cowboy boots and I know he has a pair very similar to these" she held up a black pair with silver and gold stitching "I like them, I'll get a pair in my size added to the others." I said. We headed over to Rose "what do you think of these?" She held out a foot clad in a bright red ankle boot "they look good" I said to her. I spotted a pair of heels along the back wall and headed over to them, they were red tartan kitten heels with black lace around the toe and heel. I found a box of them in my size in the stack below the shelf. "I'm surprised Bells, they're gorgeous. You haven't chosen a single ballerina flat or trainers." Rose eyed my stack on the counter. "I must be getting sick" I joked.

We loaded our purchased in the car and headed back inside. We stopped at a few clothing shops and picked up some more yoga pants and tank tops. I added in a few shirts, long sleeved t-shirts and some jeans and tank tops for J and I. We kept looking through the racks and I saw a dress at the back of the store. It was red, sleeveless and fell a few inches above the knee, a thin black belt cinched the waist. It would be perfect for my new heels. I folded it over my arm with the other clothes and headed to the counter to pay. Rose and Char joined me shortly after, I held up the dress to show them and smiled as they nodded their approval.

After another lap of the non-sunlit shops we headed back home. Rose sat in the back staring out the window quietly, I was in the passenger seat next to Char who was driving. I turned to Char and gestured to Rose, she subtly shrugged her shoulders. I turned to Rose "what are you thinking about?" I asked, she broke out of her thoughts "it's hard to believe you're the same person I met in Forks, you've changed a lot. I like the new you." Her voice softened at the end. I shrugged "I did a lot of growing up after you guys left. I realized how wrong things had been, Pete and Char helped me loosen up and fall in with a good crowd; the wolves."

"Do you remember much about your human life?" She asked. "A fair bit, enough to realize moving to Forks was the smartest decision I ever made. I'd been too serious growing up, I had to be the parent when I lived with mom. She was useless; I paid the bills, cleaned, cooked, got a job to help pay for groceries. I did everything while mom flitted from fad to fad. There were quite a few times I had to talk her out of dangerous situations; sky diving was the last thing I talked her out of, I even had to talk her out of dating a few guys she set her eyes on. Thankfully Phil came on the scene and leveled her out. I got tired of hearing them fuck and decided to move in with dad."

"Do you resent her?" Char asked gently. I shrugged. "Looking back on it I do, she should have either left me with dad or got her act together. I saw how it left me vulnerable to a lot of things. I never fit in with my age group, I fell for the wrong guy, I was insecure and read books about doomed romance. I don't like the old me that much." I said, frowning "I can't complain though, it lead me to my mate and my family, it brought me closer to dad. I guess Pete's right, sometime the bad things lead to good."

"It makes sense that you accepted us so easily" Rose spoke quietly "to the outside world we looked like the perfect family." I nodded and added; "I was easily manipulated by Edward and Alice" I asked a question that had been irritating me "do you think they knew I was supposed to be J's mate?" Rose shook her head "I doubt it, you and J were completely different to how you are now. You were both being clouded by the past and were easily led by Alice and Edward, they're charismatic and know how to use their gifts to hook people. I doubt Alice would have known about you and J, her power is based on decisions, not fate. I doubt she knew what was destined."

We arrived shortly before four PM. Em and Dad were in the kitchen mixing together some blood. Dad grinned at me as we walked into the kitchen "how did you go?" He asked, I smiled "really well, I even kept in control when a little kid fell over and skinned his knee." I told them. "That's awesome" Em boomed with pride. Dad smiled wider and said; "J and I have been talking, he's interested in trying out the taste aversion to increase his control."  
"Is he struggling?" I asked dad in concern. "No, he's a hard worker, the blood lust doesn't control him as much as he thought it would, but he'd still like to train a little, I'm going to see if the others want to join." Dad said. I nodded, it'd be nice to work with them.

Char walked in and handed me a duffle bag "you should pack a few of the new clothes. Charlie, Em and Rose will drive our luggage as we run ahead of them. You can hide the duffle in the boot and surprise J" she winked at me. "Will there be enough room?" I asked. "Yep, we're each only taking three pairs of clothes and a couple of extra shoes. On our mission we'll be wearing boots, yoga pants and t-shirts under our cloaks. We only need to change when we're in contact with the human world. Charlie's bringing an urn, a cooler for the blood and some herbs, we'll have plenty of room for one small duffle bag. Now get a move on J and Pete be back soon with the Volturi." She said.

I raced into the walk in closet in Pete and Char's room and put a couple of nice shirts and jeans into the bag. Char walked in and handed me a bag from the back. "Victoria Secret?" I asked in confusion. She nodded "put in that red dress and those heels you brought too" I looked into the bag of lingerie, Char had chosen some nice stuff. There were simple but elegant night gowns and matching bras and underwear. I hugged her "thanks, Char" she smiled "there's a few boxer briefs in there for J as well. Once we're done I'll arrange for a few days at a hotel for you two, you're newly mated and deserve sometime alone." Char said. "Thanks, we're getting pretty desperate" I snickered. Char pushed me out the door "hurry, they'll be here any minute." I ran at full speed and gently opened the boot. I stuffed the duffle bag into the back of the boot.

I'd just joined dad in the kitchen when I heard a large SUV pull up with dad's truck "huh, so that's how the guard will transport their luggage" I murmured, Emmett nodded. I looked at the pot on the stove "what's on the menu tonight?"  
"Em caught a couple of bears, there's the blood of one in here and the rest is in the cooler. I know you've already fed, but I'll put aside a thermos for later." Dad said.

The guard came in, chatting with the others. Only Jane, Alec, Felix and Demitri had come, Maggie must be with Sulpicia or her coven. I waved to them as they eyed the pot on the stove. "You guys thirsty?" Dad asked, Jane answered "a little, we were on our private jet, but flying is still irritating, even without humans on board."

Dad smiled and started to hand out cups, the guard smiled as they drank. "This is amazing, Charlie, what's in it?" Alec asked. "This is bear with a few herbs to enrich the blood. Apparently its better than human" he said. Alec agreed; "it is, filling too. Master Aro has expressed interest in trying your cooking, I hope you don't mind?"  
"Of course not Alec, I only use animal blood in cooking, I hope he won't mind."  
"Not at all, he was intrigued with our experience of palatable pig's blood. Aro is the head of research and development in our coven, he's been trying to synthesize blood to make it easier for our kind to feed without killing humans. I'm afraid he hadn't been open to changing his diet previously, Carlisle was too pushy and the flavor leaves a lot to be desired."  
"I can understand that, Uncle Pete and Aunt Charlotte are still human drinkers, although they do supplement their diet with my concoctions. From what J told me animal blood by itself isn't satisfying and can weaken you, I can't begrudge your kind for sticking to the traditional diet, but I'm happy to hear that the Masters are interested in an alternative food source."


	21. Part 2 Chapter 3

**AN: I decided to post early because today is a busy day of real world stuff. **

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 3

BPOV

Pete called us into the lounge room; a large map lay on the coffee table. We sat around it and started planning. J began "most of the armies during the Wars were in the South West states; Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. Caius and I recommend we do a sweep of these states first. Charlie and Em will drive Char's sedan while Rose will drive the Volturi SUV. A Scouting party consisting of myself, Pete and Demitri will search for signs of vampire combat, the rest will hang back between us and the cars until you hear from us."

"What's our timeline?" Char asked. "If we're lucky we can search Texas over the period of three days, New Mexico and Arizona will take a couple of days depending on what we encounter and we'll only need to focus on the southern half of Nevada. We'll only search the other states connected to the four we're searching if we pick up signs of activity. The main focus of our scouting trip will be to set up a safe area to act as headquarters. Once the area is secure we will form attack groups and perform a sweep." He nodded for Pete to take over.

"The attack groups are as follows;  
Team 1; J and Demitri will lead. If any armies are around they'll isolate the leader and dismantle them for transport  
Team 2; I will lead the frontal assault and assess any curve balls. Bella, Felix and Jane, you're with me.  
Team 3; is containment, distraction and clean up, Char and Alec that's down to you." Pete said.

He handed out some ear pieces "keep these in at all times. Charlie, Rose and Em; you'll be manning the comms. The only conversation I want to hear is regarding our mission. Should anyone take up valuable air time while we're on duty, you'll be sent back to headquarters and you coven leader will be notified. That means Caius for the Volturi and J for the rest of us. Now, should J, Demitri and I encounter an army before we've secured an area we'll head back or call for back up. In this situation Bella, Alec and Felix will join us and Jane and Char will guard the others in the cars."

He pointed to the map on the coffee table, there were small dots covering some parts of the map. "J, Char and I are very familiar with this area and we've located a few hot spots we believe to be ideal for raising an army. We've set up a timetable of when it's safe to scout and perform sweeps. For the most part these places are uninhabitable for humans; either by being too isolated, dangerous terrain or extreme weather conditions. We must wear cloaks while out; this will prevent exposure to stray humans that cross our path and it will identify us as Volturi agents.

"Now, on another note; you may or may not be aware that the Volturi spread rumor of our demise once they cleaned up the south. For this reason Bella, J, Char and I will wear masks. We have reputations from our past life and no one outside this group or the Volturi must know our identity, there are many who would wish to challenge us and we are not interested in wasting time with arrogant young ones. Bella will wear a mask for the same reason, should word spread of our identity she will suffer the same consequences."

Pete pulled a box from under the table and opened it, handing masks out among the four of us. They were a similar anodized titanium as the pendants, there was a dark blue sheen to them in the light. A thick band of metal circled around the back of the mask from side to side, another band crossed from the top of mask to the back of the horizontal band. Pete continued "from this point in time you must not use our names. Bella is Death, J is War, Char is Famine and I am Pestilence. Do not mutter our names once we leave this place. No matter what." We nodded. "Good, lets suit up and head out." He finished.

Once the car was packed Pete, Char, J and I put on our masks. There were fine holes drilled into the part that covered the nose and mouth, there was plenty of room to move our faces behind it. The mask became snug at the bridge of our noses and pressed tightly against our eye sockets, our eyes were the only visible part. The metal band running from the top of the mask to the back kept it on us while the metal band running behind our head, cheek to cheek, kept it secure. There was some give to the metal bands that allowed small adjustments.

Dad approached us holding four small flasks, each with their own straw "Rose and I have been working on a way to keep you incognito. This mixture will disguise your scents. Hopefully if you run into any old enemies they won't recognize your smell. I'm afraid it tastes like shit. Pete had mentioned how rare golden eyes were in the vampire world, so with the help of the Volturi, I have created this mix with human blood. I've kept it unpalatable so it won't interfere with your animal drinking. You'll be less identifiable with the traditional red eyes."  
"Thanks dad" I whispered.

We sucked up the blood through the straw, tilting the masks forward slightly. I shuddered. "That's fucking awful Charlie" Pete lamented, dad shrugged "this is a potent mix, it'll change your scent for a few days. You'll manage." He smiled and got into the car. Em sped off in Char's sedan while Charlie and Rose followed behind in the SUV the Volturi had hired. The sun had begun to set.

We had been running for half an hour. Pete, J and Demitri were running ahead of us and looking for any sign of vampires. We'd reached the town of Beaumont fifteen minutes ago and were running south west. We were circling Huston when J barked through our comms "halt. Pestilence report" I heard Pete sniff and respond "Seven scents"  
"Famine, report" Char answered next to me. "Western side of Huston."  
"Healers, report"  
"Five miles to Huston" Rose replied. "Famine, head back to the east side of Huston and secure the area." J said.

"Yes, War." Char replied. She pointed to Felix and Jane then herself indicating her group, she pointed east. Char then pointed to me and Alec and pointed north, we nodded and split up circling the city from each direction. There were no vampiric scents.

We met up with Char and the others in the north east side of town. Char gestured for Alec and I to do a quick run through the streets in the North West and she gestured to her group to search the south east corner. We found nothing supernatural. "Famine, north west section secure." Alec reported into the coms. "South east section secure, head for Hamilton Street." She replied.

We kept to the shadows and met in a side street. Char pointed to Felix, Jane and Alec, then held up two fingers and moved them together, they nodded and Felix took out his ear pieces to keep the line clear. Char and I hid in the car park, we weren't able to take our masks off until the mission completed.

Felix's voice held a charming lilt "good evening, my family and I would like two adjoining rooms, are any available?" A woman's voice sounded flustered "certainly! We have two rooms available on the second floor, it'll be $150 per room per night. How long will you be staying with us Mr...?"  
"Call me Felix, Miss. We're just passing through." He said and handed over a credit card. I heard three sets of footsteps as they moved upstairs.

Seconds later we heard Jane whisper "Famine, Death" we carefully climbed up the side of the building, the bricks were easy to grip onto. Char went in first, I followed shortly after. Felix put his earpiece back in "War, Healers we have two adjoining suites at the local hotel, a side street runs along the northern side of the buildings. We're on the second floor, rooms 212 and 214. We'll leave the windows open."  
"Received" said J, "received" Emmett echoed and added; "ETA five minutes."

I looked around the room. The walls were cream and a double bed sat against the wall, it's dark green bed spread matching the drapes. The carpet was burgundy. It was clean and sparse. I peeked through the door next to the wardrobe, it looked like we'd be sharing a bathroom. I gave up any hope of having a shower.

Emmett's voice crackled through the earpiece "arrived in alley, parked around back." I heard him fumble with his ear piece, removing it. His voice floated up stairs "Good evening Miss, my brother arrived a short time ago and booked us a room."  
"Felix?" The lady asked, her heartbeat sped up "yes, Miss. Can we head on up?"  
"Sure, second floor down the right corridor, room 212 and 214."  
"Thank you." I could just picture him flashing his dimples. Three sets of footsteps came towards us, Rose opened the door and entered first. "Healers in room" she reported to the others. "Good, our ETA is 20 minutes." J said. Emmett came up carrying dad's supplies, he'd been driving the Volturi SUV while Rose and Charlie drove Char's sedan.

Charlie had everything set up in the furthest corner from the window. I heard light footsteps in the alley, Peter's voice came through the comms "incoming." We kept our distance from the open window, J came through first, followed by Pete and Demitri. We removed our ear pieces. J came up to me and hugged me his eyes sparkling behind his mask, "missed you" he whispered.

J turned to the rest in the room. "We came across a small group of vampires; two are older while the other five are newborn. We'll keep the room for tonight. Death, Famine, Felix and Jane, you're with us." He nodded at Pete to continue "their ranks aren't anything special. We followed them at a distance for sixty miles, no other scents joined them and they didn't pick up our trail. They set up camp near Edna.

"Emmett, you'll need to put your ear piece in. We'll keep you updated. Alec, Demitri; keep your senses open, you're on lookout duty. Famine and Felix will follow me, War will incapacitate the leader. Famine, Felix and I will be the first wave of attack and Death and Jane will be the second wave of attack, that means containment and clean up." Pete explained. He threw three empty duffle bags to Jane and I. We nodded, the five of us put our comms back in and nodded to Emmett as he put his back in.

We jumped out the window of the hotel, J lead us south west, Felix, Pete and Char were behind him and Jane and I followed. We ran at a slower pace, keeping our noise to a minimum. We dodged branches and fallen objects as we picked up the scent of the vampires. J put up his hand to halt us and climbed a tall building to scope out the area. He jumped down "all clear" he said and motioned for us to follow.

We kept running, weaving through empty streets, forest and parkland. Every now and then J would climb a tree or building to search the area and we'd continue on. The vampires' scent grew stronger as we headed for woodland west of Edna. He halted us pointing to himself then south, then pointing to Pete and Felix and pointing west and finally pointing to Jane and I and pointing east. We got into our positions, waiting for instructions.

The thump of two bodies echoed through the forest, followed by the metallic screech of torn vampire limbs. The newborns froze, Pete's voice whispered through the comms "team one, go." They strolled out from their cover, the newborns instantly went in to attack. I saw Char concentrate as she fought against a large male. The newborn became frenzied under the influence of her gift.

"Team two, go" J's voice spoke. Jane and I hopped into the open without the newborns noticing us. I concentrated on my gift and felt flames erupt around my shield. One newborn tried to run, but Jane sent him falling to the ground in agony. She quickly tore him apart and threw the pieces at me to catch fire. Pete and Char had killed off three newborns, Jane had killed one. We trapped the remaining newborn between the four of us. It kicked towards Jane considering her an easy kill. Pete tore it's limbs off and Jane ran to deliver the empty duffle bags to J. Pete threw the limbs that littered the clearing towards me, I caught them and they disintegrated in my hands. Not bad for a giant zippo.

I focused on my calm and let the flames along my shield die out. Pete nodded to me "team one, success." He said, I echoed his report "team two, success" J's voice whispered through the ear piece "War, success. Heading to battle ground with two prisoners."

As soon as J and Jane arrived they put down the two full duffle bags and one empty one. He looked over me, searching for injuries. He turned to the others and nodded before speaking "headquarters, report." Emmett's voice reached our ears "no change." J replied "our ETA is 30 minutes. No ally casualties."

We headed back to the hotel in Huston, running at full speed, J was in the lead checking for new vampire scents. We made it back without incident. Char, Jane and I headed in through the window while J and Pete put the three duffle backs in the Volturi SUV. We took out our earpieces and discussed our next move. We still had a lot of time before the sun rose. "Demitri, do you sense anything in our vicinity?" J asked. Demitri closed his eyes and concentrated. "No, there are no large groups of vampires for many miles, but there could be smaller groups, it's hard to tell with all the humans around." J repeated the question to Pete. "I'm not picking anything up." He said frustrated. J nodded "we can cover the south of the state from Edna to Eagle's Pass." He turned to dad "you, Em and Rose can stay here. The rest of us will split into two groups to clear the tip of the state. We'll be back by dawn. Rose will be on comms."

J pointed to me, Char, Jane and Felix "Team one will follow the coast and search from Brownsville to George West." He pointed to himself, Alec, Demitri and Peter. "We're team two. We'll cover the boarder of Mexico and move inland to meet at George West."

Three empty duffle bags were handed to Char; our team leader. We headed out first. J's group leaving seconds later. They headed west while we headed south. Char and Jane followed the coast line, taking time in the more industrial areas. Felix and I were further inland, searching silently for any trace of vampire activity.

As we neared Corpus Christi we smelled a very faint, old, vampire scent. "One old scent, north east side of Corpus Christi. Heading west." Felix reported. Char's voice came through the comms "old traces of vampire ash, three scents." We ran to meet her and sniffed the air, one of the old scents was identical to the one Felix and I had crossed. The other scent headed south. We didn't recognize the old scent that came from the scatter of vampire ash. Char reported her findings over the comms. J's voice crackled in reply. "Keep to the plan. Team two in Cotulla heading west. No scents yet."

Felix and I ran through Corpus Christi while Char and Jane followed the coastline. We reached Brownsville two hours later. There had been no other scents. Char's voice whispered through the comms "single nomad ahead, scent matched one heading south from Corpus Christi. Male, long black hair, tall. Currently feeding."  
"Approach with caution. Felix and Death stay close to Famine and Jane." J said. We headed east and stood with Char and Jane. We watched as the nomad finished his meal and disposed of the body. Char pointed to Jane and Felix to approach.

The nomad noticed them and froze, bowing his head in submission. "What is your name?" Felix asked. "Eli." The nomad said softly. "What is your business here?" Felix asked. "Passing through, I'm headed to Mexico City. I was attacked by two newborns. I killed one and the other ran west." Eli said. "Did you see anyone else?" Felix asked, Eli shook his head "no, I've been running since I crossed into Texas." He was looking around, I could see he was scared. Jane picked up on his mood and asked him about it. "This area is cursed. I just want to get to Mexico." Felix looked at him, searching him for any sign of deception. "Spread the word, the Volturi are back to clean up the Newborn Wars." He said to Eli. They sent him on his way and we watched him run south.

"Good job." J said into the comms. We resumed our search, carefully running further inland and keeping our senses open. When we reached Kingsville we heard J bark "halt." We froze before realizing he was talking to his team. We stopped to listen to what was happening to them. "Five scents. South East side of Zapata. No curveballs." Pete said. We heard movement over the comms followed by the metallic screech of vampire skin being torn apart. "Team two go." J ordered. The sound of fighting reached us. It was terrifying to listen to. The sound of more vampire dismemberment started, it was shortly followed by a low 'woof' of fire igniting our kind. "Team two success. One prisoner, no ally casualties." J reported. We exhaled in relief and kept running.

After a few more hours we finished our search. We ended up in George West and reported "team one complete. We have reached our destination." Char said. We heard Pete's voice through the comms. "Team two heading north from Hebbronville. We're still searching our area. ETA two hours."  
"We'll search between here and San Diego. We'll meet you there." Char said. "Understood. Cotulla and Laredo districts already cleared." J said.

We searched at a slower pace, coming across the old scent of the vampire we smelled in Corpus Christi, it headed to Laredo. We followed it and came across the signs of a battle and piles of ash. It had been taken care of by J's team. We headed back to San Diego and waited for the others. They arrived half an hour later. "Let's head back to our Huston headquarters." J said.

We arrived before dawn and settled in for the day. We wouldn't be able to leave again until dark. Jane called the Masters and reported on our first captures and kills. "They're sending a courier, they'll arrive in Austin in three days and take the prisoners back to Volterra." She said when she finished the call.

Pete was pouring over the map "I believe we'll run into more armies to the west, I say we do a clean sweep of Northern Texas and New Mexico. Felix, what did Aro find out from Maria?"  
"She started an army because she came across a couple of others doing the same in New Mexico. She didn't know their names or camp locations, she just knew that there were territories open for the taking and she wanted in on it." Felix said.

"What do you mean she didn't know any camp locations?" J asked. Felix responded; "The new armies are aware of the laws they're breaking, they don't want to be caught so they remain nomadic, they sweep through their territory and never stay in one place long enough to be caught. The territory lines are constantly changing."

"Damn, this is a wild goose chase. We need more intel." Peter said. He was getting frustrated. "We're missing something, War. We have to interrogate the prisoners." He said. J nodded and replied "at sundown we'll head for the clearing where we captured them in Edna, its isolated enough that the humans won't hear them scream. Jane, Alec and I will get the information. We'll move headquarters North to Austin. We can search the more isolated areas until the courier arrives."

JPOV

Pete was pacing and shaking his head "there's something missing. My gift is telling me to head east, but it goes against our experience."  
"Calm down Pestilence" I ordered "we'll get the intel soon"  
"Something feels wrong, War. We don't know when the armies started occurring. We know this area and we've passed through many isolated spots which would have been ideal for an army."  
"You heard what Felix said, the armies are nomadic-"  
"That's just it! We've only come across a couple of scent trails, if there was a fight for territory the scent would be more concentrated and we'd smell others."  
"We'll stick to the plan, I get you're worried. We'll get the Intel and work it out from there."  
"It's not just that, War. My gift is telling us we need more back up." I sat up straighter. "As soon as we find anything out we'll confer with Caius. We're not amateurs, Pestilence. This is a part of us, it's why we were created." I sent him some calm, but what he'd said had bothered me. If his gift was telling him we needed to head east we'd have to trust it. First, we'd clean up the south west.

There was some cloud cover late in the afternoon. It was just what we needed, Pete, Char, Bella and I snuck into the parking lot. The others met us out there and we put in our ear pieces. I weighed the skill set of each member of our group and started assigning teams. Charlie, Bella and I rode in Char's sedan while Pete, Char and Jane rode in the SUV. Felix, Alec, Emmett and Rose would run to Austin.

The windows of the car were tinted heavily so no one would see the four strange people in masks from the outside. Charlie turned to me "when we reach Austin I'll make some more scent changing blood. Jane and Alec have stocked the cooler with human blood." I nodded, as much as I hate the taste I appreciated the result. Bella fidgeted next to me, I sent some calm her way.

The drive wasn't long at all. We came across a cheap motel. There was little cover. There were no vampire scents. I spoke over the comms "Death, Famine, Pestilence and I have arrived. Charlie, can you arrange for two rooms at the back of the hotel?" He nodded, I passed him my credit card.

I quickly spoke into the comms. "The four horsemen must remain in the vehicles until dark. Felix, what is your ETA?"  
"Five minutes, we had to slow down when humans were about."  
"No problem. Charlie and Jane will set up the room." I said. Charlie returned "two rooms on the first floor, there's some tree cover. Rooms 10 and 12."  
"Excellent." He started the car and headed down the drive, Jane was close behind. He parked outside the rooms, there were a few trees which would hide us well. We headed in and Charlie handed us the flasks of human blood. He grinned, watching our eyes crinkle in disgust as we sucked the foul tasting blood through the straw. "Are you guys right for the time being?" He asked. "Sure, but we'll probably need to feed after our interrogation." I said, Jane and I would be using our power and Bella still had to feed regularly. "No problem, War" Charlie said. I could feel his awkwardness at using my new battle name.

He turned to Bella, "Death, in the glove box of the sedan is a flask of the bear blood, it's been nearly two days since you ate."  
"Thanks, but won't feeding change our eye color?" She asked. He shook his head "the blood I use to mask your scent is concentrated. Your meal will lighten your eyes a little, but they'll still be red." Bella leaned over to me and whispered; "can you send him my emotions?" I nodded sending Charlie a wave of gratitude and love, his eyes widened a little. "That's from Death, you can't see her smile at you so she asked me to send her emotions to you." He smiled at her "always happy to help Death, you too War." He chuckled "it's take a while to get used to your names." I went out to the car to get my mate her thermos of blood.

We saw the street lights flicker on. Bella had just finished the thermos and had put her mask back on. I sent her a wave of love before addressing the room. "Jane, Alec and I will head out via the west and run down east with the prisoners. Death and Pestilence will search this area, reconnaissance only. Famine and Felix will join us and secure our location. The healers will stay here and monitor the comms, Emmett and Charlie can take out the ear plugs, Rose you'll be our contact. Move out." I said.

Jane, Alec and I ran ahead, Char and Felix ran each side of us, keeping a distance of half a mile on each side. Hopefully they would pick up any scents. We reached the clearing, I opened up my senses to see if there was anyone, human or vampire, around. "All clear on this side, War" Felix reported, "All clear this side too" Char echoed. Jane, Alec and I dropped the bag, opened them up and started assembling the macabre jigsaw "leave their arms and legs off" I ordered.

We waited for the prisoners heads to fuse with their torsos. "Answer our questions truthfully and I won't kill you." I said and blasted them with fear and desperation. "What are your names?"  
"Donovan"  
"Michael"  
"How long have you been a vampire?"  
"Twelve years, three months" Donovan answered, Michael's reluctance was growing, but he answered the question "eleven years, nine months."  
"What are your creators' names?"  
"We belonged to one army, our creator and the rest were killed by an attacking army."  
"How many people were a part of this army?"  
"Aside from us, there were twenty-five."  
"Where were you camped?"  
"In Louisiana, our army had taken the south western territory." Donovan kept answering my questions.

Something was slowly clicking into place. "Why did you choose to come to Texas?" I asked. Donovan was trying to think of a lie, at the first sign of hesitation I nodded to Jane who let loose her power. Michael's fear shot up as he saw Donovan twitch in agony and he blurted out an answer "Texas and the other western states are mostly uninhabited, our kind seemed scared to travel to them, we came in contact with another army and joined them for a couple of months in New Mexico, we didn't encounter any other armies, we headed to Texas and decided to try and carving out a territory, that was about six months ago."

"Why did you have five newborns with you?" I asked. Michael answered. "We tried to make more, but didn't have the control. It was only over the last month that we were able to turn humans." This confirmed Pete's intel; the Wars had been cleaned up more than half a century ago, but they had started up further east.

"How many armies have you encountered since you were turned?" Donovan hadn't yet recovered from Jane's gift. Michael answered for the both of them "around thirty, each with about twenty five soldiers."  
"Did you ever move east?" Michael shook his head "the battles were more fierce, our creator, Josiah, seemed to be happy to stay in one place and defend it."

"Have you both heard of the Volturi?" Jane asked. Their faces were blank and I could feel their confusion. "What do you know of the history of the Vampire Wars?" I asked. "They were a long time ago, decades. Josiah told us how, half a century ago, he had heard a rumor that a gang were killing off the southern covens, he didn't take it seriously. One day he'd gone into Mexico to feed and when he came back he heard the sound of vampires being dismembered and hid. He stayed in his hiding spot for a month before creating his own army, he said he hasn't encountered the gang since. He said that the ones who slaughtered the war lords had left and lived on the other side of the world." Michael explained.

"How did the other armies form?"  
"Our sire said that some nomads came through and had heard about the wars, they created others to fight for them and grew wealthy." I sighed and looked to Jane and Alec "there isn't anything else we need to know, lets dismantle them, we'll call our Master and see how he wants us to proceed. Michael and Donovan's screams died off as their heads were removed. "Let's head back." I said.

BPOV

We listened to the interrogation through our ear pieces. So far we hadn't come across anything suggesting vampiric activity. There was a lot of human habitation, but I couldn't see anywhere that would be ideal for an army.

Austin was a busy city. The human population was very dense here. I looked to Pete in question. He shook his head. He wasn't picking up anything. We kept running, reaching the western side of Austin. We'd searched the central business district and the area around the hotel, there were no vampire scents. "No signs of our kind, War." Pete reported. "Good. Return to the hotel and stay with the others." So far so good.


	22. Part 2 Chapter 4

**AN; I'm running late. I'm sorry! I had to rewrite a lot of this chapter then I got distracted by the shininess of the internets, then there was some TV and now I'm getting back to work, I promise. Pinky swear!**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 4

BPOV

I was relieved to hear J say he was on his way back to Huston; we had listened into the interrogation while we scouted the route to Austin and the city itself. Pete and I had found our next location for headquarters, it was central enough to search the rest of the state without having to change locations. We could stay here for days and then move to search New Mexico. It was a relief to find no vampiric scents.

We headed back to Huston. Demitri had been on the phone with the Masters, he relayed the entire interrogation to them. Charlie, Rose and Emmett were in the other room cooking up a couple of pots and putting the contents in flasks and thermoses. J, Alec and Jane had arrived back before us. They had talked with Demitri and the Masters about the next stage of our mission.

I looked at my mate's masked face, his eyes were sad. I began to worry, everyone aside from Demitri had taken out their earpieces and we didn't have all the information. Pete reported what we'd found out; "Death and I searched the area, it's clean. I believe we can head to Austin when the sun sets. We'll be able to do a sweep of the rest of Texas in groups. There's a cheap motel in the South East where the healers can set up and man the comms."

"Is you gift still telling us to head east?" J asked Pete. "Yes, War. I'm also picking up a large army in New Mexico. We'll need back up for both attacks." He said. J sighed heavily and sat down. "I'd hoped the Wars had been stopped, god knows how many have died as a result of it. It pisses me off, to them power is more important that the lives of sentient beings." He said. His voice was rough. I hugged him to me.

Demitri cleared his throat "the Masters will send more back up; Garrett the nomad and Kate from Denali are close enough and willing to aid us. They will join us over the next few days. Caius and a couple of the guard will join us in New Mexico. Afton is going to meet us in Austin tomorrow evening, he'll take the prisoners to Volterra. Aro will find out what he can through his gift and let us know how we should proceed." He said.

"What about your gift, Demitri? What do you sense?" J asked. "I can feel a large army in New Mexico, I believe it's the one Michael told us about when you interrogated them. We should continue our sweep of Texas to make sure we secure the land, then we should head west, starting with New Mexico. We should be able to fan out over a few miles to cover a greater distance. "  
"Agreed. We'll clear Texas while we wait for the courier then head west." J said.

Demitri continued. "We need to be careful about heading too close to the Louisiana border when we search the eastern border. My gift is picking up a lot of white noise associated with a large population of our kind. We can't tackle the eastern states on our own. I spoke to the Masters about the situation; they want us to finish clearing the western states and head to Volterra for the trial of Maria. Caius will meet us in Santa Fe to help with the Army there." Demitri said. Pete nodded. "I'm glad he'll join us, we'll need his help to take out that army."  
"The Masters have agreed the cleanup of the eastern states will be a large mission. He wants us rested when we finish here. Caius will work out which of the guard will be most useful in aiding the cleanup and plan the mission in the Eastern states. While we're in Volterra, the Masters will deal with Maria and the other newborn army creators."

J's phone rang. "Kate, you've been briefed?" He asked. "Yes, War. I've booked my flight from Anchorage. I'll meet you in Huston tonight. My flight lands at nine PM." She said. "No problem." He said and hung up. J turned to us. "I propose we start searching the north east section of Texas when Kate arrives. Rose, have you checked the weather for tomorrow?" She nodded "rain and patchy sunlight" J nodded "we'll take the risk, stay covered with your cloaks and we'll run at top speed avoiding the major population. We'll clear and secure the north eastern part of the state."  
"We should mark the state boundary with our scent." Jane suggested. I could see J thinking "they'll pick up our scent along the boarders we've crossed already, but it wouldn't hurt to boost the scent trail around the boarder."  
"When Caius lead the clean up he'd use his pendant to advertise our presence. He'd push it into the trunks of thicker trees. If we leave venom with the pendant mark the war lords might slow their operations." Alec said. "We'll do the same along the eastern and northern boundaries of Texas." J agreed.

PPOV

Forty two hours. We'd ran continuously for forty two hours without a break. We hadn't come across any vampire scents except for the strong scent of armies in Louisiana. We had broken into two groups when Kate joined us;  
Team One- Demitri, Jasper, Bella and Jane  
Team Two- Felix, Alec, Kate and myself.

Char was staying with the Healers, helping ensure their safety while we searched. Team two were running parallel to us, covering the top part of the towns we passed while in we ran along the south of the towns. There was a lot of tree cover and a high human population. We were able to stay out of sight as we avoided major roadways. We didn't dare get too close to the Louisiana border, we could smell them from five miles away. We'd been lucky we hadn't come across more armies while at home. I was glad we'd started our mission heading west, the eastern states would have been too dangerous.

Felix, Demitri, Jane and Alec took care of the Volturi markers. Bella and I sometimes accompanied them. In some sections I was able to creep over the boarder undetected and carve a frenzied looking message into the bark; THE VOLTURI ARE HERE. TAKE COVER. Bella would hunt down any strays, leaving piles of ash for the armies to find near our messages. My gift was telling me our efforts would be enough for the armies to go into hiding and avoid turning more humans. Thankfully, Demitri would be able to locate any warlords, no matter where they hid. It should make our next mission easier; cleaning up the Eastern states. I just wanted the wars to be over, there was more going on in our world and I wanted a front row seat. Change was coming.

We'd been able to search most of the north west of Texas, we scoured Dallas for signs of vampires, but there were none. We had yet to search the area west of Memphis and Eldorado, but thankfully the human population was sparse and neither Demitri nor I picked up any problems. We'd be able to start our search in New Mexico in two days.

We were just heading back to headquarters; a small motel in Austin near the airport. Afton had met the Healers and had left for Volterra with the prisoners. He let us know that Caius and Eliza would arrive in three days at Santa Fe while Garrett would reach us in El Paso tomorrow night, he was running from Nebraska.

We split up to search the rest of the state and move the Healers to a small hotel in El Paso. My gift told me there was no danger so we had Bella and Demitri travel from Austin to El Paso with the Healers while the rest of us finished searching the state.

The run to El Paso took longer than expected, we arrived at 10pm. We headed to the motel rooms Demitri had set up for us. Garrett smiled as we entered. "Did you guys run into trouble?" He asked us. J shook his head "we finished searching the entire state, there were no other vampire scents."  
"That doesn't surprise me War, few vampires come here. Some believe Texas is cursed, firstly because of the Wars, then the clean up, not to mention the climate isn't appealing, too sunny. No one wants to come here."

"Have you heard anything about the other states?" J asked him. Garrett nodded. "There are some nomads that keep to Northern California and the highlands, but that's as far south as they're willing to go. You can still smell the spilt venom and ash from all the deaths during the war." As soon as he pointed it out I recognized the smell, I'd always associated the added sweetness in the air to the fragrant trees, now I could smell the edge to it. No wonder Texas was empty. I turned to the others in our group "did you guys notice the smell?" Bella, Charlie, Rose and Emmett shook their heads, they hadn't lived with conflict so it was understandable they'd miss it. J, Char and the Volturi nodded. It was the smell of death.

"What about the Eastern states? Why are there so many wars there now?" Bella asked. I answered her; "the original armies fought on this side of the country. The eastern states wouldn't smell like venom. Also, the Volturi didn't need to go that far east when the clean up happened."  
"Why?"  
"Territory. The western states connect with Mexico and South America. That means our kind could jump international borders and wouldn't be closed in by the sea like the eastern states are." I explained. "The wars actually started in South America with a vampire called Benito. There was a lot of conflict between humans in those days and he scavenged the humans dying from battles, disease, natural disasters and invading armies. To prevent any other vamps muscling in on his territory he turned a few humans to guard the area for him. Others gradually created their own armies and the fight over territory started.

"Anywhere there was a high level of mortality our kind would swoop in. The wars reached America during the Mexican-American war. When the Civil war started the territories grew more chaotic. It was War's sire that kept them going. She took over a large area of southern Texas; there was a low human population in the western states in those days compared to now. By controlling Texas she controlled the richer feeding grounds to the east." I explained.

"That's sort of what happened in the Civil war, wasn't it? One human army cut off the supplies to the other in order to weaken them." Bella asked. J agreed; "yes, Maria created the largest and wealthiest army. With little for the others to feed on the wars stayed mostly in Mexico. There was a high indigenous population, but they had their own protection. If it hadn't been for their connection to the spirit world many more would have died.

"Maria wanted the whole south east of America for her feeding grounds. A few desperate armies would challenge and attack, a few armies travelled around her territory, but her greed kept her in power. Most preferred to stay along the international border or in Mexico. The south west states were ideal in one way; the small pockets of human population meant our kind didn't have to hide, the battles were long and savage, they'd last for days." J said.

Charlotte added; "Caius told me it was Maria's greed that ultimately saved her life. By controlling the influx of vampires to the south-eastern states she actually kept the wars contained. She had a talent for strategy and the Volturi would sometimes ask her advice. With her help they were able to clean up the Wars. As a reward they allowed her to live, but forbid her from communicating with other vampires. She was supposed to report any signs of combat to our Masters." She said.

Garrett added his own observations "during the wars other nomads could feed in the eastern states, but we preferred the north because of the added coverage and less fighting among our kind. Those who fed in the south east were constantly wary of attack, we'd sometimes come across hunting parties from the west. They wouldn't stay, they'd just feed and leave. Any vampires they came across were destroyed. As far as the War lords were concerned; secrecy from the humans they fought over was paramount. If the humans spread word of our kind it would have notified the Volturi, the war lords didn't want that so they stayed to the west and fed from both sides of the boarder where they could bathe in the blood of mortals while the humans were unaware of how many died collectively. There was little communication between the countries."

"Why wouldn't they set up camps in the east and try to be more careful?" Bella asked. J answered her.  
"Strategically, the more land access, the better. The eastern states back onto the sea. While our kind can swim, land was easier to control and make an escape while defending territory. If an army were to try and relocate over a stretch of water, they'd be vulnerable to attack. Our senses are good underwater, but not as good as they are on land."

"What about the tribes?" She asked. "A few tribes were able to protect themselves by connecting to the spirit world. Unfortunately, many were wiped out, combined with the settlement from the east, our people became endangered. Many languages and cultures died out because of it." I said.

Charlie and Bella were very interested in the history of the Vampire Wars, but we had a mission to finish and we were wasting the cover of night. We set off as soon as possible, crossing the border into New Mexico. My gift told me we were headed in the right direction. "War, we should stop at Las Cruces, I have a feeling the road ahead will be difficult." I said. "No problem." He agreed.

We came across apartments for short term stay and reserved three rooms. We took out our ear pieces. Charlie immediately went to bed, Rose and Emmett distributed the blood. We each had a thermos of enriched cows' blood. J, Char, Bella and I had the nasty human blood on top of that. Charlie's recipes were very effective. Our scent had muted because of the travelling, but I could tell we were beginning to smell like our old selves.

Em and Rose cleaned out the thermoses to be filled. "We're out of blood" Emmett said. "Pestilence is your gift able to tell us where to hunt?" Jane asked. I nodded "there's a drug cartel to the south of us, we can get plenty human blood, but animal will be slim pickings; the wolves are endangered, but there are plenty of coyotes around."  
"That'll do us." Em said. J assigned us groups. "Okay, Pete and Demitri can bag a couple of humans while Bella, Emmett and I can get some coyote." He said. The five of us put in our ear pieces "Rose, you're on comms." She nodded to J and put in her ear piece to keep us in touch with headquarters.

"The rest of you should rotate between showering, resting and keeping an eye out for trouble."

JPOV

We headed east while Pete and Demitri headed south. It was a clear morning, a few hours before dawn. Emmett carried a duffle bag full of containers. We followed the scent of coyote for a couple of miles, Em lay down the bag and the rest of us went to kill the pack of eight. We snapped their necks and piled them next to the bag. Em slashed their throats and filled the containers with blood. We headed out another few miles and came across a pack near a small town, this one only had six, we brought them back to Em for draining.

We hadn't filled all the containers, but there would be enough to last us a few days. We headed back to the apartment after an hour. "Death, Emmett and I have returned." I said to the ear piece. We took out the comms and waved to Rose. Jane got out of the shower and took her place as watcher, Alec went to the bathroom for his turn. I could hear the shower running in the apartment next door, Kate and Garrett had settled in, I could feel their lust and cringed.

I grabbed our duffle bag and took Bella's hand, guiding her to the apartment we'd rented on the other side of this one. I checked and closed all windows and curtains, keeping the lights off. She undid the clasp of my cape and pushed it off my shoulders, I returned the favor. We gently lifted our masks off and sighed in relief, we'd been wearing them constantly for days. She smiled up at me and I kissed her hard, pulling her with me into the bathroom.

Our clothes fell to the floor, covered in dust from our journey. I turned on the taps, she joined me. We gently washed each other, the dust turning to mud and pooling on the shower floor. She spoke softly under the noise of the water "how are you going?"  
"I'm good, I thought this trip would trigger an episode, but it hasn't. I'm in my element here and I kind of like it. This place is familiar but it also feels different. Last time I was in this area I was in so much pain, so depressed, revisiting it has helped. Seeing all the places that were so active during the Wars free of vampires helped me realize it's over. Sure, there are armies fighting in the east, but after seeing how peaceful this area is I feel stronger." I said. She nodded "I guess its closure for you, it reinforced the fact that you survived and the Wars didn't. Now we're bringing new memories to these places, admittedly it's been boring at times, but I like seeing the places you lived in a previous life."  
"I'm dreading the mission to the eastern states, but seeing the change here gives me hope that those states will recover like Texas has." I told her.

We kissed for a bit in the shower, the water eventually turned clear. We dried quickly and I led her to the bed and cuddled up to her naked body. "We have a few hours" I whispered. Our lips met again and the need for her kicked up. I ran my hands over her body, she ran her hands down my abdomen to my cock. Her hand curled around me, we'd never gone this far. I moaned and kissed down her neck, gradually lowering my head to run my tongue over her nipples.

She moved her hand up and down, electricity was singing through my body. I moved my hands lower, slowly teasing her before gliding my fingers between her legs. She let out a breath in surprise, then bucked into my fingers. She pumped me harder, faster. I wouldn't last long. I twitched in her hand and turned my head into the pillow to muffle my growl. She kissed my neck pumping faster and faster.

I tried to stay focused, dipping a finger into her. She gasped and thrust against my hand. I could feel the pressure coil inside her, it pushed me over the edge. I sank my teeth into the pillow and a moan erupted out of me.

I moved her hand from me and climbed between her legs. I kissed lower and lower, my head travelling to the apex of her thighs. I licked along her slit and pushed another finger into her. I lapped her folds and thrust my fingers into her faster and faster, I sent her my love. She bit her lip, trying to stay quiet through her climax.

She lay there panting, her wet hair splayed across the pillows. I kissed up her body then headed to the bathroom for a face washer. I cleaned her up and wiped the trail of cum from my stomach. We kissed and slowly changed into clean clothes. The clothes in the bathroom were a mess, but still in good condition. There was a washing machine in the corner, I chucked in our clothes.

The drier had just finished, our clothes were clean and dry. We'd repacked our duffle bag. Bella had put her hair in a platted pony tail. She'd left her hair down for the days previous and suffered through brushing out the knots. We returned to the apartment we'd set up as headquarters, reluctantly wearing our cloaks and masks.

We entered and greeted the others, Pete and Demitri had collected human blood for us and Charlie was preparing it and putting it in the cooler. Most of the ice had melted, but he'd been able to buy a bag of it from reception. "How did you sleep dad?" Bella asked, Charlie smiled at her "really well, I actually slept for five hours. We're just packing up. Pestilence said we should reach Albuquerque within the hour." I nodded and helped them pack up the car. We'd been lucky enough to get a parking space out of view of the apartments and sheltered from the sun. The road to Albuquerque was isolated and our cloaks would keep us from sparkling.

Pete regaled us with how he and Demitri had taken care of the cartel "we only needed two bodies worth of blood, but we couldn't do it without killing the rest. Demi here pretended to be from a rival cartel and started a fight. There were five of them in a rusty old warehouse; as soon as they started firing at us, we took their guns and shot them. We set up the scene so the cops will think it was a dispute. We made sure there were lots of incriminating papers and substances lying around." He chuckled. He had picked up a few grenades and C4 saying they were souvenirs, the evil glint in his eye made me wonder.

We were just entering Monticello when we caught a faint scent of vampires. It made sense, this place was isolated. There were mountains to the west, they were ideal; easy to defend, a view for miles around and plenty of hiding spots. We kept heading north to Albuquerque "the Mountains" Pete whispered, I nodded. His gift had just confirmed it.

"We'll head into the city, do a run through and if it's safe we'll stay, if not we'll head straight to Santa Fe. Pestilence, do you think they saw us?" I asked him. "It seems likely, we would have looked like fast moving dots, obviously not human."  
"Okay then. We form two groups; Emmett, Rose, Charlie, Jane and Felix, keep driving around. The rest of us will do a sweep, groups of two running down parallel streets, we stay close together and head from the south east to North West. Death, you're with Garrett. Demitri, you're with Alec. Kate, you're with Famine and Pestilence, you're with me."

We slowed down as we approached Albuquerque, when we reached a large street in the central business district I would point and direct a group down it. We kept to the shadows and hid as much as we could. Occasionally we'd see a glimpse of one of our cars. There were vampire scents all through the city, I just knew we wouldn't be able to stop here. It wasn't safe.

We reached the north western point of the city and I spoke through our comms "head to the north east." We caught up with the others, the car was parked close by. "Did anyone come across fresh scents?" I asked. Demitri and Alec nodded "there were ten scents in total, five of them from the past six hours." I sighed "we had five fresh scents too, there were ten old scents." Each team reported the number of scents they'd come across "we could be dealing with up to a forty in both areas combined-" I said. Pete interrupted "my gift is telling me there are about thirty in the mountain range we passed and another sixty in the mountains around Santa Fe."  
"Two armies?" I asked, Pete shook his head, "one army two hide outs." It makes a little sense, this city is smaller than Santa Fe so they have fewer soldiers feeding here. They could also act as a look out for the larger group.

"Okay, neither Albuquerque nor Santa Fe are safe and we can't turn back to Las Cruces or we could be attacked. We'll have to stay mobile until we meet Caius. He'll take the lead. Pestilence, is your gift telling you about any curve balls?" He nodded "there are three; one is a teleporter, the leader can drain your body of energy and one of the generals can make your body feel heavier and slow you down, with any luck they won't have reached their full potential. I get the feeling the Monticello troop have gifted ones as well, but I can't seem to get any details."  
"Any idea about the leader?" I asked, Pete shook his head "all I can tell is that the main leader is in Santa Fe with two generals while there are another two generals in Albuquerque. I have my suspicions though. His gift reminds me of one we encountered before." Shit. I could only hope he wasn't talking about the vampire who'd nearly killed us decades ago; Angelo.


	23. Part 2 Chapter 5

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 5

BPOV

In the early hours of morning we left Albuquerque and headed to Santa Fe. Dawn would rise in a few hours, but the isolation between the cities would mean we could travel fast without risking exposure. We ran parallel to our cars, Pete said it would be too early to encounter any other vehicles.

We were in the desert. I looked forward to the sunny day ahead, even though we'd have to hide in the shadows. It was quiet and a chill hung in the air. It was peaceful here. There were small mounds of shrubbery against the dark brown soil, it gave us little cover.

The outskirts of Santa Fe sprawled before us; small homes, trailers and the occasional strip of shops. The scent of vampire was strong, even here where there was a lot of open space. The first signs of human habitation were around us, but it was hard to find cover. Pete guided us closer to the city. Backstreets were the safest from human eyes, everyone was asleep. We headed further into the city and were relieved as the options for hiding increased.

We kept moving as the sun rose, slowing our pace as the humans bustled about. It was now safe to find a location for headquarters.

As we walked the streets a few people stopped and stared, but J sent them boredom and disinterest. We'd maintain pleasant conversation when in a crowd, making sure eavesdroppers heard us talk about a "movie we were promoting." A few people seemed interested while others shrugged it off. J reported feeling no suspicion.

Emmett found a hotel that rented by the hour, the perfect place for discretion. It was conveniently close to the airport. The receptionist barely batted an eyelid when he booked the room. We'd searched for door alarms and security cameras, but there weren't any. The windows at the back of the property overlooked an alley way. It was ideal. We waited as the sun began to set. Pete, Char, J and I stayed in the room with Kate, Garrett, Rose and Emmett. The others had gone to pick up Caius. Rose and Em had set up the communication station and coolers with blood.

Emmett listened in on the comms. "They're on their way back." He announced. Rose prepared the blood for our feed. We heard the light footsteps of several vampires, I could make out dad's gait amongst them. Rose opened the door and let them in. I zeroed in on Caius as soon as he walked into the room, his long white hair was a shock against the deep black cloak he wore. His red, titanium pendant practically glowed against his clothes. "Uncle" J bowed "welcome to the States." Caius' face lightened up a little "it's good to see you, War, now introduce me to your mate." He said cheerfully. I was standing behind J, mirroring Char's position behind Pete. J took my hand and guided me forward "this is Death."

Caius smiled at me, I bowed my head unsure of what to do. "Nice, to meet you Death. I'm glad my nephew has found his true mate at last." He said softly, I thanked him. He turned to the Rose "is the building secure?" He asked, she nodded and added "it'll be safe to remove the masks now." Thank fuck! J took his mask and cloak off, the rest of us followed suit. "I'd prefer it if we kept our names unmentioned, Uncle, there's a rather large army nearby." J said. Caius nodded "Jane told me, ninety soldiers. They must have been at it for a long time. We could smell them throughout the airport."

Pete reported what we'd learnt. "From what we were told by the prisoners; a few young ones grew bold and decided to restart the war in the east, their sire had been a soldier in the old armies. I'd say the one leading this army was a relic of the wars, most vampires wouldn't know how to maintain that many newborns."  
"I agree" Caius nodded. "Given their location I doubt they've fought many battles."  
"That's what we're hoping." Said J.

Caius addressed the rest of us. "Aro is due to call in a few hours with intel he gained from your prisoners. Let's discuss how to go about our confrontation with this mob. Are you still a fan on the three wave strike?" He asked my mate. J nodded and Caius continued, "it's an effective plan, War. I recommend we modify it a little; two waves of attack instead of three."

He gestured to a small woman with black hair. She'd accompanied him from Volterra. "This is Eliza, she can control weather. If we can disguise ourselves in one of Eliza's sand storms we should be able to end the battle quickly." I turned to Eliza. "Will the storm lift us off the ground if we move out of the eye of it?" I asked, I wasn't keen on visit Oz. She shook her head and smiled "we're solid enough to walk through it without any damage. I'll only be creating enough wind to lift the dust around us and create a lot of noise, but I'd advise against dismembering the bodies too close to the storm. Smaller limbs have gone missing in the past."

Caius turned to me. "Death, they tell me you're an offensive shield?" I nodded, J beamed at Caius and told him more about me. "She's amazing, she was swarmed by newborns at only a week old and took them all out. We trained her to fight and she mowed them down with skill and her gift." Caius spoke quietly to me "your father mentioned that you'd been trained to use your gift while turning into a vampire" I nodded and explained. "I have my own connection to the ancestors, they showed me how my power worked and what I could do with it. I haven't had much chance to try some of the things out, we've been short on time. War and I trained with it while he taught me to fight. There's a shield that can block gifts and a physical shield that produces flames. I can stretch both around people, but if the physical shield is up we can't fight through it, the only reason I can fight while using it is because it sticks to me."  
"Does it cling to your skin?" He asked. I shook my head "no, a few inches away, otherwise my clothes would disintegrate every time I activated it."  
"That's good to know, thank you." Caius finished.

Caius let us in on the plan he'd been working on "Eliza can create a tornado like dust storm, we'll move within the eye of it, the air will be free from dust. There are no humans residing within the mountain range so we won't need to worry about exposure. The wind will be loud enough to mask our movements, but we won't be able to dismember the bodies, only incapacitate. Death, if you're agreeable I'd like you to be in the attack group. Alec; if you could incapacitate those we come across Death can incinerate them." He turned to Pete "will your gift be able to identify the leader and their generals?" He nodded at Caius. "As for the rest of the group, half will stay with the healers and the other group will take out any escapees."

He turned to J "who do you recommend for each group?"  
"Emmett and Rose have been with Charlie from the beginning, they are able to put together beneficial recipes to help heal and strengthen." J said. Caius turned to Dad "we've heard about your success, have you completed you training?"  
"I have. I even started working on creating new formulas when War told me Death was changing." He said.

"Demitri told me you devised a way to mask their scent?" Caius asked. Dad explained, "yes, we were able to obtain some human blood and every second day they feed with my special recipe. I've kept the blood unpalatable because my daughter and son in law wish to remain animal drinkers. They only have enough human blood to keep their eyes red."  
"That is brilliant, my brother Aro would love to meet you. His role in our group is to run research and development."  
"I'd be happy to meet him. Em and Rose have been training with me, their medical degrees have been a big help. They've prepared the next meal, would you be interested in trying some?"  
"Of course, I understand its animal blood and I can appreciate your reluctance in using human blood. Aro has been working hard over the last few centuries to find an alternate food source. Humans are getting too smart with their forensic knowledge and science, there will come a time where we'll have to stop hunting them to remain a secret."  
"I was a police chief when I was human, there are those within the legal system that seem aware." Dad trailed off and Pete picked up where he left off; "there are nomads here with links to human legal contacts. The humans don't know who or what we are, but they think of us as contract killers, there are many cases where innocents are endangered and left vulnerable to human monsters. They get a call when a particularly nasty criminal gets off on a technicality or is unable to be brought to justice. They ensure the bodies are never found." Pete said. Caius nodded "we have resorted to that a few times ourselves. We know which people are corrupt and we tell them we want people for 'medical research.' They supply us with 'donors' who have wriggled out of the justice system. Our network covers all of western Europe."

Aro called a couple of hours later. Caius put the phone on speaker. "Hello Caius, I've finished interrogating the prisoners." Aro's voice was deep and emotionless. "Between Maria, Donovan and Michael I can confirm the armies have indeed started up again, this time in the south east states. I have looked over the conditions your nephew described as ideal hunting ground. I believe you'll have luck if you head to Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Travel through the middle of the states, there's a high mortality rate and its low socioeconomic area."

"Thank you Aro. Did any of the prisoners know of the army in New Mexico?"  
"The army is run by an older vampire called Angelo-" Pete, Char and J let out a low growl. Caius looked at us in concern, Char briefed him and Aro quickly "he was the second in charge of another army, completely ruthless. He can suck the energy out of attackers. His Sire, Vera, was the second most powerful against Maria. Angelo nearly killed us, he's the reason we devised the three team attack." Caius patted her arm and turned to me "how long can you hold your power blocking shield?"  
"It doesn't take much energy, I can probably keep it up for half a day before it completely drains me."

He looked behind me "Pestilence, how are you feeling about our upcoming battle?"  
"Confident, they'll be sloppy and Angelo is rusty from years of leading without battle. With Eliza giving us the possibility of a surprise attack it'll be over quick." Pete said, he turned to me and asked; "Death, are you able to keep up both your shields?"  
"It'll be difficult, but I'll manage if I don't have to fight." I said. It would take all my concentration. I was glad I would be fed before battle. Caius turned to Felix "will you be able to cover Death?" Felix agreed.

Dad walked over with mugs of blood for each of us. "Drink up everyone, there's enough for seconds if anyone needs it." Caius drank quickly and seemed surprised. "This is very impressive Charlie, you may turn me into an animal drinker after all. Which species is this?" Dad blushed, but I could see his pride. "Coyote. War and Emmett swear by the blood of carnivores."

Dad refilled our mugs and handed flasks of the foul smelling human blood concoction to the other Horsemen and I. We were very full. "That was very satisfying, Charlie." Caius commented. Dad told Caius about how he'd changed the composition of the blood "the ingredients I use enrich the blood, it'll keep you fuller for longer and increase your strength like human blood does, but without needing to drink as much."  
"I can't wait for you to meet Aro, I believe you and he will have a lot to discuss." Caius said as he stood up "I suggest we head out. The hotel is secure so we can keep the room while we battle. Kate and Jane can stay here with Charlie, Emmett and Rose. Death, Alec, Felix and Pestilence will join Eliza in the storm. Garrett, Demitri, War and I will form a second wave of attack behind you." He turned to J "War, I'll need you to keep the generals and Angelo incapacitated until we can safely dismember them. Alec will be able to freeze them, but his gift will wear off when his attention in diverted."  
"Yes, Uncle."

Pete, Char, J and I put on our masks, cloaks and ear pieces, the others followed suit. As soon as we hit the streets new scents hit us. J turned to his uncle. "Caius, what are your orders?"  
"Demitri, where are they?" Caius asked. Demitri closed his eyes and concentrated "south east. There are fifteen spread out in alleys." His eyes opened. Pete spoke "they're hunting. There are too many humans around to fight openly."  
"Any gifted ones?" Caius asked, "No, there are a mix of older guards, they're supervising the newborns as they feed." Pete advised. Caius turned to the rest of us "you will have to incapacitate them and move silently. Alec, Demitri and War; move to locate and incapacitate." He turned to me "Death, does your gift create a lot of sound?"  
"No, but the fire could call attention to us. Either we'll have to set small, slow moving fires or gather all bodies to one area and set one large fire." I said. He smiled kindly "the second option sounds the fastest; one large fire." He turned to the team he'd singled out, Pete spoke quickly "start the search, there's a store nearby, I have an idea on how to take care of the bodies." He ran away from the group at human speed. "Now I know why he's called Pestilence." Alec grumbled.

We started our search; Demitri, J and Alec were running at human speed ahead of me. We got a few stares along the way; all four of us wore cloaks and J and I wore masks as well. We stuck out like a sore thumb, but there was little we could do about it. J was doing his best to send out boredom.

Demitri directed us to an alleyway. There were two newborns feeding and an older guard was supervising. Alec froze them just as Pete turned up with a large trolley and a few cans of white spray paint. "There's an art gallery at the end of this block with a dumpster out the back. It'll look like we're adding to an exhibit. We just spray paint the soldiers white. We're an odd enough looking group to pass as eccentric artists." He explained as he started spraying the larger 'vampire statue.' J shrugged and grabbed a spray can from the trolley. "I can't believe we're doing this." Alec groaned, picking up a can.

Demitri lead us to the next group of feeding vampires. Pete flounced ahead singing off key in a strange accent "this is my big break!" God knows what the humans thought; Pete was skipping down the street in a dark mask and robe accompanied by others in cloaks. He turned to Demitri who looked miffed "Tarquin, my dear man. Ensure the caterer has received my menu. The food must be minimalist to accentuate my life's work!" Demitri flipped him off. I was so embarrassed, but J was shaking with laughter. I could hear the others laughing through the comms.

"Michelle!" Pete squealed and turned to me "ensure those cases of champagne have arrived. Tonight must be perfect!" Demitri glared at Pete and gritted out "Wolfgang, the next studio is in the alley way ahead. There are another three statues to pick up." Pete grinned "Oh Tarquin, how did I ever manage without you!" He gushed at Dem.

J disappeared and brought back another two trolleys. Pete turned to him and smiled evilly "Butterbean! dearest, you're a gem!" J huffed in irritation, I sent him my amusement. Caius' voice came through the comms "where did you get the trolleys?" He asked in concern. "All three were abandoned in side streets near the supermarket, there were no cameras, Uncle." J whispered.

We reached the Art gallery half an hour later; the three trolleys were loaded with fifteen incapacitated vampires. Pete disabled the security camera with a well-aimed pebble. The guys loaded up the dumpster with the 'statues' doing their best to avoid the wet paint by using scraps of cardboard to shield their hands. They stood back as I brought the warmth from my mind to my shield. I barely touched the vampires, they caught fire quickly thanks to the paint.

"Any others, Demitri?" J asked. "None here, the rest are in the mountains." We met up with the others in the alley behind the hotel. Char rolled her eyes at Pete "I'm going to tell Aro you were impersonating him again." She said. Pete winked "he loves my impressions."

The mood grew somber as we headed out towards the mountains. The scents grew stronger and the land became rugged. Caius whispered "Eliza, go." Eliza started her power, gusts of wind whipped around us, growing steadily stronger. Soil crept up the funnel of air and we could barely see beyond two feet in front of us. "Death, first shield" I pushed my shield over us, blocking us from the army's powers. Caius, Garrett, J and Demitri backed into the dust. We hit the bottom of the mountains and walked up the northern side.

Pete said "incoming" Caius gave his second command "Death, ignite." I searched for the heat inside my mind and brought it forward to ignite the shield. Alec pushed out a wave of his power ahead of him, I thinned my shield so Alec's power could pass through towards the enemy. We came across nine vampiric statues. Pete dragged one of the smaller males out of the storm "one of the generals" he said as he disappeared into the dust. Felix and Alec brought the other frozen vampires towards me, slowly feeding the bodies into my flames.

Pete came back into the eye of the storm. "Fourteen to the north west" he announced. Eliza nodded and moved us forward "teleporter incoming" Pete yelled frantically. A small female covered in rags fell into view just outside my stretched power shield. Alec immediately let out a burst of power, hitting the girl and directing his power north west. My thinned my shield to let it through. Pete picked up the girl and fed her into the flames.

As we headed over a ridge, bodies stood frozen under Alec's power, there were fourteen just as Pete had said. They were quickly reduced to ash, I noticed my flames growing brighter and hotter "Pestilence, will my shield become dangerous?" I asked. "No Death, you won't harm us. Your shields grow stronger with the added venom." I nodded my thanks.

"Soldiers scattering to the north" Pete said urgently. Alec sent a wave north to immobilize them. "None are generals. Demitri, War; you're the closest, gather them and hand them through. We'll burn them." Pete said.  
"Understood, Pestilence." We heard Demitri gasp over the comms "there are at least twenty" he started pushing their stiff bodies through the storm, J and Pete fed them into my flame "twenty three in this group, including five non newborns. Obviously they're the guards." Pete reported.

There was a pause, Pete announced; "we're coming up to the central fort. There are caves ahead with four exits leading each direction. Angelo's in there. There are eight guards along the tunnels, another gifted vampire is with Angelo and one non gifted vampire. The two with Angelo are Generals. Eliza's power won't work in such an enclosed space." Pete said. Caius and J spoke quickly, planning the attack.

Caius explained the plan once he and J had finished talking "we can't compromise Death's shield. War, try sending an emotion through the shield while it stays intact." I felt something move through my shield, I was shocked. I spoke up "I just realized something, Pestilence's gift has been working while my shield is up. It could act as a one way mirror, reflecting powers back at attackers while letting ours through."  
"Its possible Death," Caius said, "we'll just try one more to confirm. Alec, send a short burst through Death's shield." I felt a wave crash against my shield and bounce back. Alec's eyes widened and he cut his power off, reabsorbing the energy of his attack. "It didn't work Master." He said. Pete sighed "I think it's dependent on the venom bond. War turned Death and I, we have a venom bond that may work with the shield."  
"Very well, Pestilence." Caius groaned "Eliza turn off your power and join Kate; head to the western cave, Demitri and I will take the east. Famine and Pestilence, head to the northern cave. If anyone comes through dismember them, no one aside from Death and War are to enter, it'll give us the advantage since there'll be more room for us to move. Will you still be able to shield us, Death?" He asked. I nodded and manipulated the shield so it was elongated rather than circular "if Kate and Eliza move in an anticlockwise route and the others follow in order I can keep the shield flowing behind me without having to cover the whole area."  
"Follow Death's lead. Move out." Caius ordered.

Once the others were in place I led J into the cave facing south. The air was slowly clearing from Eliza's gift. J walked behind me keeping within my shield and sending out waves of lethargy around my body. The guards tried to run, but moved slower, I moved at full speed and crashed into one of them, he caught fire and disintegrated. J took the other one and dismembered him, throwing him into my flames. "Turn the flames off, Death" J ordered softly. Of course, we needed to capture the generals alive. I focused on the feeling of heat around me and brought it into my mind along with the flames, I kept my physical shield in place.

We headed further into the cave, the scent of three vampires grew stronger with each step. They were ahead of us. The voice of a man rang through the cavern "Guards, we have a breach" the metallic screech of vampire skin being torn punctuated the air as the guards were dismembered by the others in our group. The generals and Angelo were now visible.

Angelo flashed a sinister grin and I felt something pull at my shield from his direction. The feeling of pressure crashed feebly against my shield to the left, neither gift breached it. Angelo frowned, pulling harder against my shield, it was futile. I attacked the general on the left, he had the skill to slow down vampires. J fought with Angelo, toying with him before ripping him limb from limb. I struggled against my opponent, but eventually tore his arm off. He moved quickly, becoming desperate and making mistakes. His body parts lay next to Angelo's, the other general had headed towards Pete and Char, we heard them tear the guy apart.

Caius's voice crackled through the earpiece. "Cavern teams report." Each team sounded out "secure, no injuries" one after the other. J reported for us "Angelo and generals captured, no injuries to Death and I."

"It's time to dismember the prisoners. Alec, Felix; prepare them for travel." Caius said. We gathered together in front of Caius as the prisoners we'd captured were torn apart and put into duffle bags.

He turned to Pete; "Pestilence, do you sense anymore?"  
"No Master, the army in the southern mountain range are the only ones left."  
"Excellent, Demitri what are your senses telling you?"  
"There are thirty bodies in the mountain range, no other vampires aside from us. I can't sense any others in this state. There are small human settlements near the mountains we'll need to tread carefully."

"Eliza, we'll need a thunder storm for this. It should drown out some of the noise. Healers, report." Caius said. Dad's voice came through the ear piece, "no change, area secure. Kate and Jane are running patrols."  
"Excellent. Those of us here will head south. Pestilence, do you sense any curveballs?"  
"There are two generals, one north and one south. There are three with powers, all of them surveillance related. They are aware the main strong hold fell."  
"What are their powers exactly?"  
"Enhanced sight, hearing and mental communication."

"Telepathy?" J asked. "Not exactly, if someone thinks at him directly he can hear it, he can send messages as well." Pete explained. "Is the Telepath a general?" Caius asked. "Yes, the others are cannon fodder. The other general is older, but under the command of the generals we've captured. The Telepath is important, but I don't know why yet."  
"This will be easy" said J. Caius made a sound in agreement "how about we let the four horsemen handle the south, we can handle the north?" I smiled behind my mask as J nodded, this would be fun.

Caius cleared his throat "Eliza, would you mind bringing on that thunderstorm?"  
"Certainly." She said. Her black hair flew in the wind and her eyes darkened as she released her power. The wind picked up again, although not as severe as the dust storm. Clouds in the distance came closer and compressed until they were heavy and black. A roll of thunder echoed around us, followed by another much closer. Droplets of rain started to fall, we smiled and parted.

The four of us Horsemen walked casually in a line. The army was ready for us, silhouetted by a fire burning behind them, they thought they'd dispose of us. Pete let out a low chuckle. We heard the lowly commander say "go." The dark figures swarmed at us, we ran to meet them. They closed in and I brought the heat out from within me, igniting my shield. Pete ran, chasing the general as he tried to escape.

Char squinted, accessing her gift. A few of the newborns turned feral, lashing out at us and their fellow soldiers. J and I tore into them. There were arms, legs, torsos and heads lying around, twitching. We started a morbid version of catch, each of them throwing limbs to me and watching them ignite. The venom and ash mixed into the mud. Pete and Char carried the body parts of the general north, meeting Caius and Eliza near the human settlement. "All done?" Caius asked, we nodded. The others joined us, dumping the parts of the other general. Caius grabbed two bags and mixed the body parts between them. Felix carried another four bags of limbs from the first mountain range.


	24. Part 2 Chapter 6

**AN: Another day, another chapter. Enjoy!**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 6

BPOV

Pete was deep in thought as we ran back to the hotel. He took Caius aside and they spoke quietly, they took out their ear pieces. Demitri joined them, taking out his ear piece as well. In the corner of my eye I saw Dem nod, he went to make a phone call. I gave them some privacy and focused on the scenery.

We arrived back at the hotel and greeted the others. "Good work, all of you." Caius started "Pestilence has picked up some information through his gift. There is going to be a disruption in Volterra and we need to return. The timing seems beneficial as the trial of Maria and the captured generals will start within the week. You are all invited to join us. We would appreciate it if you could lend your assistance. We can supply you with accommodation and spend some time working on a plan to clear the armies in the south eastern states." I concentrated on my emotions and sent J my happiness, he announced "Death and I are in."

"So are Famine and I." Pete said. Caius turned to dad "would you, Emmett and Rosalie like to join us?" Dad looked to me and nodded, Emmett boomed out "we're in." Caius smiled "the private jet is still at Santa Fe airport, we could even leave for Italy tonight if it's convenient to you?" J nodded. I looked forward to seeing Italy.

Dad turned to the pots on the stove "anyone in need of a top up? We should probably use as much of the blood as possible before we head to Volterra." He said. Eliza, Alec, Peter and I lined up, dad nodded in approval "excellent, this should be the end of the animal blood." He turned to Caius, "Will it be easy to get animal blood in Volterra?" He asked. Caius nodded to dad "we have plenty of wildlife, a few butchers and we can send away for anything you need."  
"Thanks Caius. I'll make more scent concentrated human blood for the Horsemen, I'm guessing they'll need to stay secret?" Dad asked, J nodded.

Pete started to report. "On the plane we can relax and go by our real names, but in Volterra we should stay incognito."  
"It won't be as much of a problem as it seems, the Four Horsemen will stay in my wing. Charlie, Emmett and Rose will be in Aro's wing. Kate, Garrett; should you wish to join us, you're welcome to stay with Marcus." Caius added. I was relieved we'd get a reprieve from our disguise. We started to pack up.

We finished loading the car. Dad turned to Caius; "can we stop off at the Zia Pueblo reservation?" He asked, he was in the sedan with Rose and Emmett. Pete, Char, J and I were in the SUV, the rest of our group would run to the airport. "Of course Charlie, allow us to buy the ingredients you would like. If you need anything while in Volterra let us know. We have connections with our own spirit walkers, we call them Streghe." Caius said. J straightened up "witches?"  
"Yes, War. They connect with celestial energy; the sun and the moon, rather than nature spirits like those in La Push and Texas. Each coven has their own remedies, but they avoid working with the other supernatural species. They keep to themselves and only help humans. They have a rather extensive range of plant life which could aide you." Caius explained.

We went our separate ways; dad, Rose and Em headed for the Reservation while the rest of us went to the airport. We loaded up the luggage and returned the SUV to the hire desk. Our Healers arrived a short while later.

We took our seats and prepared to take off. Felix and Eliza were piloting the jet. Dad was sitting up the front with Caius, he told us about their trip to the Reservation. "They were similar to the people I lived with at the Res in Texas, they repelled vampires so Rose and Em had to get out and wait. They were really welcoming and gave me a copy of their history and a few recipes. I got everything I need for the trip" dad said. He smiled and held up a large paper bag. "This will last us months." He added.

I watched out the window as the plane took off, my eyes picked up so many details I would have missed while human. J had his arm around me as I watched the land disappear below the clouds. Pete and Char sat in front of us, I could hear her press Peter for details of the disruption that would occur in Volterra. He tried to pacify his mate; "all I know is we need to be there. It won't be an attack, but it will involve the truth being uncovered. The ancestors won't tell me anything more than that."

As soon as the fasten seatbelt light turned off Caius stood up "we have a small bathroom with a sink and toiletries if any of you wish to freshen up. There is a room next door to the bathroom with cleaning products should you wish to clean or repair your cloaks or clothes. Your duffle bags are located in the dressing rooms at the back of the plane. It'll be a long flight, nineteen hours direct to Pisa international airport. There are small Audio visual screens tucked along the wall as well as head phones. Each screen has an extensive collection of movies, music and eBooks. Let us know if you require anything else, we have a wide range of comforts." He said. He sat back down and Pete leaned forward to J and I "we can take our masks off now and return to our normal names." We unhooked our masks and cloaks in relief.

J and I headed to clean our cloaks and masks. My cloak and clothes were muddied, but there were no tears thanks to my shield. J's clothes hadn't fared as well; there were a few slashes in the fabric and the clothes underneath were shredded. He quickly patched up the cloak and removed the dirt. I cleaned off my cloak and wiped down our masks. I saw Rose come out of the bathroom, she smiled at me "all yours Bells" I smiled gratefully at her and headed in.

I shed my outfit and cleaned my skin with a face washer and soapy water. I undid my hair, relieved when the brush encountered few snags. I rolled up my muddied clothes and put them in a plastic bag provided, then wrapped my cloak around me and headed to the changing rooms to find our duffle bag.

I poked my head out of the change room, "does anyone know what the temperature will be when we arrive in Italy?"  
"Low sixties" Jane replied. I quickly changed into soft cotton slacks, a dark blue shirt and slippers. J entered the changing room after me, I winked at him. I was surprised to find the leather of our seats had been cleaned while I was changing, J had cleaned them for us.

Charlie began to snore, Caius was wearing head phones and watching a movie. The others were amusing themselves in small conversation and looking at the scenery out the window. I enjoyed the soft leather cushioning me and zoned out for a while. Pete's loud laugh startled me, we turned to him "is there internet access on here?" He asked. Caius answered; "of course Peter, the audio visual screens have Wi-Fi. What's going on?"  
"We're going to have another trial soon" he giggled, Char smacked his arm and chastised him for being cryptic. I walked over and kneeled beside him, he was emailing Leah;

_Good morning, Wolves._

_My gift just sent me an interesting tidbit. Apparently the twerp, Edward Cullen, is on his way to you. Could you please guard your thoughts and ensure he finds out about Bella and Charlie's demise? He'll be there in eight hours, but won't go onto the Res. _

_We'll be in contact shortly._

_All the best,_

_Pete, Char, J and Bella  
(Charlie is snoring, but I assume he'd wish to pass on his regards as well)_

He clicked send "are you for real Pete?" I asked, rolled his eyes and replied. "The boy's been wallowing for months and because no one has contacted him he's throwing a tantrum and heading for Forks. The wolves will let him know the official story and he'll come to Volterra."

His face grew serious "this needs to happen Bells, he's caused a lot of trouble and needs to see his actions have consequences. Especially in our world. This is fate's way of straightening everything out. On the upside the Denalis will be relieved of their duty sooner than expected, that'll make them happy." He said. Pete went to Caius and let him in on the 'disruption' that would happen in Volterra. Char and I looked at each other as we heard Em and Rose groan after hearing they'd be reunited with their old coven.

I looked at the animated flight map, four hours left of the flight, and settled back into my seat. J had returned, I filled him in on what he'd missed. He growled lowly, he didn't want to see the Cullens any more than I did. We snuggled together in our seats.

Caius moved to speak with Char and Rose at one point, dad woke up and joined them. Felix's voice came over the speaker "we will be landing in one hour." Dad straightened up and moved to the back of the plane, he returned with four flasks. I sighed, it was time to disguise our scent.

He handed a flask to me last and squatted down next to me "how're you holding up kiddo?"  
"I'm good. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Castle and meeting Aro and Marcus." I said. "Me too, Caius has been telling me about them. It'll be great to see them in action. They have a laird's lug; a secret room above the throne room. I'll be able to watch the trials. Caius and the others don't want too many people knowing about me, apparently vampires don't get along with the other supernaturals. It's very cloak and dagger." He said amused, I laughed "you should wear a tux and sip a martini" I joked, he smiled. "I've been thinking of getting rid of my cop 'stash" he said. "You'll look younger." I replied. He headed to the bathroom to freshen up while the four of us finished our flasks.

We headed to the changing rooms and got our disguises. Char was waiting for me and holding the pair of cowboy boots with silver stitching I'd bought during our shopping trip. She lifted her cloak slightly and showed me she was wearing a pair of boots with red embroidery. I pulled them on and headed to the bathroom to put my hair back into a plat.

Dad came out of the bathroom; he'd changed the clothes under his cloak and shaved off his mustache. Emmett did a double take "Mini me! " He laughed and patted dad's head, it was uncanny. Dad rolled his eyes at our Uncle. I saw J slap his forehead, he muttered "I can't believe I didn't see the resemblance sooner."

We returned to our seat, we were back to using codenames again. The fasten seatbelt light blinked on and soon we were circling the landing strip. We landed gently on the tarmac. Caius was wearing a bright red robe with black lining I hadn't seen him in before, he caught my gaze "this is the ceremonial robe for the Masters. We only wear black during missions." He wore a different pendant too; gold with a large ruby.

Caius headed out first, followed by Char, Pete, J and I. Charlie, Em and Rose were behind us in their green robes. Kate and Garrett followed behind with the rest of the guard, they wore dark grey robes. There were two stretch limos. The Guard went to the second limo with Kate and Garrett. Caius gestured for the rest of us to join him in the first.

We put in our ear pieces and Caius spoke to us and the guard. "The Limo I'm in with the Horsemen and Healers will be heading to the private parking spot, there is a direct passage to the Masters' quarters. We'll be making introductions for a little while and then Aro, Marcus and I will head to the dungeon to gain intel from the prisoners. We'd like to keep the identities of the Horsemen secret, so please only refer to them by their titles." He instructed.

"Death, Pestilence advised me of an incoming complication in the form of a telepath." He said. I nodded and he continued, "would you be able to shield us from his gift?"  
"Certainly, but I'll have to feed regularly to keep my shield working." Caius nodded and explained, "when it comes to large congregations of people it's hard to control slip ups in information. For the most part you four will stay in disguise, there are parts of the castle that are strictly unauthorized to everyone but my brothers and I and our mates. It will be safe to take off your mask while in our quarters."

"I'll do my best, Caius, if I start to struggle I'll ask War to send a jolt of happiness as a signal. We shouldn't have a problem staying anonymous as long as we stick to your suggestions" I said. J added; "concerning the telepath, our experience has been to guard the thoughts at the front of your mind, usually by singing an irritating song mentally or picturing sexual experiences, he cannot delve further than that."  
"Excellent, War. We were not aware of that. If everyone can follow that suggestion, when we hear the telepath is about to arrive, we should keep the Horsemen's identities secret."

The cars split off, the guard were headed straight while our car dipped under a bridge and turned sharply to the left "this is a total bat cave" I blurted out, the others laughed. Em leant towards me and we high fived. We remained silent as the car parked. Caius lead us up a steep spiral staircase to the Masters' Quarters. He opened the heavy wooden doors and lead us through another set of doors. Once the door was closed he pulled back his hood and announced "we may speak freely here, you can take off your masks and cloaks if you want to." The four of us lifted off our masks and pulled our hoods back.

Four others stood in the room with us. I recognized two of the men from a painting Carlisle had in his study in Forks. Two ladies stood slightly behind them, they must be the wives.

A tall dark haired lady wearing a deep blue cocktail dress touched the shoulder of the man in front of her, he turned and nodded. She took his hand and they walked over to us, she introduced herself "my name is Sulpicia, I am Aro's mate. Welcome to Volterra." She spoke in perfect English. Caius nodded at the blond lady behind who I assumed was Marcus, she headed towards Caius and took her hand "this is my mate, Athenadora" He introduced her. She smiled shyly at us. She was dressed in a long, red, Victorian style dress.

J and I stepped forward, I shook their hands. J hugged Athenadora. "Hello, Aunt Dora, it's good to see you again. This is my mate." He gestured to me. Athenadora smiled and turned to me "it's lovely to meet you, Bella. I understand that you are to be called Death while in the presence of others." She said.

The Masters lead us to a sitting room. J and Caius put their fingertips on Aro's hand, transferring the details of our mission to him. Aro turned to Pete "Pestilence, I hear you learned of an issue we'd soon face?"  
"Yes, Aro. Fate has come for justice. The Cullen coven will join us here and face judgment." Pete said. Aro cringed "it has been a long time since I saw Carlisle, but I have heard of the coven he put together. Eleazar kept us informed over the years, he's a patient man, but even he has his limits." He looked to J, Rose and Emmett "I'm glad we have had the opportunity to get to know you without interference from Carlisle. I was surprised when the Major informed me of your assistance. Had I not been in contact with War and Rosalie I'm afraid I would have assumed you all were like him."

Emmett looked confused. "Carlisle always said he was your friend." He said to Aro. Aro's eyes soften and he smiled gently "people's words often don't align with their actions. You have seen this yourself, Emmett. Carlisle called us a friend, but slandered us frequently. I know you have no reason to trust us, but I hope you'll give us the chance to show you who we really are."  
"I didn't mean to question your motives, I'm sorry it came out that way. Until recently I had no idea what was going on, I'm still putting things together." Emmett would be blushing if he could. None of us had really considered how quickly Em had to sort through decades of subterfuge. Hell, I was still struggling with the information.

There was a lull in the conversation, Aro stood up "we should probably interrogate the prisoners, would the Horsemen like to join us?" He asked, Caius and Marcus stood and joined him. Dad, Em and Rose looked thankful to stay here with the wives. We pulled the masks back on and the hoods over our heads as the Masters lead us to a different part of the castle.

I was surprised to see an elevator, they lead us in and pressed a combination of numbers. We descended for a while, remaining silent. The doors opened and the temperature dropped. "We are a kilometer underground, it's important to keep prisoners isolated." Aro said softly.

I watched as their facial expressions changed; Marcus went from looking sad to looking bored, Caius went from happy to scowling and Aro smiled widely, a manic glint to his eyes. I recognized that look as one Pete had worn in Santa Fe before the battle in the mountain ranges. I was caught between shock and amusement; the masters were completely different outside their quarters.

I saw Caius' lip twitch, he was suppressing a smile. Aro quietly explained, "we all wear masks here. It helps ensure people won't look too closely and question our actions." He whispered to me, J sent me some amusement, I saw Caius wink as he caught my eye. I faced forward and prepared myself to see the prisoners.

We came across the first cell; Maria. She looked awful; her eyes were black and unfocussed, dark purple bruises surrounded her eye lids. She leaned against a wall, her skin even more pale. She looked like a corpse. I glanced at J and saw a dangerous sparkle in his eyes. He'd broken her. J, Pete and Char had delivered justice.

The next cell held Michael and Donovan, the leaders of the small army we encountered near Houston. They sat meekly, bowing their heads as we passed. The third cell held the two men who were second in charge to Angelo, I shielded our group as I felt a light pressure on my shield. I held my hand out to Aro and tried to show him my thoughts. He nodded subtly and let go of my hand. His facial expression hadn't changed. "Very interesting brothers," his voice was unnaturally high almost melodic, very different from our first meeting "it appears the young one to the left is trying to use his power." Caius growled and Aro put his hand up "thankfully, my dear brother, we have Death on our side" he smirked at me. I was glad I didn't have to talk, I was doing my best not to laugh. Pete had been dead on with his impersonation.

Aro nodded to J who sent a wave of fear to the two in the cell. Caius barked "what are your names?" They tried to shake off the fear and stood rigid. The one with the power sneered at us "I am the Major" a stab of amusement leaked out of J. Caius's voice grew dark "your real name" he ordered. "Jasper Whitlock" Angelo's gifted general spat out. I could see Pete roll his eyes. Caius motioned for J to remove his mask, J's voice held a rough edge, but I could still feel the amusement leak out of him "do you know who I am?" They shrugged. J whispered to Aro "no recognition" before replacing his mask. Marcus opened the cell door, J and Pete walked in and restrained the two while Aro place his hands on their bare necks. I withdrew my shield from him so he could read them. He removed his hands from their necks and shook his head.

Pete and J released them both from their hold and moved back out of the cell, I snapped my shield back over the group and we headed towards Angelo's cell. I held my hand out to Aro again and sent a my thoughts _"Master, would you mind if I kept my shield on J and Pete while you read him?" _Aro turned to me and whispered "my dear, there's no need to address me as Master, you're mated to a family member of the Volturi leaders. That makes you family. Is Angelo using his power?" He whispered, "Yes. He's trying hard to get through my shield"  
"Then please, protect your mate and uncle while I read him."  
"I promise, just nod and I'll shield you when you're finished reading him. I protect my family" I whispered. He dropped his manic facial expression for a millisecond giving me a genuine smile before returning to his creepy facade.

I nudged my shield away from Aro as he approached Angelo, but kept it tight around J and Pete. I saw Aro hold Angelo's neck, his body started to slump and I grew worried before he nodded lightly. I snapped my shield back over him and he straightened. Angelo looked confused before he turned his full scowl towards me. When J and Pete turned around their eyes were black with anger. I saw a flash of concern on Caius' face.

The last cell contained the two generals from the Southern mountain range near Monticello. They stood compliant and let Aro read them, J and Pete stood next to each of them but the two boys stood in a submissive pose and shook. They looked so young. Their 'interrogation' was the shortest. I sent J my concern and worry, he nodded subtly. Yes, they had been cannon fodder.

We headed back to the Masters' Quarters, turning right and heading to a different wing. "This is my quarters" Caius said. The brothers lead us to a study, their faces relaxed into more natural positions. We removed our masks and pulled our hoods back.

Aro rubbed his temples, his voice was back to its deep lilt "there are three we cannot give trials to." He started heavily, "Angelo is pure evil. Thankfully, using a gift against a Volturi king is treason, the law claims his immediate execution. Pete, Jasper what did you pick up from him?" J replied "pure malice. As soon as he saw Bella I felt determination and hate. He'd do anything to destroy her." Pete agreed and added "he is an animal, a walking cesspit of destruction and hate. If given the chance he will escape and build another army. He underestimates our power, he's set his sights on Volterra. My gift is screaming that we execute him immediately. He has no fear."  
"I bet I could introduce him to that emotion" J growled. I sat up "you could you know." Aro looked towards me "Maria?" He asked, I knew he was asking if I meant for J to send Angelo the same emotional cocktail he'd sent to Maria.

I nodded, he'd seen what J had done. Aro turned to my mate, "Jasper, would you be able to repeat that emotional cocktail?" He asked. J nodded, but added "I need to know what he's done."  
"Are you sure?" Aro asked softly. He glanced at his brothers and warred with himself "I don't just receive memories I can transfer them too." He admitted. J nodded "show me."  
"I will if that's what you need, we'll have to return to the prison, I can only show you another person's memories if I act as a link between you both. You need to brace yourself. You're so different than before, don't let his evil hurt you. He is in our custody and will face justice." Aro said firmly.

"Can we bring my dad?" I asked. J considered for a second and nodded, dad would make sure my mate could handle the pain from Angelo's memories. Aro smiled "that's a great idea. We could also use his input on what to do with the others, I understand he was a law man before he became a spirit healer." I smiled, glad they accepted Charlie so willingly. Pete left to collect dad from Aro's quarters.

"Pete and I should be there with you. Dad's power is stronger when we're there, the gifts in our lineage are derived from the same blood line and spiritual power of our ancestors. We amplify each other" I said. Marcus nodded "she's right, although I can't see Bella's connections I can see Charlie and Peter's bond with her, it's bound in a white glow." I dropped my shield and turned to Marcus "is that better?" I asked. His eyes widened in shock, he let out an amazed breath and said something in a language I couldn't understand.

I started to feel self-conscious and raised my shield. Marcus snapped out of his daze "forgive me Bella, I didn't mean to react that way." He said sheepishly. "Is everything okay?" I asked. He nodded "you're extraordinary. I believe I understand your power a little better. To put it broadly you're a protector, but also much, much more. You bring unity and strength to those you ally yourself to." I was curious, I already knew I was a protector, my lineage had made me a protector just like it made Charlie a healer. "You develop bonds quickly with others and they with you. It's not a gift, but it's linked to your gift of protection."

"What about dad?" I asked. "He's incredibly powerful as well, Eleazar would be able to tell you more. His gift is to make sense of others' gifts." Dad and Pete walked in. Marcus turned to me "Bella, would you mind dropping your shield again?" I nodded, Marcus blinked and squinted "your bond with your father is like a strong steel cable, now that I see you both clearly I can see your bonds really do amplify each other, Peter too." Pete agreed and added, "the paths of fate are clearer when I'm near either one of them."  
"Pete's gift usually gives us small snippets of intel." Char explained. "Our attack on Angelo's army was something we'd never encountered before, he was getting full details."

J added "we also got an upgrade recently. Ever since Pete told us our role I've had better control over emotions. I can pick up the different flavors within them whereas before I just felt the texture of each emotion. I no longer absorb emotions like I used to, I can hold them without being affected. It's the same with sending emotions; instead of releasing emotions like a blast I can concentrate it, hold it, shape it. None of my personalities had that capability.

Aro moved the conversation along and asked dad for assistance in dealing with the prisoners and keeping J stable while he transferred his memories to my mate. We concealed ourselves for our return to the dungeons. Aro handed Charlie a silver cloak "we had this specially made for you Charlie, it's woven from spider silk and strengthened with our venom, it'll hide your scent while you're here and the sleeves and hood are long enough to hide your hands and face." Dad looked to Aro with gratitude and thanked him. We headed back to the dungeon.


	25. Part 2 Chapter 7

**AN: This chapter is pretty damn epic. Lemon alert! Bwahaha**

**Blah, blah, blah, Meyer, blah, blah, blah. I don't own twilight**

CHAPTER 7

BPOV

We approached Angelo's cell. I dropped my shield from Aro and J so the memories could be transferred. I stood with Pete, Charlotte, Marcus and Caius outside the cell door. Aro put one hand on Angelo's neck and took J's hand. Charlie stood by, ready to intervene.

J's hand gradually tightened around Aro's. Dad's voice rang out "stop now," Aro let go of both of them and I pushed my shield forward to protect them. J was frozen, his eyes fluttered behind his lids. Charlie guided him over to me "he needs you" he said, before returning to Aro and Angelo. I moved my hand and touched J's chest. The ridges of his scars stood out against my palm.

J's eyes opened, they were angry and red, but I could see he was still in control. He joined Charlie and Aro in front of Angelo and gripped his old enemy by the neck. Angelo's eyes widened, his pupils constricting and his body shaking as J sent him to emotional hell. I saw Pete smirk.

I focused on my breathing and calmed myself. I would be J's anchor. He started to slump from exhaustion and Charlie guided him back through the cell door. Aro called me into the cell and held out his hand. I took it and dropped my shield. An image floated into my mind; I saw a small flame dance across my skin, it would slowly scorch Angelo. It would be a long and painful death. _'Can you do that Bella?' _Aro asked through his gift. I nodded, during the transformation the ancestors had shown me a glimpse of the flames around my shield changing to my will. I hadn't tried to manipulate it yet, but I was willing to try.

Aro moved back to the others. My power blocking shield flowed behind me like a cape, covering myself and the others. J had recovered and stood next to me "I want the last face he sees to be mine" he said, the others nodded. We were alone in the cell with him. Either side of the cell had stone walls that stopped the prisoners from seeing each other. I summoned the heat within and felt the fire race across my shield. I pulled some of my power back, the flames shrank and turned blue. I guided the flames to my hand, amazed at the control I had over it.

I pulled back some more of the heat as the fire concentrated around my fingertips. It felt alive, sentient. It seemed to understand me. I touched my finger to Angelo's hand, a few flames jumped to him. I did the same to his other hand and his feet. The flames sparked and crackled from the venom, but burned him slowly. J stayed by my side as his enemy slowly smoldered. Angelo's breaths rattled, his lungs were being destroyed. When the flames reached his neck J took off his mask.

Angelo stared disbelievingly, unable to talk as his voice box was incinerated. J smirked then roared, releasing the hate, anger and disgust he had felt while seeing Angelo's memories. Angelo's charcoaled form crumbled and dissipated. His ashes caught a breeze and floated up to the small window, they disappeared into the sky. J turned to dad and smiled. Dad's head bobbed underneath his cloak "well done, War."

We returned upstairs to discuss the other prisoners, dad joined us. "What do you think about the two young ones in the fourth cell?" He asked us. Aro thought deeply and put his own opinion forward "their names are Evan and Mark. They are relatively innocent, but they did bad things under the orders of Angelo and the others. From what I saw, they did it out of fear for the lives. They hadn't been taught about our laws and thought they were the only commune of vampires in existence until you arrived."

J nodded "I felt their fear as their memories crossed their minds, it was mixed with shame and regret. Charlie, did you read anything on them while we were close?" Dad nodded "the boys' spirits suggest innocence and fear. Darkness clings to them, but it mirrors a very small portion of what yours felt like, J. They would need to learn and adjust to the real world, rehabilitation I guess, rather than undergoing the pressure of trial and judgment."

Pete weighed into the discussion "they are boys, scared and brainwashed by a creature that tortured his charges in every way possible. I say we give them a chance. My gift is telling me the Telepath must be kept alive." Marcus nodded "I see a mating bond between Mark, the telepath, and one of our own." He said. Aro turned to him. "Who?" Marcus smiled "Alec, Mark is his true mate." We smiled, Alec was a good guy. Now he had a mate and the boys were safe. The mood in the room lightened.

"How old were Mark and Evan when they were turned?" I asked. "15." Aro answered "they had been turned just 18 months previous. They were scared of their masters, but more scared of dying. They did what they had to, to survive. When they got the chance to command the two small forces in the mountains around Monticello they jumped at the opportunity to get away from the other generals and the newer, more violent newborns. I read no malice or hatred, only fear and desperation." He said.

"They felt no deception." J observed. Aro turned to dad. "Charlie, I agree with your recommendation; Rehabilitation. We'll give them a chance to learn the laws, let them spend time with Em and Rose and teach them to appreciate life."  
"I'm glad to hear it, Aro. The boys will need routine and purpose." Dad said. Marcus approved and shocked everyone by adding; "I'd like to volunteer to mentor the boys in our history and laws. Perhaps Charlie and I can put together a timetable?" Marcus looked to dad who nodded, smiling.

The meeting adjourned and the Masters went to release the boys from the dungeon and introduce them to Alec. The others scattered in different directions, all of them keen to do something to help Evan and Mark settle in. With the others preoccupied, Athenadora gave Pete, Char, J and I a tour of their wing. Pete and Char had been given a room at the end of the hall, close to a staircase leading to the underground car park that had been renamed the bat cave.

J and I were led upstairs, our room was half way down the hall. Athenadora let us in and whispered, "Marcus advised me to put you in this room, its sound proof. He mentioned you were newly mated and hadn't been able to consummate the bond because you were living in close quarters with your blood relatives." I smelt Char's altered scent and saw the duffle bag she'd helped me pack in secret.

I almost threw myself an Athenadora in gratitude, she laughed "I set an alarm for you, the trials start tomorrow at noon, the alarm is set for 11:30am. Have fun kids!" She flitted out of the room, J called out to her "you're my favorite, Aunty Dora" and closed the door.

I ran into the bathroom at full speed carrying the duffle bag with me. I sat it in the corner, away from the shower, and threw off my clothes. I hung my cloak and mask on hooks lining the inside of the door. My shower was rushed; I scrubbed, rinsed and dried at full speed and picked the skimpiest outfit I could find; a black lace nightgown. I spotted the cowboy boots I'd worn since we arrived and pulled them back on.

I unlocked the door, J had his back to me. He was shirtless and in the process of removing his pants. His cloak was neatly folded in the wardrobe. I leaned against the door jam and spoke "you're assuming a bit much, aren't you, J?"  
"I'm getting ready for a shower since you went solo-" He turned around, his voice died as he took in my attire. I pounced on him before he could recover and dug the heels of the boots into his thighs "giddy up!" I yelled. He laughed stumbled to the bed, pinning me to the mattress.

He kissed me hard and ground himself against me, I met his hips eagerly. We were desperate and brimming with lust. I didn't care that it was my first time, I needed him now. I reached down and freed him from his pants, palming him. He buried his head in my shoulder. I flipped him on the bed and moved on top of him, lining him up and slowly sinking on to him, he stretched me in the most pleasurable way. I stilled.

J felt my surprise and sent me some confusion "I thought the first time was meant to hurt" I explained, he shrugged "given how clumsy you were as a human you probably broke it by accident."  
"I didn't fall onto anything-" I started, he silenced me with a kiss "doesn't matter, I know you haven't been with anyone else and I'm glad it didn't hurt, so quit overthinking it and fuck me."

I felt a jolt of electricity go through me as he swore, my surprise wore off and I realize I had my mate lying beneath me; naked and willing. I rocked my hips and nearly fell over from the pleasure, losing your virginity as a vampire was better than any other loss of virginity story I'd heard from humans. I tried moving faster, but the pleasure distracted me from my movements.

J nudged me onto my back and slammed into me "FUCK YES!" I cried. I felt him move inside me, hitting parts I didn't know existed. He thrust harder, growling and swearing into my shoulder with each movement. "fuck, Fuck, FUCK! Pleasetellmeyou'reclose" he strained out. I noticed the coil of pressure that accompanied the tingling pleasure going through me.

He pounded into me harder and I felt him twitch, the pressure released within me. It felt like I had electricity arcing along my skin, but all I cared about was the feeling of Jasper over me, around me, in me. I felt like we were floating, he twitched again and I felt him fill me. My instincts took over and I bit into his neck. I felt his teeth pierce my skin followed by the sting of venom, I felt myself clench around him with a final strong jolt of pleasure.

The pleasure receded and I felt over sensitive and relaxed. J was licking the bite on my neck and purring, I figured 'when in Rome' and decided to lick the bite I'd made on his neck.

A rattle sounded through my chest, I was purring too. The human part of my brain was amused. The vampire part of me loved it all; the bite, his tongue, the rumbling in his chest, it soothed me. I felt loved. The human part decided to use words like a civilized creature. I licked up his neck to his earlobe and whispered in his ear "marry me, J" I froze.

I had meant to say _I love you_ or _we should do that again_ hell, even _you rock my world._ But, those words weren't enough, I realized my proposal was exactly the right thing to say...ask... to convey my feelings. I wanted to marry the fuck out of J. I would be Mrs. Jasper Fucking Whitlock. I cleared my throat and asked again, this time feeling love and conviction.

He looked into my eyes "are you sure, Bella?" He asked and I nodded "would it help if I got down on one knee?" I said and smirked. He smiled and whispered "yes to marrying you, no to you leaving the bed." He kissed my face and chuckled happily. I felt him slip out of me and he cuddled me to his side, euphoria bounced between us. He started giggling "I can't believe you proposed to me during our first time having sex. You're perfect." His tone softened towards the end. I nuzzled my face into his neck and purred. We were perfect.

We slowly made love, enjoying the feel of each other. For the first time I truly appreciated being a vampire. I'd known it would happen and wanted it, but my first few weeks had been wrought with frustration, anger and bewilderment. I enjoyed the peace that came with being mated and alone with J.

The sun rose and J left to get a ring. We had twelve hours to ourselves with no interruptions and he wanted to go shopping. His puppy eyed look broke me within seconds. I cleaned up, got dressed and headed down stairs to see Char. I was on a mission. I knocked on their door, thankfully Char was the one to answer, Pete was in the shower. "I need to go shopping, urgently."

I fastened my cloak around my neck and put on my mask. She grabbed her boots, mask and cloak and put them on as she closed the door. "What's going on?" She asked. "Not yet." I said, I would tell her when we found a jewelry store. We bumped into Athenadora and I asked if she'd like to join us. She pulled her hood over her head, her robe was red like Caius' and very long. She led us to the bat cave and a black sedan that sat in the corner. She turned and asked, "where to?"  
"I need a jeweler ASAP." I said.

She took us to a small jewelry shop in Florence, I sniffed around for J's scent, he wasn't here. Good. "Why the rush?" Char begged for the umpteenth time. "IproposedtoWarduringsexandhe'sgonetobuyaring,Iwanttobeathimtoit." I garbled out. We walked into the store, Dora and Char were trying to make words out of my mumbled sentence, I saw Dora's face as she worked it out. "You proposed to him?" She asked. I nodded and Char squealed. "During sex?" Dora continued, I nodded. Char froze in shock. Dora kept going "he's out now buying a ring, but you want to get him one first." I nodded. Char bent over laughing and hugged me "I love you for this, Death." Dora hugged me in congratulations.

"I come here whenever I want something special" Dora said as she led me to the case of men's jewelry. "You're lucky I know his ring size" She added as we looked through the rings. I spotted one at the back, platinum with interesting markings and a ruby. I waved the shop assistant over and pointed it out, she unlocked the case and picked it up.

It was a solid platinum band with a large ruby. On each side of the stone was an intricately carved Celtic style sword. "This!" I announced excitedly. Dora and Char were speechless, it would suit J and that's all I cared about.

Char finally exhaled "it's perfect. Honestly, it's like this ring was made for him." Dora nodded "its design is unique, the detail resembles a roman ceremonial sword. Caius was born during Roman times into the upper class. His family originated from a part of France that was under Roman rule. This ring combines War's family history, his present and his future." I handed over the debit card to the account Uncle Pete and Char set up for me with Whitlock money. Charlie and I were loaded since losing human status.

I was shaking with excitement as Char drove us back, Dora was looking closely at the ring I'd gotten J. "What are you thinking about, Dora?" I asked. She spoke softly in reply. "I'm memorizing the detail. Each member of the Volturi have replicas made of their jewelry. Every replica is made of titanium and vampire ash. I'll order a replica for this one when we arrive back."  
"Can I ask for one alteration?"  
"Of course." Dora smiled. "Instead of a stone, could a protrusion be made, one that looks like a claw?" I asked. She thought for a moment "I hadn't thought of adding something like that before. It sounds like an useful idea. I'll speak to our metallurgist." She said, handing me the ring.

I ran out of the car as soon as Char parked in the bat cave. I got to our room within seconds. I heard J in the shower and got out of my mask and cloak. He shut off the shower a short while later and rushed out to see me. He kissed me, wearing nothing but a towel, and my lust shot through the roof.

"How long do we have now?" J asked. "Two hours" I said between kisses. He mumbled "good" and kissed me harder. I took advantage of his distraction; slipping the ring out of my pocket and grabbing his left hand. I broke the kiss and looked in his eyes as I slid the ring on his finger. He looked down in shock, "Holy Fuck!" He glanced between the ring and me "this is fucking awesome!" He said. He ran to the wardrobe and rustled through some bags swearing as he dropped something on the floor.

He raced out holding a small black, velvet box and opened it. I froze, stunned by the ring inside. It was so pretty; a smoky diamond stood out against a finely detailed gold lace vine that formed a band. Under the diamond I could make out the details of a tiny, painted skeleton. Two emeralds glistened beside the diamond, a thin gold band framed the top and bottom of the ring, strengthening the vines in the center of the band. On the inside of the ring, behind the diamond setting, was a tiny inscription; _diligeris__mortem_. "It's gorgeous, J." he slipped it on my finger and kissed me. "It's a memento mori ring. Caius had it made for Athenadora when the last of their direct descendants died in the 1700s. They wanted me to give it to you." he whispered, "what does the inscription mean?" I asked. "diligeris mortem; Loved beyond death."

The alarm clock startled us out of our daze. We reluctantly parted and got ready. I only had to put my mask and cloak on, so I sat back and watched J get dressed. It was like a reverse strip tease at high speed. I rubbed the bite on my neck, smiling at J. He was finally ready and, unfortunately, clothed.

We headed down the hall and dad waved us over "drink up you two" he handed us a glass of human blood to mask our scent. He saw the rings on our fingers and looked at us confused. J smiled at me as I mumbled "I proposed." Dad laughed and patted J on the shoulder "congrats, I'm glad she has you with her for eternity. We'll have to go out and celebrate sometime soon."  
"Thanks Dad-"  
"Thanks Charlie-" dad walked with us, he was genuinely happy. It was a relief. I just hoped he'd find someone.

We head out to the foyer, almost skipping with joy. Rose tackled us both in a crushing hug "you're the best niece!" She squealed, Char had told her of our engagement. Emmett came over, begging to see our rings. "You're so bad arse, Death."  
"Thanks Em."

We were passed around the family and Volturi friends. Marcus even smiled. Caius held up his hands trying to settle everyone down "sorry everyone, I promise we'll celebrate soon. At the moment we have people awaiting trial, game faces everyone." Em and Rose headed down a small corridor with Charlie to observe the trial from a safe place. We headed into the throne room ahead of the Masters. The guard lined the walls, standing behind the audience. J and I stood next to Marcus' throne while Pete and Char stood next to Caius'. Sulpicia and Athenadora stood behind the thrones, their faces veiled by their hoods.

The Masters walked in, their faces contorted to fulfill their roles. Marcus did an excellent job looking bored, Aro was as manic as ever and Caius kept his head down and scowled at the floor, trying to hide the occasional twitch of his lip.

The trials of Michael, Donovan and Angelo's two generals took a while. They were interrogated at length and used many excuses to dig themselves out of trouble. Aro shot them down easily. When one of Angelo's generals claimed to be 'Major Jasper Whitlock' there were a few gasps from the audience, his accomplice claimed to be Peter. Aro waved to Alec and Felix, they would be executed fairly. Any who suspected Angelo's generals to be J and Pete were silenced by their execution. The evidence against them had been substantial and damning.

The audience was ushered out by the guard. We headed into a smaller room, Pete walked beside me and whispered "shield." I expanded my power shield to protect the guard, the Masters and my family. Maria was brought out once the guard had taken their positions around the room. Her black eyes were unfocussed. Her body hunched over. "Maria," Aro started "we have viewed the memories you hold and those of your victims. You broke the conditions of your freedom and started a newborn army. How do you plead?"  
"Guilty" her voice was little more than a whisper. I saw a flash of relief in Pete and Char's eyes and felt a tiny prickle of relief from J. Good. "For your crimes you are sentenced to death. For your admission of guilt we'll make it painless." Aro gestured to Alec who took away her senses, Felix tore her apart and Aro set her alight.

The smoke cleared from the room, Caius and Marcus joined Aro in front of the guard. Aro announced; "Dear Ones, with the trials over we may now proceed to positive matters. The four figures in blue standing near us are the newest allies to our coven. They are the Four Horsemen; an elite task force to aide us in protecting our family and our allies. Their identities will remain a secret, we ask that you honor their wishes for privacy. Should you learn of their identities we ask that you keep them confidential." He gestured for us to line up in front of the thrones. Sulpicia and Athenadora handed a couple of boxes to Marcus and Caius.

Aro called our names, "Death." I walked up to Aro and bowed, he took my hand and placed a ring on my little finger. It was gold band with the Volturi V, a sapphire was set into the middle of the letter. I walked back into line with the others. "War" J followed suit, receiving an identical ring on his little finger. Pete and Char were called up and the process repeated.

Aro started to dismiss us all when the doors flung open. Pete's eyes twinkled, he turned and winked at me. Edward stood in the open door way and moaned; "kill me, please."

A look of irritation passed Aro's face and he waved my ex forward. J squeezed my hand sending me love and comfort. I kept a firm hold on my shield. Edward knelt before the Masters "please, make it quick."  
"Get up, you simpleton." Caius snarled. Edwards head shot up, he looked scared and glanced around the room. His eyes passed us by, barely taking in our masked forms. "I can't read your minds!" He said sharply. He actually sounded offended. I looked at Aro who winked at me, I nodded to him while Edward was busy scanning the guard.

"What brings you here, Edward? Is Carlisle all right?" Aro said with faux anxiety. Edward seemed to shake out of his stupor "oh, yes. They're fine, but I'm lost. Adrift! My mate died and I can't bear it." J shook his head.

Edward approached Marcus, I wanted to slap him. I wanted rip his jaw off for thinking of coming to Marcus and spouting bullshit to a man who still grieved. J had told me about Didyme's murder. It had happened during a war between the old tyrannical Romanian rulers and the new Volturi government. I didn't know all the details, J wanted the Masters to tell me their history when they were ready.

"Marcus, please." Edward begged. Aro nodded to me to lift my shield off him and took Edward's hand. Aro kept his facial expression neutral with a hint of curiosity to sell the role he played, but his eyes blackened. He subtly nodded again and I put the shield over him again.

Aro tutted at Edward, "that is indeed tragic news. I'm sorry for your loss." Edward seemed happy he was getting sympathy. Aro returned to his throne and touched Marcus and Caius' hands sharing the information he'd learnt with the other Masters. Caius growled lowly "you let a human find out and you left her!" Edward backed up a step. Marcus broke out of character "excuse me brothers I'll call his parents." He left the room, trying to look apathetic, but his blackened eyes gave away his anger.

Aro and Caius turned back to Edward "I'm afraid we cannot kill you. While you have committed many violations of our laws, we require your coven leader to answer for your offenses. We will arrange accommodations for you in the meantime. We have a lovely villa close by, you won't be allowed to leave until your parents arrive and you will stand trial, but we'll make sure you're comfortable."  
"I'm on a strict animal diet, I cannot change that" he demanded. Aro smiled, it was a sinister smile "of course, Edward. I would never insult Carlisle by throwing his values in this face." It was a thinly veiled insult, Edward scowled, looking indignant.

"Pestilence, Death, would you accompany Edward to the guest suite?" Aro asked in a high pitched voice. I nodded, Pete's eyes crinkled, he was smiling behind his mask. "You have agents of the devil working for you?" Edward seemed to have just notice us standing there. Aro sat straighter "the Four Horsemen are not agents of any evil deity. Their sole purpose is to ensure the paths of fate are protected."  
"Aro! I am a man of god!" Edward pleaded. Aro's eyes turned black with anger, his smile widened "I see, you'd prefer Alec to assist you." Aro nodded to Alec who cut off Edward's senses. He was frozen, looking like he'd just smelt something terrible. "Death, Pestilence; I believe young Edward is ready for transport. Could you take him to the visitors' quarters?" I nodded and headed out with Pete, he held Edward's frozen form under and arm and skipped outside. I heard the others in the throne room chuckle.


	26. Part 2 Chapter 8

**AN: S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 8

JPOV

Bella dragged her feet behind Pete. The guard had been entertained by his actions and the mood lightened substantially. A few of the lower guard had warmed up to us after Peter 'accidently' knocked Edward against walls and doors.

I sent out a wave of calm. The Masters were seething with rage. Whatever they'd seen in Edward's mind was bad. A cold shudder ran up my back. I felt gratitude from Aro and Caius as their emotions leveled out.

Aro shook his head, his creepy, cheerful facade was back in place. "You're dismissed my dears. Have a pleasant evening!" They filed out of the room. When the door closed behind the last of the guard I approached the Masters. "Will Marcus be all right?" I asked. Aro's face returned to normal, "the loss of Didyme still affects him, but the Healer is with him now. I'm going to head up to the see the other Healers, would you two like to join me?" He asked.

Char and I followed him to his quarters. I felt ashamed that I had once been a part of the Cullen family. Dora met us in the hall. "You and your mate did an excellent job in not interfering. I thought Bella was going to turn Edward to ash as soon as he approached Marcus." She said to me. Aro's eyes darkened, his emotions were fluctuating widely. "I would have let her. Carlisle and Edward have a lot to answer for." He said, trying to compose himself.

I sent him some more calm. He patted my shoulder "prepare for fireworks. I plan on putting on a pyrotechnic display. Carlisle will face judgment." He said. I shivered, but agreed completely with his sentiments. "Come now you two, I want to show you what Rose and Emmett are working on, hopefully they have good news." Aro said, I could feel his struggle to stay calm.

The lower level of Aro's wing was set up like a lab. Rose and Em were surrounded by books, a lap top and bottles of dried leaves. They were making phone calls and writing as fast as they could. When they finished their calls they headed over and hugged me. "We heard what happened, we were in the Laird's lug with Charlie. I can't believe just how stupid Edward has become. Charlie's with Marcus at the moment. He's performing a healing in one of the sound proof rooms." She said.

"I showed Marcus what I learnt of the binding Charlie performed on you, I apologize if I betrayed your trust" Aro said. I shook my head "there's nothing to forgive. I hope Charlie can help."  
"He is invaluable. He, Rose and Emmett have been working on creating a tasteless, scentless formula that we can add to the blood to feed prisoners. We want to be able to render their gifts useless. The Healers have been working on it since they arrived."

He turned to Rose and Em. "How goes it?" He asked. Em began to report "we've isolated the ingredients with help from the Reservation in Texas, but it smells terrible. We're working on extracting the active ingredients in the hope that it'll remove the taste and smell."

Rose took over "we're having difficulties because the active ingredients are protein strands, altering the components too much will make them inert." Aro nodded happily "I may be able to help you there! One of our human scientists devised a way to extract proteins and replicate them." He wrote down a phone number and gave it to Rose. "Hopefully this will help or Bella will have to guard Edward and shield us until we finish our dealings with the Cullens."

The ceiling rumbled above us and I felt a painful stab of grief. I doubled over and gritted my teeth. Aro looked at me worriedly. "Marcus" I whispered, my voice was strained. He ran at full speed towards the exit. The pain let up after a minute, there was a wave of relief. I looked to Em and Rose and smiled weakly, the emotions had drained me. "Charlie did it" I said. They smiled and rushed to continue their work.

I headed back to Caius's wing. Char was sitting with Dora and Sulpicia. I removed my cloak and mask and sat with them "Aro just dragged Caius to see Marcus." Dora said to me. "I know, I felt Charlie's effect on Marcus's emotions. I think he succeeded, all I can feel now is relief." They smiled, but the wives were still very angry. I leant over to them and whispered "if it helps, Aro's planning fireworks for when Carlisle arrives."  
"Good" Sulpicia said, a bitter edge to her voice. Dora smiled viciously, her excitement grew. It always struck me as odd how Carlisle had irritated the people he called friends only to back stab them. We talked lightly, decompressing from the stress of the day.

We heard footsteps approach; Aro and Caius came in with Rose and Em. Caius grinned "Charlie is incredible. Marcus isn't fully healed, but he is on his way." He announced relieved. We smiled. Aro gestured to Em and Rose, "our dear Healers had their break through. They were able to extract the right ingredients and create a liquid we can add to blood which will disable the gifts of any who drink it." I looked at the clock, it had been two hours since I'd left them. "That's fantastic news. Congratulations." I said, smiling widely at them.

Rose began to report "the contact Aro gave us was very helpful. We will actually be able to help him too, they've managed to synthesize a very small amount of human blood, but it doesn't seem to have the nutrients needed to replenish our bodies. We can teach him a fair bit about enriching blood, Charlie's a master at it. Between us and the scientists we should be able to speed up the process of creating synthetic blood that tastes good and doesn't involve hunting." She said. Aro was almost vibrating with excitement.

Charlie came to see us a few hours later, the wives hugged him, thanking him for his help. He sat in the armchair next to me and patted my arm "how's my favorite son in law?" He asked. I shrugged "I suppose you saw Edward's verbal diarrhea in the throne room?" I asked. He grimaced "I hate that kid."  
"Me too, I feel so ashamed that I was in that coven-"  
"Quit that J, you have nothing to feel ashamed about. You, Em and Rose are good people. Bells talked about all of you after you left. She kept your secret, but when she found out I knew about vampires and had time to think she really let a lot go. As far as I'm concerned that coven brought you into Bells' life. That's not to say I won't clock Edward if I get the chance, I'm just saying there's a reason why it happened."

"You sound like Pete" I smirked, "well, he is a smart man" Charlie said, grinning.

PPOV

Eddie boy was safely tucked away in his Volturi hidey hole. Solid three feet of concrete mixed with vampire ash kept him in place. From the outside the building looked like a bomb shelter, but inside had been decorated with the usual Volturi flare; rich tapestries, a collection of old books, movies and a piano. It was a gilded cage, there was nothing connecting it to the outside world; no TV antenna, no cell phone reception and no internet. The walls had been fitted with gizmos to prevent any signal getting through.

The soft notes of piano music were faintly audible. Bella and I looked at each other, I rolled my eyes. "You have the patience of a saint my dear Death."  
"I really do." She said. She looked at the heavily reinforced door with distain and whispered "I hate that song." I nodded, it echoed the music I'd heard in the 1900s. It was bland, just like the time period.

I don't know how long we were there, standing vigil for a 109 year old emo, it felt like hours. My niece was good company, quiet and comfortable to be around. I spoke so softly "I'm proud of you." Bella looked at me "I mean it, we tried everything to heal War-"She cut me off. "You did, you gave him a safe place to be himself, all of himselves" She said. I heard her laugh lowly and raised an eye brow in question, she started to explain "I just remembered our drive together, the vampiric side was charming and bold. His human side was getting irritated and slapped his face. I'd been too shocked to laugh, so I scolded him for hitting himself." She giggled.

I smiled. "I'd bet the vampire side deserved it." I said. "The vampiric side did the same thing when we were driving up to see you, the human part was so worried you wouldn't want anything to do with him." I added. She shook her head "he's my mate, I didn't know that at the time, but I knew he was a good man." She turned serious and nodded her head to the door "he can't hear us, can he?" I shook my head, "we're talking quietly enough to be safe. He probably couldn't hear us if we were talking normally, the walls are too thick."

"What's preventing him from bursting through the door?" She asked me. "Concrete and metal fused with vampire ash. He couldn't make a dent in it if he wanted." I smirked. "How can we hear the music?" She asked, I rolled my eyes "he's still in the midst of his tantrum. He's really pounding those keys, not to mention the sound is echoing off the room's solid walls. It must be deafening in there." I sighed, this guy was headed for a steep learning curve.

The sky had darkened. I looked at Bella. "Are you getting thirsty?"  
"A little. I have to keep both of us and the castle under my shield"  
"You're doing well, Death. Using your gift takes a lot of emotional control."  
"It's not too hard, this shield is easier to control." I was so proud of her.

The music stopped, thank god. We stayed silent for a while longer. Hopefully we wouldn't have to babysit him till his mommy and daddy arrived. Surely another member of the guard could watch over him, few knew who we were. Their thoughts wouldn't give anything away.

Light footsteps came towards us, Jane. That meant she wouldn't be able to relieve Bella from guard duty. She knew too much and could slip information to Edward accidently. Maybe she brought some blood. She came closer and I saw she had a thermos. Thank fuck. She walked up to us looking cheerful as hell "time to feed our guest" she sang. DAMNIT! She winked at me "the healers prepared this to fit with his diet." Maybe it'd knock him out for a bit.

Jane cleared her face of expression, her eyes looked hard and cold as I opened the door and let her in. "Your meal." She announced and set the thermos on a table. She came straight out and I locked the door again. "You'll be relieved soon" she smiled "Alec and I will take over" she winked and jogged back to the castle.

We fidgeted for a couple of hours until Jane and Alec returned. My niece's eyes were getting dark. "Is it safe?" I asked them, they nodded. Alec spoke to Bella, "remove your shield from me and open the door. I'll do a test run." Bella nodded at him and watched as he walked into the room. He came back with an empty thermos and a wide grin. I locked the door behind him. "It's safe." Alec announced. He came closer and whispered as low as he could "his gift is blocked" and handed me the empty thermos. "You guys can head back now, I'm on guard duty with Jane."

We ran as fast as we could back to the castle. A clock on the wall made me realize we'd been standing guard for five hours. Charlie was in Caius' sitting room with two large cups of blood. "Emmett's delivery of bear blood arrived, I made up a batch for you both." He said.

We drank quickly, Charlie handed us a glass of human blood mixed with vile herbs; the scent change concoction. We gagged that shit down. I didn't think I'd be able to hunt humans after this, the altered animal blood felt better in my body.

Charlie refilled our glasses with more human blood and told us about the dinner that had been arranged for the next night. "The wives have offered to cook for us. They were thrilled when they found out herbs could be added to the blood and they want to make both human food and blood based meals." He chuckled "it's taking some getting used to I have to admit. I've never been around royalty before, now two Queens are cooking for us."  
"They're grateful, plus we're awesome." I joked.

"How's Marcus?" I asked, becoming serious. Charlie sighed and sat down "he wasn't good. Not being able to sleep is an awful side effect of vampirism. He hasn't had a chance to rest his mind since Didyme passed. To him the last thousand years have been one long, excruciating day. The world kept on spinning and he never had respite. I modified a sleeping draught the Quileutes use, I made it stronger and added it to human blood. He's not asleep, but he's 'switched off' for a few hours. The emotional weight has been draining him, some time in stasis will relieve some of the pressure." He said.

Charlie looked me straight in the eye "I released his darkness." Whoa. "A millennium of grief festered in him, if Chelsea hadn't strengthened his bonds to Aro and Caius it would have consumed him. With the help of the coven of witches nearby I was able to store the darkness for later use against the Romanians."  
"Is there anything we can do to help?" I asked. He shrugged "we'll wait and see how he is when he wakes up." My gift nudged me_ get Jasper to show him the emotions attached to the bonds he sees_ I grinned. J will help him.

Bella stood up and hugged Charlie "thanks Dad, I really needed that." He patted her shoulder "I'm here for you Bells. Now go find J, he's probably pining for his fiancé" she smiled goofily and sped out the room "he's with Sulpicia and Dora" he called out to her.

Aro and Caius joined us, Charlie poured a couple of steaming mugs of the enriched bear blood and handed them to the Masters. Aro's eyes lit up "I've been looking forward to trying this!" He drank slowly and hummed happily, savoring the taste. "I can't believe it's not human" he said. "Thank you Charlie, the memories I picked up didn't do it justice."

Charlie smiled. "I hear our tonic worked in blocking Edward's telepathy."  
"It's a wonderful security measure." Aro said. "Emmett and Rosalie are now working with our scientists to create synthetic blood. We can't keep feeding from humans, they've evolved. You know better than most how forensics has made it almost impossible to hide dead bodies." Aro said, he continued. "Thanks to your guidance we'll be able to create a substitute that surpasses regular blood, in taste and effect. With your help we could change the world." Aro's voice trailed off.

There was something Aro wasn't saying, he caught my look and put his hands up "I cannot give you all the details at the moment, there are pressing issues we need to resolve first. I'll just say our dream, the reason we fought for control over the Romanians, will come to fruition."

I had seen the paths of fate and saw how they wove together, unity and peace. I realized that was what Aro was alluding to "you want unity amongst the species" I commented, Aro's eyes widened "your gift is remarkable. Do you see it happening?" He asked. "Yes, it's the same future I fight for. It's getting closer every day." I said.

Caius exhaled in relief. "That is good news, there's a lot of history that you'll hear from us when there is time. For the moment we must concentrate on the problems at hand." His voice became a low growl towards the end. "The Wars" I said. Aro agreed, "Yes, but there is also the matter of the Cullen coven. They've hid behind piety and self-righteousness and caused a lot of pain."

"How?" Charlie asked. I answered "Alice in particular has been problematic. Fate is currently taking restitution." The two masters looked shocked, Aro replied "I have a feeling you're wrong Peter. Edward and Carlisle are the ones behind the problems. They've become cruel, you saw what they did to Jasper." Aro paused, I nodded for him to continue. "They have done a lot of harm, both of them have to take responsibility. This goes further than mere slander against us. As leaders we will always be speculated about, but now there is distrust and suspicion. They have taken advantage of innocents and must be stopped." The shit was going to hit the fan with that Coven, I wondered if there was something wrong with my gift. Alice had been the cause of many deviations and had to be stopped.

Charlie changed the subject, they spoke about Marcus' healing. I had good news to impart. "My gift just gave me a message a few minutes ago. Jasper will be able to help Marcus."  
"Really?" Aro asked, he and Caius were instantly alert. I nodded, "Charlie has gotten the metaphorical monkey off his back, but he'll still need time to heal. At dinner-" I glanced at my watch "-later today, we'll get him to concentrate on the bonds he sees leading towards himself, J will send him our emotions. It'll progress him towards healing."

"Will he ever fully recover?" Caius asked. "I don't know-" my gift pinged me again _there is someone out there for him, a new mate._ "Holy shit! He has a mate out there!" I blurted out in surprise. "How is that possible?" Aro asked "Vampires are only supposed to have one true mate, Didyme was his everything."

I thought about it for a bit "has anyone survived as long after the death of a true mate?" I asked. They were quiet for a while. Aro shook his head "I suppose not, when a true mate dies we grant the remaining mate death, it's a mercy killing. This changes everything, Peter. We'll need to rewrite the laws sooner than expected. How can we factor this in?" He asked us. Charlie shrugged and said; "there's no guarantee that everyone has a second mate. I think full disclosure is the only option. Let people make an informed decision."

"I'll leave you to think" I said as I stood up "I should see Char."


	27. Part 2 Chapter 9

**AN: This chapter is a little fluffy in preparation for the Cullens arrival. Tomorrow's chapter will be pretty damn dark.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 9

BPOV

J and I lay cocooned naked in bliss. I felt him harden against my thigh and lazily pushed myself on to him, moving slowly. This was a bonding experience, not the desperate pounding of flesh against flesh.

Our hands ran over each other's bodies. I kissed the scars I could reach. "I love that you're so accepting of my scars." He said breathlessly. I smiled, licking the mating mark I'd given him. "I prefer to think of you as being ribbed for my pleasure." I said. He laughed, the movement adding to the electricity moving through my body. "You'll never cease to surprise me, Bella."

We reveled in the feeling of skin against skin; hugging, kissing, touching, gently thrusting. He was mine. I felt him release inside me, his face relaxed, absorbing the euphoria of the moment. His twitching inside me brought my own waves of pleasure. He was amazing.

The alarm sounded shortly after. It was six PM; time for a daily meeting followed by a feast cooked by the Wives and Healers. The Masters had given the four of us Horsemen the day off.

J was still inside me. I groaned, I didn't want this moment to end. My disappointment spiked as he pulled out of me. He kissed me deeply and said "we're going on vacation as soon as we can. We'll spend weeks connected." I watched him walk to the bathroom, he left the door open as he turned on the taps and stood under the shower. "Coming Bella?" He asked, I raced to join him.

We'd dressed in our full Horsemen uniform and were headed to Caius's sitting room. The Masters and Healers were already there. Pete and Char joined us not long after, dressed to match us in their cloaks and masks. "Before we adjourn to dinner I wish to discuss what I have learned about the Cullen coven." Aro said. He turned to Rose, "I saw a fuzzy recollection of a conversation you had with Bella when she was human. You spoke of Edward's immaturity and how the values from his human life became twisted. Rosalie, you were spot on. He sees women as possessions. Trinkets to sit on a shelf, on display until they wither and die or challenge him."

I felt used. Aro's voice softened "I'm sorry, Isabella." I heard a voice behind me; "the relationship bond I saw between Edward and Bella was predator and pray." Marcus stood in the doorway, his voice was stronger, but sadness affected his tone. I turned to him "Marcus! How do you feel?" I asked. He smiled and replied. "I'm getting better, thank you Bella. Are you okay?" I nodded and said "I can't help but feel stupid." J came up behind me and lay a hand on my shoulder "he isolated you from everything, manipulated every situation to suit his needs." He said.

"He's sick" Rose spat out. Her eyes were black. Aro nodded his head "You may be more correct in that assessment than you think, Rosalie. The Denalis are travelling with the Cullens. I'll ask Irina to assess him when she arrives."  
"What about Alice?"  
"She's coming with them. We need to assess her as well. She is dangerous with her power, but I saw snippets of something else, I'll need to read Carlisle to be certain."

Emmett was sitting next to Rose. I couldn't imagine what he was thinking about all of this. I caught Rose's eye and nodded my head to Em, he needed her. She sent me a sad smile and hugged her mate. Emmett raised his head and spoke. I could hear the agony in his words. "I hate that they've been given these powers only to abuse them. I used to respect them. Carlisle turned me, he taught me to value human life. Was it all a fucking lie?" Emmett paused and breathed deeply to compose himself. "They were my family and through them I hurt you, Bella, by leaving. You are my niece. My little sister. I love you so much and I abandoned you because of them." His voice was bitter.

I walked over to him and took his hand. "Em, you did what you could at the time. You were manipulated as much as I was. Believe it or not, you and Rose were protecting me by staying with them. Your presence curbed them from doing worse. You did the right thing by staying with Rose, you were where you were needed most." I said. Em nodded.

Aro continued his briefing. "There are many things I have seen that I need to question Carlisle about. As a so called father and coven leader there were things I saw in your minds that raise questions I need answered." He turned to J "I saw his methods pertaining to your episodes. I'm truly sorry you experienced that." He said.

I remembered a vague phone conversation with Rose, I strained my memory but it was no good. "Rose told me what happened while I was human, but I don't remember the conversation. Could someone remind me?" I asked. J nodded and asked Rose. "Rose, would you mind telling her? I don't remember much of it."  
"I know Jazz, you were blacked out at the time. I'd be surprised if you remembered anything."

She looked at me "J had an episode, it happened time to time. He was frozen, caught up in a memory." She turned to J and continued. "We panicked and took you home, Carlisle saw you and tried to snap you out of it by introducing stimuli that was supposed to shock you back to reality. He brought in a bag of donated human blood and waved it under your nose, you didn't move. When Edward told him you'd been used by Maria and taken against your will Carlisle tried to get Alice to perform sexual acts on you, she refused because she saw you'd rip her head off."

Venom welled in Rose's eyes, she cleared her throat and continued "Edward and Alice were angry at Carlisle for that. They helped run interference when you had other episodes later on. They'd distract Carlisle and Esme while Em and I sat with you." J hugged her and whispered in to her "I'm sorry you had to do that. It must have been triggering for you." She nodded "I got over it, I'm sorry we didn't do more to stop him." He stroked her hair and whispered "I'm safe, you're safe. We'll get through this." She smiled and looked to us. "J and I were both traumatized. When we'd start to lose it Em would be there, holding us and saying the same mantra." She explained.

The mood was somber. Aro sighed and resumed his report. "Rose, his treatment of you is something I need to question him on. He wanted Edward to be your mate when you were newly turned after a brutal attack. I can't get my head around that. I'm thankful you have Emmett. The fact that you saved him from that bear, and got him help while he slowly died in your arms, really shows your strength." Marcus agreed and said; "your mating bond is incredibly strong. One of the strongest I've ever seen."

Marcus squinted his eyes and looked between the two of them, I'd seen that look when he was looking at my bonds. "Huh. Your bond has changed, there's a glow." He said to Em. Aro's eyes widened "show me Marcus" Marcus held out his hand and Aro took it. "Fascinating. Peter, try and tap into your gift-"  
"It doesn't work that way, Aro."  
"I know that, but something has changed." Aro turned to dad "would you try looking at them as well? See if you can find any differences." Pete and dad turned to Em and Rose and squinted.

Pete's eyes widened and he started laughing. He held out his hand for Aro to take, he seemed unable to speak through his laughter. Aro smirked "at last! Some good news" he let out a chuckle. "Emmett, it seems you had a latent gift that just decided to pop up." Em's mouth fell open. Pete was struggling to maintain composure "you...can...take...gifts...away" he said, failing to control his laughter.

Aro smiled and explained. "Peter had an idea, if you could take Edward and Alice's powers away they could be rehabilitated to a certain degree."  
"What? Why now? How?" Emmett was struggling. Pete had just started to recover "it appears the fates saw the need for you to have this gift so they activated your blood line power. It could also be your proximity to so many family members. Bella, Charlie and I have active blood powers which become stronger the closer we are to each other. Yours may have reacted to the call of ours, although the timing is suspiciously perfect."

Aro smiled and said; "I agree Peter. It is very fortunate timing. I have been racking my mind on what possible punishments I could arrange and how to deal with their powers so they wouldn't be able to retaliate. This is a perfect solution."  
"So this would be a protective power rather than healing?" Emmett asked, Pete answered him. "Technically it's both. Some gifts in the wrong hands corrupt the holder, some cause pain to the holder and some are wielded by those with darkness already inside them."

Em turned to the masters, his eyes pleading as he spoke. "Aro, please. I want to watch their trial from the throne room. After what they've done to my true family I need to see them answer for their crimes." Aro sighed "it would be fair to let you, Rose and Charlie watch the trial if you wish. The problem is your disguise. If they recognize you they could use you as a distraction."

Rose's eyes widened and she pleaded with him. "We'll drink the human blood mix that the Horsemen drink, it'll change our eye color and our scent. Please Aro, I want to see this in the throne room. I want to see their eyes when they're confronted. We can't do that from the Laird's lug."  
"As long as you and Emmett are sure I have no problem. I'll arrange for masks to be made for the three of you. Any preference to white or green?" Aro asked, amused. "Green?" Rose suggested, the others nodded. "I'll ensure it's done. Charlie, you'll have to wear your venom robe, we'll make your mask silver to match it. Would you be opposed to wearing red contacts?"  
"No problem, Aro. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

There was the sound of a bell. "That would be my dear Picia, it appears dinner is served." Aro smiled. The atmosphere in the room had lightened considerably. "This will be a dinner of those in the know, we set up a dining room in the foyer of our quarters. Kate, Garrett, Jane, Alec, Mark, Evan, Felix and Demitri will be joining us." He looked over to us "you may take your masks off, but leave your hoods up just in case." We took off our masks, relieved we wouldn't have to feed through a straw.

The foyer held a large rectangular table with nine table settings on each side. Kate and Garrett were already seated facing us, they got up and greeted us. They congratulated us when we told them J and I were engaged, we didn't mention to anyone the circumstances of my proposal, it was a secret kept by Dora, Char and us. Dora winked at us and giggled when we were congratulated.

We took our seats, I sat with my fellow Horsemen. J was next to me, Pete and Char on his other side. Marcus and dad sat at the end of the table with Evan, Mark and Alec. They were talking quietly. Rose was sitting on the other side of me with Em next to her. I leaned over and whispered to her. "Thanks for being there for J all those years. I'm really glad he has you two."  
"Hey no mushy stuff" she smiled "we're family, you included. We take care of our own. Thanks to you and Charlie; Em and I have found a purpose beyond endless years repeating high school."  
"Yeah, how the hell did you manage it?" I asked. The more invested I became in the vampire world the less I cared about the education I'd left.

"I guess school was a place where the charade we lived was better. We could act like ourselves and the drama was normal teenage stuff. It felt like a reprieve in some ways. Home was so oppressive; Edward and Alice were there and there wasn't a buffer from them like there was at school. Esme seemed so desperate to keep us happy that we often pretended things were, just for her. Carlisle was too focused on his image as a benevolent doctor, he didn't look hard enough at what was really happening." She said.

"Are you happy here?" I asked. She nodded "we feel like we're part of a great future, essential, respected. It's unfamiliar to be valued for intelligence and the drive to help."  
"I'm glad you're here and working with dad. You, Em and dad are going to change the world." I paused before adding; "Thanks staying with dad while we were out fighting. I know you and Em would have liked to get into the mix and crack a few skulls."  
"Our place is by Charlie and Aro. The fact we're involved, part of something huge, means everything."

Our attention was diverted as Sulpicia and Athenadora entered the room with trays of bowls. We stood and bowed in respect. "Picia, darling" Aro smiled at his mate and took a couple of bowls, handing them out. Dora handed a bowl to Charlie "this is a risotto with tomato, onion and wild mushrooms."  
"Thanks Dora, Picia. You went to a lot of effort." He smiled at them. Sulpicia sat next to Aro and Dora went to Caius. She took her seat "our first course is pork soup. Dig in" she smiled.

There was a slight spiciness, it had a rich, slightly sour taste. Aro was delighted, "Picia, Dora, you made this?"  
"We spent an afternoon with Rose and Emmett, we watched as they made the different types of blood for different reasons and saw how they used herbs. We decided to try our hand at cooking for vampires." Sulpicia said proudly. Athenadora explained, "we were glad to find that we could create different tastes. I doubt there will be any enhanced effect like with the healers' remedies, but it's been fun playing with seasonings." Aro looked proudly at his mate.

There was only the sound of spoons hitting the bottoms of the bowls. When Charlie finished his risotto he smiled at the wives "thank you, that was amazing. I haven't had risotto before." They smiled and stood up. Caius collected the bowls and waved off any assistance. "We'll bring out the second course soon" Dora said as she and Picia returned to the kitchen.

The conversation struck up again. I turned to Kate who sat opposite me. "How have you been?" I asked. She grinned widely at Garrett "really good. We've been travelling around Italy since we arrived. It's been ages since I was anywhere but Denali."  
"I wondered why I hadn't seen you" Rose said.

"What's been happening since we arrived?" Garrett asked. "A lot I'm afraid." I groaned. Jane saw my look of irritation and took over explaining, I smiled gratefully at her. I didn't want to talk about Edward anymore.

J squeezed my hand under the table. I smiled at him "the wives are excellent cooks, aren't they?" I said. He smiled and nodded "it tastes like food. I remember having a similar soup while human. We lived near the border of Mexico, there were a few dishes that were part of the cuisine at the time. I don't remember much, but I remember a soup that was sour and spicy, we ate it with cornbread."  
"You should tell Dora and Picia, I'm sure they'd love to hear how it brought a memory from your human life, even if it's a little vague."  
"I'll tell them. It's weird, since being around you and Charlie I feel more human than I ever have. I love that Em and Pete are your blood relatives. In a way it cements that we're all one family, although it's kind of funny that they're now both my Uncles in law." I kissed his shoulder.

We all turned to face the kitchen when the door opened and the wives came out. They had plates balanced on trays. "We're particularly proud of this creation." Picia smiled. Dora put plates in front of J and I. Our eyes widened; the plate held a few small, jelly blood creations in different designs. "Don't let the consistency scare you away, we both tasted it as it set. It's boars blood Demitri hunted for us." I smiled at them and said "it's been a while since I had something so food like, thank you."

There was a heavier flavor to the blood, savory. The use of gelatin made sense, it was just another animal product. I tried another jelly and moaned. It was lightly flavored and balanced well with the taste of the first one. There was a taste of peppers, the flavor of the boar and spices. It was amazing. I hadn't tasted anything like it. The last couple of jellies tasted different again, spicy and savory and salty. Charlie had traditional lasagna with vegetables, part of me wished he could taste these dishes.

The last course was on its way out. I was starting to feel a little full. I smiled as I saw the tray of small glass bowls holding a deep burgundy foam. "Bear blood mousse for the vampires and chocolate mousse for Charlie" Dora announced. I took a bite and gaped at Dora and Picia in shock. It was sweet and thick. It was amazing.

Emmett smirked "licorice root?"  
"Oh hush, Em, don't give away all our secrets" Dora scolded playfully. Picia whispered conspiratorially "just a little licorice and a pinch of cinnamon." Wow. I practically licked my bowl. Emmett took the plates to the kitchen with Jane and Alec. Rose announced there was one more thing to come. "In my human days it was customary to have a glass of sherry to end the meal, Emmett and I have prepared one of Charlie's amazing remedies. Enriched bear's blood." Jane and Alec returned to their seats and Emmett came in carrying a tray of small, ornate glasses. There was a cup of coffee for Charlie.

When we had finished our meal Pete leaned towards J. "We need you to use your power for a minute." J nodded. Pete waved Aro over to us. "Peter advised us there was a way you could help Marcus. He's well on the way to being healed thanks to Charlie. We would appreciate your assistance." Aro explained.  
"What do you need me to do?" J asked. "As you know Marcus feels bonds, we would like you to show him the emotion behind those bonds."  
"Gladly" J smiled.

Aro stood up "Marcus, we have devised a little surprise for you." Aro smiled and turned to the rest of us "if you could concentrate on how you feel about Marcus we would like to have Jasper show him." There were a series of nods as everyone closed their eyes, I lowered my shield and thought of how he was silent, strong and compassionate. I was grateful he took in those boys and offered to teach them. I heard Marcus gasp and looked at him. "Thank you." He breathed. The other two Masters and the Wives smiled gratefully at us.

We retired for the evening. It was ten o'clock, the Cullens and Denalis wouldn't arrive until 4am. J and I wrapped ourselves in each other, the morning would come all too quickly.


	28. Part 2 Chapter 10

**AN: This is going to be a difficult chapter to read, I'm sorry if it triggers any of you.**

**S. Meyer owns all things twilighty**

CHAPTER 10

PPOV

Edward was in the throne room. He was unable to hear, see, smell, feel or move. Alec had carried him in the same way I'd carried him to the 'visitor's quarters' two days ago; tucked under his arm. Edward had been in a bad mood when I arrived with his 'breakfast' this morning. He glared at me and the thermos and sneered "I'm not thirsty." I'd shrugged and left it on a table. When I turned and walked to the door I felt the thermos hit my back. The little shit threw it at me!

Alec had been waiting as back up. He frowned when he saw my anger, I nodded to him and watched him walk into the room. I'd heard a thud as Alec released his power and let Edward fall, not bothering to freeze him like he usually did when he used his power. I took joy in opening the bent thermos and pouring the disgusting liquid down Edward's throat.

Alec posed Edward's unconscious form and froze it in place next to Felix. The room filled up, the whole guard lined the walls. Me and the other Horsemen lined up in front of the guard on the east side of the hall, just like last time. The Healers filed in and stood behind the thrones. Charlie was in the middle. His silver mask hid his skin tone, his red irises scanned the room. He was otherwise completely hidden behind his cloak. He smelled of strongly of vampire. I wondered who's venom had been used in the creation of his cloak.

Emmett stood to the left of him, towering over the other two. His mask was coated in green enamel rather than made from anodized titanium. His eyes were bright red, it was an odd thing to see on him, even with the mask. Rose stood on the other side of Charlie, her mask was enameled green like Emmett's. Her cloak hid her figure well, she wasn't here to look beautiful, even though she was still stunning. No, she was clearly a high member of the Volturi; important and respected. Their pendants were proudly on display, the light titanium crest with emerald stood out against the deep green of their robes.

Hushed whispers flitted around the room, the Guard were curious about the people in green behind the thrones. Some of the whispers were about us, nothing malicious, just wondering who we were. Many looked at the Volturi rings on our little fingers. The Masters entered and took their thrones. The room fell quiet. Edward was still frozen in place.

Aro addressed the room in his usual creepy and cheerful tone "we have a long day ahead of us, dear ones. To begin, I'd like to welcome another elite faction of our coven. The Healers." He waved them forward. Dad, Em and Rose walked around the thrones and lined up as we had previously. The Master's stood up "we are very lucky to have you join us. You have already helped us and those close to us. We are grateful you're here." Aro said. They bowed. The Masters approached the line of Healers, took their hands and placed rings on their little fingers. They were small circlets of platinum, the V had an emerald placed within the letter, in the same position as the sapphire in ours.

The Healers returned to their place behind the throne. "We have a treat for you dear ones, the Healers have prepared refreshments for all of you. It's a secret recipe that enhances our strength, it is truly delightful."

Picia and Dora carried trays of small cups down each side of the hall. The guard bowed as they received their sample. The Masters had been smart to have the wives distribute the blood, the guard would feel honored and would be less suspicious. There were several stunned looks as they drank the enriched bear's blood. Jane and Demitri collected the used cups and put them on a tray just inside the door of the smaller throne room.

"As the name suggests, our dear friends are here to heal and look after our wellbeing. I hope you all appreciate their skill and welcome them warmly." He suddenly dropped his manic look and smiled genuinely at the room. This was interesting, he was showing his hand by dropping his facade. I could tell it worked, there were many surprised faces who all looked at Aro and the Healers in wonder. No one would doubt his sanity regarding this decision.

"Demitri" Aro called. His voice was his normal baritone, not the higher more manic tone. Demitri opened the door. Bella and J straightened, focusing their gaze on the wall opposite us. In the doorway were the Cullens. While the others stared I glanced at the healers, the three were frozen and looking at their old coven intently.

Carlisle, Esme and Alice walked into the room. As they entered Alec released his power over Edward and Felix frog marched him to the center of the room in front of the kings. He looked behind him as he heard their footsteps. Carlisle walked in with his back straight and a worried look on his face, Esme kept her head bowed and kept a step behind Carlisle. Alice was looking around the throne room, her eyes glazed over. She smiled dreamily at everyone.

Aro kept his face neutral, the creepy look seemed to be gone for good. Marcus and Caius had also dropped their facades. The Denalis filed in after Carlisle, they bowed to the Masters and moved to the stand in front of the guard on the western side of the room. Eleazar was watching Aro, amused at the change in him.

Aro stood up and walked over to the Cullens. "Carlisle, it really has been too long. I wish we had met Edward under better circumstances." He said. Carlisle looked sad and replied "I apologize, Aro. We've been having some difficulty of late."  
"So I've seen, Carlisle-" Aro said, Marcus approached Aro and touched his bare hand, he nodded and Marcus returned to his throne. Aro's eyes looked troubled. My heart sank, but my gift didn't send out any warning bells.

I glanced at Marcus for any hint of what had happened. Marcus's eyes were clear, the film of apathy and grief had gone. Now his eyes now held sympathy. "I've come across some disturbing information, Carlisle. May I?" Aro said as he held his hand out, it wasn't the polite request it had sounded like. Carlisle cringed, but put his hand on Aro's. A minute later Aro withdrew his hand and nodded.

"Esme, may I?" She looked to Carlisle who nodded sternly. Aro held Esme's hand gently, patting it with his other hand as if to sooth her. "Thank you, cara mia." Aro didn't let her hand go, he called out to Marcus who drifted over and stood next to him. Aro nodded and touched his hand, passing information to his fellow leader. Marcus nodded and guided Esme gently out of the room. The Healers followed behind them as Marcus waived them through. I was concerned. Very concerned. Caius turned around to his wife and Picia, he asked them to follow after Esme and the others.

Aro then moved to Alice, she seemed aware that someone was in front of her. When Aro held out his hand she put her hand in his with a bright smile. Aro's eyes turned sad. He turned to Bella, "Death, could you please take her to the Healers?" He asked her.

BPOV

I locked my muscles, things were bad. Really bad, Marcus had taken Esme away, all three of the Healers were with her as well as the wives. What the fuck was happening?! Aro turned to me and asked me to take Alice to the Healers. I nodded and guided her out of the room.

I followed the scent trail of the others and knocked on Marcus's door. Picia opened the door and smiled sadly, letting us through. Everyone turned to look at me. Esme was shaking, Marcus held her in his arms. Rose sat next to her on the bed. I felt a lump in my throat. "Aro has requested the assistance of the Healers for Alice" I whispered. Alice spoke for the first time "you sound like a doll I used to play with, but Edward took it away. Edward's a bad brother, he always steals my toys." She frowned slightly.

I nodded at Emmett, dad leaned over and whispered "you can do this, close your eyes and picture pulling out the part that hurts."  
"You sound familiar too," Alice started "are you a toy soldier? I had one of them once, it was old and broken" her nose wrinkled in disgust and she continued "he made me feel safe, but then I saw him with the doll Edward took away. I got jealous and threw him out, he didn't make me feel safe anymore. I miss him, he brought me to my family and look at me now! I live in a castle, I'm a princess." She smiled, her eyes unfocussed. We froze in shock, Charlie tapped on Em's shoulder and they moved towards her.

Picia and Dora moved to Esme's side. "It'll be okay, Esme. The Healers will make her better. It might be unpleasant in a second, but she'll be okay. I promise."

Emmett and Charlie lay their hands on Alice's shoulders and closed their eyes. A white glow flowed from dad's hands and into Alice's shoulder. A trail of light moved up her neck, illuminating her skin.

Emmett's hands started to glow shortly after he touched Alice's other shoulder, a blue light moved through him and into Alice. Emmett frowned in concentration, his index finger twitched and he slowly pulled his hand back, the blue light stayed intact. He moved his arm back further, the blue light had caught onto something and his arm halted. He gritted his teeth and pulled. The blue light snapped into him bringing a yellow ball of light with it. It glowed in his chest and slowly faded. He sighed in relief and opened his eyes. I gave him a quick hug and he moved back to Esme.

Charlie continued to work. He shook his head, looking very angry and slowly withdrew the light. He opened his eyes and looked at me, he was heartbroken. "She will need a lot of work. The things that were done to her... I can't describe it." Picia came to his side "is she dangerous?"  
"No, but she should stay in the healing room until she recovers. I think I need War's help." He looked at me apologetically. I shook my head "it'll be okay," I said. I paused and asked dad "this is more complicated than we expected isn't it?" He nodded and said, "Carlisle has a lot to answer for." I saw Esme flinch out the corner of my eye as dad said his name.

Dora came forward "Picia, if you take her to the healing room I'll go to Aro and let him know what's going on. He'll have to pause the trial. There's too much information we need to sort through." The wives left with Alice.

I sat near Rose and Emmett. Dad had gone into the other room and poured out a cup of bear's blood for Esme, I saw him add a clear liquid to it. He handed it to Rose who gently lifted Esme's terrified face and fed her slowly. Esme's eyes relaxed and her body slumped slightly as the calming tonic began to work, Marcus kept her cradled in his arms.

Aro, Caius, Peter, Jasper and Charlotte came into the room. They kept their movements slow and stayed to the back of the room trying not to startle Esme. Jasper and Aro moved forward. Aro touched my hand and I dropped my shield to let him in. "S_he's Marcus' true mate. I think it'll help her to know she's among family. Peter says it's safe to show her your identities." _He said through his gift. I nodded and he continued. "_You should know she blames herself for this mess and she hates herself for your death. She feels so much guilt, we agree you'll be the best to help her."  
"What's happening with Edward and Carlisle?"_ I thought to him. His eyes darkened as he replied; "_We'll take Emmett with us and have him remove Edward's power. Jane and Alec will take them to the dungeons."  
"The situation's that bad?" _ I asked in surprise. Aro nodded and turned. He left with Pete, Char and Caius. J stayed standing close to me.

I moved in front of Esme and looked to Marcus. I pulled my hood back and removed my mask. "Esme?" She wouldn't turn her head from where it was buried in Marcus' chest. I smiled sadly. At least she's with her mate. I wanted her to heal, I needed her to heal. She's like the mom I always wanted.

I decided to try another tactic. I looked to J who nodded, he'd felt the fluctuations in my emotions. "Mom?" I spoke quietly. She stopped shaking, but didn't move her head "Mom, it's Bella. I'm here with you. I love you and miss you-" she started sobbing, I looked to J, I was feeling so helpless. He nodded at me to continue, he was feeling her pain.

I looked at Emmett and felt a burst of love as I remembered the mantra he had said to Rose and J when they were trapped in their emotions. "Mom, you're safe, I'm safe. We're here with you and we'll get through this together." She slowly turned and peeked out from Marcus' chest. I caught her eye and smiled "Hi mom."

Her breath left her as she turned to stare at me. Her hand moved shakily towards me, I slowly moved mine to meet hers. She hesitated before touching it. She sighed, her eyes widened and she looked from me to her hand disbelievingly.

"I'm here, you're safe. I love you." I moved forward and sat on the bed next to her. I gently hugged her, she let out a sob and clung to me. She had started shaking again. I looked to J who stood in the corner, he was smiling. I crooked a finger, beckoning him over. He took a deep breath before taking off his hood and mask. He ran a hand self-consciously through his hair. I smiled, he was so fucking cute sometimes.

He walked slowly over to us and stood just out of Esme's line of sight. I started talking to her. "Mom? There's someone here who loves you very much and has missed you." I felt her freeze, she gently nodded. J moved slowly besides me and knelt in a submissive pose "hi Esme." He whispered. I felt her move her head up and look at him "Jasper?" She breathed. He nodded and smiled, she held her hand out to him, he took it and let out a breath. "I've been healed" he whispered to her "the people in green are very important, they're healers. I was split into three" he swallowed heavily "the man in the silver cloak put me back together with Bella's help." He looked at me as he said "she's my true mate." He turned back to her "you're going to heal too. You're going to be so happy." He smiled and moved back and let Rose take his place.

"Mom, I want you to meet the healers, you'll love them" I said. Rose knelt, leaning into me. She pulled back her hood and slowly lifted her mask off. Esme leant back in shock "hi Mom" Rose said shyly. Esme smiled shakily, "Rosie" she whispered. Rose slowly stood up and kissed Esme's forehead. "I'm here. We're going to help you."

Rose moved back and let Emmett have his turn. He moved slowly, removing his hood and mask just like the rest of us "Mom! Guess what?" Despite his words his tone was gentle and quiet. She giggled slightly "what Emmett?" She played along. "I'm a super awesome healer" he said gently and smiled. He looked to dad "there's a man who helped us, he taught me and Rose how to help people. He's related to me. He's my great grand-nephew and he healed Jasper." Esme nodded nervously, Charlie stayed where he was, not wanting to crowd her. He lifted up his hood and turned around. He took off his mask and took out the red contacts before turning back and smiling sheepishly at Esme "hi Esme, it's Charlie" she gaped at him and looked to me. I nodded "yep, my dad's a super healer."  
"I'm confused" she admitted looking guilty, I felt J send some calm and love to Esme.

"It's a long story, Esme. Are you okay?" Dad asked her. She nodded "I don't understand what's happening" she suddenly realized she was sitting in Marcus's lap. She jumped up in shock and started apologizing. He held up his hand, smiling "it's okay Esme. You've done nothing wrong, caused no offence. You looked like you could use a hug, so I hugged you." Marcus said, looking like he would be blushing if he could. "Oh" she said "thank you." She looked equally as embarrassed.

"Mom?" Emmett started to speak "I need to run an errand, I'll be back soon" he chuckled "official healer duties" he winked at her before putting on his mask and pulling his hood over his face. He was off to deal with Eddie, Rose smirked and winked. J laughed lowly and sat down on the floor next to Rose. I joined him forming a semicircle in front of Esme.

Esme smiled and cupped her hand to J's cheek "you're really whole?" She asked him. "Yep, I stayed with Pete and Char when I left, Pete nagged me into trying something. He had the Jasper side of me write letters to the Major side, creating an open dialogue. It feels like so long ago, but it was probably within the last few months. So much has changed for the better, Esme."

He paused to collect his thoughts and continued. "Pete and Char taught me to meditate and made sure I kept in communication with myself. This is really weird to explain." He took a deep breath in before struggling through an explanation. "Jasper started to realize the Major wasn't out to slaughter everything that moved. He started feeling grateful for the Major who had only ever acted to protect him. Jasper went shopping for new clothes and found it didn't affect his thirst as much as it did before, he kind of enjoyed it too. He decided to let the Major have a day to himself to pick up some new clothes that fitted his personality since Jasper now had clothes that fitted his personality.

"The Major taught himself to drive, it was pretty funny. The Major had fun and shopped, but when he returned home and tried to give control of the body back to Jasper he couldn't find him. He meditated and he and Jasper were released. The barrier between the two personalities broke. " I looked at Esme as J continued his story, she was gob smacked.

"Jasper, the Major, Pete and Char drove back to Forks. Victoria had decided to go after Bella, it turns out that while I was going through my identity crisis" he rolled his eyes and I giggled "Pete and Char had been in contact with Bella, they got her to befriend the wolves in La Push and through them she found out Charlie knew all along about Vampires. The wolves, Pete and Char formed a friendship and defeated Victoria and Laurent together. Peter got Charlie to train with the spirit healer at the Res, Charlie and Bella both moved to La Push before the attack.

"Anyway, after the barrier between Jasper and the Major broke Pete sent the letters to Bella. Neither Bella or the Jasper part of me knew we were mates until later. She accepted me, all of me. Charlie and Bella moved in with us in Texas, Bella got Jasper and the Major thinking in sync, closing the gap between us. Charlie continued his training on the Reservation near our house. He healed me and found that the fracture between myself was kept open by the darkness that formed in my past. He took away the darkness and closed the gap, binding me together.

"After that Emmett and Rose joined us, Rose and Bella were out shopping when they were attacked by a newborn army. I had to turn her, we killed the newborns. We faked Bella and Charlie's death and ended up working with the Volturi to search and destroy any newborn armies we came across. That lead us here."

"You've been busy" Esme whispered, her eyes still wide. "J gave a very brief version of events" I admitted. "We've been working almost constantly, but I wouldn't change anything" I kissed J's cheek. "Oh! We're getting married!" I added lamely. Esme laughed "that's wonderful, you both look so different; comfortable and confident. You make a beautiful vampire, Bella." She looked at our hands, spotting our rings "they suit you" she said. I nodded and whispered "I actually proposed."  
"I honestly wouldn't have guessed. I'm glad you did, you're strong, selfless and deserve to get what you want." She said. I hugged her "same with you. You have all of us standing by you."  
"Oh, you're going to make me cry again." She laughed. Marcus smiled at us gratefully.

Charlie came over "do you need anything, Esme? I've made another batch of bear blood if you're interested."  
"That was bear?"  
"Yeah, I learned a lot on the reservation and was able to make a recipe to help Bella with her first feed."  
"You were there?" She asked. Dad nodded and explained. "I'm not human anymore, I'm a spirit walker. You see, Emmett's not our only uncle. Peter's an uncle to the three of us." He chuckled. "Pete was born into a tribe in Texas. He's Native American. After his birth, his mother fell in love with another man and moved into a new tribe with him. Like the Quileutes, they had a deep connection with the spirit world, only they don't turn into gigantic wolves. They are bound with the spirits of their ancestors and become immortal, like me. We're called Spirit walkers."  
"Oh. You weren't kidding when you said you've been busy" she laughed.

Aro arrived with Caius and the wives. "Is it okay if we come in?" He asked gently. Marcus looked to Esme who looked down and said "I'm sorry I've been so skittish." Aro moved forward "do you know what my gift is, Esme?" She shook her head, keeping it bowed. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. My gift allows me to see every memory you have with a single touch." She looked horrified. Aro continued; "I know it was a huge violation, I assumed you'd been told." He said gently, careful not to name Edward and Carlisle.

"I saw your pain. Esme, we do not tolerate cruelty. That's why you're here, you've been hurt badly. We're here to help." She fell to her knees and started sobbing, Aro looked guilty, I felt J blanket the room in calm. Rose and I moved to Esme, holding her. Rose talked softly to her "I know it hurts, I know that holding onto a secret like that burns, you have no reason to feel ashamed or guilty. Please Esme, let us help you. You've been so strong for us, comforted J and I when you could. You deserve so much better."

Charlie came up to Esme and slowly handed her a cup "this is a special tea I make to help vampires relax, I've used it a few times with Char. It's gentle and easily tolerated by vampire digestion." Her hands shook a little as she sipped the warm liquid. She soon stopped shaking and thanked dad. He took the cup back after she finished.

Aro sat on the bed in front of her. "I'm so sorry to be the bearer of bad news." He said, she nodded and returned his gaze "I understand, thank you for being candid. I'm not used to honesty." She replied, her tone grew bitter. Aro nodded in understanding "if you would like answers, I'll gladly tell you."  
"Can you tell me what's really going on?"  
"Of course. Edward came here after learning of Bella's death. He asked us to kill him, I saw his memories. It alerted me to some severe issues within the coven. He offended Marcus who decided to call Carlisle, believing the coven leader would set Edward straight. I needed to see what was really happening. Truthfully, this was meant to be trial. We'll have to hold a proper one soon.

"I gleaned a lot of disturbing information through my gift. Alice is currently being treated for severe mental illness; she completely devolved into a fantasy world. Edward and Carlisle are in the dungeons. It is better than they deserve, trust me my dear.

"During his studies Emmett developed a latent gift. It's part of the bloodline he inherited, like Peter, Bella and Charlie. Emmett has the ability to remove gifts. I had him remove Alice's gift because the others abused it and it was slowly turning her insane. At the moment Emmett's with Edward, removing his telepathy." Aro gave her some time to think everything over.

Esme finally spoke "Carlisle's not my mate, is he?" Marcus answered her "no. Mates would never be able to treat each other the way he treated you." She nodded and said "I spent a lot of time with Irina and Carmen, they were trying to help us communicate. Carlisle resisted, refusing to change. Don't get me wrong, he never hit me or anything. He's just a perfectionist." She tried to explain.

"I'm sorry Esme, but you're wrong. Psychological abuse is still abuse, I saw how hard you worked to keep your thoughts and decisions positive and in line with their wishes. I saw how Alice and Edward would become unbearable when your thoughts slipped. Their actions and motives go beyond perfectionism."  
"I thought I was going crazy sometimes." She whispered "when we went to Denali Tanya and Kate took Alice shopping. Carmen and Irina talked with me a lot. I started having unapproved thoughts, considering divorce. I even broached the subject with Carlisle. He refused because we were married, he'd vowed to stay with me 'in sickness and in health' he said. He thought I was ill. I thought I was ill."

"You're not." Aro reassured her. "I'm afraid the image he portrayed of being a good doctor was a complete illusion. The real reason you couldn't stay too long in an area was because the human hospital authorities were getting ready to strip Carlisle of his qualifications. He was negligent, Edward would learn of Carlisle's impending trouble and concoct a story about a human becoming suspicious. He and Alice even orchestrated Jasper's 'slip ups' as an excuse."  
"Why?" She gaped "Why would he do that? Why would Edward cover for him at the expense of the family?" Aro glanced at Marcus before returning his eyes to Esme "Edward is Carlisle's true mate."

**AN: Sorry for the cliffy, I'll update again tomorrow.**


	29. Part 2 Chapter 11

**AN: I decided to post early, there's a lot of real life stuff happening tomorrow. Sorry if I've confused anyone, next chapter will be up the following day.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight.**

CHAPTER 11

BPOV

Silence. Absolute silence. We froze as Aro dropped that bomb. Esme shocked us further by laughing. Full belly laughter echoed around the room. She clutched her sides and bent over, before sobbing a few times. She took a couple of deep breaths. We were watching her in concern. She had curled up in a fetal position, her forehead resting on the floor.

Her whispers were muffled. "It makes a sick sort of sense. Like a cosmic joke. For so long he told me the Volturi were heartless tyrants with no respect for life, he played the role of the compassionate doctor and devoted father. He painted himself to be the humble saint. Tell me Aro, did he use me to convince himself he was straight or because he wanted his mate to have the parents he'd lost so tragically?"  
"Both." Aro replied grimly.

"He was always judgmental about the same sex mates in our coven. We aren't human and he thought by clinging to the values he was taught by his father he'd retain his humanity. Our species doesn't characterize sexuality the way humans do. We fall in love with, and are attracted to, the individual, not their genitals." Aro explained. Esme nodded against the rug. He continued "same sex relationships have been around for as long as we have, many cultures and religions fluctuate in their views on relationships. Hell, the idea of monogamy and marriage for love is a modern invention."

"Was he scared of being mated to a male because of his religion?" I asked. Aro shook his head and answered. "Religion, culture, society in general isn't responsible for homophobia. People use it as an excuse, but it has no bearing on their beliefs. Many of our guard are religious and they have no trouble accepting their own mates and other people's relationships."  
"Does Carlisle know about the Guard being religious?" I asked. Aro chuckled "definitely not. They avoided him like the plague, he forced his father's ideals on everyone he spoke to. Quite a few of our coven were deeply offended by him."

Dad looked at Esme in concern. "Are you okay, Esme?" She hadn't moved from her position on the floor. "I'm a little freaked out" she admitted. Caius agreed with her and added, "There are a lot of changes happening, a lot of lies being exposed. It takes a while to get used to it all." Esme sniffled against the floor. She took a deep breath and explained. "For so long I couldn't trust my thoughts or feelings. I don't know who I am." She said. Marcus crouched down in front of her. "We'll help you get through this." He vowed.

She laughed a little and said, "I can't believe I'm here in Volterra, in a royal bedroom surrounded by the children I'd lost and the leaders of my species, talking to the floor." Marcus laughed lightly, "you're amazing, my dear Esme." She straightened up and looked at her true mate. "You don't think I'm stark raving mad? A lunatic?" She asked. Marcus shook his head, his eyes sparkling "not at all. I see a strong woman who is freeing herself from abuse. Surviving." She smiled and said, "This is the weirdest thing I've ever experienced."  
"Welcome to our world" J smirked, she pinched his cheeks, smiling in relief "you're so cheeky now." She gushed. Rose hugged Esme "that high you feel right now? That's the beginning of your new life, you're free mom."

We shifted slightly, sitting in a circle. Esme sat between J and I, holding our hands like we would disappear if she let go. We were sharing fond memories. Dad had joined us, sitting on the other side of me. Rose sat next to J. The three Masters joined us, sitting cross legged on the floor and leaning their backs against the bed.

Emmett walked in a short while later, bringing Pete and Char with him. They removed their masks and hoods and joined us on the floor. Pete greeted Esme; "hey there, momma bear." They sat next to the Masters, expanding our circle. "Hello you two, how have you been?" Esme said cheerfully. "We've been well." Char said, grinning widely at her.

The story telling started up again. Pete was telling Esme how Jasper and the Major sometimes fought, J chuckled as Pete recounted seeing the Major slap Jasper for getting worked up about meeting me. I was giggling. "We were glad that Major took the situation at hand; I was driving the truck with Jasper next to me. It was even doing Char's head in and she was in the sedan. I would have slapped him, given the chance." Esme was shaking with silent laughter. "It was like a game of 'stop hitting yourself' without a bully. On the way back Jasper got his revenge" Pete continued, I shrugged and added; "I liked the Major, he was funny."  
"Jasper wasn't fond of him at that moment" J said "he was afraid the Major would scare you away." He explained and rolled his eyes. Char teased lightly; "he should have known better."

"Can I ask why you wear masks?" Esme asked quietly. Pete fielded the question "J, Char and I have a reputation for bad arsery. After we escaped Maria's clutches we ran into the Volturi and made friends." Pete smiled at Caius "they'd just eradicated the new born armies and were heading home-" Caius interrupted, chuckling at the memory "I didn't know what to make of them; Jasper and Charlotte hung back, bowing their heads in submission. Peter just strolled right up to us with a cheerful 'howdy' and a winning smile. We brought them here, Aro read their thoughts and deemed them innocent. It was then that Marcus stood up and told us that Jasper and Charlotte are decedents of mine." He laughed at Esme's shocked face. "I was surprised as you are, Esme. They're distant descendants." He smiled at J and Char.

Pete took over, it was taking him a while to get to the reason for our masks. "We stayed here for a little bit, Caius spread the rumor that he had killed the Major and his Lieutenants. It gave us a clean slate." Pete caught Char's 'get on with it' glare and sped up his story telling. "Decades later, when Bella was turning, my gift slapped me across the face, it knocked me out. While incapacitated I saw a vision of the future and it was spectacular.

"My gift is similar to Charlie's. I'm Native American and was training to be a spirit walker when I was turned. Our tribe has two types of spirit walker; healers like Charlie &amp; Emmett and Protectors, like Bella and I. In this vision I saw Bella, J, Char and I promoted to our current role; Guardians of Fate. I can read the paths of people's fate. The four of us are guided to keep the balance and prevent some individuals from deviating the future away from the path of fate."  
"Wow..." Esme uttered.

"It's pretty awesome" Pete continued gently "fate gave us names." He paused, looking her directly in the eyes "we're not evil, I promise" he seemed to beg her. She stared back as she replied. "I won't judge. You've protected Jasper all these years. I trust you and Charlotte."

Pete cleared his throat, speaking quietly, his eyes imploring her not to be afraid. "The true definition of apocalypse is 'lifting the veil.' There is a lot of nastiness lurking in our world, blinding our kind. It will condemn us to remaining barbaric and feral. Fate wants to bring change, we will aide fate and the Volturi in bringing the supernatural world to peace. It is time we evolved, bettered ourselves rather than remain relics of conflict. Fate has named the four of us The Horsemen. Bella is Death, she's a powerful protector." He looked at me with pride "her compassion and gift are vital. Death doesn't have the same negativity as it does in the human world. For us Death is change, we die human and are reborn vampire."

He turned to J. "Jasper is War, he is a strong warrior. His mind was healed and bound together. He has the warmth of Jasper and protective side of the Major. He has reached his potential, the suffering he lived through honed his skills, giving him an understanding of the world and it's living creatures." He looked to Char "my mate is called Famine, her gift is to control blood lust. She is tactical, strong and able to protect us and the innocents we save."

He cleared his throat and shook his head "I am Conquest, but the ancestors named me Pestilence. My gift guides us to work with fate." He wrinkled his nose, still not fond of his name. "We are aiding the Volturi, there have been newborn armies sprouting up in the Southern states of America. Thanks to the Masters we can remain incognito, no one can know our true identities. Our reputation will grow, many will fear us. Some will want to challenge us, like in our previous lives. To protect us we wear masks and cloaks."

Esme nodded and touched Pete's hand "I understand. I'm glad you're all safe, I can't find it in myself to fear or hate you. I have to say, I'm surprised at the change that's coming. I'm only just beginning to see the hidden nastiness you mentioned. I ignored my instincts and lost myself to the lies." She sighed and looked to Aro as she continued. "I'm afraid that Carlisle has added to the obstacles you face in your mission."  
"We know, Esme. Carlisle has caused so much damage, more than we ever imagined. I see now that the man is a bumbling idiot, a quack." Esme nodded and added; "I'm still in shock, I was so sure he acted out of kindness and love." Aro shook his head and replied, "no matter what his motives are, his actions cannot go unpunished." Pete agreed; "Aro's right, Fate is seeking justice. It's people like Carlisle who have taken fate off its natural path. We must bring it back, right the deviations."

"We truly are in the midst of an apocalypse" Esme observed "you've all given me so much information. I feel like my head will split in half." She looked to Emmett and Rose, "the Healers wear masks as well?" She asked. Rose nodded and explained; "we, like the Horsemen, need to remain incognito. If they found out we were in Carlisle's coven assumptions would be made regarding our allegiance. Others may attribute our path as evidence of Carlisle's success." Her tone grew bitter "I cannot return to my former life, nor can I be associated with it. I'm not a trinket, something to be admired at from afar. Joining Charlie has given me a purpose, he's given Em and I a chance to help. To use our brains, not our looks. For the first time we're respected, we work hard to earn it and keep it."

Charlie smiled at Rose and added to what she'd said. "I have to disguise myself, I'm part of the supernatural world, but not of the same species. Vampires aren't ready to know about my kind yet. I wear a cloak made of venom and red contacts to keep my identity hidden."  
"I had no idea there were similar species to the wolves in La Push." Esme said.

"Do you have any other questions?" Pete asked Esme. "No, I'm still trying to digest everything you've said." She replied. "Perhaps we should retire for the night." Pete suggested, Marcus nodded and turned to speak to Esme; "would you like a tour of the castle? We have a lovely garden, I maintain it myself." Esme smiled and nodded "that sounds wonderful, thank you Marcus."

Esme watched us in amusement as we put on our masks and pulled our hoods over our heads. Pete turned to her "if you see us outside the Master's quarters, please only use our code names, few people know." She nodded and turned to Charlie, Rose and Em "what should I call you?"  
"We usually just go by Healers." Charlie answered. "But what if I want to address one of you individually?" She asked. Rose answered her; "Just refer to us Healer. We won't bother with names outside the Master's quarters."

"Okay, Healer and Healers." She turned to each of our masked faces and pointed, confirming our names. "War...Death...Famine... and Pestilence" She giggled at Pete's name. We nodded, Marcus held out his arm for Esme to take and guided her out the door.

We instantly turned to Charlie. "How is she?" Aro asked. Dad smiled and said; "she's strong. I won't need to heal her like I did with J and Marcus." He looked around the room "you should all be proud of yourselves, you helped her release her own darkness. The truth set her free."  
"I missed some stuff, didn't I?" Emmett said, he and Rose looked confused. Aro filled them in; "Carlisle's true mate is Edward"  
"NO FUCKING WAY!" Em gaped. We laughed at his surprise, J patted his shoulder "we feel the same way, Em."  
"I don't know whether to laugh or go beat the shit out of them for using Esme." Em mumbled. Rose turned to dad "she'll be okay?" She asked. "We'll make sure she is." Dad replied.

"Will she be able to stay here with us?" Em asked. Aro answered him. "I'd expect she'll join us soon." Emmett looked at him, wanting and explanation "Marcus is her true mate."

PPOV

Char and I were curled up in bed. It had been a long day. So much had changed in the last few days, at least it felt like it had. The rest of the world carried on without noticing the revolution we had started. _We truly are in the midst of an Apocalypse_ Esme had said. She had taken in the information and it had released her rather than broken her. I was looking forward to see her transformation.

My mind drifted to J, he was so different now. Familiar, but not at the same time. Was this what he was like as a human? He was confident, happy. There was something new, an innocence? I shook my head. No, he wasn't innocent, those of us who were born into war had lost their innocence. He was clean. Yes, the scum that had weighed him down was gone. I could only hope Esme's healing was so complete, I knew enough about Marcus to know he wouldn't hurt her.

I let myself feel the happy calm of my mate lying naked next to me. We'd have to get back to work soon, the longer we stayed here the more lives were lost in the pursuit of greed. I'd have to speak to Aro, perhaps delay Carlisle and Edward's trial. I had a feeling Esme would need to heal some more before joining her mate in the trial. She would need to witness the trial for herself. Maybe she could watch from the Laird's Lug near the ceiling, I'm sure Charlie would help her through it while Marcus was working with Caius and Aro.

Our alarm went off, I knew our time together was limited, but I still groaned. Char smiled sadly "no rest for the wicked" she said. I smirked "I'd say we're pretty virtuous, in fact I'd say were virtuous enough to have another five minutes together" I replied. Her laughter echoed around the room. I watched her move as she quickly showered. "Come on Pete, we've got work to do." She smiled at me. I breathed in deep, smelling our scent in the air, and hoisted myself into the shower as she dried and went to dress.

We headed to Caius' study, J and Bella were already there. We joined them. Charlie walked in with Rose and Em minutes later. We were all wearing our cloaks and masks. Caius greeted us as he entered the room and got down to business "we should have your official masks ready in the next few days" he told the Healers, he glanced at the rest of us and explained "there wasn't enough time to have the anodized titanium masks made so these steel ones are a temporary measure."

He sat back and began our morning meeting "we need to discuss our next movements. While we sit here the newborn wars continue. We have the trial of Carlisle and Edward to attend to and I know none of you would like to miss it. There's also the matter of healing Esme and Alice. There are a lot of things to deal with and we can't be everywhere at once. I'd like to know your thoughts on how we proceed."

I shared my opinion; "I think we should delay the trial. Keep Carlisle and Edward in the dungeon until we're ready. Are they in the same cell?" I asked. Caius shook his head, I continued; "I think you should keep them in the same cell, they are mates after all. It would be beneficial to their relationship and it will show some mercy in not keeping mates separate. It's Volturi law, Caius. Carlisle has a lot of allies, you need to be seen as acting in adherence to your own laws."

"I'll arrange it. It'll be interesting seeing their progress, especially now that Edward's gift has been removed. Maybe they'll realize some things."  
"Sorry Caius, but I don't think that's likely. They're blind to how they've affected others. In the meantime the Healers can work with Alice and Esme. Esme won't need much help, Marcus will be there for her. Alice on the other hand will need a lot of help. If I and my fellow Horsemen leave for America we can take care of the armies with a little help from you. We'll return when the threat has been taken care of." I said.

"What do the rest of you think?" Caius asked the others. J shared his thoughts; "I agree; give Esme some time to build on her relationship with Marcus and let Edward and Carlisle stew in the dungeon. It may be worth gathering witnesses for their trial, the Denalis could help you. It's important that you are seen to be holding a fair trial, Carlisle has deluded a lot of people.

"If the Denalis can help Aro convince others to testify, Carlisle's credibility will crumble." J said. Caius agreed, "that's an excellent idea." He said. Emmett spoke next "I agree with all you've said, but I'd like the Horsemen and the guard to have a safety net of sorts. I know us Healers are needed here, but maybe we can put together a first aid kit." We nodded in agreement.

Caius concluded the meeting. "I'll show Aro what we've discussed. Healers, would you be able to work on the Vampire first aid kit?" He asked. They nodded and Charlie spoke; "we can whip something up and have it ready by tonight"  
"Excellent, I'll arrange to have the jet ready to take us to the States. Will 10pm be too soon?"  
"No, we've got all the ingredients we need and there are a few coolers we can pack everything into." Charlie confirmed.

We headed to our rooms to pack as the Healer's headed to Aro's lab. Sometime later I heard Aro summon us back to Caius' study. There were a few guards sitting and talking quietly when I and the rest of the Horsemen entered.

Aro smiled at us and started to talk "some of you know the identity of our friends here." Jane, Alec, Demitri and Felix nodded. I recognized a few of the Guard who would be joining us, but I could tell they didn't recognize us. Aro continued; "Afton, Chelsea, Heidi; what you learn about them must be kept secret. Lives depend on it." He nodded to us and we pulled back our hoods and took off our masks.

Three mouths dropped open. Bella broke the silence, smiling and waving awkwardly "hi guys." Heidi smiled back at her then faced the rest of us; "I thought you were dead" her voice wavered. "We're sorry for the deception" J apologized and explained "we had to fake our deaths in order to live in peace. We've come out of retirement to help, but we're wearing disguises to ensure we'll be able to live normally when off duty." He looked at Bella and introduced her "this is my mate and fiancé, Bella." Heidi and Chelsea came forward to hug them and give their congratulations, Afton stayed back and smiled at the happy couple.

Aro updated them on our titles and purpose, Afton burst into laughter when he heard my code name. "Dude, you got a raw deal!" He said. I rolled my eyes and Aro continued "the Horsemen were able to capture the generals and leaders of a couple of armies. Caius and the rest of you will be acting as back up, travelling with our dear Horsemen and eradicating the armies. The Leaders and their Generals will be dismembered and put into bags to return to Volterra.

"Through what we've learnt there are many armies in the south eastern states. The Horsemen and some of our guards destroyed the armies located in Texas and New Mexico. You'll be landing in Louisiana and moving north east. When you reach the south eastern coast you'll return to Volterra with the prisoners. The Horsemen will double back and do a sweep of the southern states, they'll locate any stragglers. They'll return to Volterra when they reach the west coast."

There was a knock on the door. Charlie, Rose and Emmett came in, their masks and cloaks disguising them. Aro welcomed them. "Our Healers have put together a care package. There will be remedies to heal you and strengthen you on your mission. Demitri will be working as our communications officer; keeping everyone updated, rationing the supplies and arranging travel and personal needs." He moved to a cooler the Healers had brought in and opened it, smiling at the labeled contents. "Very good work my friends" he said to Em, Rose and Charlie. They nodded and left the room.

"I believe you have all the information needed. Caius will escort you to the cars and you'll head to the jet. On your journey our Horsemen will remain masked. At no time are you allowed to mention their real names or reveal any of their personal details. They have code names you must use when addressing them on missions and outside this room. No exceptions; Jasper is War, Bella is Death, Charlotte is Famine and Peter is Pestilence. Jasper will be the second in charge to Caius."

We went to collect our belongings and carry them to the cars, Mark was in the hallway with Alec. He was devastated that his mate was leaving on a dangerous mission. Bella went up to him and promised to protect Alec at all costs. Mark hugged her before turning to Alec and kissing him goodbye. Poor kid, I was thankful Char was able to fight at my side. It would be hard for Mark to be newly mated and so far away from Alec, especially knowing how bad the newborn armies could get.

Chelsea caught up to us in the bat cave, looking amazed and happy. Excellent, Aro had asked her to stop using her power on Marcus. As the others got into the cars I winked at her and whispered "the change in him is great, isn't it?" She nodded happily and whispered "I'm so happy for him, it's been too long." We got into the cars and headed to the airport.


	30. Part 2 Chapter 12

**AN: Sorry! I meant to post this earlier, but my boyfriend's selling his comic book at OzComicCon and needed me to bring him more copies to sell. We're hoping a publisher will be interested. *Fingers crossed***

**This is a short chapter about the Horsemen's mission in America with Caius and a few of the guard. I wanted to keep it short because I've already written about how the group fight together and strategize. In Chapter 13 they'll be back in Volterra.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight.**

CHAPTER 12

JPOV

Our mission had been grueling. We hadn't stopped or rested since we arrived in America three weeks ago. I knew it was going to be hard work, but I don't think anyone knew how out of control the Wars had become. They had to have started as soon as the Volturi left decades ago. It was heartbreaking to think of the needless deaths that had occurred as a result.

I was exhausted, the darkness was returning to my mind. Bella had been glancing at me worriedly for the past week. Char and Pete's eyes held a haunted look I hadn't seen since the bad old days. It felt like we were in a bad flashback we couldn't escape.

The armies we fought were smaller than the ones I'd encountered during my time in the wars. Many held as few as five newborns with one or two older vampire leaders. We had killed so many of them. Their faces swam through my mind, feral and angry as they had been when I tore them apart.

Mississippi and Alabama had been the worst. Those states had been swarming with vampires. They were feeding recklessly. Caius had taken me aside after we had cleared them. He looked older; a hardness glinted in his eyes. "We're doing this to save lives. It'll be over soon. I'm proud of you." He'd said to me.

We had reached Georgia, the armies weren't as prolific here, but they were still bad. We secured Atlanta and would be heading into South Carolina once we dropped Chelsea, Heidi and Afton to the airport. They were escorting the prisoners to Volterra. There were at least forty bags of disassembled vampire parts waiting for trial. Caius had stopped to buy more bags a few days ago. The dungeon in Volterra was about to become overcrowded. Hopefully Aro would cull most of the prisoners after he read them. I couldn't be bothered with this shit anymore.

Our plan was to clear South Carolina then follow the coast to Florida, clearing the state of newborns and their creators. Our final destination together would be Miami. From there Caius and the guard would return to Volterra and the Four Horsemen would double back and search each state until we hit the west coast.

I clung to Bella when we arrived at the tarmac in front of the private jet. I needed to be close to my mate, but the infernal mask kept us separated. I nuzzled my head against her neck as the others loaded up the plane. She gently pushed me on to the ground, kneeling beside me and holding me. I heard footsteps approach us. Bella was whispering in my ear "it'll be over soon, honey. We'll go on vacation and be by ourselves. We'll be okay I promise. This won't destroy us, I won't let it."

She was so amazing, she pushed aside her fatigue and sadness and did everything she could to support me. She was pushing determination and love into me as much as she could. The smell of death emanated from us. The smoke from hundreds of burning vampires had permeated our clothes, skin and hair.

I felt a jolt of surprise and relief in my mate's emotions, she kept stroking my back and whispering. I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and looked up meeting Charlie's gaze. He was wearing the red contacts and his mask. I felt love radiating from behind him, it felt maternal. I sobbed in relief as Esme stepped out from behind him.

I didn't realize how much I needed her. I hadn't had a real mother since my human days. Esme had always been a comfort, but now she was healing she was so much more. Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she looked at me; there was no pity, only love and concern. Her emotions were so pure. Esme knelt down and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm sorry sweetheart." She said. I leant my masked face against her shoulder, she stroked my hair and let me soak up her love and calm.

I felt Bella move away and I whimpered. She leant down and whispered "I'll be close. Nothing will ever separate us." I nodded and turned my focus to Esme. I heard Bella walk with Charlie, they stopped a few feet from us. I heard the swish of material as she hugged him and started sniffing. Her breaths were haggard. She was crying. Fuck, I should be comforting her. I felt so guilty. Esme cooed to me "shhhh sweetheart, I won't stand for you feeling guilty. You're both so strong and need a little extra help. That's why we're here. You've been so brave, all of you are so selfless to do this. We're all so proud of you." I just held her.

I heard Bella and Charlie walking and looked up, they headed to a cooler, Bella was clinging to Charlie like I was clinging to Esme. I looked around, each of our group had a thermos of blood. Evan and Mark were with Alec and Jane. The boys had arrived with Charlie and Esme. Mark was holding onto Alec for dear life. Evan was trying to calm Mark and show support to Alec and Jane.

I could feel Evan's gratitude as he spoke to Jane and Alec. "I hate that you're the ones who have to stop this war, but I'm so thankful for all your hard work. So many lives will be saved and others won't have to go through what me and Mark experienced." He said. Jane calmed down a little, but our collective anxiety was through the roof. It was hard not to keep looking over our shoulders for an approaching army.

Demitri was with Pete and Char, trying to help them in any way he could. Their emotions mirrored my own; hopelessness, sadness, anger, fear, determination. It was a shitty job, but we were the only people who could do it. Chelsea, Heidi and Afton were walking around to each small group and topping up the thermoses. Heidi came up to me and handed me a thermos. I could feel their guilt, they had shared the horror of our mission and felt guilty for leaving while we continued to fight.

I downed the enriched bear's blood, we'd had few opportunities to feed while fighting. "Okay sweetheart, today is a day of rest. Aro's orders. Demitri has been keeping him updated on everything, including the wellbeing of all of you." Esme said. She helped me up.

Charlie came over to me while Esme headed to Bella, he held my shoulder and searched my eyes "you're doing well, kid."  
"I don't feel well, I feel darkness clinging to me" I whispered to him. I felt guilty, he'd worked hard to heal me. "I can see that, but I can also see you resisting it. You may not feel it, but you're stronger than you realize. You and Bella hold each other together. She resists the darkness clinging to her as well. You make each other stronger." He said. He guided me over to the cars; everyone else was sitting in them already. They smiled at us as we joined them. Charlie drove the car Bella and I were in and Esme drove the other.

We arrived at a day spa, there was no sign of life within the building. I looked at Charlie who explained; "you guys need some pampering. The Masters booked this place for us to use." I nodded, I could use a shower. Charlie and Esme led us into a changing area. We separated and went to the men's and ladies bathrooms.

We undressed and headed to the shower cubicles. I saw Demitri open a cupboard and pull out a stack of bathrobes leaving them on a bench for us to wear. He bundled up our clothes and carried them out. A smile grew on my face as I heard Esme scold him. "Demitri! What do you think you're doing, young man? You drop them this instant and join the others."  
"But-" he tried to argue and was cut off by Esme. "No buts mister! Get back in there and get pampered or I'll call Aro and tell him you're disobeying direct orders." I laughed lowly and heard the others join in. I felt his guilt spike, Esme's tone softened "Demitri, you need this too."  
"I don't, I haven't been the one fighting-" Charlie's voice cut in "you need this Demitri. You've been looking after them and taking care of their needs. You're exhausted. Now get in there and relax."

Demitri walked in, his shoulders slumped. I heard the rustle of material as he undressed and got into the cubicle next door to me. "They're right, you know. You've worked just as hard as the rest of us. Enjoy the good times while you can." I said. I felt his gratitude and sent him back some calm.

The showers were amazing, jets were placed evenly along each wall. The water was boiling hot, I felt the tension bleed out of us. The smell of death and the ash that had clung to us drained through the grate in the floor. I got out and saw a pile of towels beside the stack of bathrobes. They were so soft. I quickly dried, put my wet towel into the laundry basket in the corner of the room and slipped on the bathrobe. The others were drying off and putting on the bathrobes.

I was surprised by how many scars the others had. Caius was covered in them, he had at least twice the amount I had. He caught my look and smiled "we cover our scars when together. We're not ashamed of them, we cover them so we don't intimidate and scare others of our kind. When we're alone or with our mates we uncover them, they tend to appreciate them." He smirked, his eyes softened when he saw my surprise "they judged you for your scars, didn't they?" I knew he was talking about the Cullens. I looked down and replied, "only Edward, Alice and Carlisle. Esme and Rose haven't seen them and they didn't bother Em." I spoke softly and tried to shrug it off. He just nodded as if I confirmed something for him.

Felix threw an arm around my shoulder. "Forget about those idiots, you're with us now. You're mate doesn't seem to mind them. She's pretty cool." He said. I smiled and confirmed "she's amazing."

The ladies came out of the showers not long after us. Esme and Charlie led us to a room with yoga mats lined up on the ground. Charlie directed us through meditation while Esme left the room with Evan. Mark was hugging Alec as he meditated. Alec was slowly calming in his mate's arms.

Emotions swirled around the room, each held the flavor of their owner. I saw the room lighten through my eyelids as the pressure that had built up was released. Calm and relief swirled around us. There was love and happiness joining the emotional climate. I enjoyed the warmth that flowed through me, it was soothing. Charlie's voice lead us back, he looked exhausted. He had healed a whole room full of vampires all by himself. I looked at him and sent my gratitude his way. He nodded at me.

Esme and Evan walked in carrying a tray of mugs. Steam rose from them, venom pooled in my mouth as the scent hit me. Esme handed me a mug and I drank more of the enriched bear's blood. I felt recharged. I looked at Bella and sent her a wave of my love. Her eyes sparkled with happiness. Caius stood up and thanked Charlie. We returned to the changing rooms, I waved to Bella as she entered the ladies room.

New cloaks hung on hooks around the change room. Below each cloak was fresh, clean clothing and our pendants. Our names had been labeled neatly on each pile of clothes. Masks lay on my pile of clothing and Pete's. The smell of sandalwood and pine oil emanated from the pendants and masks. Esme and Evan had cleaned them. Venom welled up in my eyes, I looked to Pete, his eyes were glassy too. It was such a thoughtful gesture. I felt appreciated. There was no smell of death, the smell of the fragrant oil calmed and energized us. I dressed, loving the feeling of cleanliness. We walked out to the foyer, dressed, hooded and masked. I hugged Bella, she smelt like jasmine and magnolia.

We were beside ourselves as Charlie and Esme entered the plane with Chelsea, Heidi, Afton and the boys. A new determination entered our emotions; we would finish this and go home. The castle in Volterra had become our new home. We headed to our next destination, ready to tackle the battles before us.

BPOV

After dad and Esme had left we set out with renewed vigor. It had been two weeks since they had healed us. South Carolina hadn't taken long to clear out, it was a small state in comparison to the worst ones. The southern parts of Georgia were difficult, but it was sheer stubbornness that drove us on. We wanted to go home, we wanted to finish this. Vampire Wars would not be allowed to rear up again.

We had reached Miami, the last army had been destroyed, it's leaders were scattered between bags with their enemies. There were only ten bags of miscellaneous body parts. The mood had lightened. The guard were going home and I would be with J, Char, Pete and Demitri. We needed the time to ourselves.

As per Aro's orders we took a week off in Miami. Pete and Char stayed at a hotel on the other side of the city from us. Demitri was enjoying the nightlife; going to clubs, walking the streets and exploring the area. He would be our comms officer until we returned to Volterra. The week passed in a haze of lust, flesh against flesh and tenderness. It was just what we needed.

We set off, doing a run through each state, ensuring there were no ambitious vampires looking to start an army. Demitri drove behind us, keeping Aro informed and carting around our luggage. He stopped us regularly to ensure we were well fed. The private jet that had taken Caius and the guard back to Volterra had arrived with fresh supplies from the Healers. There were coolers full of enriched animal blood, human scent changing blood and a few bottles of elixir that would disable the gifts of vampires we captured. It was the newly designed Volturi first aid kit. Demitri would hand us a cup of animal blood and flask of human blood daily. He had become an honorary Horseman.

The week in Miami had also helped our mission, it gave potential army leaders time to regroup and let down their guard. We encountered pockets of rebellion while running through the states, they were easy to pick off.

A few times we'd come across humans in the process of turning, we'd snap their necks and burn their bodies. It was a better fate than letting them be turned into tools for greed. Where there were humans in the midst of changing there was an aspiring leader close by. Demitri would tap into their mind and give us the co-ordinates. We missed nothing. We'd occasionally come across a nomad and Demitri would talk to them, telling them of an elite Volturi guard called the Four Horsemen who enforced the Volturi law in the USA. Hopefully word would spread and no one would dare create a newborn army.

By the time we got to California the boot of our car held seven bags of vampire parts. Most likely these prisoners would be executed, but the Masters were clear on our orders; they wanted us to bring rebel leaders to them.

We arrived at the airport. We carried our luggage to the tarmac and packed the plane. We had brought souvenirs for our friends. The Healers would each have a small collection of souvenir tea spoons from each capital city we visited (Pete thought it was hilarious to give human feeding implements to those who didn't eat.) J and I had bought a case of Rainier Beer for dad.

Pete had also bought the wives and Esme a collection of tea towels with prints relating to each state we visited. We all pitched in to buy more appropriate gifts for the queens; a pink Morganite pendant for Dora, a Californian Jade pendant for Picia and a rose gold pendant in the shape of a phoenix with a red tourmaline stone clasped in its feet for Esme. All of the gems had been mined locally.

J had come across two ceremonial confederate army sabers, he bought both; one for himself and the other for Caius. Pete bought Aro some cowboy boots and a set of John Wayne movies. I added the DVD of 'Little Big Man' to the John Wayne collection. With Demitri's help I bought Marcus, Em and Rose a collection of seeds for plants indigenous to the southern states. We bought t-shirts for the Guard, some of them were a little inappropriate; Peter had bought the ones for Felix, Afton and Alec and threw in some ostentatious belt buckles.

We'd each secretly bought a gift for Demitri; Char and I bought him platinum dog tags with a large sapphire to mirror the stones in our Volturi pendants, Peter bought him a large collectable plastic figurine of Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Demitri said that he suspected Aro had used the character as inspiration for our uniform.) Finally, Jasper bought him a copy of conspiracy theories relating to the end of the world, he was helping the Four Horsemen bring about the Apocalypse after all.

The flight was both relieving and tedious. We couldn't wait to get back to Volterra. Demitri loved the gifts we gave him, "You're one of us now, man." J said. He immediately put on the necklace with the dog tags Char and I had bought him and said he'd get titanium replicas. He and J were flying the plane, Demitri had put the Shredder figurine on a bench near the controls.

Demitri had bought us gifts as well; he'd had made four black t-shirts with the slogan "I started the Apocalypse and all I got was this crummy t-shirt." I loved it!

We landed at Pisa International Airport and sighed in relief, this was the official end of our mission. I didn't want to go back to America for a while, the wars had changed how I saw my home country. The Volturi had become our extended family and I looked forward to seeing the Masters and the Guard.

We were surprised when Aro, Esme and the wives met us in the Arrivals lounge. Aro hugged and congratulated us on a mission well done. We were surprised by the affection, Demitri was especially so. They had hired a minibus to take us and our luggage to the Castle. The wives gave us thermoses of their latest creations. We were effectively given a three course meal on the ride back. We entered the bat cave with amused relief. The whole coven was waiting to welcome us, we handed out the presents and excused ourselves. We just wanted to lie down in our beds with our mates.


	31. Part 2 Chapter 13

**AN: S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 13

JPOV

Dawn approached, sun beams shone against our skin causing us to glitter. There was a knock on the door followed by Marcus' voice calling to us; "there's a meeting in an hour in my sitting room. Don't worry about your cloaks and masks."  
"Thanks Marcus, we'll be there." Bella announced, I shot her a little irritation and she laughed, skipping off to shower.

I chased her to into the bathroom and she pounced on me, I immediately wrapped her legs around my hips and plunged into her. Her laughter cut of and she thrust against me, clawing at my back. I pushed her against the wall of the shower. She clenched around me and bit into my neck, with one more thrust I spilled inside her and bit over the mating mark I'd given her. We washed each other tenderly, taking our time. Unfortunately, there were only so many places one could scrub clean and we were on a deadline.

We met a thoroughly satisfied looking Pete and Char in the corridor, they smirked at us. Pete's smirk died when he remembered my mate was his great x5 grandniece. We all wore the t-shirts Demitri had given us and jeans. I laughed at Char's bunny slippers until she brought out a pair for Bella to wear, my mate squealed with joy and hugged Char.

The Healers were already in Marcus' room when we arrived, they had also dressed casually. Charlie hugged Bella and waved to me over her shoulder. "Hi Charlie, how did you recover after healing the whole lot of us in Georgia?" I asked. Esme came through the door and hugged me "he slept for a full week. The Masters were worried." She said and playfully glared at him.

The other wives joined us, I was surprised to see them in yoga pants and t-shirts. Dora caught my curiosity and smiled "Esme took us shopping!" She announced, Sulpicia grinned and added "modern clothes are so comfortable." Their eyes had turned gold while we were away, it was a nice surprise. Emmett gave me a customary bear hug and Rose smiled and kissed my cheek.

Aro, Marcus and Caius arrived in their usual robes, Aro was wearing his cowboy boots. We sat down and they caught us up on everything we'd missed while in America. Emmett started the debriefing. "Little has changed since we put Edward and Carlisle in the same cell. For a week neither of them talked, it was awkward. Edward got pissed off that he couldn't hear anyone's thoughts and started throwing a tantrum. He complained about how he was treated, the food, his accommodations and our behavior towards him and Carlisle. Carlisle yelled at him to shut up.

"The silence was even more awkward after that. They glared at each other for a few days before they started yelling at each other. I'd visit them daily, keeping out of their field of vision. They yelled for a long time, then Edward kissed Carlisle." He shook his head at the memory and continued. "That made things worse, instead of accepting it they fought each other. They yelled out to us, begging us to separate them. Ever since then they've sat on opposite sides of the cell and avoided eye contact."

"Em, we were gone for more than a month!" Bella yelped. Aro nodded and explained. "I was curious about that too, I touched both their hands to find out what was going on. Honestly, I'm surprised they lasted this long. They're fighting the mating bond. I understand that both of them come from strict families who instilled a fire and brimstone view of sex. In Carlisle's day any sexual act other than penetrative sex for reproduction resulted in a death sentence. In Edward's day they saw non-reproductive sexual acts as a sign of mental illness. Carlisle added to Edward's intolerance with his own interpretation of scripture."

Aro sighed. "It was always a point of contention between Carlisle and I. Don't misunderstand me, I have no problem with people believing what they do, I just can't understand the intolerance. Carlisle and I spoke at length about why he felt the way he did. He said it was religion and society that showed him the path to purity, but when I saw his memories I could see how his father beat his values into him.

"Our conversations were always one sided. He'd try to convert me and never considered my perspective. Carlisle was always preaching about a man who may or may not have existed two thousand years ago. I'm over three thousand years old, I've met many good men and women and many evil ones. There have been those who inspired me and those who became an example of what not to do. I can't give myself to a religion that's unfamiliar and the reason for so many lost lives.

"I'd try to ask Carlisle questions, but he'd get offended. This prophet he told me about died and rose three days later, was it unreasonable to ask if he had turned into a vampire?" Wow. I didn't know how to answer that. I'd lost my faith a long time ago, the only belief that guided me now was Fate. Bella shrugged "I wasn't raised religious, it seems like a fair question. I've never thought of it that way." The others nodded in agreement.

Rose was the next to speak. She brought us back to the point of our meeting. "We've been doing our best to heal Alice." Her voice waivered and she paused to collect herself. Aro took over "I have to be the bearer of bad news on that front. I'm aware she found out some of her history after the nomad, James, attacked Bella." We nodded and he continued.

"You know she was a patient in a mental institution during one of the more barbaric periods of mental health care history. Alice's hair is so short because she was shaved bald before she was turned. It was a common practice to keep 'patients' head's shaved because of the poor hygiene and frequent lice infestations. One thing that's important to note is that the visions Alice had growing up had caused a lot of damage to her psyche, she was very ill.

"I saw that Alice found out that there was a vampire in the asylum who cared for her, protected and turned her. He was her true mate and he was killed by James. What wasn't known until recently was that he was not the only Vampire attending to the mentally ill humans. Carlisle was there too." We froze in shock. Dread flooded the room. "Carlisle was the one who took care of her admission and became her primary doctor.

"He was overly curious about the 'modern' practice of Electro Convulsive Therapy and Lobotomy. He saw her as a perfect candidate. He started putting her through several courses of ECT; because of its recent invention the current was dangerously high. Carlisle kept increasing the voltage of her treatments, beyond the recommended guidelines. Anesthesia wasn't used in those days.

"He grew impatient, she wasn't improving. When he had reached the highest current capable of the machinery he gave up trying to cure Alice with ECT. He decided to lobotomize the poor girl. He destroyed what was left of her mind.

"Three months after he scrambled her mind Carlisle was fired, the humans noticed he was too eager to try extreme forms of 'treatment.' Her true mate started the investigation into Carlisle's cruelty and made sure Alice was transferred to his care. It was too late. The damage had been done.

Was this why Alice and I had been so easily accepted into the coven? Did Carlisle recognize her? I asked my questions aloud. Aro nodded, his eyes blackened with hatred of his former friend "he recognized her. That is definitely the reason why you were both given a place in the coven. Carlisle kept her as a testament to his 'skill' as a physician" his voice was cold and deadly. Carlisle would pay.

I felt a jolt run through Pete and looked at him. His body sagged with grief. He explained the shift in his emotions. "Sometimes I get messages that don't give the full information. I assumed fate was seeking retribution from Alice because of how she treated you and abused her gift. My ancestors just gave me the rest of the information. Fate is seeking retribution FOR Alice. I hate that I assumed she was a villain, I should have seen there was something wrong-"

I cut him off "none of us knew, least of all Alice. She had no idea what was going on, she remembered nothing about her human life. The only person at fault is Carlisle. Let him hold the burden of guilt." I pushed my determination at him. I wasn't going to let him take responsibility for someone else's fuck up. He nodded and some of the sadness lifted. Fuck it. I blanketed the room with calm, Peter's grief had been engulfed by anger toward Carlisle. There was a miasma of hatred, sadness and anger in the room.

Char turned to Pete; "if you'd known you would have intervened. Fate only gave you enough information to keep you on your path. You're a good man, Peter. If you or any of us knew we would have acted sooner. Perhaps Fate needed Alice to be bought to Volterra, perhaps Fate needed Charlie to finish his training before healing her, perhaps this is the best moment for Carlisle to be exposed as the vile, sanctimonious cretin he is."

Charlie quietly reported his diagnosis. "Her memories are blocked. Parts of her brain were broken beyond what venom could repair." He was seething with rage, but he looked outwardly calm. "Healing her will be a long process, we must do it in stages and give her time to acclimate. The madness that she developed as a human has been cleared, that was the least of her problems.

"We keep her sedated, in a sort of limbo between awake and asleep. This will protect her mind from the hard flood of reality. We've moved her into Aro's quarters, near our rooms so we can be close by. We talk to her a lot, hopefully she'll see there are people who care and it'll help her. Esme has been a saint, taking care of her physical needs and comforting her. I am doing my best to repair the connections in her brain, but it's a huge mess in there. She gets better a little each day. She's still in a vegetative state, but is gaining awareness with each new connection."

"What will happen with the trial of Carlisle and Edward?" Char asked, I could feel her rage brimming beneath the surface and shot her a little calm. Aro answered her. "We're ready to proceed early tomorrow morning. The Denalis have been a great help, Eleazar is greatly respected in our world and he's been in contact with many people. We need to expose Carlisle for who he is. A few old friends of Carlisle's have turned up in his defense and, if I have your permission, I will share Carlisle's memories of his treatment of you."

"You're welcome to show his memories of me." Esme said "in fact feel free to give them my memories as well." Marcus looked to her in concern, she looked back at him with determination "they have to know everything Marcus. They need proof of his deceit."

"You can show his memories of me too" I said. Rose echoed me; "mine too, can you show them my memories of how he treated Jasper?" Aro nodded. Peter spoke next "Aro, if you make his supporters the jury, give them power over his judgment, it'll go a long way towards undoing Carlisle's slander against the Volturi."  
"Will it work?" Aro asked Peter. "Yes, my gift is telling me fate will do what it takes to ensure his demise."

"Who is coming to defend Carlisle?" Esme asked curiously. Marcus answered her "Amun from the Egyptian coven, all three in the Irish coven, the Amazon coven and Alistair."  
"Alistair's coming?" Peter was shocked. Aro nodded "yes, he's quite eager to defend Carlisle against us." Another jolt ran through Pete and he barked out a laugh "Alistair will rank Carlisle lower than his feelings towards royalty." Aro smiled in surprise.

"Maggie's coming?" Char asked, Dora answered "she's offered to confirm any truths and lies. We'll put her with the Jury." She said.

Caius directed the conversation to our recent mission "we have interrogated the prisoners. The leaders themselves have been executed. However, with the generals we were able to decide on their fate quickly. Of the 38 generals 13 were executed straight away, 17 opted to join the guard for 6 months and are now part of the lower ranks and 8 requested freedom, we granted it on the proviso they check in with us yearly and allow Aro to read them."

"How long ago did the armies start?" I asked. "57 years ago, a week after we ended the first Vampire War. It has helped us realize that we need to watch the area closely. We've promoted Demitri to coordinator of excursions, he'll be able to run missions relating to maintaining the peace." Aro said. I smiled, Demitri deserved it.

After a full five hour debrief the meeting concluded. Bella and I spoke quickly. "Bella, I need to see Alice." I said. She agreed "I want to as well. After what she's been through I want to help her. Will you be able to help her with your gift?" She asked. "I'll try, there isn't much I can do, the Healers are taking care of her. I just want to see the real her, the person she has become as a result of Carlisle, not the person who hurt me and deceived you."  
"I understand, J. You were with her for a long time, you saw the worst of her and you need to see her changing and healing." I let out a breath in relief. I had no wish to start anything with my ex and Bella knew that. Her feelings were similar to my own; she wanted to see Alice for who she really was. We caught up with Charlie, he was glad we wanted to see her. He escorted us into Aro's wing and led us to her room.

Alice was paler, smaller than she had been when I saw her last. Her eyes were golden, but looked empty. Esme had dressed her in a purple t-shirt and brown yoga pants. She was so thin and lifeless, so different to how she'd been. I was so accustomed to her excitement and joy, now she was just a shell. Charlie hugged Bella who was shaking and sobbing. I loved Bella's compassion. I sent her a wave of love and kissed her forehead. "We will ensure she gets justice." I said. Charlie nodded in agreement.

"Will she remember everything?" I asked, he nodded "every moment of her existence. Her human memories will be fuzzy like they all are for vampires, but she'll remember everything."  
"Will you be able to pinpoint the moment she remembers?" I asked him. "I should be able to get a few minutes warning before it happens."  
"Good, let me know when it's going to happen. I'll be here. I know one way to punish Carlisle." Charlie's eyes widened, pride mixed with his need to avenge the girl he was healing. "You're going to absorb her emotions and give them to Carlisle?" He asked. I nodded. "Damn J, that's a great idea."

"It's perfect for him and no less than he deserves. I'll find out from Aro how many lives his taken and show him the equivalent emotions of each human he took. I have killed a lot of people in my time, Charlie, and I felt their fear and desperation. I will show him what he did."  
"Fuck I'm glad you're on our side. There may be something I can do to add to their punishment, I've been in contact with a coven of witches. They have shown me how to bottle the darkness I remove from people. I've already bottled Marcus' for later use. I'd gladly do the same for anyone who has been hurt by Edward and Carlisle" Charlie said.

I looked at Bella, her eyes were black and she smiled strangely. I felt a shudder go through me, she truly looked like Death personified. Her emotions swirled between rage and excitement, she was 100 % in agreement.

We sat with Alice for a while longer talking to her like a distant friend. Bella turned to her dad "if J sends his emotions to Alice will she feel it?" He nodded and confirmed "she'll feel it, just like she can hear everything you say now." She turned to me "please J, send her my emotions" I closed my eyes and held Alice's hand. I focused on Bella's emotions; love, forgiveness, concern, protectiveness. I sent them to Alice and heard Bella gasp. My eyes snapped open and I looked down; there was a hint of something in her eyes that hadn't been there before. It was the shadow of her consciousness, she was getting closer to awakening. I could tell it would be a while before she joined us, she still needed so much healing.

"Hey there Ali. My mate, Bella, wanted me to send you her emotions, that flood of emotions you felt belongs to her. That's how she feels about you." I concentrated on my own emotions; concern, friendship and forgiveness, and sent them to her. "Those were my emotions. Just know you're safe and Charlie is here to help." The deep abyss that had been there was receding, but I still couldn't sense her emotions or see the person I used to know. Any small improvement was a relief.

We watched Charlie work, the glow from his fingers travelled up her neck and swirled behind her forehead. Occasionally there would be a little spark. Huh, I guess Charlie meant it literally when he said he was fixing connections. Rose came in and smiled at us, she moved to the corner and prepared some enriched animal blood for Alice. We said our good byes and headed back to our room in Caius' wing for some alone time.

RosePOV

Alice was slowly healing, but I knew the emotional scars would remain. I spent a lot of time watching over her and talking to her. I painted her fingernails a slightly darker purple than her top, her nails looked black against her skin. "I hope you don't mind me doing this." I whispered to her as I painted. "I don't want you to feel violated."

I finished her nails and rolled up a towel under each hand to let them dry. "Charlie's going to be with you all day today, he's special. He heals us, he can remove the darkness. He's healed me, Jasper and Marcus already. It hurt when he healed me, I hope you're not in pain." Em poked his head in the door "nearly time, Rosey." He said quietly. I nodded and smiled. Looking back at Alice I said good bye "I'm sorry I have to go, I'll be back soon. Good luck today." I kissed her forehead.

We headed to Caius' study for the day's briefing. We weren't going to dress as healers today, we would be ourselves. Play the part of the Volturi guest and hope no one would work out who Em and I really were. I'm so glad Em got rid of Edward's telepathy. I need my strength to get through the trial, I don't want to waste energy on blocking him.

We entered the study and sat down on a love seat. Esme handed us cups of bear blood. Last week Aro and Caius had told us they planned the trial for today, we had stopped having the human blood that reddened our eyes and changed our scent and kept to the Master's quarters so no one would see our eyes lighten and our scent change back. I was glad for the slight alteration to our diet, I'd missed Emmett's scent so much.

The meeting was brief. We all just wanted this over and done with. Aro began. "We'll start by introducing everyone. Rose, Emmett and Esme will be introduced as former members of the Cullen coven and witnesses to their crimes. Those who are here for Carlisle's defense will sit on a small stage we've added, they will form our jury. Maggie of the Irish Coven will act as spokesperson, she will call out any lies she senses. If there are questions asked that you don't want to answer, say 'pass.' We cannot be seen to influence or manipulate anyone.

"No one but Edward and Carlisle are on trial, if you have difficulty you just need to raise your hand and we'll call a recess. I commend you all for your strength and bravery." Aro said. I watched as the Horsemen choked down their human blood, grinning at the look of disgust on Bella's face. She poked her tongue out at me before putting on her mask and pulling her hood over her head.

The Masters and Horsemen waited to line up, Em and I waved goodbye to them and headed to the entrance with the Guard, Carlisle's defense group and other witnesses. Heidi arrived shortly after and reiterated what Aro had told us...blah blah blah...don't lie...blah blah blah ...raise your hand if you become overwhelmed...blah blah blah. Esme, Em and I stood away from the others. I was worried and a little afraid, a lot of secrets would be revealed today. Emmett stood with his arms wrapped around Esme and I. She was shaking slightly from nerves, her face pale. I caught my reflection on a piece of polished bronze and cringed, I looked as pale and vulnerable as Esme.

The Denalis came over to us, Irina hugged Esme and I and patted Em's arm. The whole Denali coven stood by us, Garrett had joined their ranks, his eyes had turned gold since we last saw him. Together, they shielded us from the suspicious looks Carlisle's defense group shot us. The guard stood stoically around all of us, I knew many of the Guard were doing their best to keep their faces blank. Seeing them here was helpful.

Then it began. The doors opened ominously and we entered, Felix and Demitri guided everyone to their places.


	32. Part 2 Chapter 14

**AN: This chapter comes with an epic trigger warning. There will be details of abuse, the memories written in Italics should be avoided if they are likely to hurt you. Good luck readers.**

**S Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 14

Rose POV

We were led into the throne room. There was a wide bench to the side of the room that would sit Esme, Emmett and I comfortably, it faced the thrones. On the other side of the room was a small stage with chairs for each member of the 'jury.' The guard took their place along the walls of the throne room. The Horsemen entered, standing in front of the guard on our side of the room. They were close to us, about ten feet away. They stood still and kept their eyes straight.

There was an audience of twenty people, they stood behind us. They whispered when the Horsemen entered. Some of them had come across the Horsemen on their mission to clean up the Second Vampire War. Many tried to guess who the Horsemen were behind their masks and cloaks.

The Masters entered and stood in front of their thrones. The room quieted and Aro stepped forward, his face was neutral, there was a clarity to his eyes the audience and jury hadn't seen before. I saw a few of the Jury's mouths drop open as they saw Aro's true demeanor. Few people knew that Aro was one of the sanest, most well balanced Vampires around.

Aro's addressed the room. "Welcome, everyone. Today is a sad occasion, one which must be taken seriously. Lies have been told and many vampires and humans have suffered because of it. Our trial today is a little different. Out of respect for the Accused and his mate we have offered those in the defense to make a judgment call, they will decide on the guilt or innocence of the Accused. With everything we have discovered we know there will be many shocking facts revealed. Should any one present at the moment feel the need for a break please raise your hand. You will not be punished for needing time to collect yourselves."

The eyes of the jury landed on Esme, I could see their confusion. Aro had said Carlisle and his mate were on trial, many had thought Esme was his mate. "Before we begin, are there any concerns or questions?" Aro asked. The vampire who spoke was thin, thinner than any vampire I'd ever seen. His skin was tightly wrapped against his bones. His cheeks were hollow, his eyes sunken. He stood, determined to find answers. "How will we know our judgment has been taken seriously?"  
"Alistair, whatever your ruling is, we will abide it. Should you wish him freed and an official apology issued we will do that immediately. Should you rule him guilty the sentence will be carried out as soon as possible, you will be able to witness it if you choose." Aro promised.

Alistair nodded, but didn't look any less suspicious "how will we know you're not tricking us?" He asked. "Maggie of the Irish Coven has the power to see deception, she sits with you and any lies will be revealed instantly. Our aim today is to bring out the truth." Alistair looked to Maggie who nodded. Alistair looked confused, but didn't ask any more questions.

Aro waited a full minute and continued when no one asked any more questions. "Alec, Jane. Please bring out the Accused." The door opened and Carlisle and Edward walked in, they were neatly dressed and stared at the floor as they stood next to the jury. Aro continued "this is the trial of Carlisle Cullen and his mate, Edward Cullen." There was a gasp amongst the jury and audience, Maggie's eyes widened comically and she announced "he's telling the truth, Carlisle and Edward are mates." Edward's eyes blackened and he started screaming "no! It's not true! It's a sin!" Maggie was shocked, she confirmed Edward was lying. Alistair's eyes shot to Maggie, he stared at her, searching for the lie in the vampire lie detector. His eyes widened when he found no hint of deception. He turned and looked at the screaming Edward.

Edward saw the looks of distaste on the faces around the room and stopped screaming. He pinched the bridge of his nose and ground out "they must have got Chelsea to alter our bonds." Aro immediately responded "we have not altered the bonds of you or your former coven members."  
"Truth" Maggie announced. "Chelsea must have altered them on a whim" Edward spat. Aro sighed and turned to his guard "Chelsea, dear. Could you step forward?" She stepped forward, her eyes angry. "I have not altered any bonds of the current and former members of the Cullen coven." She announced clearly. "Truth" Maggie confirmed. Carlisle shot Edward a glare, Edward had just confirmed they were mates by accusing Chelsea.

Aro kept his face neutral and started asking the questions. "Carlisle, you are aware of our most sacred laws, as is Edward. Please, confirm for us; what are our two most sacred laws?"  
"Never tell human what we are and never interfere with mates." Carlisle said. Aro nodded sharply. "You are lucky, both of you. We were aware of the human, Ms. Swan, and others monitored the situation leading up to her death. She learned of our kind through your actions and you left her with two nomads seeking to murder her. You left her unprotected and with knowledge of our world." He said.

He turned to Edward "I saw in your memories how you lead the human girl on, telling her she was your mate when you had knowledge that she was the mate to another."  
"She was made for me!" Edward growled "her blood called to me and her mind was blissfully quiet."  
"Yet, you refused to turn her." Aro said. "Of course! I loved her-"  
"Lie" Maggie announced. Her eyes were darkening with anger. "I needed her!" Edward yelled.  
"True" Maggie said.  
"You needed her blood? Or did you need her because you wanted to hide your sexual orientation?" Aro asked, Edward looked horrified "what? No!"  
"Lie." I felt bad for Bella, I had suspected he used her as a beard, a tasty beard. I pushed my sympathy and love to J hoping he would pass it on.

Carlisle had paled as he heard the motivation behind Edward's relationship with Bella. Peter's words floated through my mind _Apocalypse really means 'lifting the veil.'_ Was Carlisle's world ending? Aro directed his attention to Carlisle "I thought you a learned and compassionate man. Tell me, what qualifications do you hold?" Aro asked. He was toying with him now, "I've been dedicated to healing for a few hundred years Aro, you know that."  
"And you've returned to study repeatedly?" Aro asked. Carlisle voice was full of pride as he answered. "Of course, there is always new information. I have several degrees in medicine and psychology."  
"In your years of study was there anything you took from the phrase 'do no harm?'" Aro's voice was neutral, Carlisle was starting to look offended.  
"I live by it-"  
"Lie" Maggie gasped. Many jaws dropped. Carlisle's eyes darkened in anger and he glared at Maggie. "Medicine is a discipline that can cause pain to heal. I learnt the best methods and put them into practice. I'm a respected doctor in the human community."  
"Lie" Maggie spat. Aro interrupted their exchange, "we have far to go, Carlisle, in exposing your fraudulence and cruelty. You know all our laws even the ones that limit the cruelty caused by our survival.

"Carlisle, can you please explain how is it that when a member of your coven had a PTSD induced episode you attempted to utilize clear triggers to see what would happen?"  
"I was trying to snap him out of it!" Carlisle growled. I put my hand up, J would need a minute to clear his mind. Aro caught my movement and nodded "we will take a short break. Please return to your positions in five minutes." The Masters, Horsemen and Guard exited the room, Jane and Alec lead Carlisle and Edward to the waiting room.

Jane returned to the room, walking quietly towards us. "Are you okay?" She whispered to me "I'm fine, Janey. I figured War and Death could use a break, it would look suspicious if they asked for a recess." I whispered, barely audible. "Death told me she could kiss you. Aro is also very glad, he said he was a second away from losing his shit." She said. I smiled "are they okay?"  
"They will be, we're lucky the head healer isn't here." I nodded, Charlie would have attacked.

Esme leaned over "how are you doing, honey?" Jane smiled at her "I'm well, the trial is going well despite how awfully it affects you guys." Esme patted her hand "don't worry about us honey, we're made of stronger stuff." She winked at Jane. "Do you want me to pass on any messages?" Jane asked. I nodded and said "just tell them; 'you're safe, we're safe. It's going to be okay.'" Emmett smiled, the tension releasing from his shoulders. Jane nodded and left the room.

The room filled up again, the guard followed by the Horsemen. They stood facing the opposite wall like before. Their posture straight and stiff. I felt a beam of gratitude from J and squeezed Emmett and Esme's hands. The audience returned and the Masters filed in.

Jane and Alec lead Carlisle and Edward back in. Aro continued exactly where he left off, interrogating Carlisle. "You admit to using triggers against a coven member you called a son, to break him out of his flashback?" Carlisle nodded stiffly. "Did you ever talk to him? Learn about his abuse? Did you ask or support him to gain the information necessary to make a sound judgment call?"  
"There was no time, he just became catatonic."  
"How long exactly had he been in your coven before he had this episode?"  
"Two years, but-"  
"Exactly, you invited him into your coven but made no attempt to get him settled. The accolades you received from working with humans took priority over the people you called a family."

Aro shook his head "that is only one example of your incompetence, both as a healer and a coven leader. When did you first study psychology?"  
"1914"  
"Did you treat many war veterans?"  
"Yes"  
"Did you use triggering stimuli to treat their shell shock?"  
"Yes, I sedated them afterwards. It was successful." I found that hard to believe. "Lie." Maggie said.

Aro continued, cutting off Carlisle's response to Maggie. "How long did you work with war veterans?"  
"One month."  
"Why did you change employment?"  
"Some humans got suspicious."  
"Lie" Maggie said. Aro repeated the question. "Why did you change employment, Carlisle?"  
"We had to move, we'd lived there too long."  
"Lie" Carlisle's eyes turned black and he snarled "they asked me to leave, they didn't appreciate my efforts!"

Aro turned to the Jury and spoke, "If it please the Jury I wish to share Ms. Hale's memories with you." I was glad he was able to control what memories made it to the others. "You may decline to offer of her testimony if you wish." Aro said softly. "How do we know you won't take our memories?" Amun asked. "I promise I won't. My gift is switched to pass memories through, not pull memories in." Eleazar spoke from behind us "his gift is indeed switched from receive to send."  
"Eleazar and Aro speak the truth." Maggie announced.

"You are welcome to decline seeing Ms. Hale's testimony, you aren't required to give a reason." Aro reiterated to the Jury. They nodded. He held out his hand and they each touched an index finger to his palm. I took his other hand, and felt the sensation of my memories falling through a funnel.

_Jasper, Emmett and I were out hunting. I finished my deer and returned to the guys. Emmett was waving a hand frantically in front of Jasper's face. Jasper was frozen, his eyes black and his face contorted in agony. We carried him home and took him to our room, I'd recognized the signs and knew he was stuck in a memory, unable to sense the world around him. _

_Carlisle rushed in "is he okay?" He asked, checking Jasper over. He took Jasper's shirt off, saw the scars and I saw recognition in Carlisle's eyes. I was shocked by my brother's scars, but vowed never to mention them. He'd been through hell. I would keep his secrets. _

_"He's having and episode, bring him to my office." Carlisle ordered. We lay him down on the sofa in Carlisle's study, he didn't move. Carlisle left the room and returned with a bag of blood. I yelled at him "what the hell are you doing Carlisle? He's trying to stay vegetarian!" Carlisle rips the bag open and waves it under his nose. "Damnit, that should have worked!" He muttered._

_Carlisle was panicking. "You'll make it worse! Stop it!" I was screaming at him and Emmett was growling, standing in front of Jasper, shielding him. Edward walked in looking terrified and announced "he has similar experiences to Rosalie" I looked at him in anger, that wasn't his secret to tell. I growled at Edward and Carlisle yelled for Alice. She walked in confused "what's wrong with Jazzy?"  
"He's caught in a memory. Alice, tell Carlisle to leave him alone, it'll make him worse!" I begged her. Alice looked at Carlisle in shock. "What are you thinking Carlisle?!"  
"If you stimulate his genitals it'll shock him out of it. It worked in the past."  
"If I do what you're suggesting he'll rip my head off, then he'll kill you."  
"It'll work! I know it will Alice." Carlisle pleaded. "No Carlisle, it won't." Alice stood her ground._

The memory stopped and the draining sensation disappeared. I looked at the Jury, they looked like they were going to be sick. They looked to the floor, considering what they'd just learnt. I walked back to my seat.

Aro took a few steps back and started questioning him about me. "It was a couple of decades after Edward was turned that you came by Rosalie Hale." Carlisle nodded in confirmation. "What were the circumstances you found her in?" Aro asked. "She was attacked and dying."  
"You turned her?" Aro asked lightly. Carlisle nodded. "Why did you decide to turn her?"  
"She was beautiful, I thought Edward would like a girlfriend."  
"True" Maggie confirmed.

"Did you treat her mental trauma before you set them up?"  
"No." Carlisle spat. Aro didn't miss a beat. "You came across a woman who had been brutally assaulted, changed her and set up a date with Edward?" He nodded. "Why wasn't she treated for the trauma she suffered?"  
"She didn't need it, she was fine. She was the kind of girl Edward would appreciate."  
"How were the other women of her time different?"  
"They were loose, frivolous. Rosalie woke up and was quiet and conservative, I didn't notice any trauma." I was dumbfounded by Carlisle's words. Was he some sort of fucking psychopath?

Aro turned to Edward. "Edward, did you pursue Ms. Hale?" He shook his head. "Why?" Aro asked. "Her thoughts were too willful, she didn't listen to me. I couldn't get past her attack, I wanted something clean." He sneered. Carlisle buried his head in his hands. Did Carlisle have the audacity to feel ashamed of his mate? How the fuck was his treatment of me and Esme any fucking different? I felt like I would be sick, but locked my eyes with Edward's. I squeezed Em's hand in comfort. He had locked his joints and froze so he wouldn't lose control of his temper. Edward dropped his gaze first. Weak. Pathetic.

Aro turned and addressed the Jury "once again, Ms. Hale has agreed to testify. The memories she is willing to show you are horrific. It is your choice if you wish to hear it, again, you need not provide a reason to decline." Siobhan stood and walked up to me, she towered over us. Leaning forward she searched my eyes. There was a flash of something, then recognition colored her eyes "I will not need to see the testimony. I have a history of my own and I know the look of one who has suffered." She said. Aro nodded and held out his hand, one by one the other Jury members placed their index finger in his palm. I touched his other hand and felt the sensation of my memories falling through a funnel once more.

Flashes of memories passed my mind's eye;  
_cold, terrified, dying, cobble stones on the street press into my back, pain, I've been ripped in half. I'm exposed to the world, I want to die. Carlisle's face appears before me. He looks me over, bites me and carries me. _I shudder. Another memory flashes through _I'm lying on a table, burning in agony. I can hear Carlisle and Edward talk 'Carlisle, she will not be my mate. Her thoughts are horrible. Why not just kill her? She was going to die anyway.' Carlisle shook his head 'she has a right to live, her life was taken by others."_ I hated them so much.

Images flashed quicker and quicker, glimpses of Carlisle's attempts of matchmaking, my pain as emotions caught up and drowned me, trying to claw my face off to escape the beauty. Finally the sensation stopped and the memories fell back into the past where they belonged.

Aro let go of my hand and waved for Emmett to come to me. My mate's eyes were black and his muscles strained against his skin, but he picked me up gently and carried me out of the room. I caught sight of my reflection in a window we passed. My cheeks had hollowed, eyes were blank, skin paled. I looked like a corpse.

Emmett cradled me, kissing my forehead and rocking gently. "I'm okay Em" I breathed. "I know Rosie, you're strong and brave and nothing ever gets in your way. I'm so proud of you."  
"The trial?" I asked. "Recess." He said. I nodded. Jasper and Bella ran into the room. They kept their distance, J sent me pride and warmth, trying to counteract the shame and cold that permeated my bones, I always felt this way when I got caught up in memories.

"I'm okay, really guys. It just takes a little while for my body to relax." I said, my voice was growing stronger. J nodded and asked; "Charlie healed you, didn't he?" I nodded and explained. "The memories hurt, but they don't overcome me like they used to."  
"I can feel that, I can also see your eyes brighten and the color return to your face." J observed. Em's muscles relaxed and he sighed in relief. "I love you, Rosie." I leaned up and kissed him "thanks for helping me Em. Love you too."

There was a knock on the door, Bella opened it. Aro was standing there looking guilty "Come on in Aro, I'm fine. I promise."  
"I still wish to apologize Rosalie. I'm so sorry I forced you to relive it."  
"You didn't, I offered to relive it. They needed to know." My voice grew stronger. "This is my Armageddon, Aro. I will fight. We must all do our part to lift the veil of bullshit. This is a trial by fire and the good can only succeed by exposing the darkness." Aro shook his head "perhaps we should finish for the day?" He offered. I stood up and shook my head "no, Aro. I'm just getting started." I walked out of the room and headed towards the throne room. I heard J chuckle "that, Aro, is Rosalie Fucking Hale."

Footsteps echoed behind me. I threw open the doors and marched to my seat. Head up. Back straight. Tits out. Edward and Carlisle were going to see the real me and they would tremble before me. Emmett ran to me and picked me up, hugging me tightly against him. "We're getting married, again, after this is finished." He said smoothly, I smiled "damn straight."

JPOV

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. The women I loved had all been scorned and I couldn't lie; they terrified me. Rosalie's emotions invigorated me, she stood up and testified for me. She was amazing. Bella blinked away the venom in her eyes and breathed out "if I was a guy I'd be so hard right now. Fuck, I'm glad she's on our side." She sniffed and took a few deep breaths to compose herself. Rose's words had uplifted everyone, Aro was still with shock. His emotions were in turmoil; disbelief, amazement, familial love and protectiveness. I'm going to have to ask Marcus about their bond later. Finally, others saw Rosalie Hale the way Em and I did.


	33. Part 2 Chapter 15

**AN: Hold on folks, another bumpy ride in this chapter.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 15

JPOV

We headed back to the throne room and lined up. The Guard and our Masters kept their faces neutral. I focused my senses towards the Jury. Their emotions had changed since the start of the trial. They looked haggard. The suspicion had lessened against Aro. There was a huge feeling of betrayal towards Carlisle and disgust for Edward. The jury had only learnt half the truth so far. The worst was yet to come.

Since the start of the trial I had been stockpiling emotions from Rose, Em and Esme. When Rose had testified on my behalf I absorbed the emotions of the jury into the mix. I took in Rose's pain and hatred as she shared the secret break in her soul. A gigantic boulder of emotions hung around my neck, it was cocooned in my gift and growing constantly, but I was more than capable of handling it. I would take the negativity born out of Carlisle and Edward's arrogance and throw the full force of it at them.

Aro started talking again. He was really going for the jugular today and I loved every minute of it. I felt lighter, stronger, and cleaner. This was a purge for us all. "How do you explain your treatment of Esme?" Aro asked. Carlisle felt afraid for the first time since the trial started "I love her."  
"Lie" Maggie confirmed. Carlisle's fear was gone, his anger at Maggie had returned.

"Was she the Bella to your Edward?" Aro's voice was deceptively calm. "She is my mate and Edward's mother, she wanted a son." Carlisle answered. Aro nodded, the feeling of malice spiked in his emotional signature. "Yes, Carlisle. I understand the drive to fulfill your mate's every wish and desire" Carlisle's anger fade and the prickle of hope appeared in him, it would not last long. "Even if it means filling the role of being his father and finding a traumatized woman you can manipulate into being his mother." Yep, there went his hope, his anger was back.

"We were a family! She was a good mother." He shouted. "And who better to fill the role of a mother than a tortured woman who had just lost a son." There were gasps all around the room. Esme started shaking; pain and relief warring within her. She needed this. She would be heard. She would take back the parts of her he had stolen and rise strong.

"I gave her a home, a son, a family!" Carlisle roared. Aro's voice remained steady. "Yes, Carlisle. You gave her a home where she was constantly monitored by your son and daughter, her every thought and decision was judged and criticized." Aro's voice was calm, he turned to Maggie and raised an eyebrow. "You speak the truth, Aro" she said sadly.

Aro continued. "Esme is a gem; precious and kind. What you've done to her is an atrocity. You lied to her, molded her into Edward's twisted ideal of a mother and crushed her personality until she was little more than a husk. She too came to you with trauma in her past and you lied to her, broke her."  
"I didn't-" Carlisle started to protest. Aro cut him off. "Carlisle, who was it that told her she was your mate?" He asked. Carlisle's head dropped, he had no answer and was feeling sorry for himself. Aro turned to the Jury "Esme Platt is here today to offer her testimony." He walked over to her, she stood up and gritted her teeth. She was determined to get through this. "Once again, you can decline." He said as he offered his hand to the Jury. They didn't bat an eyelid before placing their fingers in his palm.

Esme clutched Aro's hand, she was so desperate for validation, for recognition. Esme's emotions fluctuated in contrast to Aro's and the jury. She felt relief, they felt hopelessness. She felt listened to, they felt neglected. She felt love, they felt hate. Her shaking stopped as the last memory passed to the witnesses. They felt pain, she felt calm. I sent her a jolt of pride. She had faced her past and looked it in the eye. I felt love and pride swirling around Marcus, I was glad the mask hid my smile.

Aro continued "we have a further witness, trained in mental health. She and her coven sister attempted to resolve the problems they witnessed in Carlisle and Esme's relationship." He nodded to Irina and Carmen, they joined him near the stage, holding out their hands for Aro to take. The emotions that had overwhelmed the jury became numb when they saw the Denalis. This was another nail in the Cullen coffin.

Aro repeated the process, sharing memories from Irina and Carmen with the Jury. Frustration. The room was flooded with it, the memories would showed their futile attempts to intervene. I'd felt that frustration every time we visited the Denali coven. The tide had turned, the jury had begun to accept the facts as Aro presented them. I couldn't thank the Denalis enough for their testimony, they were very highly respected in our world and they stood up for all of us. A few looked to Carlisle, trying to work out how he'd tricked them. He stared back, desperation oozing out of him. Edward crossed his arms and sneered at the jury, he wanted to avenge Carlisle.

Siobhan put her hand up. Aro smiled sadly "I believe now is a good time to pause. You have been shown a lot of painful memories and need time to digest what you have heard. We'll meet back here at dawn." He nodded to Alec and Jane, they escorted Carlisle and Edward to the dungeon. He turned to Caius and nodded. Caius walked and opened the doors behind the thrones, Sulpicia and Dora were there with trays of cups filled with warm, enriched, bear blood.

"We have been fortunate, very fortunate indeed, to have come across an Elder with a gift for healing. He has been assisting us in taking care of those in need of his services. I am also pleased and proud to announce that Ms. Hale and her mate, Mr. McCarthy have been learning his trade, they have helped us in many ways." Aro paused.

Marcus stood and joined Aro in the center of the room. "I have been a very lucky recipient to the Healer's powers." Many figures froze in shock, the audience and jury were staring at Marcus, scrutinizing him. "As you are all aware Didyme's passing has affected me deeply for the last millennia. The Healer has been able to lift the burden of my loss. I am still grieving for her, losing a true mate is one of the most painful experiences we can suffer, but I can survive the pain. The wives have with them one of our healer's greatest inventions. It is blood, I can assure you, but it is enriched. I can tell you the flavor is excellent. You may decline if you wish, just do us a courtesy and, if you prefer to hunt, do so outside Volterra."

The Denalis took a cup from Dora, many others looked uncertain but took a cup so as not to offend the wives. The Denalis drank and smiled, a few others took sips and then gulped the blood down. Aro, Marcus and Caius drank quickly, as did Esme, Rose and Emmett. The wives traversed the room, taking the empty cups. Conversation had started up and the tension in the room was easing.

Alistair walked from away from the other jury members and approached Aro "may I speak with Rosalie, Emmett and Esme?" He asked. Aro nodded and smiled "of course, the trial is on hold for the rest of the day, you don't need to ask permission to converse with anyone."  
"You know what I'm going to tell them." Alistair said. He looked at Aro, almost challenging him to withdraw his permission. Aro kept his face neutral and replied "I can guess you're going to share your history and warn them about the dangers of corruption and royalty." Alistair nodded. Aro smiled and said "I have no problem with that, Alistair." Alistair looked confused, Aro explained "the only people here against their will are Edward and Carlisle. You can speak to whoever you wish to, in fact I happen to agree that your upcoming conversation is needed. Everyone deserves to make an informed decision."

"Did the Healer heal you?" Alistair asked. He was suspicious, extremely so. Aro's grin widened "he hasn't, but I can let you in on a little secret, I am not, nor have I ever been, the demented man I used to portray." Aro said lightly. "Why did you act that way?" Alistair asked. "I had a roll to fill, people had to see me as unpredictable. It stopped them from questioning my decisions."  
"You're very cunning, Aro. I still don't trust you."  
"I don't blame you, Alistair. Trust must be earned."

Alistair looked at Aro like he was trying to solve a puzzle. Aro continued; "Secrets and lies have built up over thousands of years. To move on and evolve we must expose the truth and accept the consequences. For us here in Volterra we must face our mistakes and take responsibility for them. Our world is changing and we will need people like you to keep us in check."  
"What do you mean?" Alistair's emotions were a cycle of shock, distrust and fear. "We have a long way to go, but the way we govern our kind will change. There will be a position available for you and anyone you trust to act as an anti-corruption agency." Aro said. Alistair was unable to speak, Aro nodded and said "talk with the witnesses if you wish. Tell them anything you wish them to know."

Esme POV

Alistair walked towards us, he looked exceedingly uncomfortable. Shaken. I was proud of the Masters for their candor. "Could I speak with the three of you in private?" He asked. "Sure." Emmett agreed. We followed him out of the castle and away from Volterra.

Alistair stopped and looked around, sniffing the air. We were in a small forested area. "Have they treated you well?" He asked. I smiled "they've been very kind." A frown appeared on his face.

"Do any of you have gifts?" He asked us. Emmett nodded and added "just me, I can remove a gifts."  
"Have you used it while aiding the Volturi?"  
"Yes, I removed Edward's mind reading and Alice's clairvoyance."  
"Why?" Alistair was firing off questions, assessing us. I was glad Emmett was being honest. Emmett explained "I lived with both of them, they were our coven mates and we saw how they abused their power. Edward's gift only picks up the thoughts at the front of your mind, he would broadcast them as he saw fit. I heard Edward telling Carlisle many of our own private thoughts." Emmett glanced as me sadly "all of Esme's thoughts were spilled, if she thought about her past Edward would tell Carlisle. If she thought about leaving Edward would tell Carlisle. Everyone has thoughts they don't act on or mean. Edward didn't see context or feel emotions."

"You protect the Volturi by doing this." Alistair said. Emmett replied. "I do. Everyone has secrets and reasons for keeping them. It is up to a person whether they share those secrets."  
"But Aro's gift reveals secrets too." He countered. "It does." Emmett agreed "But people have a choice whether to touch his hand, the only time he uses it against the will of others is when the laws are broken. He asked us for permission to share our memories, we granted it. You see, when it comes to obtaining secrets Rose, Esme and I believe it is up to the individual involved to choose to reveal it. Aro respects that and it's a value he shares with us."

"You trust him?" Alistair asked, he was watching all three of us carefully. I answered "I do. I have spent a lot of time with the Healer, Emmett, Rose and the Kings. I was a mess when I arrived. I'd asked Carlisle for a divorce and he refused. I thought I was doomed to an eternity with him, trapped by his morals. Our old coven had been invited to Denali, Irina and Carmen pushed us to reconcile. They taught me how to find my voice. During our carefully disguised therapy sessions I noticed Carlisle was unwilling to budge, to listen to my needs. I realized how much of myself I'd given up, that's why I wanted to leave.

"When Marcus called us about Edward we headed straight here. I was terrified. Carlisle had told me how ruthless and bloodthirsty the Volturi were. But, then Aro read Carlisle. We were in the throne room surrounded by the guards, the wives, the Healers, the Horsemen and the Kings. Marcus saw Edward and Carlisle's mating bond and moved to inform Aro. Aro requested Marcus take me to their quarters, the Healer and the Wives followed behind." I looked Alistair straight in the eye "they were so gentle, so apologetic as they broke the news of Carlisle's actions. The Healer was there, helping me.

"I've been around the Volturi for the last two months. I know them and haven't found any cruelty or deception." I finished. "Do you still love Carlisle?" He asked me. That was a hard question "I did in the beginning, but the more I lost myself in the coven the more my emotions changed. I don't love him now. I don't know what I feel, to be honest. I think I'm still getting used to the idea of not having to control my thoughts."

He turned back to Emmett "you said you took Alice's gift?" Alistair asked. Emmett nodded and explained "we found out about her history. Alice had visions when she was human, seeing the future is a heavy burden, it broke her mind. Her parents put her in a mental institution. It was partially because she told them about the visions and partially because the visions made her hysterical.

"When she joined the coven she was used and manipulated by Carlisle and Edward, they abused her gift. Her mind slipped further away and she lived in a fantasy world. You'll hear Alice's story tomorrow" Emmett sighed, venom welling in his eyes "she is Carlisle's greatest crime. The Healer, Rose and I are doing everything we can to help her. I took her gift to give her the chance to heal and lift it's burden."

"The trial is going to get worse?" Alistair was startled. I answered. "Much worse. We have spent the last two months doing everything we can, but Alice is kept catatonic while the Healer heals the physical damage. We spend time with her, telling her we understand and we care. We do our best to make her feel safe. In this instance we will break our vow to keep her secret. She deserves justice. I can only hope she forgives us for our betrayal."

We were silent as we let Alistair process the information. "I need to tell you my history." He said after a while. "I tell you this in the hope that you'll guard yourselves from trusting too easily. My history is dark. I only hope it saves you from the betrayal I suffered." He took a deep breath and began.

"I was born in England in 1473, my mother's name was Elizabeth Woodville my father was King Edward IV. I was one of two sons; Edward, who was briefly King Edward V, and myself Richard, Duke of York and Knight of the Garter. We had four sisters. Edward was three years older than me and heir to the throne. We had a blessed childhood.

"As we got older my brother and I went our separate ways, our educational needs differed. I had moved to Middleham in Yorkshire with my wife to be trained for my duties as Duke, I was four when we married. Edward was in Ludlow training for his future role as King of England.

"I was little more than a child when my father died in 1483. His brother, my name sake, Richard Duke of Gloucester, was given power over us and the kingdom until my brother, Edward, was able to claim his full birthright. Upon my father's death Edward was automatically acknowledged as King Edward V. My uncle became Richard, Lord Protector, our guardian and advisor to the king. He was supposed to guide Edward, teach him about the countries in our empire, train him to fill the role of King.

"On the day my brother was to be coronated, I travelled to meet him and pledge my allegiance to him. I was grieving for the loss of my father and my wife's death two years previous. Anne was only eight when she passed. Richard took the opportunity and kidnapped the both of us. We were confined to a small section of the castle. At first it wasn't too bad, we had room to move, we were somewhat comfortable. Over time our prison shrank as my Uncle restricted our access more and more, fewer people saw us and we 'mysteriously disappeared.'

"Four years later, in 1487, he took us to the White Tower. He killed Edward to ensure the true heir to the kingdom was dead. He imprisoned me and threw my brother's corpse into my cell. I sat in a tiny room, watching as my brother rotted before me. The guards would feed me scraps, but it was never enough, I could feel myself dying slowly and it was painful. I'd go without food for days, the guards taunted me, my uncle had managed to strip Edward and I of our titles through a technicality. I was the 'Bastard Prince.' They started taking bets on when I'd die. There was never enough food or water, my clothes hung off my body, the once fine garments were in tatters.

"The taunting grew worse, but I grew stubborn. Every day I survived was a disappointment to my wardens. I started eating the rats and drinking their blood to survive. I grew sick and weak, but I was bloody determined. I hoped for the day Richard the Usurper would return to gloat. I wanted him to see the fire in my eyes. I wanted to win. Here I was; a highborn man, weak and desperate, but strong enough to survive anything he could inflict upon me. I wanted to show him that his cowardice and greed would not defeat me. He was the weak one and he would rot in a hell far worse than my brother and I rotted in our cell.

"He never came. As much as I disappointed the guards with my continued survival, by the end of each day my disappointment was worse. Each day the Usurper died a coward's death, in every way I could imagine." I could see that fire in Alistair's eyes, he looked frail but he had immense strength in his spirit. "You outlived your uncle, Alistair, and you will outshine the cowards and manipulators of this world." Rose said. He smiled at her, he looked like a grinning skull. "As will you Rosalie Hale." He said kindly.

Alistair took a breath and continued. "I don't know how long I was kept in the White Tower, but by the time I left my brother was bone and rotting sinew. A vampire broke into the tower and was shocked I was still alive. I was skeletal, immobile. He took pity on me and asked my name. The thought of saying the name I shared with the Usurper sickened me further. I said the first name I could think of 'Alistair.' We spoke at length, I told him my life story. If I was to die I'd make damn sure at least one being heard my tale. When the footsteps of the guard grew louder he asked how badly I wanted to live. I pointed to Edward's remains 'I will not turn out like him.' I said. He told me he was a vampire, then bit me.

"My sire left me in the cell to transform. I was thankful, the solitude I'd experienced had become a comfort. The silence was the closest thing to peace I experienced during my imprisonment. The venom burned through me, but I didn't flinch or cry out, my transformation wasn't painful. It enveloped me, warming me in ways I hadn't felt since I was a child. I embraced it and planned my escape. I knew the warmth wouldn't linger. I would be alive and dead at the same time."  
"You were like Schrodinger's cat" Em said. He explained when he saw Alistair's confusion. "It's a paradox. A man put a cat in a box with ingredients for a fatal chain of events. After a while the cat is both alive and dead because of that earlier catalyst." Alistair grinned again, "yes, Emmett. You could say that as far as Richard was concerned I was living and dead at the same time in my cell. I hope that thought kept him awake at night."

"Please, continue Alistair." I asked. He picked up where he had left off. "When I awoke I broke through the door. I had planned to toy will the guards, but I was so thirsty. I killed them quickly, more mercy than they deserved. I fed from their bodies, its little comfort to think that they were forced to sustain me, after all they had withheld sustenance from my human body. I took every drop, sating my newborn thirst.

"When the haze of thirst lifted I knew I had to leave, the sound of humanity haunted and tempted me. My hearing was a curse, I could find no peace. My thirst was out of control and I didn't want to kill an innocent. My brother had been an innocent and I didn't want to take another pure heart out of this world. I have travelled ever since. I avoided learning what happened to the Usurper, after everything that he put me through I wasn't going to let him control me in my new life. I picture his death in many ways, that brings me enough satisfaction, more satisfaction than the truth would bring.

"With power comes greed, envy and betrayal. Even if the Volturi truly care for you there will be others who will use you for their own gain. Associating with Royalty is dangerous, it will always be dangerous. After what you showed me you deserve to find peace."


	34. Part 2 Chapter 16

**AN: An early chapter! I'll be changing the time of when I update. Next chapter will be up at this time tomorrow.**

**The trial continues. There are some pretty graphic descriptions of abuse here, I've tried to use a little medical jargon to soften the blow. Thanks for reading.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 16

BPOV

The trial was excruciating. Carlisle and Edward may have been the ones on trial, but each of the people I loved were being judged, seen through the lens of suspicion. I hated them; the audience and the jury. Aro was like a lion tamer at a circus. Directing their attention and focus to where it was needed and putting his own head in their mouths. It was a calculated risk, one that Peter said would work, but that was little comfort. They lay themselves bare and vulnerable; Aro, Marcus, Esme, Rosalie. My family. Then there was Alice. The worst was yet to come; she was defenseless, unable to voice her story, caught in a haze of broken thoughts and manipulation.

Carlisle and Edward had forced this exposure to happen. All for pride and acclaim, the pettiness of the situation hurt so much. Here we were; fighting for our kind, draining ourselves to protect our species and humans. We were risking our lives for them and, because of the pitiful men standing trial, we were the ones under suspicion. I felt a wave of calm from my mate and gladly accepted it, I pushed down my bitterness and focused on my duty.

The trial was going to continue any minute now. Hopefully the people who heard our pain had considered it beyond mere gossip. The Masters filed in and Aro took his place at the center of the room. I focused on my breathing and the sensations around me. I needed to shield myself. Let the words in, but not focus on them or feel them stab me with pain and anger. Aro spoke the room "thank you for your patience and consideration. We have a difficult time ahead." He nodded to Jane and Alec who brought Carlisle and Edward back. They stood in the place they had yesterday, their faces were a mask of neutrality. They should have been groveling.

"Carlisle, we have touched on your experiences in treating mental health care patients. Your passion for science and knowledge is evident. You maintained your knowledge over the centuries, digesting volume upon volume of literature. You worked with the humans during the times when doctors were desperately needed; Chicago during the Spanish Influenza, various hospitals in the post war era providing rehabilitation to war veterans, hospices, emergency rooms, a mental institution in Biloxi..." he trailed off and stared at Carlisle. Carlisle's face had paled slightly, but his expression hadn't changed. Edward was scowling at Aro.

"What was your role in that mental institution, Carlisle?"  
"I was a hospital administrator and I treated patients."  
"What treatments did you perform the most?"  
"ECT was a new therapy that had been most effective in treating mental disturbance."  
"It was supposed to be used within guidelines was it not?" Aro asked. Carlisle nodded.

"Did you follow those guidelines, Dr. Cullen?" I smirked behind my mask, Aro was teasing him. "Within reason." Carlisle was trying to hide his lies. It didn't work, Aro knew how to interrogate. "Please explain what you mean by 'within reason'."  
"Some patients were improving too slowly under the voltage recommended in the literature. It stood to reason that the more disturbed the patient the higher the voltage needed to treat them."  
"Are you saying you believe treating patients repeatedly with the highest voltage possible was preferable to following safety guidelines?" Aro asked. Carlisle nodded.

"Ms. Mary Alice Brandon was one of your patients, wasn't she?"  
"Yes, she was admitted for the ability to see the future. She was mentally ill; depressed and in the midst of a psychotic break."  
"You treated her?"  
"Yes, ECT mostly."  
"Mostly?"  
"I had heard of a procedure that had been proven effective, the Leucotomy."  
"Please, Carlisle, explain this procedure in detail."

"The patient would be rendered unconscious through ECT, a tool shaped like an ice pick would be lined up against the top of the orbital foramen. With a surgical hammer the tool would be knocked into the frontal lobe and manipulated. In America they called it a Lobotomy. It was very successful."  
"Lie" Maggie's eyes were black. Aro kept going, "how many of these procedures did you perform?" I heard Carmen sob quietly. "Many, there were a lot of sick people that needed my care." Carlisle said stoically.

"Did all your patients receive this procedure?"  
"No, there were some that improved with ECT and Insulin Shock Therapy."  
"Lie." Maggie said. Aro asked his next question before Carlisle could react to Maggie. "How long were you employed in Biloxi?"  
"Six months."  
"Why did you leave?" Aro asked. Carlisle hesitated, I knew he was running through the excuses he'd used in the past. He sighed and answered "a patient died from a cerebral hemorrhage."  
"Truth" Maggie confirmed. Aro kept questioning him "there was an investigation. What was the verdict?"  
"Medical negligence."

"When Alice showed up on your doorstep as a vampire accompanied by Major Jasper Whitlock did you recognize her?" He nodded. "Did she recognize you?" He shook his head. "What would you say her mental health was like when she joined your coven?"  
"She seemed fine. She was happy and we were happy to have her with us."  
"Did you take advantage of her gift?"  
"No" Carlisle's voice was soft. "Lie" Maggie stated. Aro continued, firing questions in quick succession. "Did you manipulate her to suit your needs?"  
"No" Carlisle whispered. "Lie" Maggie countered. "She led you to great wealth, didn't she?"  
"Yes, she'd have visions of trends in the stock market. She liked to shop so she needed a lot of money."  
"Truth" Maggie confirmed.

"Did she ever come to you for advice on visions that hurt her?"  
"No."  
"Was it because Edward would see her visions through his telepathy and would report them to you?" Carlisle nodded. I heard Edward growl, Carlisle cut him off with a glare. "Did you and Edward ever use her visions to coerce her into manipulating others."  
"No." Carlisle said. Edward was frozen and tense, Maggie instantly confirmed his deception "Lie."

"Were you aware of the visions Alice had pertaining to Major Whitlock's true mate?" They were talking about me again. I felt J stiffen beside me, he didn't know this either. Carlisle looked confused "no, I didn't know."  
"Truth" Maggie confirmed. Aro looked to Edward "did you know of the vision Alice had of Major Whitlock's mate?" Edward jerked his head to nod. "When did you see his mate in her visions?"  
"A month before she moved to our town." He gritted out.

Aro continued. "Her name was Isabella Swan. Why did you pursue her knowing she was the true mate of Major Whitlock?"  
"Alice was upset she'd lose Jasper. She was going to leave the coven so they could be together. I convinced her to stay, I told her I would distract the human. I saw Bella was beautiful. I didn't intend to pursue her until I met her. Her blood sang to me, I enjoyed the challenge of resisting, especially with her mind silent to my gift."  
"Why did you leave her?"  
"Jasper attacked her, he's a monster."  
"Lie." Edward glared at Maggie "he went after her when she got a paper cut. He would have killed her." Edward protested. Maggie shook her head "lie."

Aro turned to the jury "I have seen Edward's memories. When Ms. Swan got the paper cut Alice had a vision of Major Whitlock running to protect her from Edward who had lost control. Edward would have drained her on the spot. Edward threw her into a table full of glass causing Ms. Swan unnecessary injuries. When he heard Major Whitlock's growl it diverted his attention saving Ms. Swan from certain death."  
"Truth" Maggie confirmed. Aro nodded at Maggie, grateful for her assessment.

He continued "Edward knew that if they stayed Major Whitlock and Ms. Swan would form a relationship and Alice would leave. To preserve the lifestyle he'd grown accustomed to he chose to strong arm his family into leaving."  
"Truth." Maggie said. I could see movement in my peripheral vision, Emmett had buried his head in his hands. Esme raised her hand, thank fuck.

I walked numbly to the Master's quarters, J was next to me radiating pain. We only had a few minutes. Dad popped his head into the room and ran to us. "Shit! Follow me." We ran behind him. He was throwing on his cloak and mask and fumbling with a few strange looking bottles. He led us to the paddock behind the castle. He opened up the bottles and explained "this is tempered glass made with vampire ash and werewolf venom. Focus on your darkness."

His fingers glowed, the light focused on us. I let loose my rage, hate and disgust. My shield caught fire, black flames obscuring my vision completely. I felt J's emotions brush past my shield. The light pierced through my black flames, moving over my shield, creating a barrier between it and the flames. The light moved, scooping up the flames and clearing my vision. I saw the waves of darkness enveloping J break and condense as the light drew back. Dad guided it into the open bottles and quickly added the cork, pressing it down and sealing it.

"What the hell is that?" I breathed in shock. Dad explained. "When we arrived in Volterra I got in contact with the local witch coven. They had some knowledge of future and handed me instructions on making these bottles. Somehow Aro managed to obtain werewolf venom and I collected the vampire ash of the prisoners that were executed. The Masters got me in touch with one of their craftsmen who combined the materials and made these for me. The witches told me to make several, that they'd be needed to bring justice. I have filled quite a few of them from healing Marcus."

J smiled "I can probably fill a few more jars. I've been holding onto the negative emotions throughout the trial. I haven't absorbed them, I keep them within me waiting to be released." Dad was surprised "I don't like that you took all that on, but I'm grateful you did. Come back to my room and you can release it."

He led us into the room and handed us each a cup of bear blood and flask of vile human blood. We drank while he prepared the bottle. J finished and concentrated, I couldn't see anything happening, but dad had paled and put a cork in the bottle when J relaxed. "Those pieces of shit had caused so much pain. I look forward to seeing their sentence carried out." Dad said. He looked up at us "you'd better return to the throne room. Will you guys be okay?" J nodded and I answered "I'll be fine now. It's so close to being finished."  
"Good. Alice will probably wake in a few days. We'll need all hands on deck."

We arrived just as Pete and Char had started walking in, we smoothly lined up behind them and walked over to our spot. The mood in the throne room was somber. I searched my peripheral vision and saw the audience and jury sitting and standing in silence. Some people were looking at Esme and Rose with sadness. Others were glaring, their black eyes focused on the place Carlisle and Edward stood before the recess. Carlisle and Edward were led in by Jane and Alec. When they reached their spot I saw a few of the jury members lean slightly away. I could only imagine the emotions J was feeling from them.

Aro turned to the audience "you came to observe the trial of Carlisle Cullen and his mate Edward Cullen. You have listened patiently to testimony from former coven members and witnesses. We thank you for your patience. We will open the floor to questions. We will answer any we are able to, but there are a few answers we cannot give." Eleazar moved forward "who changed Alice?"  
"There was another vampire that worked at the Biloxi Mental Institution. He was Alice's true mate, he tried to protect her and got Carlisle fired. The nomads that attacked Ms. Swan killed Alice's mate, but not before her mate bit her and started the change."

"What will happen to Alice?" Randle, a nomad, asked. "We will do our best to heal her. The Healer has been working tirelessly for the last two months, repairing the damage." Each member of the audience asked questions. Some were asking for dad to heal them, some were asking questions about us, some asked about the mission to the southern states of America. When the jury asked their questions a few more details came out about Edward's rebellious period and Carlisle's suspicious behavior, people were starting to search their memories for signs of Carlisle's deception.

Edward lost it "fair weather friends and fools. None of you understand the meaning of loyalty. How dare you! Carlisle told you what he saw during his time with the Volturi and now you listen to them and a handful of bitches in heat instead of us? You disgust me." He spat. Someone called out from the crowd; "the feeling's mutual buddy!" Amused snickers broke out and lightened the mood for everyone in the room but the criminals.

Aro turned to Edward and raised an eyebrow "it's interesting you mention Carlisle's discussions regarding his time here. You're both lucky we aren't the tyrants you make us out to be or you'd be executed for treason. As it happens we are not concerned with your slander or whether our kind likes us. This isn't a popularity contest. Our sole aim in governing our kind is the safety of our species. Our biggest threat is knowledge, this is why we ensure our secret remains hidden from humans."

"You claim to concern yourselves with the safety of our kind, but you used Eleazar to hunt down gifted vampires for your collection. Our kind isn't safe from you!" Edward accused. Eleazar stood up "may I speak freely, Aro?"  
"Of course" Aro agreed cheerfully. Eleazar began, "I came to the Volturi after years wandering alone. Eternity is a long time to spend drifting. They offered stability and a purpose in life. I aided the Volturi and I free-lanced. Many of the covens in existence today have utilized my services to identify the gifts of newborns they created. Gifts can be tricky and disorientating, I was able to give clarity to a lot of vampires.

"When I met my mate I asked Aro himself if I could leave, his words have stuck with me. He said 'your life is your own to lead it as you will.' Carmen and I met with Tanya and her sisters and have lived in peace ever since. I consider many in the guard and the kings themselves to be friends." Silence rang after his words. Maggie broke the silence by announcing "Eleazar is telling the truth."

Edward was determined to paint the Volturi black. "They force loyalty onto their guard! They use Chelsea to trap people to them!" He yelled. Aro shrugged "Chelsea strengthens the bonds in the guard with the permission of each guard member. Our kind does not work well in large groups, strengthening the bonds reduces the conflict that may arise through the concentration of people in our castle. There are many people in each level of the guard who have chosen to forgo the alteration. Furthermore, Chelsea cannot alter bonds if they don't exist. I have seen the rumors spread about us in the memories of many people. Where crimes are committed by a coven the punishments are always met. Any innocent people, gifted or not, are not recruited."

Tanya stood up "may I speak?" She asked. Aro nodded. "The sire of Kate, Irina and myself created an immortal child. Aro read us and saw we had no knowledge of the crime. Our sire was executed along with the child she turned. Neither Irina or myself are gifted, however Kate has a gift to incapacitate. At no point were we pressured to join. We stayed with the Volturi after the death of our sire, but we left when we had grieved and could move on."

Amun was watching, still suspicious. He stood up and asked "what if one of us has a coven member with a powerful gift? Would you swear in front of all of us to allow him to stay with his coven?"  
"I swear" Aro kept his eyes locked on Amun's. Amun turned to Maggie "he's telling the truth Amun." He nodded and sat down again.

Carlisle had his hand on Edward's arm, his eyes pleading with him to stay quiet. Edward shook his arm off "you painted Carlisle as an incompetent, fraudulent doctor. You claim to be a man of science, how much pain have you caused? How do you use that knowledge? How can you call Carlisle cruel when you drink from humans! Carlisle saves their kind!" His voice had grown louder. He smirked at Aro, expecting to crack the king's calm veneer.

Aro didn't rise to the bait. "That is a good question, Edward" Edward's smirk grew, he thought he'd won. "We do drink from humans, perhaps Heidi will describe how she fishes for our food." Heidi stepped forward and explained "I, like many of you here, have connections to humans in the legal system. This system covers all of Western Europe. I receive a list of names from various officials who have been unable to prosecute those who have committed great evil. The humans don't have the resources available that we do; they can't see incriminating memories or scent out clues like we can. There is only so much they can do. When I receive these names I send out a package to each of the people named, it contains plane tickets and a letter of congratulations. They meet up with me for a 'tour' and I introduce them to Aro who confirms their crimes.

"We also patrol the streets regularly and those committing a violent crime are brought in to stay until the feeding." She stepped back and Aro thanked her. He turned to the Jury and audience and added "recently we have been able to supplement our diet with animal blood, our healer has been able to make it palatable and satisfying. Animal blood alone reduces strength and never satisfies our thirst. We must remain level headed enough and maintain our strength to fulfill our duties. We have strict rules for feeding on humans; the neck must be snapped immediately. There is no cause for increased cruelty.

"As for Edward's question regarding how I use my scientific knowledge, I have never harmed a human in the name of science." He gestured to Maggie "truth." She said and looked confused. Aro added "I also haven't harmed any vampires in the pursuit of scientific breakthroughs."  
"Truth" Maggie confirmed. The audience froze in shock.

Aro continued "I have a confession for you, the blood we offered you yesterday was not human, it was animal blood, our healer enriched and improved the flavor." Conversation and angry mutterings started up "truth" Maggie said softly. "I am sorry to have deceived you this way. I do have an agenda concerning our feeding habits.

"For the last century I have been working with scientists to create synthetic blood that can keep us sated and wont weaken us. In the last few years we have had more success since the humans made headway in cloning technology. The samples we used were taken from hospital waste; cotton swabs from surgery, used needles et cetera. We have been able to create small amounts of blood, but it has been time consuming and lacked taste and nourishment. Thanks to our healer we may be able to create blood that tastes better than our traditional food source and satisfies us for longer."

"Why would we change our diets?" Mary took a step forward and asked. Aro answered her "human knowledge had evolved leaps and bounds since the inception of forensic science. It will be harder and harder to dispose of the bodies from our meal. This will pose problems in the future concerning our secret. We must evolve alongside."

"Why not just enslave humans?" A young teenager, Bree, asked. "We were all human once, we must remember that. Enslaving humans would upset the balance in the world. Conflicts would arise bringing forth a global war that would rival the Vampire Wars of the southern states in America. We are more civilized than that. We are not monsters who live on instinct alone, we can choose to retain our humanity and coexist with humans and share in their successes. Humans aren't just food, their sentient beings capable of great good and great evil, just like Vampires. They also possess weapons that could easily kill our kind."  
"He's telling the truth." Maggie stated.

Edward looked desperate, he glanced towards us and looked smug. There was conversation amongst the witnesses, audience and jury. He yelled over them "he has aligned himself with agents of the devil!" The room silenced. Fuck. "They are the four horsemen of the Apocalypse!" He crowed victoriously. All eyes turned to us and Aro started to explain "they aren't evil demons Edward. They're vampires like you or I."  
"Truth" Maggie said as Edward spoke "we are demons. We're soulless and damned." Many of the jury looked at Carlisle in anger. I was never sure if Carlisle had instilled those beliefs or whether Edward had adopted them from his strict, god-fearing upbringing.

Aro looked at him in sympathy "you were brought up in a conservative time in a household ruled by the Old Testament. It's a sadness that you have not found peace within your existence. Good and Evil reside within us, just as it does with humans. Evil is a choice, Edward. The Four Horsemen aren't here to end the world. They're here to save it, save us. They are recently returned from the Second Vampire War in America, they fought for the safety of human and vampire kind."  
"Truth" Maggie said. Aro smiled at her, grateful for her assurance.

"Why do they wear masks?" Mary asked. Aro explained. "Their skill and abilities are strong, but they are still people who need peace. They sacrifice their time and risk their lives to protect innocents. They deserve to walk in the human world and vampire world without harassment. Please respect their privacy."  
"He's telling the truth." Maggie said. I saw Alistair smile and nod at Aro.

Edward looked defeated. His eyes turned angry when he glanced at Carlisle. In some ways he had been betrayed too, but I couldn't find it in me to feel sympathy. Aro called the end of the trial and asked the jury to deliberate and come to a decision which would be given the following day. It was 7pm and we headed up to Caius' study to debrief with the others.

Charlie was sitting down with a cup of coffee. We entered, took off our masks and slumped into the arm chairs. Esme, Emmett and Rose walked in a short time later and announced "you might want to put your masks back on, Alistair wants to speak to you." We groaned and straightened ourselves up. A knock sounded through the door, Rose opened it. Aro had Alistair with him "Alistair was wondering if he could talk to the Horsemen. J walked forward and nodded. Pete, Char, J and I headed to the privacy of Aro's study.

Emmett POV

I knew they'd be gone a while, Alistair's story took some time to digest. Hopefully he had gained some trust for the Volturi. I turned to Charlie who was still masked "you may as well take it off, they'll be a while. You could get away with keeping your hood up and facing away from the door." He took his mask off. "Thanks Em, I've enjoyed walking around without wearing the damn thing today." He said in relief. I smiled "me too, Charlie."

"How did you guys go?" He asked and turned to Rose "I heard you had some trouble."  
"I'm fine Charlie, I needed this so much." She smiled. Esme told him everything that happened in the trial.

"Christ, no wonder Bells and J needed to be healed." Charlie said. "They told me how you called recesses for them so they wouldn't look suspicious, thanks for being there for them."  
"It was hard enough being a part of the trial, having to stay still while others talked for you and spilled your secrets would have been a nightmare" Rose said. She shuddered in sympathy for the Horsemen. I put my arm around her "it's over now. You and Esme were so brave." I kissed her cheek.

Marcus came in after we'd caught Charlie up, he went straight to Esme and knelt in front of her, looking at her intensely "are you okay?" He asked gently. She smiled widely. "I'm fine. It was hard, but we did it and now we're free." Her eyes sparkled with happiness. I'd have to ask J about their emotions. It looked like their relationship had changed.


	35. Part 2 Chapter 17

**AN: Not much left of Part 2, then it's on to Part 3. **

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 17

JPOV

I didn't know what Alistair wanted when he asked to speak to us. He was feeling determination, sadness and anxiety. He looked so frail; thin and brittle. He carried himself like an old man although he looked like he'd been turned when he was in his early to mid twenties. His voice was strong and bitterness colored his emotions as he told us his story. No wonder he was thin.

It was a miracle he'd survived. I had no knowledge of the English Royal family, but I understood perfectly when he urged us to be careful. Bella leaned over and touched Aro's hand. He smiled and said "yes, you can trust him." He turned to Alistair and asked him to keep our secret.

I watched Bella move her hood back and lift off her mask. She held out her hand for him to shake and introduced herself. "Hi Alistair, my name's Bella, but outside these quarters I'm known as Death." Alistair gaped "are you Bella Swan?" She nodded "I was, but I took my uncle's surname, so now I'm Bella Crow, although I'll soon be Bella Whitlock." She was babbling, Alistair stared at her in shock.

Pete's laughter burst out of him. "Damnit Bells, I wanted to make a kickarse reveal!" He groused as he lifted his mask off and poked his tongue out at her. He turned back to Alistair and introduced himself. "Peter Whitlock" He said. Alistair gasped. Pete laughed lightly, thoroughly amused at Alistair's reaction.

"Actually, I was born Peter Crow, but I changed it to honor this grumpy bastard" he explained and pointed at me. I rolled my eyes and took off my hood and mask "I'm not grumpy, arsehole."  
"The Major" Alistair breathed. I shook my head "the Major doesn't exist anymore, I'm Jasper Whitlock. My friends call me J although outside these quarters I answer to War." I had to admit this was a little fun. "I'm Bella's mate and fiancé and Pete over there is her Uncle by blood."  
"Seriously?" He asked. I nodded. Char scoffed "what about me?" She took her mask off and glared playfully at Alistair. He didn't disappoint, his eyes widened in surprise. "You're all dead!" He squeaked.

Aro laughed from his seat in the corner, but soon composed himself and spoke softly "we spread a rumor about their death so they could live in peace. You more than anyone can appreciate the need for their disguise. We had to fake Jasper's death a few times, his former coven didn't appreciate the need for secrecy. Carlisle and Edward thought that by telling others the Major was part of their coven they'd avoid attack."

"So what are your code names?" Alistair asked Pete and Char. Char pointed to herself "Famine" Alistair grinned and turned to Pete "that makes you Pestilence?" Pete nodded, his irritation rising. "Now who's the grumpy bastard?" I teased, he pouted.

"This is fucking surreal. Last week I was coming to Volterra to stand up for Carlisle and his son against the evil Volturi leaders. Now I'm sitting in Aro's room talking to people who are supposed to be dead and I hate Carlisle and his mate. You're turning me into a royalist, Aro." Alistair snarked, although there was some amusement in his voice.

Aro chuckled "it's a weird and wonderful world, Alistair." He turned serious "we've lived in darkness for a long time. Marcus and I started the Volturi to create a fair system with justice and protection. Caius joined us and became co-ruler when his drive and values mirrored our own. Believe it or not, the future will be a happy one. I meant it when I said I'd like you to head an anti-corruption committee, from what I've seen of your history you are incorruptible-"  
"I fell for Carlisle's lies" Alistair lamented. Aro sighed "we all did. Many of us have suffered for it, but none more so than Bella, Jasper, Esme, Alice, Emmett and Rose."

Alistair seemed to remember something and looked at me "you really went through all that didn't you, Jasper?" He asked, I knew he believed what he'd seen in Rosalie's memories, but it was different asking the source. I explained. "My memories are patchy, when I get caught up in the past I can't seem to find reality. There's a reason for my reputation, Alistair.

"I was completely broken, I had Dissociative Identity Disorder, otherwise known as Multiple Personality Disorder. I was split in three; there was my human side, Jasper. My vampire side, the Major and the primal demon born out of violence and abuse, it doesn't have a name, but it was responsible for the worst of my history. Thankfully I had Char and Pete. When I was kicked out of the Cullen Coven I moved back in with them and they started to heal me. Then I was reunited with Bella and healed a lot more. I was lucky enough to be healed by the Healer and I've been whole ever since." I finished.

"I promise your secrets are safe with me. May I ask how no one's recognized your scent?" Alistair asked. Pete answered him. "The Healer is able to make a mix of blood with herbs to disguise our scent. He uses human blood so our eyes turn red, having golden eyes would kind of stand out a bit too much. The Healer makes the mixture taste foul, J and Bella wish to keep the vegetarian diet. It acts as a taste aversion, making it easier to drink animal blood."

"That animal blood we all drank yesterday was incredible." Alistair said. We nodded, Aro spoke "the Healer has shown us that blood is palatable even when mixed with other ingredients. The Wives are extremely happy, they cook dishes and experiment with flavors. They like the domesticity of it."

Bella let out a happy sigh "they're wonderful cooks." Aro agreed "I know, I haven't fed on human blood in a while. I enjoy the variety of animal too much" he smiled sheepishly and removed red contacts from his eyes. His irises had turned gold "they look weird on me so I hide them when on duty." He added. I was surprised, but realized I had only ever seen him feed on blood supplied by Charlie and the wives. "Holy shit, Aro. Better not let Carlisle see them" Pete blurted out. Aro nodded "I won't let him take credit, the credit belongs only to the healers and the wives."

There was a knock on the door, Picia poked her head in "dinners ready" she announced. She saw Alistair and smiled "would you like to join us? There's plenty to go around."  
"Thank you madam." His curiosity was through the roof. She laughed "please, call me Picia, everyone else does" she rolled her eyes in amusement. Hers irises were gold too. "I appreciate it, Picia." He replied.

We got up and headed to the foyer where the table had been set up. Aro walked beside Alistair "you'll be learning another secret Alistair. This is vital, nothing can be told to another person outside these quarters." He said. Alistair nodded. "You have my word, Aro." He vowed.

"Our Healer isn't a vampire, nor is he human." Aro explained. Alistair nodded, he was surprised but not in a negative way. "He is actually Bella's biological father." Aro said. "Was he at the trial?" Alistair asked.  
"No, he's been attending to Alice." I said. Alistair nodded in understanding. "It's fortunate he wasn't there. I can't imagine what it'd be like to hear the details of how your daughters ex had treated her." He said. "I agree. He's been briefed on the content of the trial and he's helped us cope with the emotional fall out after testifying." Aro said.

The dining table was full except for seats meant for us. A dinner setting had been placed at the head of the table for Alistair. Bella sat next to Charlie. "Dad, this is Alistair. Alistair, this is my dad, Charlie Crow."  
"You look just like Emmett." He whispered in shock. Bella and Charlie smiled. Charlie explained the family history briefly including Em and Pete as their uncles. "You have one powerful bloodline, I'm glad you're protected as fiercely as you are." Alistair said. Charlie agreed.

The courses were brought out, Alistair ate like a starving man. I felt his enjoyment and smiled, I wondered if he'd remember the good parts of his human life. He was full of bliss as the jelly course came out, followed by desert.

We gave him a tour of the rooms, lab and healing room. I was surprised to see almost fifteen full bottles of darkness on the top of a bookshelf. They were labeled, Pete's hand writing listing their destination. There was almost an even split between bottles labeled Carlisle, Edward and Romanians. Alistair noticed them and asked about them.

"Part of the sentence for Carlisle and Edward will be for them to absorb the darkness they created in others." Charlie explained. Alistair nodded "I had wondered what sort of justice we could deliver, death seems necessary, but also not enough. This sounds acceptable."

Alistair's eyes turned to Alice and he gasped. Marcus spun around and gawked at them before smiling widely. He approached Alistair and spoke softly "she has a hard road ahead of her and, while we care about her, she'll need you too."  
"I don't know how I can help her, Marcus." Alistair stuttered. "Listen to your instincts. Love her and care for her. We'll help you. Something tells me you'll be able to show her a life she's never known before. One without confinement." Marcus said.

Alistair dropped to his knees. Pain and love warred within him as he looked at her lifeless body. He looked up at Aro "I cannot continue on the Jury. There's a conflict of interest."  
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. You've come this far, we appreciate your willingness to listen and accept the truth. It's been a horrific trial and I understand completely. I'd do the same thing if it was Picia who lay there." Charlie walked towards us "I need to attend to Alistair, could we have some privacy?" He asked. We nodded and exited.

Charlie POV

I had been developing a mental list of remedies I needed to administer to Alistair ever since I saw him. There were a lot of similarities between him and Alice; their emaciation, physical and psychological trauma, betrayal. All of it. I pulled over a chair and put it beside Alice's bed for him to sit in. "I know Vampires can be in any position for days and not get tired, but if you sit up you can be closer to her." I offered. He unfolded himself and sat down.

His hand twitched, I smiled "it'll really help her if you hold her hand." I said quietly. I boiled the kettle and added the calming mixture of herbs. I gave him some privacy to build up his courage and touch his mate. When I turned I saw his hand resting on the bed, the side of his hand in light contact with hers. I smiled and put the cup on a table within reach of his free hand. "It's safe to drink this, it helps calm nerves without clouding the mind, Char swears by it." I chuckled at the memories where she'd become overwhelmed with irritation at Pete.

He relaxed a little more when I moved to the other side of the bed to check on Alice. He didn't like to be touched, it was written all over his tense posture. "Would you like to stay here while I heal her?" I asked. He nodded and whispered "thank you." He watched me warily as I felt the light move from my core and drift down my hands. It was like a magnet causing a pull towards the person I healed. I watched the glow light her forehead from within, small bursts of light appeared with each healed connection.

She was so close to waking up. I withdrew my power and moved to heat up the bear blood. This was the last of it. Rose had ordered a large shipment of Kangaroo blood, she had enjoyed it on her last honeymoon in Australia and found out many of the 'roos had to be culled. She back ordered the blood a month ago and was going to pick it up tomorrow.

I poured the warm bear blood into a thermos and slowly approached Alistair. "Would you mind feeding her?" I asked. He nodded, his eyes had lost their fear. I sat the thermos next to his cup and moved back to the other side of the room. "Do you know why she's my mate?" He asked softly. "I have no idea, her first mate was killed before she was turned decades ago. We have recently discovered that it's possible for a vampire to have more than one true mate. Marcus has found another. Maybe the vampire who turned her had a weaker mating bond, or fate knew he wouldn't survive so it joined her with you."

He nodded at my fumbled explanation and opened the thermos. I gently tilted Alice's mouth open for him to pour the blood. He nodded his thanks and I turned to make another batch of feeding tonic. I grabbed a small jar, picking up and smelling herbs before adding them and covering them in water. There were small jars lining most of the windowsill, I sat this one down at the end and wrote the date. In two weeks it would be ready. It should add weight to Alice and her mate.

I looked at the other jars, two were ready for bottling. I pulled out a strainer, funnel and small bottles with suction lids. Rose has already written labels for them, I strained the tinctures into bottles and added the labels. I saw that Alistair had finished feeding her and was sipping on his tea "this is delicious, thank you." He murmured, I smiled at him.

"It won't be long before her physical injuries are healed." I told Alistair. "We don't know how she'll be when she wakes up."  
"You knew her when the Cullens lived in your town?" He asked. I nodded and replied. "Believe it or not, I was the Police Chief. I got on well with Carlisle and respected him. It was a small town and doctors tend to prefer the cities where they're paid more. We were grateful to have a world class surgeon join our town. I got to know Alice when Bells dated Edward. Bella was injured in a vampire attack and Alice helped her; bathing, brushing her hair, dressing. She was an angel. I had no idea what was going on. I blamed myself for not seeing through the facade, I knew they were vampires, but I didn't know the truth behind all their actions." I shook my head.

"J told me that she would have moved away to ensure he and Bells would get together sooner." I added. He nodded and I continued. "Underneath all the manipulation she is still a good person, she tried to do the right thing. She was so bubbly and cheerful, energetic and charismatic. Her gift broke her, the coven leader broke her, but she was still strong." I said. I wanted him to appreciate the Alice behind the abuse.

"How have you treated her since she came here?" He asked. I knew he was curious about the healing process. "The first thing I did was heal the initial mental illness, she wasn't born with it, she developed it while human and getting visions. Given how her life turned out I can understand how she became ill. She's lived with so much. The depression and delusional state she had from her human life lifted easily."

I paused, hoping the next thing wouldn't set him off "we removed her gift." I braced myself. Alistair nodded and smiled. "Emmett told me, he explained how it hurt her." He said.  
"She'll be able to focus on healing, unburdened by what could happen." I said in relief. He continued. "Aro enlightened us on how badly her gift has been manipulated. Power is dangerous, knowledge is dangerous. She deserves to be free." I smiled at him "I'm glad to hear it, Alistair. I'm not her father but I care for her as one."  
"Thank you for helping her."  
"You'll help her too, I know the healing powers of mates. I've seen it with my daughter and J."  
"You like him" he observed. I nodded "he's a great man. Strong, fiercely loyal, he cherishes her."  
"I know how he feels." He murmured absent mindedly. "Alice deserves to be cherished too, she doesn't deserve to live in isolation. I'm glad you're the right man for the job." I told him.

There was comfortable silence for a bit. I broke it "she can hear you when you speak to her, I'll give you privacy if you want to talk to your mate." He shook his head and offered; "I've told the others my story, you and Alice should hear it too."  
"I'd be honored to hear it, if you're comfortable." I said. He agreed, "I haven't spoken this much in centuries" he admitted before beginning his story.

JPOV

Alistair hadn't left Alice all night, the sun had risen in the sky and we were headed to the throne room for the judgment and sentencing of Carlisle and Edward. Jane approached the Masters, she was worried. "Where is Alistair?"  
"He's found his mate, he's with her now." Marcus explained. Jane turned to Aro. "Aro, the others are speculating about his wellbeing." She said as she held out her hand for Aro to touch, he sighed "Amun. Damnit." He turned to me "War, could you speak to Alistair? We'll need to ensure his fellow jury members understand we haven't harmed him. They won't believe it until they see him for themselves. I hate to do this to him, he should be tending to his mate." Aro said. I nodded and headed to the healing room.

I knocked and heard Charlie's muffled 'come in'. Alistair was sitting in a chair by the bed, his hand barely touched Alice's. Charlie looked like he'd just woken up, I waved at him and turned to Alistair "Aro sends his apologies, there is suspicion amongst the jury that we've harmed you." I was surprised to feel a spike of amusement "Amun?" He asked. I nodded. He stood and whispered to Alice "I'll be back, I promise" I felt a wisp of emotion from Alice; loneliness. I recoiled in shock, Charlie and Alistair's heads shot to mine. "I felt her emotions, she felt loneliness." I looked at them "wait here, I'll get Rose" there was a wisp of fear from Alice. I spoke softly sending her calm "she won't hurt you, she's been helping Charlie heal you. You're safe and I promise no one hates you." I turned and ran to the throne room.

I held out my hand for Aro, he nodded and gestured for Rose to join us. "Rosalie, it appears that Alice requires your assistance." Her eyes bugged out and she ran. I bowed and stood with my fellow Horsemen. "Alistair will be here shortly." I whispered to them. Carlisle and Edward hadn't arrived. When Alistair opened the door, Aro stood and gestured for us and the guard to leave the room so Alistair could speak to the others privately, the Masters filed out behind us.

"We'll give them a few minutes" Aro said. Caius turned to me "is Alice okay?" He asked. I nodded "I felt her emotions come through, she's almost ready to wake up. Charlie has stopped the sleeping draught, she'll wake up soon."  
"Alistair should be with her" Marcus said. I nodded "she'll need him there. Will he be able to go back to her?"  
"He will, whether the others like it or not. What are the emotions in the room?"  
"Their suspicion has lowered significantly, there's a lot of sympathy and anger but it's not directed to us or Alistair-" I stopped as Alistair opened the door "I told them Alice is my true mate. They asked about how I've been treated and I told them of your kindness, thankfully Maggie confirmed my truth." Alistair reported. Aro nodded, "thank you. You should return to her, she'll wake up soon."  
"Thank you, I've never been happier to be proved wrong" he said. Aro chuckled at Alistair's parting words and smiled. "Let's head back in" he said when Rose had returned.

The jury and audience were ready and waiting, we took our positions and Aro began "we'd like to thank each of you for your participation. This has been a difficult time." He paused and looked at the jury as Jane and Alec lead Carlisle and Edward to their position next to the stage. Out the corner of my eye I saw Emmett take Esme and Rose's hand in his.

Aro walked up to the jury "have you reached a verdict?" He kept his face neutral, his emotions were hopeful. One by one they stood up and said "guilty" they looked directly at their old friend and his mate as they said it. Aro nodded sadly "do you have any recommendations regarding his sentence?" Siobhan stood up, the others had appointed her spokesperson. "We have been unable to decide on their punishment, we will defer to our leaders to deliver retribution. We only ask that they not be set free and ensure that Carlisle is unable to practice his 'medicine.'"

There was sadness around the audience and jury. Edward was livid, Carlisle was swimming in despair. Edward roared, his eyes were black and venom trickled down his chin. "TRAITORS! FOOLS! Can you see the Volturi have deceived you? Their Healer is a master manipulator, a witch able to alter your perception. They took my gift! They drugged you! You drank their poison and now you condemn us?"

Emmett stood up, he hadn't said a word during the trial. "I took your gift." He announced. "I lived with you, saw how you abused your gift, manipulating us and spilling our secrets. You betrayed Rose and Esme's thoughts and painted them as feeble, weak creatures that are inferior to you. I couldn't let you continue to hurt others with your gift. I asked the Masters' permission, they granted it."  
"Truth" Maggie confirmed.

"You're lying! You aren't gifted, you're just an oaf, a simpleton." Edward's words went from angry to smug. He was feeling a sick pleasure at tearing into Em. Emmett just shook his head "you underestimate everyone, tapping into any weakness you perceive. I have watched our mentor, the Healer, pull the darkness you created from my mate and my mother. I have watched him heal the damage Carlisle has done to Alice and treat the underlying illness. You were right all those times you said you were a monster, I loved Bella as a little sister and I will never forgive you for abandoning her and coercing us to leave." Em's voice was strong, his eyes filled with venom.

Marcus took the opportunity to step forward. "Do you know what I see?" He asked Edward. "Bonds" Edward spat. Marcus nodded "I see the ripped bond you had with Bella Swan; it was never a mating bond, only a bond between predator and pray. I see the blackened bonds between you and your former coven, you considered yourself their master. You begged us for death when you learnt of Ms. Swan's death, you will beg for it again before we're done with you. I recommend the darkness the Healer has pulled from your former coven members be transferred to you. You will remain in our cells and experience the consequences of your actions."

I felt shock from the audience and jury, Marcus rarely spoke and, before he'd healed, he hadn't taken part in any trials. The emotions swirled around the room, the general one being approval. Aro turned to the jury "do you agree with Marcus' sentence for the convicted?" There were sharp nods from each of them.

"When will the sentence be carried out?" Amun asked. "When Alice is physically healed our Healer will pull the darkness from her. It will be channeled and siphoned into the darkness the Healer collected from Ms. Platt, Ms. Hale and Mr. McCarthy. Those of you who wish to witness the sentence be carried our will be able to. The rest of you are free to leave. We ask that the content of the trial not be discussed outside this room. You have all heard deeply personal testimony, we ask that you respect the privacy of the witnesses and survivors of their cruelty." Aro said. They were all dismissed. I could tell by the emotions of the crowd that they would put the events of the last few days behind them, the shock of the proceedings had hit them hard. They wouldn't want to revisit it.

The Masters left to check on Alice. We, the Horsemen and the Guard, stayed in our positions. Amun was the first to leave. Siobhan and Liam left soon after. Maggie opted to stay, the Denali's joining her. Caius returned shortly after "could the four Horsemen escort the prisoners to the dungeon? Marcus has requested they be kept in separate cells." He asked. We nodded and headed to Carlisle and Edward. I amped up their fear. Pete and Char lead in front while Bella and I guarded them from behind. Edward walked stiffly, trying to hide his fear. Carlisle was a mess; fear, dread, anxiety and hopelessness emanated from him.

We reached the dungeon and guided them into neighboring cells, Carlisle started to panic. An epiphany seemed to strike Edward, his fear dwindled and he turned smug as Carlisle spoke "you can't separate us! Please!" Edward rolled his eyes, "they're just trying to scare us into submission, Aro's too fascinated by our lifestyle. I mean really, Emmett doesn't have a gift, the Healer probably drugged my blood so I couldn't read his mind. When I first arrived they gave me pig's blood, there was something in it, their thoughts faded slowly. If I don't feed my gift will return and Aro will offer me a place on in the guard."

"Edward, there's no hope." Carlisle insisted. "Oh please, Carlisle. Aro feels threatened by us. He just wants mine and Alice's gifts. You'll be freed soon, as soon as those traitorous friends of yours leave the bonds Chelsea messed with will return. There will be an uproar, the Volturi will have to let us go or our kind will mutiny." He truly believed that shit.

Pete nudged Carlisle towards his cell, Carlisle shouted in desperation "I'm sorry Edward. I love you." Edward rolled his eyes and swaggered into his cell "you're not my mate, Carlisle, it's a trick. Get over it. Bella was my mate." We closed the cells and left them. Carlisle's emotions were full of sadness and hopeless. His mate wouldn't even acknowledge their bond. Edward made himself comfortable, smugness radiated off him.


	36. Part 2 Chapter 18

**AN: This is the second last chapter for Part two, but wait! There's more. Part three will answer a lot of questions. Trigger warning for this chapter.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 18

Rose POV

Emmett paced outside the healing room with J, Bella, Pete and Char. Esme and I were standing in the room, on the other side of the bed from Alistair. Alice was starting to wake up. He was talking to her; assuring her she was safe, promising her no one hated her. "We're here sweetheart. We know the truth and we'll stand by you." Esme whispered.

Alice's back arched against the bed, her eyes widened as she screamed. Alistair leant over her, cradling her face "Alice! Focus on me. You're safe, you're loved and you're healed." Her eyes skittered around the room, not focusing on anything. "The memories are becoming sharper, she's being bombarded with their clarity." Charlie said sadly.

I rushed over to the small refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of enriched Kangaroo blood. I heated it slowly in the microwave and started pouring it in a thermos. Charlie came over with a small bottle of murky liquid, "this will help her put on weight, she needs it." He said. I nodded as he added a few drops. It added a pleasant floral scent to the blood. I added a few drops of the tonic I'd made, it was an extract of the herbs used in calming tea.

I handed the thermos to Alistair and Esme tilted Alice's mouth open. Esme rubbed her throat as Alistair pour the blood into her mouth. "Its okay sweetie, this will help. We're here for you. No one will hurt you anymore. Alistair's here, he's your true mate." He smiled at Esme and put the empty thermos on a nearby table.

Alice's eyes lost the frantic, glazed look and cleared. A sob burst out of her, she rolled onto her side, facing her mate and curled up into fetal position. Alistair smiled slightly, relieved his mate was conscious. "There you are. I've been waiting to meet you." He spoke softly. She met his eyes and just stared at him. Her shoulders relaxed.

He continued speaking to her "I've been here for a couple of days, did you hear me talking to you?" She nodded very slightly, his smile widened "I'm glad. We were so worried. Charlie here has been working very hard, Esme, Em and Rose too. They've been helping you."  
"I don't deserve it." She whimpered. "You do, Alice. We know the full truth." Alistair's voice grew strong, leaving no room for argument.

She sobbed and started shaking, Charlie approached her slowly. "Hi Alice" he smiled warmly "I can help you more if you'll let me. There's a lot of darkness around you, I can take it away and ease some of the pain."  
"I'm evil" she whispered. "No you're not kiddo. You've been lost and manipulated for a long time, it took a toll on you. I'm sorry you went through so much pain." Charlie spoke softly, sadness in his voice. "Will it hurt?" She whispered. "It might, I've healed a few people, some hurt and some didn't. Did it hurt while you were trapped inside your mind?" He asked. She shook head, Charlie looked relieved. "That's great, it means it won't hurt." He confirmed. She nodded and stiffened in anticipation.

Charlie's fingertips glowed, light moving towards Alice, surrounding her and disappearing behind a shadow. The light broke through at one point and curled around the darkness. "Bring me two bottles from the top shelf, hold them open for me, Rose." He asked me. I held them open and pointed them in Alice's direction. Charlie moved the light to the bottles and darkness poured into them, filling them to the brim. I corked the bottles and put them on the desk for Pete to label them.

Alice started sobbing, turning her head into the mattress. Alistair moved to stroke her hair, his fingers brushed along her scalp. Her hands shot out and she pulled him forward. He picked her up and sat down with her on his lap. He was beaming at her. A sob burst out of Esme, Alistair looked at her in concern "I'm so happy for you two." She said, clearing her throat.

Alice's voice was muffled "you don't hate me?" Esme and I moved around the bed and knelt down in front of them. I shook my head "no. None of us hate you. We learnt the truth, the whole truth, and we stand by you." Alice started talking, venting her memories.

"He hurt me." We stilled as she spoke. "I was so scared, I saw what would happen to me. My parents and Cynthia tried to get me to tell them what was wrong. I told them I had nightmares. I started getting confused between the visions and reality. One moment I'd be with my family, eating dinner, the next I was trapped in a dark room. My parents saw how confused and upset I became and made that vision come true. They put me in that place.

"They spoke to Carlisle and gave me to him. I thought he was nice, he talked kindly and promised to make me better." Her voice cracked "but then he'd take me to a room and restrain me. I couldn't move, speak, anything." Her voice rose higher and higher. Alistair hugged her tighter and kissed her temple.

She took a couple of breaths and continued. "There was so much pain. Once a week he'd paralyze me, hurt me. I was so scared of him. I tried to hide under my bed so many times, but he found me. I was only 15, small. I didn't know he was a vampire, I just knew he tortured me. I told him many times that it hurt too much, but he just brushed me off saying 'you need this to get better' 'It didn't work, I couldn't focus on anything. More and more, my mind clouded. There were black spots in my memory.

"I remember things changed. He carried me somewhere, the smell of bleach burned my nose and I was put on a table. A light turned on above me and blinded me, my room didn't have a light, I was used to the darkness. There was a chemical smell and my head split open with pain. When I woke up my eyes hurt so badly, they were bandaged. I felt odd. I don't remember anything after that until my body started to burn.

"I remember there had been growls and it sounded like metal was being ripped apart. I knew I was lying on the ground, I felt the grass prickle my skin. I didn't know who I was or what had happened to me. When the pain stopped I could move again. I saw visions of Jasper" she sobbed as she said his name. "I was meant to bring him to a family with golden eyes. I fed from deer and got used to the blood lust and went to find him. We fell in love and met the Cullens.

"I didn't recognize Carlisle. He and Edward were so nice to me, but I felt uncomfortable. They wanted me to tell them everything I saw. I did. Anything I tried to hide would be picked out of my thoughts. When I saw Bella appear in my visions I saw that her and Jasper would be together. I tried to leave, I wanted him to be happy. Edward called me stupid for wanting to leave, said I deserved to love Jasper and he would distract Bella. I tried to say no but every argument that appeared in my mind was countered.

"I got so confused. I wondered if everything that happened was part of a story and I was just a character. I thought everyone around me was a toy and got even more confused." Alice paused. I bent down and looked her straight in the eye "thank you for trusting us with your memories." I said gently. She looked at me confused "Rose, I just told you that you and your family were nothing but playthings and you thank me? Am I in hospital still?"

Esme shook her head "no sweetie, you're in Volterra and you've been healed through Charlie's work. He undid the physical damage that Carlisle inflicted." Alice froze "please don't let him see me" she begged. I knew she was talking about Carlisle. "Kiddo, you'll never see him again. He won't hurt you or anyone else ever again." Charlie explained "Aro has the power to read every thought someone's had with a touch of his hand. Edward, Esme and Carlisle came here with the Denalis. You came with them. Aro saw what Carlisle had done to all of the people in the coven.

"Aro read each of your thoughts, Edward and Carlisle were taken to the dungeons. You and Esme were brought in for healing. Esme's now healed thanks to the Masters and the others who were part of the Cullen coven. Now you're physically healed, you remember everything and the mental illness the visions brought on has been healed." Charlie finished.

"Won't the visions bring it back? I don't want to see the future, it's terrifying. I can't cope with it-" Alice was starting to panic. I cut her off "Emmett has a power, he can take gifts away from vampires. You no longer have The Sight."  
"Am I in trouble?" She whispered. Charlie answered her. "Nope, Aro saw you were manipulated and very ill. He saw that the responsibility lies with Edward and Carlisle."  
"How can you stand to be in the same room with me Charlie? Bella died and it's all my fault! If I had left and let Jasper be with her she'd be alive!" She started sobbing and shaking, Alistair rocked her gently.

"She's alive and with Jasper." I said firmly. Alice started mumbling to herself "this is a dream. I must still be in the hospital, it was all a dream. I'm insane, I'm not a vampire, I'm not in a castle." Charlie headed to the door "I'll bring in the Horsemen." He was carrying an empty bottle.

Alistair spoke over her mutterings "your name is Mary Alice Brandon, you have been a vampire for the last 75 years. Your sire's name was Dr Alan Coulson, he was a vampire who worked in the mental institution and intervened against Carlisle's twisted care. Dr Coulson got him fired. Carlisle tortured you with ECT and lobotomized you, when Carlisle was removed from your care Dr Coulson took over, he was kind to you.

"The nomads; James, Victoria and Laurent, killed him, but he was able to bite you before he died. You lost all your human memories and, until you woke up here, you were manipulated by Edward and Carlisle. You've been here a little over two months and Charlie has healed the damage done by the lobotomy and ECT." She stilled as she listened to Alistair. "It really happened?" She asked. He nodded, "it did, but you're safe now." He promised her.

The door opened, Charlie came in with Bella, J, Char and Pete. Charlie put the bottle on his desk with the other two bottles full of Alice's darkness. I knew J had filled them with Alice's emotions. The bottle looked empty. The Horsemen removed their masks and hoods. J flooded the room with calm. Alice's eyes widened. He smiled at her. "How are you feeling, Ali?" He asked quietly, Alice moved her eyes to Bella and look scared. Bella smiled sadly "it's okay Alice, no one's going to hurt you. You're not in any trouble at all." She assured her.

Alice turned her head to J. "Please tell me you and Bella are together, please tell me I didn't fuck that up for you." Her eyes glistened with venom. J walked forward and bent down to eye level "Bella and I are engaged. You didn't ruin anything. We don't hate or blame you. We actually want to get to know the real you." J smiled at her. "Holy fuck" Alice's voice was breathless, Bella chuckled "we've been saying that a lot around here." Her voice turned serious "are you in any pain?" Alice looked shocked and answered "no, thank you for asking." Bella smiled and told her "we want you to be happy."

PPOV

We stayed till the following morning. I was amazed at how Alice had changed since she was healed. She wasn't the over-excited Chihuahua who pissed on everything. She was cynical, sarcastic and observant. She was surprisingly easy to be around. _"I can't help but wonder; if they'd just fucked would they have caused as much damage?"_ She'd asked when we told her Edward was Carlisle's true mate. I didn't know the answer, I just knew it was impossible because they rejected who they are. Cowards.

Alice admired Bella's transformation; the piercing and red streaks through her hair. Bella pulled aside her cloak and lifted her sleeve, showing the tattoo she'd gotten from the Quileutes. Alice had stroked it, her eyes lit up. _"That's really fucking awesome." _Alice had beamed.

I'd labeled the bottles of her darkness; Carlisle and Edward. They both knew Alice's history, hell Edward was living with Carlisle in Biloxi when he worked for the sanitarium. I labeled the clear bottle of Alice's emotions for Carlisle. The arsehole deserved it, there were plenty more bottles destined for he and his mate. As the sun rose we headed to our daily briefing.

We were waiting in Caius's study, the Masters were already there and we were waiting for the three Healers to arrive. Esme was returning to Marcus' quarters to take care of the two boys, Evan and Mark, we'd captured from the first mission we'd taken in America. Marcus and Esme had taken time to teach them our laws and had started schooling them. They were like adopted sons to the new Volturi matriarch and her mate.

Today the boys would be introduced to the guard and those who remained after the trial to view the sentencing. They had already met us and Charlie officially and knew to keep the secret. Alec had spent a lot of time with Mark and their mating bond had grown strong. He and Jane had helped the boys with their studies.

The Healers walked in looking happier than they'd been in a long time. We greeted them and Aro asked "how is Ms. Brandon going?" Emmett answered him. "She's spending some alone time with her mate. We've started giving her something to add some meat to her bones." He chuckled "she was thrilled when we told her we could fill her out a little more, she told us she'd always felt self-conscious about her appearance. Her short hair and petite body made her feel androgynous." Em shook his head "poor kid. There's a chance her hair might grow a little with the weight gain."  
"She asked me to put streaks of color through her hair, like you've got Bells." Rose said. "Ha! I'm starting a fashion trend! What color does she want?" Bella asked. "Blue, apparently her eyes were a deep blue when she was human, she wants to have something to look at in the mirror to connect her with her human life." Rose explained.

"We've started fattening up Alistair too" Charlie said, grinning. "Alice said she thinks he'll look good with longer hair. He was bald when he was turned as well, that's why his hair is the same length as Alice's. His hair fell out while he was imprisoned." He paused. "Alistair's healing will take a while too, the venom of the transformation froze his organs in a state of disrepair. I can't believe he survived to become a vampire. Hell, I'm surprised he survived with his sanity intact. He's very lucky. Having said that, he does have a social phobia."  
"He's been alone for a long time. I haven't read Alistair's memories, frankly I don't want to. Carlisle was a blabbermouth and told me everything. Honestly, we're lucky I didn't confide in him more, it could have ruined the future." Aro said.

He turned to Charlie "do you think they'll be up to joining us for dinner? Our wives would love to meet her."  
"I'll ask her, it'd be good for her to see everyone in a less official setting. Plus, I know she'd appreciate some good home cooking. The only problem is that she wants to feed from humans, she hates having gold eyes."  
"Are the gold eyes the only reason for her wanting to change her diet?" Aro asked. Charlie nodded and explained. "Yes, she loves the taste of the animal blood we feed her, she just doesn't want the golden eyes."  
"I know how she feels" Caius muttered.

Aro grinned "then I have good news my friends. Our scientists have had a recent breakthrough with the synthetic blood. They've found a process that quickens the cloning procedure, they're able to make larger quantities. We'll still have to supplement our diet with human and animal, but if the Healers can enrich the synthetic blood like they do with the animal blood we'll be able to keep our eyes red."

Aro removed his contacts "these things are irritating, I can see why the Horsemen would prefer to drink unpalatable human blood instead of disguising their eyes like we do."  
"It also means we don't have to change contacts regularly. When on duty it would look suspicious if we disappeared every few hours. We can't exactly say we need a bathroom break." J joked. "Contacts also obscure our vision slightly, we need our wits about us while on duty." I added. Caius nodded "it's lucky Rose and Esme called for recesses during the trials, our contacts would have dissolved otherwise."

"What's on the agenda for today?" Bella asked. Charlie answered her grimly "we carry out the sentence of Carlisle and Edward." Aro nodded in agreement and added "they will be forced to take on the darkness and emotions they created in others. When their minds are broken they will be disposed of."

Bella put her hand up "may I bring them death?"  
"Are you sure you want to?" Caius asked. Bella grinned evilly "I do. I want my face to be the last they see."  
"You're willing to show them you're alive?" Aro asked. Bella explained her decision. "I didn't get a chance to testify, I'm thankful for the information Rose and Esme shared for J and I, but I want to see their eyes when they learned I survived them." Aro agreed "as long as you're certain, the burden of death weighs heavy on our hearts, especially when it comes to those you know very well. I can understand if it would give you closure."

My gift pinged me, it had been a while since it'd told me anything _"tell Alice about the trial, let her face Carlisle and Edward and have a hand in their punishment."_ I passed on the message. Charlie wasn't keen on the idea, he was concerned it would hurt her, but he agreed it should be her decision and it could help her. I knew Alistair would stay by Alice's side, lending her his strength.

BPOV

We were masked, cloaked and filled to the brim with morbid anticipation as we entered the throne room. Dad walked in front, his face masked and his cloak concealing his body. Beside him were the Masters, their red cloaks clashed with dad's silvery, venom cloak. We, as The Horsemen, walked behind the four of them. Alec, Jane, Rose and Em were behind us. Em and Rose wore their cloaks, but didn't need their masks for this occasion. They were carrying a basket of bottles. Maggie and the Denalis were waiting for us, their faces were grim as we lead them to the dungeon.

Edward hadn't moved. He looked bored, but as soon as he saw us he smirked. "How long are you going to keep up this pretense, Aro?" He was incredibly smug for a man about to break. "I assure you Edward, there is no pretense." Edward scoffed at Aro. We spread out, I looked to Carlisle's cell. He had given up and was lying motionless on the floor. Good.

Aro nodded to dad. Dad brought out the two clear bottles from the basket, Alice's emotion bottle was for Carlisle. The other bottle carried the emotions from Esme and Rose during the trial, it would be given to Edward. Rose and Em pulled out a few more bottles in preparation. Through the clear glass of the bottles Emmett held I could see muddy clouds roll and boil. It was darkness. Rose's bottles were clear; one held mine and J's emotions, the other held the emotions from the court room.

Edward stopped smirking, he didn't believe what he was seeing. Dad's fingers started to glow, the red contacts and his mask hid his emotions. He was creepy looking, focused on Edward who was now begging Aro. "You want my gift. Think of what it'll mean for the Volturi. You'll know every thought for miles around. Stop this madness, Aro, I'll work with you." He held his hand out through the bars "touch my hand, you'll see. I'll be part of your elite guard." Pathetic.

Aro's voice was cold "you have been judged by your allies, your actions exposed, and been found guilty. You have been sentenced to receive the darkness and emotional burden you created in your prey." Carlisle pleaded from his cell, "I meant no harm."  
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Carlisle." Aro said stoically as he and the other Masters' turned and left.


	37. Part 2 Chapter 19

**AN; This is the last chapter in Part 2. Chapter 1 of Part 3 will be up in a few days. Some of this chapter is Pete's Inferno. Pete is a casual observer, like Virgil, to Carlisle and Edward descent through the levels of hell as they're punished.**

CHAPTER 19

PPOV - The Dungeon in Volterra

We, The Horsemen, stood behind the Healers in front of Edward and Carlisle's cells. We had a clear view of both prisoners. Edward was panicking. He ran, crashing his body as hard as he could against the walls and bars. He was frantically trying to free himself. It would be a wasted effort, no vampire had even dented the cells in the centuries since the castle had been constructed. Vampire ash from the destruction of the Romanian's allies strengthened it, making it impossible to break.

Charlie uncorked the two empty looking bottles, his fingertips were alight with his power. The glow flowed out of him and pushed into Edward, bringing with it the negative emotions J had collected. Edward screamed as it enveloped him, the light pushed the emotions into him before returning to Charlie's finger tips. Edward gasped and clutched his chest as if his heart had been ripped out. These were Bella and J's emotions from the trial. It was better than he deserved. Thankfully there were more bottles designated for his soul.

Charlie repeated the process with another bottle. Edward had now taken on the emotions from J, Bella, Rose and Esme from the trial. The other clear bottles were reserved for Carlisle; they held the emotions from Alice, the Jury and the audience. Charlie pushed the emotions from the other clear bottles into Carlisle. His cries joined Edward's. I glanced at Bells, her eyes glittered dangerously. The convicted Cullens would finally acknowledge another individual's pain.

Rose picked up a bottle, facing it towards Edward as she removed the cork. I knew this was J and Bella's darkness from the trial. The miasma of hatred, oppression, grief, worthlessness and heartbreak drifted out. It carried with it a feeling of physical weakness and it numbed my body. The light from Charlie's fingertips circled it, pushing it towards Edward and releasing us from its hold.

Carlisle had his hands over his ears and was rocking back and forth as Edward shrieked in the cell next to him. Charlie took a couple of steps to the right and Emmett directed one of Alice's bottles of darkness at Carlisle, opening it in his direction. Disorientation, helplessness, fear, dread, betrayal and anger, the emotions held a manic edge. I felt jittery and trapped. It was a powerful combination, my sympathy for Alice grew. Carlisle curled in on himself as his body was forced to absorb it into him.

Charlie moved between the cells as Rose and Emmett released bottles of hell. This was fire and brimstone justice and they had earned every bit of the flame and stench. They each took the darkness of their ex coven members. Bella's darkness was sent only to Edward. Emmett sent his to Carlisle, he'd felt so helpless and insecure for so many decades, watching as his loved ones were hurt, unable to do anything about it.

When the last bottle was drained Charlie bowed his head and walked to the elevator, Rose and Em followed him. We stayed behind for a moment; J had some justice of his own to deliver. Aro had told him that there were literally thousands of people killed and maimed by Carlisle and Edward over the centuries. J was going to tap into the emotions of every human and newborn we had killed, both in the first and second Vampire Wars, and give that fear to Carlisle and Edward. Bella, Char and I stood back as J released his gift.

I was thankful we were out of the line of fire. J started slowly; Carlisle and Edward shook. As J increased the power they lost what little control they had. Their screams echoed around the dungeon. They clawed at their skin, the ground, the walls. I saw their fingernails snap off and their fingers break from their desperation to escape. J let out one final burst of fear. They were throwing their bodies against their cells, panicked. I could hear their bones crack and smell the venom as their skin broke from compound fractures.

J walked to the elevator. We followed behind him. There was no point watching the pathetic creatures any longer.

We reached the floor of the Throne room, the others had gathered there. The Denalis and Maggie had paled, but I could tell they had needed to be here as the sentence was carried out. This was a bloody justice, but they knew it was fair.

The Denalis said their goodbyes to the Volturi, they even thanked them for handling the situation. I was surprised, but then considered the long standing friendship between them and the Cullens; they'd been insulted in their own home, preached at, tried to help both Edward and Carlisle understand how their actions affected others, tried to help each member of the coven only to have any progress they made turned back by Edward and Carlisle's actions. "What were their emotions?" Aro asked J. "Sadness and relief." J said.

Maggie joined us in Caius' room for the daily debrief with Jane, Alec and the Healers. She already knew our identity from when she visited us with the guard to take care of Maria and her newborn army. She smiled as we removed our masks. Jane turned to Charlie and J "was physical pain included in the darkness?" She asked. They shook their head and Charlie tried to explain "there are emotions and emotional pain, but there's more to it. The darkness clings to a person like soot mixed with crude oil, building up like scar tissue. It kind of blocks a person, it's a constant and doesn't lift without some major intervention."

Charlie looked to Esme and spoke. "You're incredibly strong. You had the darkness, but you were able to release it, push it away with the emotional support of Marcus, Bells, J, Em and Rose." She smiled shyly and looked at Marcus. Her eyes sparkled, had their relationship changed?

"How did Evan and Mark handle meeting the guard?" Bella asked, changing the subject. Esme giggled lightly "they were fascinated by Felix, he offered to teach them to fight. They've been rough housing all afternoon in the paddock. They'll be joining us for dinner tonight, Felix and Demitri will be joining us too. I introduced the boys to the wives, had their cheeks pinched repeatedly." She said. Caius grinned and said "Dora's been happy to have the extra company. There wasn't much for them do before you guys came along. Apparently being a Queen was boring."

The debrief had finished, before we were dismissed I told them how my gift instructed us to tell Alice about the trial. They agreed, Aro would use his gift on Alistair and share his memories of the trial with his mate. As everyone headed out for the day I asked to speak with Esme quietly, she nodded for Marcus to head out.

"Is everything okay, Peter?" She asked me, I nodded. "I'm just being nosy. How is everything with Marcus?" I asked. She smiled and looked down. "Good. We went on our first date a few days ago. He told me I'm his true mate."  
"He is." I confirmed. I continued, "we don't know why he's been able to have a second true mate, we think he was given the chance because how long he's lived."  
"I'm glad, he's been so good to me. There's no pressure and he wants us to take it slow." She said. I smiled and told her "he's a good man. Fate favors the strong and he is strong. Even though Aro and Caius arranged for him to have his bonds strengthened by Chelsea that brought little help. He's a good man, Esme. I know you'll be very happy together."  
"I already am happy." She said, smiling widely.

JPOV

Aro was with Alistair in the room next door, he was asking for permission to use his power. "I assure you, Alistair, I won't violate your mind. There is enough control that I can show her the trial only." Aro said. "During the trial Eleazar said your gift was turned to send rather than receive, how were you able to receive the memories from Rose and Esme if you were only sending information?" Alistair asked. "My gift is strong. If I use it at full strength I receive every memory an individual's ever had. I can also do the reverse and send every thought I've ever had to an individual. If I balance the power between sending and receiving I can pull the memories from the front part of your mind and send them to another. You would have control over what you let me see and pass on." Aro explained.

"Well" Alistair sighed "I've trusted you this far Aro, thanks to you and the others I've found my true mate and I'm healing alongside her. I'll do it."  
"Thank you. I know we have a long way to go before you will trust us, but I respect your position." Aro paused. "I have a confession, Alistair. I heard your story from Carlisle when he first joined us in the 1700s. I'm very sorry for how you've been treated, but I'm glad you didn't die."

Alistair inhaled sharply and asked "did you see Carlisle's memory of me telling him my story or did he tell you directly?"  
"He told me directly, Alistair. I try to avoid using my gift, it's too much knowledge to store in my head. I only use it in trials against the accused and their accusers. I admit I saw his memory of you telling him your story when I interrogated him when he arrived in Volterra a few months ago."

"Thank you for your honesty." Alistair said. There was the sound of an exhale "how do we do this Aro?"  
"Gently, Jasper's in the healing room now, he'll help her emotions and Charlie will assist him. Alice is in her bathroom getting ready for the day with Rose's help." There was a pause and the door opened. Alistair had changed; his hair was a little longer, it hung around his ears. His pallor had improved; his cheeks were less hollow, his eyes less sunken. I was surprised how quickly Charlie's tonic worked.

I smiled at him as he sat down "you look good, do you feel any different?" I asked. He smiled and said "I have more energy, my limbs aren't as stiff."  
"That's great news. I thought it'd take longer for the feeding tonic to work." I said. Charlie walked in from a back room "I'm good at what I do, J" he smirked. "Wait till you see Alice."

I turned to Aro as he asked if I was ready, I nodded. The bathroom door opened and Alice looked around. Her hair was about half an inch longer, she looked less boyish, there was a slight curve between her waist and hips. Her eyes were red, her emotions were calmer than they had been. I smiled at her "you look good, Ali. So does Alistair." She bowed her head slightly, but her emotions were warm. "Thanks Jazz." Her voice had deepened slightly, losing the tinkling edge she'd had before. It sounded smoother. She had also grown a few inches in height, she was a little taller than five feet.

She sat on the bed, Rose had told her we had to update her on recent events. Alistair and Aro felt nervous. Aro started "you look like you're healing very well." He smiled at her. "I know you've gotten your memories back and are learning to cope with the worst parts of your existence, but we need to update you on what's been happening for the last week." Alice nodded and braced herself.

"There was a trial, we had to arrange it carefully because of the allies Carlisle had. Many came to view and a few offered to support him. We made those who supported him the jury, we'd present the information of their crimes and they would decide the fate of Carlisle and Edward." Her emotions grew negative, there was a lot of shame, hurt and anger. I blanketed her in security and calm. "Rose and Esme testified on behalf of themselves, Bella and Jasper. They shared their memories with the jury. Edward and Carlisle were questioned in front of the jury and audience." Aro explained.

"I have asked Alistair to show you his memories of the trial-" Alice cut Aro off and turned to her mate. "Were you on the jury?" She asked him. "I was, I saw the memories and turned my back on Carlisle and Edward like the rest of the people there. I'm ashamed I ever supported him." Alistair said. His self-loathing grew, I shoved some calm at him "you did nothing wrong; you listened and were open minded enough to change your mind when the facts were presented. Carlisle has deceived and betrayed many people." I urged.

"Listen to him Alistair, I don't blame you for supporting him. Like Jazz said; you changed your mind when the truth came out. If you hadn't come to support him we wouldn't have met." Alice said. He smiled at her. "Thank you for understanding." Alistair said to her. She rolled her eyes "you told me your story, I can empathize with your reasoning. Of course you'd support a man you'd been led to trust against rulers who had been slandered."

Aro continued "they have been sentenced and are currently being punished. We'll show you the trial first." Aro stood between Alice and Alistair, Alistair cringed at the contact. He really doesn't like physical interaction. I focused on Alice's emotions, they fluctuated between sadness, anger, hate, sympathy, gratitude, fear, disgust.

When she opened her eyes she felt determination "can I see their punishment being given?" She asked Aro. I turned to him "you can show her my memories if you like?" I suggested. They both nodded, I put my hand in Aro's and thought about my experience in the dungeon, the thoughts were sucked out of me and I felt Alice's emotions as she witnessed them.

Aro let go of our hands and Alice breathed deeply, her pain had spiked during the memories, but she felt a little relief now. "Thank you for showing me. I appreciate it, their punishment was fitting." Her voice hardened slightly "did he feel the physical pain from what he did to me?" She asked. "No, only emotional." Charlie explained.

Alice was disappointed. Aro caught her look "I know I shouldn't be telling you this, you should be focused on healing. But, you deserve justice for what you've experienced. We have a guard member who can inflict pain. She expressed an interest in using her power against Carlisle and Edward. I can introduce you to her and you can discuss it, if you wish?" He offered. Alice accepted, "I need to see it happen." She added. Aro nodded and left to get Jane.

"How're you feeling, kiddo?" Charlie asked. She shrugged "vengeful. Knowing that they're locked away and can't hurt anyone else helps. I need them to feel my pain; the ache in my joints for being locked in a dark room for two years, the pain of electrical current shooting through their bodies and their eyes sting from being operated on. I need to make them understand how it felt." Charlie scrutinized her and nodded. "I understand, Alice. You need to be heard, it's not their suffering you need, you need them to feel what they put you through first hand, you want them to see how their actions affected you."

She nodded in confirmation and turned to me "will you help them feel the emotions I felt. I was so disorientated and scared." I nodded and told her how I'd given them the emotions she felt when she woke from healing. She turned to Alistair "will you stay with me?"  
"Of course, I won't you face them alone." He vowed.

PPOV

We lead Alistair and Alice to the dungeon. Bella, J, Char and I were under orders that if the prisoners expressed true remorse we could end their life. Bella was geared up to burn them slowly, she would do what she did with Angelo and let them smolder.

Alice and Alistair stood behind us with Jane, we shielded them from Carlisle and Edward's view, they would move when they were ready, they were in control. Edward was clawing at his face, his eyes were wide with horror, his body shook and he whimpered, he slithering on the ground where he belonged.

He saw us and froze before backing into the corner and wrapping his arms around himself trying to hold his body together. Carlisle rocked back and forth, his eyes were unfocussed, his body shaking. Alice grabbed Alistair's hand and walked forward, determined to get this over with. As soon as Carlisle saw Alice he crawled towards her, keeping his head bowed "I'm sorry, so sorry."  
"You will be." Alice said lowly. Edward heard her voice and rushed to the front of the cell, he caught sight of Alistair and did the stupidest thing I've seen since he compared his suffering to Marcus' over the loss of Didyme; he tried to compare Alistair's history with his predicament.

"Please Alistair, you and Carlisle were such good friends. Look at us now, we've been betrayed. Like you, we're stuck here to rot. We don't deserve this. We did nothing wrong, the Volturi are mad with power, they were intimidated by us. Please save us." His voice was fast, it screeched with desperation.

Alistair looked into Edward's black eyes and asked; "you have no remorse?"  
"Remorse for what?" Edward asked. His eyes widened with faux innocents and he added; "we did nothing wrong. You were deceived, Alistair, but I forgive you." Alistair shook his head, there were no words. Alice heard Edward's words and roared. "SCUM! TOTAL FUCKING SCUM!" She screamed at him, Edward recoiled in shock "do you really have to swear? I thought you were better than that." He said to Alice. Dumb. Shit.

"Yes, Edward, I must fucking swear. I won't let you or anyone else turn me into a mindless puppet who sits on her arse all fucking day thinking about pretty clothes and shopping. So fuck you very fucking much, you elderly puddle of vaginal discharge." I shook with laughter, I tried not to. I tried to stay frozen, but really Eddie Boy? Vaginal discharge? Fuck yes! I felt something for Alice I hadn't felt before; pride. Char elbowed me and I calmed myself. I hadn't made a noise.

Jane stood next to Alice "may I provide some assistance Miss Alice? I don't believe he's been able to comprehend the meaning of your words." Jane said. Alice calmed and smiled to her. "Be my guest." She agreed. Jane bowed "thank you Miss Alice, it's been a long time since I used my gift with such precision." They were scaring the shit out of me.

Alice smiled wider as Jane asked; "shall we start with the joints or the eyes?"  
"I think the joints would be a good place to start, we'll build up to the eyes." She suggested. Jane focused on Edward. Screams tore through the air, they became louder as Jane increased her power. "Try the temporal lobes, that's where they put the ECT paddles." Alice instructed. Carlisle begged as Edward's screams grew "please stop, it's my fault. I'm the one who hurt you, not him. Please not him."

I resisted the urge to shake my head, Carlisle would be next. Jane turned to J "I'm about to start on the eyes, can you make him disorientated?" J nodded, Alistair turned to him and asked "can you throw some loneliness in there too?" J nodded and flooded the cell with emotion. Edward was broken, but I knew he'd never accept responsibility for his actions. No, he'd never let himself believe he was anything but a victim.

Jane, J and Alice moved to Carlisle's cell. He lay lifeless, accepting the punishment Alice delivered. His time under Jane and J's influence was much shorter than Edward's. He was remorseful, he only received the pain Alice had felt, and the disorientation. He understood.

Aro, Marcus and Caius came to check on the progress. They saw Edward's body curled on the floor and heard his whimpers. They saw Carlisle's prostrate form and nodded to themselves. Aro turned to Bella and declared "justice has been served, you may add Carlisle to Edward's cell and finish them off."

We watched as Bella and J put Carlisle next to Edward. They took of their masks and handed them to Char and I. "They must know their executioners." Bella said and looked them both in the face. J stood next to her, smiling as he felt their recognition and fear. "I am War. This is my mate, Death. We will deliver you to your maker." Carlisle closed his eyes and whispered a soft prayer. Edward looked longingly at Bella. "You should be dead" he spat. Bella smirked "you're almost right. I am Death itself. Your time is almost over Edward."

I was proud of my Sire and niece. That was pretty bad arse. Bella let her shield catch fire, the flames shrank and she focused them onto her fingertips. She scooted the flames forward, they jumped onto Carlisle and Edward's limbs. Bella and J put their masks back on and left.

Char and I stayed with Alice and Alistair. We watched the bodies burn with fascination. It was a beautiful sight; they slowly turned to ash, there was the occasional crackle and spark as their venom burned. When they were a pile of ash Alice collapsed and sobbed against Alistair, I bent down and removed my mask. "You okay, kid?" I asked, she nodded and smiled weakly "it's over. I'm free."

**AN #2: It's not over yet! This is the beginning of the apocalypse! Chapter 1 of Part three will be up in a few days.**


	38. Part 3 Chapter 1

**AN: Welcome to Part three :D**

**This is a super short chapter. It's meant to be longer, but I'm waiting for my version of Vampire History 101 to be proof read. I'm hoping to put the next chapter up the day after tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

PART THREE

NEW WORLD ORDER

CHAPTER 1

BPOV

A month had passed since the execution of Carlisle and Edward Cullen. Alice had grown in leaps and bounds, her and Alistair now looked to be a healthy weight and they had a new found happiness. Their hair reached their shoulders and they looked their true physical age, Alice looked 16 and we were surprised that Alistair looked to be 17 years old, he'd seemed so much older, bitterness and illness had matured his features. It was still a shock that he'd survived so long in the white tower, but it made more sense that he had survived three years instead of the eight years like we'd suspected.

Two weeks ago dad had started to give them a new herbal mix to increase their physical age, Alice now looked to be in her late teens and Alistair looked to be 20. The same aging tincture had been given to Jane, Alec, Mark and Evan. Looking like a young adolescent had drawbacks in today's society, they now looked to be 18.

We had just returned to Volterra; Pete, Char, J and I had been away for two weeks, Alice hugged us when we arrived in the Masters' quarters. "Look! I have boobs now!" She announced cheerfully. Alistair was smiling happily at her side. It wouldn't be long before they finished taking the feeding and aging draughts. Alistair had been healed physically, but he still carried the darkness, he wasn't ready to let go of his past.

We, the Horsemen, had been busy. There were pockets of rebellion across Eastern Europe, the Romanians were planning to overthrow the Volturi. They started to spread propaganda similar to Carlisle's. We were lucky that Carlisle's former allies had rallied to our aid. The biggest surprise had been Amun's help. He'd been so worried about the Volturi finding out about Ben and taking him from their coven to join the Guard.

Sure, Ben's power came in handy; he could control the elements. But when it came down to it, Amun knew the Volturi were better leaders than the Romanians. He had been changed by one of the Elders before Stefan and Vladimir's bloody reign. He was terrified of their potential takeover. Ben ran to join us, sneaking away from his coven to help the kings remain in power. He was a great help, but we talked him into returning to Amun once the mission was completed, trust had been built because of it.

It was 3pm. The Masters had asked for a private audience with us before we settle in for the day. We were meeting them in the 'visitor's room' Edward had been put in when he first arrived. It was a sound proof bunker, isolated to avoid eavesdroppers. Alistair, Alice, Dad, Em, Rose, Esme and my fellow Horsemen were sitting comfortably while the Masters stood in the center of the room.

"Is it safe to talk?" Aro asked Caius. "Yes, we have Jane and Alec running patrols around us." He replied. "Good." Aro said, he got straight to the point. "The Romanians have been heavily guarded in North West Siberia for the last millennium. They have broken out of their prison and have headed west.

"Our intel has them in the red zone of Chernobyl in Ukraine. The guards we assigned haven't been able to enter, their bodies would react badly to the radiation. Our kind doesn't fall sick to radiation, we aren't part of the animal world like our former bodies were. We are living rock, only to be killed by dismemberment and flame.

"Word has spread, a campaign has begun. Stefan and Vladimir have encountered a handful of nomads passing through Ukraine and Russia, they convinced these nomads that they would make better leaders and that we hide behind a mask of neutrality while robbing covens of their gifted ones. They have spread rumors about an unholy alliance between werewolves and the Volturi."

Aro turned to Alistair and continued. "When you found out the identities of the Horsemen you learned that we faked their deaths to prevent them being hunted. They are not the first we protected in this way. The Romanians are right about one thing; we have an alliance with Children of the Moon." Emmett looked between Aro and Caius. "I heard that Caius had completely wiped them out." He said. Aro explained, "That was a lie, the deception was created to protect them."

"Aren't they dangerous?" J asked. "Extremely." Aro confirmed. "At the full moon they lose all humanity, they run on pure instinct. They live in remote parts around the world, segregated from our kind, hiding as best they can from both the mortal and immortal worlds. It was they who guarded the Romanians in their exile; forming a barrier against the Romanians and the rest of the world. Unfortunately, over the years a few unlucky tourists ventured into the more desolate parts of Siberia and were exsanguinated by the vampire captives. They fed rarely and were able to be subdued easily."

Aro looked at me "the Romanians were able to escape because of the nomads you encountered. Five years ago James, Victoria and Laurent chased a young werewolf who was on guard duty. The wolf led them away from the other wolves and their prisoners, he was chased across Siberia. The other guards split up; half staying to guard the territory, half hunting the nomads. It was then the Romanians took their chance. They slipped by the remaining guards and ran straight to Chernobyl. They had heard of the radiation in the area from tourists in the 1990s. Their gamble paid off, they hit the red zone and the werewolves pursued them before falling sick."

"Wouldn't there have been nomads who had come across the werewolves before then?" J asked. Caius answered for the Masters. "There were isolated incidents, but the cold temperature and isolation kept most vampires away. We may not be affected by the cold, but certain temperatures extremes are uncomfortable. Thankfully, the others who came across them left before learning their numbers. We'd promise to eradicate them and we'd tell them not to mention the wolves to others to avoid panic and death. We'd request they not enter Siberia because our elite guard would be exterminating the species and would be distracted by more of our kind."

"They stayed away for centuries?" I asked, Caius nodded "many believe the smell of werewolf lingered long after their death. We lied and confirmed it." Aro nodded and took over the story "it was effective, but now the Romanians have escaped and spread rumor of their imprisonment."

"Why not just kill the Romanians?" Pete asked. "I would have gladly" Aro said "but they also needed to suffer. We came across a witch, she had a powerful gift for the sight. She said they must survive and be imprisoned until they could feel the wrath of those they hurt. She pointed to Marcus and told us he wouldn't recover unless he personally saw to their punishment, that when our fates were coming into fruition we'd be able to undo the damage they caused. I wanted revenge as well, they had imprisoned me for centuries and lead to the deaths of many in my country."

Marcus sighed. "I hadn't been functional enough to consider what I'd do to them until Charlie healed me. Now that they can absorb the darkness they created inside me I know it's time."  
"Why not just imprison them in Volterra?" I asked. Aro replied "the werewolves have a right for justice as well. The Romanians hunted them ruthlessly, killing so many. For the last thousand years they've watched the Romanians starve and suffer in the freezing isolation."

"The werewolves weren't affected by the temperature?" I asked. "No, werewolves burn hotter than humans, they can handle the most extreme temperatures; hot or cold. Their skin doesn't sparkle like ours and they're able to blend in with humans easier. They're stronger and faster than humans most times in the month, but they are stronger than us in the three days of the full moon."

"Why form an allegiance?" J asked. Aro replied cryptically. "Marcus and I have our own reasons which you'll learn soon, but it's also a matter of morality. Who are we to judge and destroy a whole species? They have as much right as us to exist. They aren't evil, at least no more than any other creature. The time for them to come out of hiding approaches," Aro looked at Charlie "you could help them, bind them to their human minds so they are in control of their wolf form at the full moon."  
"Like the Quileutes? Give them the same tea that keeps the La Push boys in touch with their wolf form?" Dad asked. Aro nodded "if there's a way for them to exist in the Supernatural world without losing control we must try."

"How did they not kill the Romanians?" Rose asked. Aro answered. "The werewolves were able to set up scent traps for their wolf form. Rowan trees produce a smell the werewolves can't abide during the full moon. In their human form it wasn't too bad, but it was enough to deter them from destroying the Vampires while their animalistic part took over. The Romanians were torn apart a few times during the millennium they were imprisoned, but the werewolves didn't burn them and they were able put themselves back together after a while."

"So the Romanians have escaped and are telling everyone they can about the werewolf/Volturi alliance." Pete confirmed before asking, "we've only handled a few covens in eastern Europe, why wouldn't there be more rebels?"  
"The Romanians have imprisoned themselves in Chernobyl, the werewolves can't enter, but they can keep the place surrounded. Unfortunately, our kind still passes through that area occasionally and the werewolves have had to hide to keep their existence a secret. Few of our kind have encountered the wolves, most are too young to recognize the smell. To us, werewolves smell like human waste and death. If a vampire saw a werewolf they'd put two and two together. Sadly their secret is out. There is trouble coming for them because of the Romanians.

"For the last thousand years Marcus, Caius and I have done our best to undo the damage of the Romanian regime. We have hidden our existence and the existence of the supernatural world from human kind and become part of the mortals' myths and legends. We've helped bring werewolves back from extinction and given them support against our own species. We have protected humans without their knowledge.

"Our dream is to unite with the werewolves and spirit walkers. Put the animosity in the past. We need help; synthetic blood is a good start and it will make it easier for the Spirit Walkers to make a treaty with us, but we need to give werewolves control over their own lives. Bring them closer to their human side around the full moon. We have to get past the natural aggressive reaction between the species, find a way to calm our instincts to work with them, not kill them. Each of us has a role to play; humans, vampires, spirit walkers and werewolves are all part of the world. We each lend a hand in fate and destiny."

"That's a fairly radical plan, Aro." Pete said "how do we know we can trust them? That they'll trust us?"  
"We start with the werewolves. The time has come for you to learn our secret history." Aro said. He took a deep breath before beginning.


	39. Part 3 Chapter 15 Vampire History 101

**AN: Thanks for your patience. Here's the History of the Vampires. S. Meyer owns twilight. I'll post chapter 2 tomorrow.**

"5000 years before our assent to Vampire Royalty the Romanians were in power. They were openly corrupt; killing, looting, and glutting themselves on the humans around them and the vampire gods who cared for their human charges. Stefan and Vladimir saw how primitive the world was and sought to take advantage. To them every living thing was inconsequential, they were brutal. Their most successful campaigns were the destruction of our ancient rulers and the near extinction of werewolves.

"When they were newly turned they created a rebellion against the eleven Ancients. All over the known world; from Egypt to the eastern shore of Russia they built an alliance with other young vampires. They invaded and plundered each territory held by the Ancients. One by one the eleven elders died by their hands. The Romanians were savages, destroying anything that opposed them.

"A few Ancients heard of the war against their co-regents and tried to hide. They worked together in secret to cull the motley crew of arrogant upstarts. For hundreds of years the Romanians fought against the old world power. They turned the progeny of the Ancients against their sires. They turned humans; creating the first Newborn Army. The Ancients may have been considered gods by the humans in their territories, but they weren't as cruel as the ones that usurped them.

"The last Ancient was killed in 4000 BC. He was a brittle creature, heavy browed and bent. A relic of the Neanderthals. Thousands of years of human and vampire history died with them. Humans lost their gods to cruel, barbaric rulers who enslaved them. The humans tried to appease the new Romanian gods; praying, sacrificing their own people and building monuments to the two leaders, Vladimir and Stefan. Their worship was interpreted by the Romanians as proof of their superiority.

"Their arrogance nearly killed the human race. Their armies binged on humans, killing many for sport, not just food. They were the new Elders of our kind and they hated any competition. Since humans were incapable of defending themselves, they struck up a friendship with werewolves. Humans were bringing werewolves into their communities; feeding them, clothing them, housing them. It was the only option they had to protect their lives from the Vampire scourge.

"The werewolves were able to defend their humans in packs. They were stronger and faster than humans, but not as strong and fast as Vampires outside the full moon. They kept to groups of six in each community they protected. Vampire covens were comprised of two individuals. Any more members would simply open the door to in-fighting.

"As dangerous as the wolves became at the full moon, the humans preferred their company to the Vampires. It wasn't until hundreds of years later that humans and werewolves discovered the beasts within their guardians could be somewhat controlled by Rowan wood. While in human form, the wolves could tolerate the smell, but in their beast form they avoided it. With that protection in place the human world once again flourished.

"The Romanians heard of the deaths of their minions. They heard about the human/werewolf alliance and made it their new mission to destroy every werewolf. They started anew, ordering the creation of new vampires and sending out armies of our kind to hunt down the werewolf guardians and their human masters. The humans were once again enslaved, a few werewolves tried to hide.

"Raiding parties crossed the continent, searching and destroying any werewolves they encountered. Humans began to fear werewolves; being caught harboring one meant the destruction of their families and friends. The human villagers turned their backs on the people who had protected them for so long.

"During the Romanian occupation of the world the werewolves numbers dwindled. Around 3000 BC there were a handful left. It was then one werewolf visited a small coastal town in what is now modern day Norway. My ancestors lived in a small community of fishermen and farmers. Many generations before Marcus and I were brought into the world one of the few werewolves alive came upon our ancestral home. It was the full moon and, through the beast's uncontrollable instincts, he bit one of our townsmen. A band of vampires caught the beast before it could escape and fought him, tearing him apart and setting the remains on fire.

"At this point in our tale we can recount the histories told to us by our fathers. The history of our people was passed on through story telling rather than written down. It was for the protection of our people, if the wrong person got a hold of our history we could be wiped out. Marcus and I grew up with the stories of the past. Every night our fathers would tell us the tales, helping us memorize the history to pass on to future generations. The story of our migration tells us that the town worked together to protect the man who had been bitten. The town apothecary had learnt of the wolf's instinct against Rowan wood and helped contain the creature from harming others in our town during the full moon. Our people banded together and decided to migrate to a small island the seafarers had discovered; Iceland.

"Entire families, our ancestors included, boarded boats and set sail. A few lives were lost, but it was a more merciful death than what the vampires would have dealt us all. They arrived on the unknown island and recoiled from the smell, sulfur lay heavy in the air. Our people knew then the smell would keep vampires away. The fume from the active volcanoes would shield us from any enemies. Our ancestors roamed, building settlements around the coast.

"Traditions grew to ensure our prosperity. The eldest child in every third generation would be turned into a wolf when they were around 20 years old. They would add to the protection of our community and receive the same benefits as the werewolf protectors of the past. It was a high honor to be chosen. Rowan wood was brought over and cultivated to help contain our protectors during the full moon. Its berries would feed our villages along with grain they'd brought over.

"Another sacred tradition started. When each child reached roughly 13 years old they would voyage to the mainland for a year. They'd be fostered by the descendants of those who chose to stay behind. We would learn of new technologies and languages to bring to our settlement. A few stayed on the mainland with their mates, starting new lives and families. They in turn would foster our young men and women into adulthood.

"The practice made our island grow prosperous; many who returned had found suitable mates and brought them home to start families. Sometimes our young would bring their mates and the families of their mates to our island. Our little settlement grew, living in peace from the vampire world. Unfortunately, there were those who lost their lives on the treacherous journey from the island to the continent or on the way back home, but the tradition remained, it was our rite of passage.

"Our settlement grew from the fifty original people to several hundred over generations. Marcus was born roughly ten years before me, we do not know the dates of our births as records weren't kept and time wasn't measured like it is today. We suspect it was around 1000BC, it was the late bronze age.

"When Marcus was old enough he travelled to the mainland like all those before him. He started a life there and didn't return to the island." Marcus cut in, explaining his life on the mainland. "The mainland didn't smell and I fell in love with a local girl. She was carrying my child before I was due to return and didn't want to leave the continent. I stayed with her family, working on the farm and helping protect them from raiders. The weather had changed since our people migrated to Iceland; food was scarce and towns battled each other for survival. I chose to protect my new family."

Aro continued. "He fostered me and many of my generation. He taught us new farming methods, language, reading, writing, navigation techniques and fighting. He helped so many of us. We returned to the island with new supplies and knowledge to share with everyone.

"Our population was constantly changing, fluctuating. We were hardy survivors. Our island was volatile; harsh cold weather, desolate climate and a lot of Volcanic activity. Our life expectancy was thirty, but we flourished. Sometimes our young ones would bring new diseases with them, our immune systems weren't capable of fighting off much and many would die, but still the tradition remained.

"About five years later the ships carrying our young left, one returned within days. A sole survivor was on board. A boy reached the coast, he told us of the bodies littering the Foster City. He described the bite necks on the bodies, our elders hypothesized there had been a vampire raid.

"My uncle, Marcus, wasn't among the dead. At the time our werewolf pack numbered twenty nine. I had an older brother, Fred-"  
"Your brother's name is Fred?" Emmett asked in amusement. "Actually his name is Frithugaizaz, young people like you tend to have trouble with it so we call him Fred," Aro said with a mock glare. Emmett tried to pronounce 'Frithugaizaz,' but he looked like a dog trying to chew toffee. The Masters laughed at him.

Aro resumed his story. "Fred became our generation's werewolf protector. The werewolves wanted to head to the mainland and avenge those who had protected our secret with their lives, we stopped them from going. If they went up against the vampires they could die and their scent could be tracked back to us.

"Instead we gathered; I joined with a small army of men headed to the mainland to find out what had happened to our friends. There were twenty of us, we knew it was a hopeless mission, but we couldn't let our friends die without telling their story. We confirmed what the Elders had suspected; Vampires. Marcus had trained each of us to fight, I was a gifted fighter amongst the men of our country and I led our group along the path of destruction.

"We came across a straggler, a vampire who was looting the bodies. I led the attack against him, he knocked me out cold and tore our little army apart. He decided he liked my spirit so he turned me and left me. For the three days of agony I burned amongst the bodies of our friends. When I awoke I fed on the first thing I could find; a crying baby. I was absolutely disgusted with myself.

"Too ashamed to return to Iceland I headed along the northern coast. I followed it, feeding only when my instincts took over, and found my way into Russia. It was a cold hell-scape, but it was more than I deserved. I wandered for years avoiding humans and prolonging my suffering for the life I had taken. I'd swim to islands far off the northern coast, occasionally eating animals. Carlisle wasn't the first vampire to adopt a non traditional diet. I probably wasn't the first either.

"I eventually hit the eastern coast of Russia and travelled south. I found a little inlet and made a home there, trying to recreate what I had in Iceland. It was a solitary existence, but it was one I'd chosen. I didn't have to be a monster like the man who created me. The only sound for centuries was wildlife and the sea. It was a comfort.

"One day the sound of approaching humans hit me. I grew scared and abandoned my home. I followed the path that had led me to the inlet. I only just avoided a small human army from the south. They couldn't see me, but I could see them with my vampire sight. They looked different to the humans I'd encountered before and carried strange weapons, they rode strange animals.

"I snuck past them, my curiosity was too much. I found a small, dark arrow and marveled at the texture between my fingers. It was cold and brittle in my hands, it looked a little like the bronze artifacts I'd seen growing up. I hadn't known such a thing to exist and took it with me as a hid in the far north of Russia. From a distance I saw the human warriors build settlements and fight each other. At night I'd sneak in and take the blood of the dying humans, animals had become scarce as the weather turned colder.

"I was able to feed regularly during the long winter night. The dark sky kept me hidden and I was able to steal new clothes and put dying humans out of their misery. I even tried one of the horses they rode on, even though I'd never seen one before, it tasted terrible as most herbivores do. There were a few little bits of iron I collected along the way, discarded by the sloppy humans. I watched as more soldiers would arrive and lead the men off to conquer more lands. I picked up their languages and enjoyed their stories. I felt more human despite the physical distance.

"Foolishly I kept following them, right until I headed into Eastern Europe and came across the scent of other vampires. I hid as best as I could, my senses had sharpened after centuries of solitude and I had learned to move softly so as not to frighten my prey. I split off from my place alongside the human army and headed north, the temperature had grown warmer and I knew that any comfort warmth would bring me would also bring vampires.

"I was caught as I reached Estonia. A raiding party had arrived from Finland. I hid, but it didn't work. They caught my scent and followed it to my hiding place. I recognized the man who grabbed me as the one who had turned me many centuries before. When the bare skin on my neck made contact with his bare hands my mind filled with the images of those he'd destroyed. I saw him in Iceland killing the descendants of my community. I attacked him.

"I lost the fight quickly. I had become weak from the small amount I fed from and was inexperienced in fighting unlike my human days. He laughed at me and dragged me to where modern day Romania exists. Deep into the Carpathian Mountains, to the lair of the Romanian Kings.

"The Romanians didn't take to me. I tried to attack them, screaming obscenities at them for causing so much damage. I was full of hate and grief. The Romanians were amused by my outburst, until I touched my bare hand to their skin. I saw everything they had done and learnt their language in a millisecond.

"I cursed them out in their own language, they had hurt so many for such a petty reason; power. I was angered by the sheer stupidity of it, the futility. I hated them so much. Vladimir backhanded me. I landed in a pile of bones. Werewolf bones. They built a cage around me. I was trapped, barely able to move, and starved as they bathed in the blood of the innocent."

Marcus took over the story telling. "It was a few years after I'd met Aro, my brother's son. I was an old man by the standard of the time, late twenties. A group of vampires travelled north until they reached my village. They killed everyone; my wife, my children, my family and my friends. People I'd sworn to protect. They were fighting amongst themselves over my body, biting and draining me. They were all injured heavily, venom leaked out of them as they drained me.

"Now, I'm an intelligent man. I knew how to kill vampires, I just didn't have the strength. As the venom dripped onto me I reached into my pocket and struck the flint and firestone together. If I was going to die I would take as many of them with me as I could. They lit up like Roman Candles. The flames burnt quickly and scalded my skin. I wrestled free of their burning bodies and lost consciousness as the venom sped through my veins, healing my wounds and turning me into the creature I hated.

"When the pain of the transformation stopped I marveled at my strength. I knew then and there that I would avenge the humans they slaughtered so carelessly. The loss of my wife and children nearly killed me on the spot. They lay broken, dead. I vowed then to fight, they wouldn't die in vain. I would destroy every one of the species.

"I headed east, feeding from those who lay dying and killing any vampire I crossed paths with. For months and months I fought and killed, until my newborn year was over. My strength waned and leveled out. I fought smarter; and turned their ranks against themselves.

"A few others joined me in fighting our kind. They and their families had suffered a similar plight to my own. Around 500BC we headed south, a merry band of misfits. We'd grown to five members. It was then we reached Greece. There were vampires living there who weren't like the savages I'd encountered in the northern Europe.

"We took respite in Athens. I met Didyme and Sulpicia. They listened to our tales of loss, although I never mentioned my island family or the werewolves. That was a secret I would take to my grave. We studied with the mathematicians and philosophers, astronomers and alchemists. They were civilized and educated, unlike anyone I'd met since my human days. They were fascinating.

"I stayed in Greece until the great migration. Many headed to Italy, I joined them, leaving the allies I'd made on my journey of revenge in Greece. Didyme and her sister, Sulpicia joined me. We headed towards Rome; we came upon a civilization that appealed to us, the Etruscans. We watched the community develop before our eyes, secret observers of human history. We headed north, reaching the epicenter of the Etruscan people. I took a liking to the city of Velathri and made a home there.

"Before the turn of the millennium, year zero by Christian standards, the Roman Empire started. We travelled amongst them, curious about the new population. The Romans were little better than the Romanians; slavers and barbarians hiding behind the guise of education and civility. We returned to Etruria.

I had loved our time among the Etruscans, they had no ruler, but had tribes. They reminded me of the people I'd grown up with in Iceland. We sat back and watched as the tribes and their Chieftains were absorbed into the Empire. The decadence of the new empire surprised me. I turned bitter as I saw the waste of resources and the gap between rich and poor expand. The rich trampled on the poor, treating them no better than vampires treated humans. They changed the name of our city to Volaterrae.

"We returned to Rome, into the cesspit capital of the empire. We watched as people cheered on prisoners who were forced to fight to the death. People cheered as captives and slaves were executed in new and horrifying ways. It was entertainment to these people, but there was one human I observed with some curiosity. He was scarred heavily from battle, his back turned to the sick entertainment his masters had arranged. I spoke to him, finding out why he didn't join the celebration-"

Caius cut Marcus off "I told you '_I've seen enough blood shed to last lifetimes. Death is not entertainment; it is only entertaining to cowards unable to wield a sword of their own."_ Marcus nodded and smiled at Caius before continuing "he impressed me. I told him of my comparison between the Roman world and the Romanians who saw humankind as cattle. He was bored with the monotony of his life as an Elite General of the Roman Guard.

"When I introduced myself he laughed at my name. He decided to call me Marcus, it would help me fit in with the Roman world."  
"What was your name before then?" Esme asked. Marcus smiled "Thegnmarr, apparently it needed updating." Marcus said as he rolled his eyes. "It was a perfectly good name." He pouted. "Was Aro born with a different name?" J asked. Aro nodded "I was Eir, I changed it for the same reason as Marcus, but that happened later in our story."

Marcus continued "I decided Caius' name was too long, Caius Cornelius Scipo. My people had only one name so I shortened his to Caius. He became a friend and we often discussed battle strategy, he is very talented in all things combat related. I offered to change him-" Caius once again interrupted "it was an offer I couldn't refuse. To see the world and kill those who sought to destroy innocent lives was better than invading hell holes overrun by barbarians trying to defend their homes.

"My human life had no honor, my vampire life would be dedicated to fighting oppressors and freeing people. Marcus turned my wife and I, he'd seen our mating bond and didn't want me to lose Dora like he'd lost his wife. We had children, but they lived with relatives. I was highborn so my children got the best education available. We didn't see our children after we turned, the last of our line ended in the 1700s."

Marcus continued. "Turning Caius was harder than I'd expected. I'd been a vampire for a few hundred years, but I still needed Dyme and Picia to assist me. Picia turned Athenadora for me, she was several centuries old by that stage and had changed a few people in that time. I was in no position to do anything but hunt once I turned Caius. I fed well, draining a couple of human masters who were beating a servant girl. She ran as soon as I grabbed the masters by their necks. I hope she lived a peaceful life afterwards." He trailed off in thought. Aro cleared his throat.

Marcus returned to the story. "After we turned Caius and Athenadora we got back to work, destroying the vampire overlords and their armies. We started back in Greece and tracked down the allies I'd had previously. Two had been killed in a raid from one of the Romanian armies. One remained; Amun from Egypt. He'd brought his mate, Kebi, to Greece. They aided us in locating allies, but opted out of the fight. I could respect his desire for peace, he and his mate had suffered under the Romanian rule.

"We gathered together a small army before Amun and Kebi returned to Egypt. Vampires aren't meant to congregate in such large groups. Chelsea helped us as much as she could through her gift. It took a long time to build our force to what it was. With Amun's help we had gained Chelsea, Afton, Demitri, Felix, Renata and Eleazar.

"Along our travels we picked up more allies, there were thirty of us by the time we finished clearing Western Europe. I was leading the charge with Caius as my general. We fought many marauders, often taking rest stops in the lands we'd cleared. Amun spread the word to those he trusted, Europe was about to erupt into a supernatural war. I felt guilty for delaying in Greece and Italy, the Romanian's allies had grown substantially in that time.

"We got lucky when we arrived in Serbia. We came across a coven of four women who had carved out a small territory for themselves in Pristina; Sasha, Tanya, Irina and Kate. They had defended the town from passing Vampire raiders and were strong fighters. We told them how we had cleared Western Europe of raiders and scavengers and told them we were going to clear countries surrounding Romania, starting with the countries to the south, heading east through Asia and north through Russia. They were keen to join us. It was now the early 500s AD, Rome itself had fallen as countries within the Western Empire were invaded by barbarians. The Eastern Roman Empire was enduring.

"We ran, scouring each country carefully for the allies of the Romanian royals. We kept out of sight of the humans; often having to bury ourselves in the desert when we couldn't find shelter. We'd sneak into markets at dawn to steal clothes and feed. It was a long journey, but we kept going for the sake of cutting the Romanian ties that held the world ransom. There were many nomads searching for peace. We got them to spread the word that a new power in the west, and that the Romanian's rule would soon be over.

"We encountered fewer and fewer Romanian troops as we headed north into Asia. Several of our allies headed back the way we came, ensuring the safety of our kind and humans while avoiding the cold weather. I was used to the cold and kept hunting the enemy. Caius, Athenadora and Sulpicia headed back to the town I'd fallen in love with in Italy. They would ready the city for our arrival and travel with us to Romania for the final confrontation with Vladimir and Stefan.

"We caught scent trails through Russia, but they were old and soon lost in the extreme cold weather. We didn't pick up another vampire scent until we headed into Ukraine. We changed course, heading north through Poland, then through the Czech Republic and Switzerland until we hit the Italian Alps. We headed straight for Volterra and were surprised by the changes. Caius had arranged the city to be walled off, using human craftsmen to build an impressive stronghold without compromising the view of the surrounding country side.

"Caius had held off building our new home, he wanted me to design a fort that would strike fear into those who crossed us and bring hope to those who needed us. He spread the rumor of St Marcus; the holy man who had cleared the town of vampires. It was the early Middle Ages and people were more superstitious than ever.

"The human world was in turmoil. The lasting effect of the vampire raiding parties had caused a decline in the human population; the humans seemed to have given up. There were no new advancements, once-flourishing towns had fallen into ruin and disease swept through the land. Invading Germanic tribes cut through the south west of Europe and across the sea. Between the Romanians and Rome, the human race didn't stand a chance.

"It was utter chaos. Caius had been fortunate to fortify the town as much as he had. In the past few centuries it had been attacked by several brigades of humans. The town had a chance to survive, as did its people. It was the 700s and the world was catapulted towards either destruction or civilization.

"I met with Caius and we gathered our army to march on the Romanian's territory. We left Sulpicia, Athenadora, Felix and Eleazar in Volterra. I tried to get Dyme to stay as well, but she was a confident fighter and wanted to help me avenge the lives taken by greed.

"Caius and I worked out a strategy for our attack. He, Sasha, Irina, Kate and Tanya would approach from the north and Dyme, Demitri, Chelsea, Afton and I would approach from the south. A few nomads met us along the way, wanting their own vengeance for the monsters responsible for murdering their families, they would come in from the east.

"Within two days we crossed the scents of the Romanians and their army. They'd condensed into the south of the Carpathian Mountain range. Twenty raiders surrounded Stefan and Vladimir, protecting the **scum lords**from retribution. Chelsea weakened the bonds of the raiders as I spoke; _'for millennia you have oppressed our kind, humans and other creatures in the supernatural world. You have destroyed populations, wiped out knowledge that could have aided the world, enriched it. You think yourselves gods amongst men, but how soon until The Romanian Rulers turn on you like you turned your backs on humanity? How many of you are here after witnessing the death of your heritage, the people you cared for, only to be coerced by the monsters who stole them from you? What of our history? Do you really wish to go down in history as filth that preyed on everything before crumbling to your deaths by better men, better leaders? Turn on them before they turn on you. Stop this madness and beg for absolution.'_

"They didn't listen, didn't care. They'd given themselves over to the monsters within and lost all humanity. They attacked, but we were a group of 15 fighters. The raiders had only ever fought humans, or werewolves in their human form. They failed in their protection. Sacha, Tanya and Kate restrained Vladimir and Stefan while we finished the guards. It was then I heard Caius call to me. It was both the best day of my existence and the worst." Marcus' voice trailed off. Caius put his hand on Marcus' shoulder in comfort.

"I'll take over from here Thegnmarr." The Volturi leaders' faces fell. Caius cleared his throat and began "the battle had been relatively short compared to the war Marcus had lead for so long. We fought with honor and rejoiced with each life that fell. I had started to search for more guards when I came across an immobile figure. His skin was cracked and his eyes were solid black. He made no sound. Scars covered every inch I could see, he'd been dismembered regularly. There was no sign of life." Aro shuddered and took over "I was their play thing. They tried to break me and they succeeded."

"When I was first imprisoned by the Romanians they kept me in that infernal cage made from werewolf bones. I would occasionally get glimpses of their memories when they beat me. I knew I was captured in 300BC and I knew their crimes, their secrets and their plans. I went months without feeding, they wouldn't let me. I grew weak and lost all signs of life. They'd let me out from time to time, but they always kept me guarded. One day I managed to escape and be free. It was 200 AD and for a decade I hid like a coward, heading for the northern part of Siberia where I knew I'd be safe. I'd wander into small towns occasionally to feed when I couldn't get animals, but I avoided moving away from my new, frozen home.

"They eventually caught up with me and pulled me back to Romania and the cage. They didn't touch me or feed me, leaving me to wither as they boasted about their triumphs. My mind wandered in and out of consciousness, I'd occasionally pick up a word or two when they spoke, but I was slowly petrifying. I gave up and slipped away into my mind.

"Things changed when I heard a familiar voice. I didn't recognize it, but I realized it didn't scare me. I heard the familiar sound of the Raiders' laughter then the clash of stone against stone. It was so loud, I thought I was finally dying. My body twitched in relief and I felt my skin crack with the movement. A loud voice sounded near me, its words unfamiliar.

"Then I heard my name for the first time in nearly two thousand years _'Eir! Eir! What happened to you? Have you been here the whole time?'_ I felt myself being picked up and my skin crumbled against the grip. The voice kept speaking to me, it was the language of my home, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I heard another voice, a female, before I was wrapped in cloth. I was ashamed; my clothes had disintegrated over time and I was lying naked and crumbling." Caius interrupted Aro "I'll take it from here." Aro smiled at his co-regent.

"Tanya brought out a large tunic and wrapped Aro up to stop him from discarding fragments of himself. Irina went to hunt for him, bringing back two humans for him to feed on. We cleaned up the area, stacking the remains of the Romanian guard while Didyme lit the fire. It was then that Stefan escaped the restraining hold and kicked Dyme into the flames. She had superficial wounds that caught alight, but Marcus and I pulled her from the fire. Unfortunately, the fire had reached too deep into Dyme's body and she smoldered from the inside out. Vladimir and Stefan laughed at us as we tried to douse the flames in snow. She was lost to us, to Marcus.

"Chelsea felt the break in the mating bond when Dyme passed, she strengthened the bond between Marcus and the rest of us knowing he would be needed when we took power. Kate dismembered the Romanians, using as much of her power as she could to torture them. She found the cage that Aro had been kept in and pushed their body parts into it for our return to Volterra. Chelsea held Marcus up as we walked away. I collected the ashes of the enemy, they would not be allowed to rest in death, they would be used for our benefit.

"Irina carried Aro. Kate and Tanya carried the cage of Romanian vampire parts and together we made the journey home. On the Romanian border we crossed a nomadic human traveller, she was tall, young and strong. She carried a large sack slung over her shoulder and smiled as we approached. She had the gift of the Sight and told us not to burn the Romanian scum yet, but wait until we could deliver vengeance. I asked what we should do in the meantime and she told us to wait, that we'd come across allies soon enough. That it would take a long time for us to be able to truly punish the Romanians, but we'd fulfilled part of the prophecy of her people by removing the oppressors.

"She asked to touch Aro's hand and promised not to harm him. We didn't know his gift at the time, but she did and she passed the knowledge of her people to him. She smiled and handed me the heavy sack before leaving with a wave in our direction. I opened the sack to find the ashes of hundreds of vampires. I've never been so shocked or impressed by anyone. I knew then what we'd do; we'd build a castle like we'd seen on our travels and strengthen it with the ashes of our enemies and the bones of the werewolves that made up the cage.

"A week after we'd left for Romania we returned to Volterra. Sulpicia and Athenadora ran out to meet us and ushered us into the houses they'd built with help from Felix and Eleazar. They were heartbroken when they learned about Dyme's fate and rushed to help Marcus. Dora had furnished many bedrooms for us and the future of our group. When she returned she led Irina with Aro into a room between to Marcus' and mine. We filled her in on who he was and she left to collect blood for him. There was plenty for us to feed on, another plague had swept across Europe and left many dying.

"Aro's skin eventually stopped cracking and started to heal. He kept still, unresponsive, his eyes hadn't lightened yet. One night I went to check on him, I knelt by the bed so I was eye level and began to tell him my story. I told him everything about me, about Marcus, Dyme, Dora and Picia. I told him how much his uncle missed Iceland and how he'd fought for the lives that had been taken by the raiders, how he'd finally found happiness and lost it saving human and vampire kind from the Romanians, how we wished we'd acted sooner and saved him from so many years of pain.

"I heard him whispering and couldn't understand the words. I recognized snippets of phrases, he was trying to communicate using the languages he'd learnt. I only understood snippets of Romanian, he used a dialect I was unfamiliar with. His hand shot out and grabbed mine in a cold, strong grip. His eyes were unfocussed and I felt my mind become invaded with images and sounds. There was a bitter edge to the story playing in my mind. I finally realized he was showing me his life story. I picked up a few words and phrases along the way and looked in shock as I saw an image of Marcus; younger, more human. I saw the werewolves and the place he grew up.

"I saw a short snippet of what the young human female showed him at the border of Romania. A vision of the future, one where four species lived in harmony. Humans would be unaware of our kind and would live their lives unheeded by us. Aro would be strong and Marcus would be happy. The images faded and Aro went to withdraw his hand. I held it in place and pointed towards myself then at him, hoping he'd understand I wanted him to see my memories. I saw his eyes lose their focus and images of my own life floated before my eyes before being pulled away. His hand released me and the memories stopped flowing through me. I spoke slowly, hoping he'd understand me. _'Thank you for sharing your memories. What the Seer showed you appeals to me, it's a future I'd like to see as well._' His voice rasped out _'thank you'_ and I was relieved.

"Dora came in with a human to feed from and I bowed and exited. I went to Marcus, telling him what I'd learnt and about Aro's gift. He listened intently, but didn't respond. We started planning our castle, word got around among nomads that the Romanians had been vanquished. They came to pledge their allegiance. Marcus and Aro weren't up to communicating yet so I told them they were travelling to spread the word. A few expressed an interest in joining us and helped design the castle you now stand in. They'd seen castles built by humans and knew the strong and weak points.

"By 1200 AD the castle was finished. Aro had recovered to the man you see before you and designed a few secret tunnels and the dungeon. He fell into his role as king easily," Aro scoffed and Caius continued with a smirk, "he'd greet everyone as enthusiastically as he could, it cultivated his 'lunatic' persona," Caius chuckled, "our kind accepted his leadership with no problem. He grew to know the guard well, sharing his need for unity among the few who had stood with Marcus from the beginning. I headed out on expeditions with the soldiers I'd trained especially. There were a few pockets of resistance, it seemed that our drive for peace had been misinterpreted by a few as a weakness.

"The pockets of rebellion decreased and I travelled to Norway to take out a coven of Vampires that had made themselves known to the human populace and tried to enslave them. I sent my soldiers home when we completed the task and headed to Iceland. I'd been curious ever since I'd seen Aro's memories. It was a fascinating, albeit horrendous smelling, place. Humans inhabited the coast and I walked amongst them wondering if any were distant relations to Marcus and Aro.

"As I headed for the north western tip of Drangajökull I caught a worse smell beneath the sulfur, it permeated the air. I followed the smell to nearby caves and entered. The scent was concentrated and I saw the glint of light reflecting off many pairs of eyes. My proto Germanic Icelandic was terrible. I tried my best to communicate my intentions _'I friend Eir Thegnmarr. We kill Vampire who hunt you. I friend you'_ they laughed at me. They spoke slowly to me and came closer to the mouth of the cave where I stood. I only picked up every third word, but we came to an understanding; I wasn't there to kill them and they weren't going to kill me. I asked them to follow me, and we snuck into Volterra through Aro's insane maze of secret tunnels.

"We finally reached his room and I ushered them in. They waited patiently while I ran and got Aro. He was speaking with two others. I rushed up to him and touched his hand to show him the surprise I'd brought him." Caius started laughing at the memory. Aro shook his head "I thought you were playing a practical joke. Then I saw my brother's face in your memories, there was no way you'd be able to picture Fred that accurately."

"It was easy to see the resemblance. He looks just like you, but taller and hairier." Caius teased lightly. Aro continued "I've never run so fast in my life, I excused myself from talking with Chelsea and Afton and didn't stop running until I reached my room. I couldn't believe you had packed my room with twenty bedraggled werewolves." Marcus held out his hand "can I see that memory?" He asked Aro. Aro obliged and Marcus' laughter burst out.

"I saw them for a split second and shut the door before running to get Marcus. I pulled him into the bedroom full of confused wolves. It was a surprisingly happy reunion. Caius went out and purchased food and hired a lady from the village to cook a feast for our long lost friends. He also organized Picia and Dora to ready rooms for them to stay. We were so grateful to Caius we had him coronated as co-regent. He'd given us back our past and helped protect the remnants of our history. He valued life as much as we did.

"With the wolves caught up on what we'd achieved they updated us on what had happened to them. After we'd left, a group of the young ones from the island had made the journey to the continent. They returned shortly after with news of the vampire attack and destruction of the villages. The traditions stopped. Our people moved further to the western side of the island and dwindled. One of our descendants had developed a gift for magic from his time on the continent. He protected the werewolves, sealing them in a cave so no one outside our people could find them until the hunt for werewolves was over.

"They were able to move about freely, but hid themselves after the last of our ancestors died and Vikings settled on the island in the 840s. They picked up snippets of their Old Norse language and kept to the caves unless humans got too close. Folklore has been created around their secret presence. The settlers called them Elves, Ghosts and Trolls and avoided angering them. The stories of their interference with the humans grew; they were large, ugly creatures who lived in the mountains, ate children and meddled with humans who got too close.

"When the Romanians fell the spell broke. A few unlucky humans crossed their path during the full moon and were killed. The pack remained in the caves until Caius came to speak with them. It was the first time they'd left Iceland since their rite of passage to the mainland as children. I arranged for some Rowan wood to be imported and we built a room for them to use during the full moon. We discussed the Romanian's fate at length. Fred wanted to take them to Siberia to be imprisoned and guarded by his pack. We agreed, they would hate the cold and suffer in isolation from their own kind with little to feed on. It was also a boon to see they were dismembered regularly when my brother and his friends became a little too savage during the full moon.


	40. Part 3 Chapter 2

**AN: On with the Apocalypse! Thanks for reading and reviewing. S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 2

Alistair POV

They were heroes. I couldn't believe it, the people I'd hated as corrupt rulers were nothing of the sort. I had allowed my own bitterness color my view of them, twisting everything they kept secret as a danger to my own freedom. I stood and walked to Aro "can I see?" I asked, he agreed and touched my hand. The images of his life flood my mind. It was true, everything he said was true.

My mind was stuck; guilt and pain swirled in me. I'd been so stupid. I heard J call for Charlie. An arm guided me out and we headed into the castle. The smell of the air changed and I knew I was in the healing room. I felt a warm, white light surround me. The pressure melted away from my flesh and I felt lighter. I blinked and looked around, Aro was beside me looking concerned.

"I'm okay." I said. "Thank you for showing me that. Your secrets are safe with me. I will accept the role as Anti-corruption Officer and build an agency when the time if right." He looked at me curiously. I explained "the agency can't be biased to one species, with your plans for the future we need to include Spirit Walkers and Werewolves." Aro looked relieved "I whole heartedly agree, Alistair."

I saw Charlie come over to my side. "I had to remove your darkness, Alistair." He said. It was such a strange concept; healed. Whole. I knew I'd changed physically, I was very happy with the changes. Now I felt lighter, the bitterness was gone, but the wariness remained. I'd hold onto the wariness, it would ensure I wouldn't miss anything when I set up the Anti-corruption agency. Alice hugged me when I stood up, we were free to be together without our pasts holding us back.

Charlie turned to Aro "I could help you too, you know?" Aro thought briefly before askin "how?"  
"I can give you the same treatment I gave Alice and Alistair, if I alter the ingredients slightly you won't put on weight, but you'll look more ...robust?" It was amusing seeing Charlie struggle with tact. Aro smiled "I'll give it a go." It would definitely help the image of the Volturi and the other Supernaturals if Aro lost the brittle look to his skin. "I can see darkness around you, do you want me to take it away?" He asked Aro. "Not yet, I want to hold on to it until my family and friends among the wolves are free from their pain."

JPOV

We, the Horsemen, left the others in the healing room and followed Caius and Marcus to Caius' sitting room. Marcus turned to us. "It's time to act. Would you four be willing to take a small troop to collect Vladimir and Stefan from Chernobyl?" He asked. Pete accepted the mission on our behalf and added, "we'll need Demitri and Felix."  
"What about the werewolves?" I asked. Caius answered, "I'll be going with you. The wolves are Fred's pack, they know me well. We'll leave in a few days when the full moon ends."

"Will they be safe until then?" Bella asked, Caius shrugged "they're smart and have learned how to hide themselves during the full moon."  
"We should speak to Charlie before we go, he might have something that'll hide their scent and soothe their instincts against us." Pete said, Caius wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought of the scent and nodded.

Bella and I returned to our room to mull things over. We'd been given a lot of information in the last 24 hours and needed to process it. I could feel how right this was; the unity of the supernatural world. After hearing their history I was eager to meet the true werewolves. I'd only heard bad things until the Masters told us their history. I wondered where else they'd settled. Had some returned to Iceland? Were there any in America?

Char POV

It was a new day. J, Bella, Pete and I decided to train with Demitri and Felix, adding to each other's fighting repertoire. Caius was making the arrangements for our trip to Ukraine. Demitri would be our comms officer again, he'd drive a small bus to Ukraine while we ran ahead. The Healers were working on the supplies we'd need. There would be the usual first aid kit; enriched animal blood, scent changing human blood and a vial of liquid to disable the gifts of the vampires we captured.

The Healers and Marcus were also making a care package for the wolves; they were modifying the scent changing mix and adding it to bottles of water, hopefully it'd make the wolves' scent tolerable. They were also mixing a few different teas from Oona's recipes, they added some dried Rowan berries. It wasn't a guaranteed werewolf remedy, but it we hoped it would work. Fred and his pack would be returning with us to Volterra. They would witness the punishment of Vladimir and Stefan.

When the sun began to set we gathered in the bat cave. Caius led the way in his black cloak, we followed behind, masked and cloaked. Felix ran by our side. Our ear pieces connected us with Demitri, he was driving a bus with supplies. We ran in silence. The weather was on our side, it was a cloudy night and we could keep to industrial areas to avoid being spotted by humans. We reached the alps and followed the mountain range to central Austria.

Our speed was reduced so Demitri could keep close. The scenery was stunning and the air was crisp as we crunched through the ice tipped peaks of the Alps. We reached the Austrian village of Graz by midnight, an hour later Demitri arrived in the bus. It was a shock to travel through countries so easily, it brought home how large America was. Demitri showed us the route he'd be taking through Hungary and into Ukraine. Caius informed us we'd meet the wolves in Rovno, Demitri would stay with them while we headed into the red zone. Our supplies would deteriorate in highly radioactive areas. Demitri's senses were telling him Stefan and Vladimir were in Pripryat, near the Sarcophagus of reactor number four.

We set off again, leaving Austria and passing through Hungary. We followed a major highway into Ukraine. We paused for Demitri to catch up and ran alongside the bus until we reached Rovno. Caius caught the first scent of wolf on the eastern outskirts of the town. There were a lot of paddocks covered in snow. We followed the smell further in until we reached a copse of trees. Demitri parked and we lined up behind Caius.

Caius bowed lowly and whispered words in an ancient language. We followed his lead, bowing lowly. A tall figure stepped forward and smiled in greeting. His brown hair hung in waves to his shoulders, his skin was almost olive in appearance. He looked a lot like Aro, but there was a lightness about him his brother had lost since being turned. His eyes were a light blue/green, I wondered if Aro had the same eye color as a human. This was obviously Fred. Fred's clothes were torn in places and muddied. He started talking in Italian to a surprised Caius.

"Greetings, Caius." He turned to us and kept speaking Italian "welcome friends of my blood. We apologize for the escape of the prisoners."  
"You speak Italian now?" Caius asked, still in shock. He snapped out of it, shaking his head and smiling. "It's not your fault, Fred. You held them for a full millennium, we are grateful for your persistence. I can't tell you what a relief it is to talk to you in my language, yours is very difficult to master." He said. Fred smiled "we've had a lot of time to master the romantic languages. There was little to do in Siberia except dismantle the Romanians and watch them put themselves together again. We would gamble on which body would succeed first, but even that gets a little tedious after a few hundred years."  
"Eir will be amused." Caius chuckled darkly.

"Don't suppose you speak English?" Pete asked, my mate had never really got the hang of other languages. "Of course, we're more comfortable with English since a lot of tourists spoke it while travelling. It's much easier than Latin based languages." He spoke in perfect English, there was a hint of an English accent. Pete was relieved and thanked the pack master.

Fred asked us to follow him. He led us to an abandoned warehouse on the eastern part of the city. "This is our temporary home, welcome. Come in." We entered and Demitri ran to get the bus. A short while later he parked outside. He entered carrying a stack of boxes. Caius took them from him and distributed them to the wolves. There were 17 wolves, all around their late teens, early twenties.

Fred smiled, "another care package from Thegnmarr?" Caius nodded "of course. Your brother and uncle send their regards and have invited you to join us in Volterra when we capture the Romanians. We have a healer, a spirit walker like the witches you've met over the years. He's achieved a lot in the few months he's been with us, even healed your uncle." Caius' said. "The healer and his apprentices have worked on a few remedies that could help you all stay in control around the full moon and change your scent so it doesn't set off our instincts. You could be free." He added carefully. He didn't want to get the wolves hopes up.

Fred searched Caius' face "are you sure?" He asked. Peter stepped forward "I have a gift, Fred, I'm related to the spirit walkers and can divine the paths of fate. My gift tells me there will come a time where you gain control. It's possible this will work, although it won't taste nice." Fred's eyes lit up with hope. "We'll try anything." He said. He turned back to Caius "How is my uncle?"  
"Thegnmarr has a new mate, he's very happy." Caius said cheerfully. Fred looked confused.  
"I thought vampires only had one mate?" He said, Caius nodded "we thought so too, chances are no other vampire has survived so long after the death of a true mate. We're lucky Chelsea was able to reduce his suffering, but she's lifted her influence now and he's like his old self again."  
"We'll gladly come to Volterra." Fred looked over to me and the other Horsemen "you're safe here if you want to remove your masks. The closest vampires, aside from yourselves, are over 300 kilometers away in Pripryat."

We took our masks off and Caius smiled, introducing Pete and Bella. When he turned to J and I his pride grew "this is Jasper and Charlotte. They're descendants of my brother." Fred shook our hands, his skin was almost scalding hot. We were introduced to the pack. He pointed to a short woman with long blond hair, bright green eyes and petit figure "this is Brigitta, she's my mate and second in charge." He pointed to a tall, lanky man with black hair and blue eyes, "this is my co-second in charge Einar. He is mated to Freja." He pointed to a brunette with grey eyes around 5'5" she was rather stocky. I was surprised by how human they looked, there wasn't any distinguishing feature aside from the smell.

We were introduced to each of the 16 wolves in Fred's pack. All looked to be the same age, but they were tall, short, stocky, thin, blond, brunette, black haired. They would be impossible to locate amongst humans when their scent changed. Their smell was as strong as the scent of the wolves in La Push, but instead of the spirit wolves' earthy stench mixed with wet dog, the werewolves smelt of rotting corpses. No wonder they were our natural enemy.

Demitri set up the comms system in the warehouse and gave the wolves the remedies the Healers had concocted. The first one was the scent changer. I was relieved how fast it worked, the wolves seemed relieved too. "You vamps don't smell too bad when we drink this. The sweetness is still there, but the chemical, bleach and ammonia scent has faded." Fred observed as we headed out. Their scent had freshened to resemble humans, but it didn't trigger our venom to secrete like humans did. There was a slight edge to the scent, a bitterness, but it wasn't unpleasant.

We put our masks back on and our earpieces in our ears and waved to Demitri and the wolves. We headed to Pripryat. Felix ran behind Caius with us following them. He carried the standard black duffle bags used to carry vampire parts.

There was a vibration in the atmosphere the further we ran, it was unsettling and grew stronger the closer we got to the red zone. The air had a metallic taste, but it didn't make me feel sick like it would have if I were human. We were getting closer to the abandoned power plant. Demitri's voice crackled through the speaker "you've got 100 miles to go." Caius stopped us outside the town of Korosten, he pointed to us and silently indicated our groups.

Bella and Pete were with Felix, while J and I were with Caius. We watched as Felix's group turned north east and we followed Caius south east. We reached a river and followed it north to a large lake. "Status" Caius said quietly into the ear piece. Felix's voice whispered through the comms "Pripryat River, lake in the distance, approximately a mile away."  
"Good, we're at the lake" Caius responded. Pete's voice joined in "my gift is telling me there are seven guarding the Vladimir and Stefan. Death won't be able to use her gift, there could be traces of graphite, we can't risk using fire. I recommend our team take the western shore of the lake and fan out slightly. Caius, you come from the east. War, you'll need your power."  
"Understood." Caius said.

JPOV

We were in position. I could sense the emotional hum of several vampires in a building to the north east of us. "In position" Caius said. "In position" Felix replied. Caius waved his hand forward and we moved silently among the decaying, broken buildings. It was surprising to see all the plant life that grew, I even spotted a small heard of horses nearby.

I could sense the Romanians and their allies stronger now. Nine vampires in total, seven guards and the two Romanians. Our earphones crackled and died, but we stayed on target. Caius and Char jumped through the door and started attacking. I snuck up on the Romanians and pushed pain and lethargy into them while Felix, Bella and Pete attacked from the other side.

The Romanian guards were strong fighters, we had our hands full. I recognized the leader, Carlos. He'd been a newborn army general during the first Vampire Wars. I looked at Pete and Char, their emotions were full of rage, they knew who commanded and trained the Romanian guards.

I saw a large vampire try to sink his teeth into Bella's shoulder and panicked a little, I heard his jaw break against her shield. Thank fuck. Peter caught her attacker and ripped him apart easily. I kept a tight hold on the back of Stefan and Vladimir's necks. They were writhing on the ground in front of me. I'd given them the same emotional cocktail I'd given Maria. They scratched and bit, but didn't make contact with me, only each other.

The screech of metal being torn echoed around the room. This was taking longer than expected, but these weren't amateurs, they were older. Carlos and his army must've escaped the Volturi cleanup half a century ago and kept training. I could see Char's eyes darken as she used her power to increase the blood lust of her attacker. She finally got the upper hand and tore his arm off. She removed his head as he froze in shock.

Caius and Felix took down their opponents easily. Four down, three to go. Char and Bella teamed up against one while Felix and Caius took the other two. Pete got to work dismembering Vladimir and Stefan. I kept my hold on them until I could remove their heads. Caius easily removed Carlos' limbs and helped Pete and I gather the pieces of vampire from around the area. Felix finished tearing apart his opponent and headed outside for the duffle bags. We filled all five bags for transport to Rovno, we couldn't risk setting them alight in the red zone. The bags strained with the limbs of nine vampires twitching within.

The run back to Demitri and the wolves was filled with relief; the Romanians were contained, we dealt with our own enemy, Carlos and the Radioactive hum was easing. The atmosphere around us lightened the further we got from the red zone. We passed through forest and farm land. It was late morning and we couldn't risk being near humans.

The wolves' warehouse came into view, Demitri was pacing out the front. His anxiety hit me like a truck, the comms had broken before we started our attack. I heard Felix chuckle as he sprinted to Demitri, bowling him over. Dem hit the ground hard as Felix pounced on him, "miss us?" He taunted Dem.

Felix was thrown into the air as Dem landed a kick in the gut and straitened himself up. He put his hands on his hips and yelled to us "do you have any idea how much you scared the shit out of me! If I hadn't felt your presence with my gift I would have run straight there myself. Where's Death?" He searched our group, Bella shyly put up her hand and Dem glared "that shield of yours is going to be the death of me! I couldn't sense you, missy. Next time the comms break, drop the damn thing for a second to let me know you're okay." She nodded, stunned. He turned on his heel and went back into the warehouse.

"They're back and they're safe!" He announced as we entered. Fred stared at us, searching for injuries, his relief was through the roof as we entered. "Everyone okay?" He asked, Caius nodded "all present and accounted for, no injuries except for the Romanians and their friends." Fred relaxed and said something in his native language, Caius chuckled "that's not a very polite thing to say."

Fred shrugged and sat with Dem as he called Volterra to update the Masters on our progress. The wolves had changed clothes since we left, I could also smell the scent of human food.

Dem handed us each thermoses; blood for the vampires and tea for the wolves. They even got a few cookies. We packed up the bus for Demitri as he got the wolves cloaks to wear on our trip. They were black with purple lining. "Honored guests" Felix explained the colors. The wolves got comfortable on the bus. Dem had moved the supplies into the walkway besides the seats. The duffle bags with the Romanians and their guards were in the cargo hold, no one wanted to smell them. Caius brought out new earpieces. We put them in for the trip back home. Demitri started the bus, the wolves riding as passengers. We ran at a steady pace.

We took our time running back, speeding ahead when in isolated areas then slowing down for some sight-seeing in the towns. Night had fallen an hour ago and the temperature dropped, it was almost uncomfortable as we entered the Alps and traversed the mountain range into Italy.

We'd been running for twenty two hours so far. We stopped in Udine, inside the Italian boarder and waited for the bus to catch up. We'd run parallel to it until we reached the Castle in Volterra. The waning moon shone high in the sky and humans bustled around in their cities, it was a Friday night and everyone was in a good mood. We were lucky we had our cloaks.

It was midnight as we skirted around the busy city of Florence, keeping to the woods as much as possible. The route to Volterra would pass through farm land and forest so we'd be able to run close to the bus.

We finally entered the city and followed the bus into the bat cave. It was good to be home, the wolves were excited to see their kin and watch the punishment of the Stephan and Vladimir.


	41. Part 3 Chapter 3

**AN: S Meyer owns twilight. **

CHAPTER 3

PPOV

Today would signify the start of a new era of peace. Dora, Picia and Esme waited behind Marcus and Aro in front of the elevator. Charlie stood to one side with Emmett and Rose on either side of him. He was semi hidden by his cloak and mask. We lined up behind Caius as the wolves walked out of the bus. Dora flew at her mate, welcoming him home.

Dem and Felix unloaded the bus as the wolves walked to greet Aro and Marcus, their hoods hid their faces. We got into the elevator in groups, even then it was a tight squeeze. I saw Marcus smirk and touch Aro's hand as they entered the carriage with Charlie and a few wolves.

Felix and Dem escorted the next group of wolves up to the masters' quarters and it was finally our turn to ascend. We had the duffle bags in our possession, the smell of fresh oozing venom irritated my nose, but I understood it would be better for us to escort the prisoners than the werewolves.

We reached the main foyer of the Masters' quarters and moved to the neighboring elevator which descended to the dungeons. Aro, Marcus and Fred joined us, I felt bad for Fred having to put up with the smell of fresh venom. The three of them spoke quietly in their native language as the elevator headed to the underground dungeon.

When the door opened Fred seemed to relax, I turned to him "are you okay?" I asked. He nodded and added "I hate the smell of spilled venom."  
"Really? I think it smells like victory." I joked, he chuckled lowly and replied. "Someday this war's gonna end."

We put the Romanian brothers in neighboring cells and Carlos in a cell by himself at the end of the row. We kept them disassembled, they'd put themselves together in no time.

The other limbs belonging to the guards were set alight. Purple smoke left through a small chimney in the ceiling, but the smell of their remains lingered. Marcus moved to a corner and picked up a dustpan and brush, collecting the ash and putting it in a hidden compartment on the south wall. I looked at him confused. "We keep the ashes from each execution we perform. Usually the guard will clean up the ash after we've left, but until the prisoners are punished we won't allow anyone but a few down here." Marcus explained. Bella turned to him and asked "why keep the ash?"  
"A couple of reasons; first, we can't let the ash fall into the hands of humans. Second, with all the vampires we've executed over the years Volterra would be covered in the soot of our kind. Lastly, you never know when we'll have to make repairs or build a secure area." Aro said.

Aro, Marcus and Fred turned and headed to the elevator. "Once everyone is settled we'll decide what to do with Carlos and we'll apply the sentences to Vladimir and Stefan." Marcus said as we rode the elevator back to the Master's quarters.

The wolves would be staying in Aro and Marcus's wings for the time being. Rose and Emmett would attend to them and work out any changes to the remedies. Alistair, Alice, Charlie and one of the female werewolves, Brenna, were waiting for us in Caius' study. Brenna was average height with long blond hair and deep blue eyes. We removed our cloaks and masks and sat down to join them. Fred sat next to Brenna and introduced himself to Charlie.

Caius appeared shortly after. "Thank you for all the work you've done." He addressed the room. "Each of you has contributed greatly to our cause. We've never been so close to the future we envisioned all those years ago." He turned to Charlie and smiled "I understand you have news for us." Charlie nodded and blushed. Brenna took his hand as he announced "I've imprinted."

Good on him! He was watching Bella carefully, she smiled widely. "Congratulations dad. It's about time." He smiled in relief. Caius spoke "its excellent news. Aside from how happy you'll be with your mate there is the added bonus of true impartiality. You're a spirit walker who is mated to a werewolf and you have a vampire daughter. No one will be able to say you're biased."  
"Oh god no, I don't want this to turn into a three ring circus. I just want to heal people." Charlie groaned. "I didn't mean it that way, Charlie. Your job description will always be Healer. Although, we could use your input when it comes to making new laws between the three supernatural species." Caius said kindly. "Okay, but nothing else." Charlie conceded and Caius nodded his head.

"Now, I'd like to discuss a few things before we head to the feast the wives have arranged. There is a lot to do over the next few months; convince the Vampire world to work with other Supernatural creatures and give up human and animal blood, unite with the werewolves and unite with the spirit walkers and witch covens."

"We should invite the older vampires who were around when the Romanians ruled to witness their sentencing. Maybe we can get their help in getting the coven leaders and nomads on our side." J suggested. "We were going to invite the leaders and nomads later, but we've already made arrangements for the Denalis and Egyptians to witness the punishment. A lot of the older vampires are already here as part of the Guard; they fought with us to overthrow the Romanians and stuck by our side."

Bella spoke to her dad "what's the progress with the synthetic blood?"  
"Actually, that's more Rosie's project than mine. Last time I checked it was going well, they'd been able to increase the volume they created. Rose and Em have been working on a way to enrich it." Charlie said.

Caius added "Aro has organized factories to be built in a few remote locations, it's going to be a big job making it available for everyone. Aro's been toying with the idea of disguising the outlets as blood banks, humans can donate their blood for medical purposes and vampires can use a back entrance to get blood."  
"Will there be a cost?" Alice asked. Caius shook his head "no. It will always be a free blood service. It's just a matter of getting the manpower."

"What about creating a volunteer service where we get blood in exchange for time?" Alice suggested. Caius nodded "that sounds like the only viable solution we've heard so far. Aro has labs working in Russia, America and Australia to create the blood, it's just a matter of getting it to where it's needed and building factories to mass produce it."  
"I know many werewolves who would be happy to work in factories." Fred offered. "I'm glad to hear it, we can provide all of you with the necessary training needed. The fewer humans we have to employ the easier it will be to keep the secret." Caius said.

"Would humans be able to use the synthetic blood instead of donated blood?" Bella asked. Charlie answered her. "From what Em told me it'll be a blank slate, no A or B antibodies and neither positive or negative. It would be a universal blood that could be used for donation, but it wouldn't be as good as the real thing for humans. Em and Rose are already finding ways to enrich it and improve the flavor for vampire consumption, but I doubt the enriched blood would work on a human needing a transfusion."

There was a knock on the door and Dora popped her head in "dinner's ready. No need for any disguises, it's a family dinner." We followed her into the foyer that acted as an occasional dining room. Another table had been added. Fred, Marcus and Aro were seated at one end chatting comfortably. Esme, Dora and Picia were bringing out serving trays of food and punch bowls full of blood. Charlie sat close to Aro with Brenna beside him. He passed a small glass bottle to Aro, it was the healing elixir to make him look less brittle.

Bella and J took a seat next to Brenna and started getting to know one another. Caius sat next to them and Char and I joined him, leaving a seat free for Dora. The wolves and vampires seemed to be getting along really well, Rose and Em joined us with a barrel of beer.

Em cleared his throat and everyone quieted. "Rose and I have been refining the mixture to hide the werewolves' scent and keep them in touch with their human mind during the full moon. We searched for a reason why the Rowan tree was so off putting to the species, but nothing really stood out. All our research showed was there were harmful ingredients, but nothing to explain why it would smell so bad to your kind. From what Aro and Marcus told us they ate the berries regularly as humans, but only after they were cooked. We gave up on that route and decided to look at more botanical options.

"The Rowan tree is part of a wide variety of species. One of its close relatives is the Chequer tree, humans used to eat the berries when they became over ripe and they were said to be very sweet. It just so happens the berries were occasionally used in beer before hops was introduced. We arranged for some beer to be imported and added a similar mixture that the wolves of La Push used to keep their wits while they phased. We're hoping this is a palatable, yet effective option." He put the barrel on the table and started pouring glasses. We waited for Fred's impression. His nose didn't wrinkle like it had with the Rowan mixture.

"I like it." He said happily. Em and Rose let out a breath. Aro smiled and turned to his brother "would you and your pack be willing to stay here for the full moon so we can assess its effect?" He asked. Fred replied, "we want to help you with the other packs, we can travel with you in the meantime and return before the full moon starts."  
"Excellent, brother." Aro leaned closer to Fred and sniffed "your scent seems to have improved, but we won't be able to see its full effect until the rowan is gone from your system."

Aro turned to Rose "how long will the effects last?"  
"We're not sure. We're unfamiliar with the species so we don't know anything about their metabolism and dose needed. We have imported some Rowan liquor from Austria, we can supplement it if needed, but it'll taste terrible."  
"I'll arrange for some Chequer Trees to be imported for the garden, if this works we'll need a lot." Marcus said.

Everyone returned to their meal. With the scent of the wolves under control it was easy to talk to them. As the last of the plates and bowls were taken to the kitchen Aro and Fred brought us into their conversation. "We need to work out a plan of action. Of course our first priority will be the Romanians, we have to ensure they are out of commission permanently.

"As soon as Demitri updated us that the Romanians had been taken prisoner by Caius and his team I called Amun and Eleazar to advise them and invite them to witness their punishment. They'll be here tomorrow. We'll need to tell them about our alliance with the werewolves, it will be a trial run for how we approach the other leaders."  
"What if they attack?" Brenna asked, Aro answered her. "One of our laws is that honored guests cannot be harmed within these walls. Any attack will be seen as an attack on Caius, Marcus and myself and would be punished with death."

"Amun's just started to trust you, this could be a problem." Alistair pointed out. Marcus responded "Amun was around long before Aro, Fred and I were born. He's one of the oldest alive, he knew the true history of the wolves even though he hadn't encountered them personally.

"I stand by my nephews and my people. I will continue to stand by them, even if it means killing my own kind. The werewolves have been dealt a hard existence thanks to both humans and vampires. If anyone has a right to attack it's them. It's time our species quit their barbaric ways and grow up. We are not the most powerful race, nor are we evil. The same applies to all Supernatural creatures. I fear when it comes to the unity of the supernatural world I will be a tyrant. I have worked hard and sacrificed everything to get to this point, I will not give up." Fred and Aro started clapping.

Hell yeah, Marcus was right. When the applause hushed I announced "Fate will fight for the unity of the species. The Romanians caused many deviations in the paths of Fate and it is time the balance was restored. We may be vampires, but we are also Guardians of Fate."  
"Thank you, Peter." Fred said. I leaned towards him "there is no thanks needed. This is the path your species must walk, Fate has brought us to together. You will all be free to live the lives you choose."

"Has your gift told you anything, Peter?" Marcus asked. I shook my head. I knew the unity would happen, but I wanted to see the steps of how it would come about. As frustrating as it was, no news is good news. The others resumed their conversations.

I listened to Aro, Marcus and Fred. "We'll make the introductions when Amun and Eleazar arrive, then we'll congregate in the dungeon-" Fred interrupted Aro "I wish to use my gift on the Romanians. Once they've been given the darkness I can trap them in time, slowing it down so each day seems like a millennium." Aro paused to consider it and turned to his uncle, Marcus nodded and Aro replied "that would be greatly appreciated. We don't want to keep them alive any longer than necessary. Do any others have gifts?"

"I can speed up the growth of plants, I was really useful back in home." Brenna said, no wonder she was with Charlie. This was perfect. "When were you turned?" I asked her. "During the start of the millennium 1000AD, I grew up in Iceland. My family migrated there after the Vikings settled. I was a little too curious about the cave network and did a little exploring. We had our own folk lore about the mountain dwellers back then and knew to carry Rowan wood at all times. Our houses would have brooms made from Rowan and we would lay them across the threshold at night to keep evil away. I walked with a staff made from Rowan wood and climbed deep into the mountains. I saw the pack and tried to run, but it was the first day of the full moon and I was bitten. They didn't rip me apart like they would have if I hadn't had my staff."

"Does the transformation hurt?" I asked. Fred shook his head "you fall unconscious for nine days and awake feeling stiff and sore, like humans do when they have a bad cold. It's disorientating, but the hardest part is getting used to the idea you turn into a blood crazed maniac once a month." My mouth fell open in shock, Fred laughed "I know Peter, werewolves have the better end of the deal sometimes. Aro showed me what the transformation and newborn year were like. I'm glad I'm a wolf, especially now we have options and could be free for the first time."

Questions continued; there were more gifts including a physical shield, weather control and scentlessness. There were three other packs; two in the remote parts of Australia and one in Iceland. They never remembered anything that happened during a full moon. They could get pregnant, but would miscarry during the full moon transformation. There were no wolves born as a result and they ate herbs that would act as a contraceptive.

It was sad to hear how few there really were out there, less than 200 by Fred's estimate. With the Healers' remedies they wanted to try living normal lives; get a job, a real home where they could live in peace and have freedom to choose how to live their lives. I knew my destiny lay in protecting the wolves and spirit walkers and I was truly glad fate had brought me here. Whether they'd be accepted by vampires remained to be seen.


	42. Part 3 Chapter 4

**AN: This is a little early, I won't be able to post again until very late on Sunday. Sorry! Thanks for reading and reviewing :) **

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 4

BPOV

The Denalis and Egyptians were due to arrive any minute. We were in the throne room with a handful of elite guard, the Masters, the Wives and the Healers. I stood to the side with J, Pete and Char. It was our usual spot. Felix and Dem stood on the opposite side of the room with Chelsea, Afton, Alec, Jane and Renata. The wives stood behind the thrones, Esme included. The Healers stood along the back wall behind them. Alistair and Alice waited in the middle of the room, it was where Amun and Eleazar's covens would stand.

I was already nervous and glad I had a mask and cloak to hide behind. I could only imagine how Esme felt right now, this was her first appearance as Marcus' mate. She had the mating mark to prove it, it was on display just like the other wives with their marks. They had abandoned their cloaks and wore Victorian style formal dresses. Picia's dress was red with an overlay of black lace. Dora wore a white dress with small pink roses embroidered around the neck and hem. Esme had gone full goth, she wanted to change her image drastically, something I understood completely. Picia had given her dark eye makeup and bright red lipstick, it looked amazing against her white skin. Her dress was black and lacy with a leather bodice. She looked ready for war.

The door opened and I stilled. Eleazar and Carmen walked in first with Tanya, Kate, Garrett and Irina following behind. They walked up to Alice, she smiled shyly at them, they returned her smile and bowed to the Masters. Caius waved them off and said "This isn't a formal meeting, you're here as our friends. You've been very loyal to us over the years and we count you as equals." He said. Eleazar smiled "old habits die hard, Caius. Whenever I'm here I feel like I'm back in the guard." He said. Marcus smiled and approached them, greeting them warmly. "I'm glad you came. I want to introduce you to my mate."

It was then the Denalis caught sight of Esme, they froze in shock until Irina burst out laughing. Esme started to look offended, but Irina explained "I always knew you deserved better, Esme. This is your home, you deserve nothing less." Esme smiled sheepishly, I could tell she'd been close to tearing Irina a new arsehole. Esme approached the coven and hugged them "thank you for helping me. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your support." She said. Eleazar smiled "as long as you and Marcus are happy, that's all we care about."  
"I love the new look, Es" Tanya smiled "very Queen of the Damned." She said. Esme and Marcus smiled.

Alice and Alistair stood back and watched the others catch up. Carmen caught their eye and wandered over "how are you, cara?" She asked Alice. "I'm better, thanks. I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused, I promise it won't happen again-" Carmen interrupted her "everything has worked out. We were here for the trial, we know you were in trouble and we know you're healed. If it'll help we can start over; clean slate. No history, no expectations." Alice smiled "thank you."

Carmen hugged her "I barely recognized you when we walked in, you look amazing. That healer must be something." She turned to Alistair "you look great too. Very healthy and happy. You'll have to visit us in Denali sometime so we can really get to know you." Eleazar came up behind his mate and smiled at the couple "you've both come so far. I can see how different you are and I'm glad you're free. I hope you'll both visit us soon."

Marcus and Esme returned to the thrones and the door opened again. Amun was here and he brought his coven. I was glad to see Ben again, I could see Tia behind him and Kebi behind Amun. I looked forward to meeting them later. Amun and his coven bowed and Aro waved him off as Caius had done with the Denalis. Aro stood to address the half empty room. "Thank you for coming all this way. Everyone present is aware of the history surrounding the Romanians, but this isn't solely a day of retribution, it's a day where we unveil our past to our most trusted friends and beg for your acceptance as we usher in a new era to our civilization.

"The Romanians are two of the oldest of vampires in existence, they killed the Ancients and committed genocide in the name of greed. Some of you were lucky to know our Elders before their murder and a few of you know the history of the werewolves. Marcus started this campaign millennia ago; to rid the world of its tyrants. We have come far in that time, but not far enough.

"Humans have evolved at a startling rate while we have held too tightly to the ways of our past. The time has come for us to catch up and create our own renaissance era. All of you are aware my work over the last few hundred years has involved the creation of a synthetic blood source. I'm proud to say we have begun to achieve this." The Egyptians and Denalis froze.

Aro continued. "The humans have grown quickly and surpassed us in many ways. The time when we can hunt their kind freely nears an end. Our healers have brought my dream to a reality and very soon you will be able to taste the fruits of our labor for yourselves. You know two of the healers; Rosalie Hale and Emmett McCarthy. Their mentor is an Elder to his species, he is not a vampire, but he is supernatural and immortal. He is amongst the race of spirit walkers; those with a strong connection to a different part of the world."  
"I understand, Aro. I've met a few like him in my travels." Amun said. Eleazar nodded, "we've had our own experiences with supernatural healers. Some are very powerful." He said. Aro smiled "I'm glad you are open minded. Thank you."

He turned to Amun. "Amun, you are amongst the oldest of our kind and have witnessed first-hand the history of our civilization. At any point did you encounter werewolves?" Amun seemed to grow suspicious. "No. Were the rumors true? Have you secretly built an alliance with Children of the Moon?"  
"Yes." Aro kept his confidence and didn't back down from Amun's stare. "We have protected the species by spreading word of their extinction, it was the werewolves who guarded the Romanians for a millennium." His voice was strong, leaving no room for interpretation.

Eleazar hadn't moved, neither had the others. "Good." Amun finally said. "The wolves have received justice. Why is the Volturi concerned over the wellbeing of the species? Wouldn't you prefer control over the Supernatural world?" His voice wasn't accusatory, he was genuinely curious. Aro explained. "You joined Marcus on his original crusade, you are aware we do not have Greek heritage like our official history has stated. Unofficially, we are from Northern Europe. My human ancestors had a hand at protecting the wolves and ensuring the survival of our people and the werewolf species.

"My ancestors moved from continental Europe to a small island and colonized it. Werewolves protected us from any attack we might face and we protected their secret, recreating the original relationship between wolves and humans. They were honored among our communities, when Marcus and I were turned we vowed to protect them as they had protected us. I have relatives alive today who are among their species."

Aro paused, waiting for a reaction. Eleazar and the others hadn't moved and Amun kept his eyes focused on Aro. "Can I trust them?" He asked. Aro smiled "you certainly can, thanks to our healer their primitive side may be contained during the full moon. We are creating an even playing ground between the species. As Vampires we are deadly and dangerous, but we can choose to preserve our humanity. Werewolves have as much right to exist as we do and they deserve the same freedoms we enjoy. I will not let them be hunted ever again. "

Aro continued. "When the Romanians represented our species we were cruel, turning our backs on the humans we'd lived amongst. It is because of the wolves the race of man grew strong and that led to more civilized vampires. To answer you previous question, Amun; The Volturi do not wish to rule over them, they will have their own hierarchy. We will exist side by side as equals."

"But what about our instincts?" Eleazar had finally regained function, "how can we ask our kind to fight their instincts and live in a world with a species they're unaccustomed to? I've never met a wolf, but I've heard how bad they smell and how our bodies slip into fight or slight mode when they're around."  
"The Healer can help." Caius said. Aro nodded and opened the doors behind their thrones.

A lone figure walked through and stood next to the masters. Aro smiled at the covens in front of him and asked, "what are your instincts telling you, my friends?" One by one the Denalis, Egyptians and the handful of guards closed their eyes and breathed deeply. Eleazar was the first to respond "he's a werewolf?" He asked. Fred drew back his hood and smiled at the group in front of him. "I am. The Healer has made it easier for us to be around you and vice versa. I assure you my people only wish to experience freedom. We've been hiding for a long time and mean no harm."

"You look just like Aro." Amun said. "He is my brother." Aro announced. "He has helped us contain the Romanians until such time we can administer true justice. We are loyal to each other and will always stand side by side."  
"May we approach?" Kate asked. Fred nodded and she moved forward. "It's just like looking at a human version of Aro." She marveled. He smiled at Kate "actually, Aro's my little brother."

"How do you cope with the lunar cycle?" Eleazar asked. I could tell he was doubtful. Aro answered him. "Eleazar, they are under control. Few vampires know of their existence, that in itself is proof of their control already-" Fred cut him off, answering Eleazar directly. "We are at our most dangerous for the three days of the full moon. For millennia my species has used Rowan to limit our destruction, we live in isolation where there are limited humans and no vampires. Now we have the aid of the Healer. The Healers are working hard to help us keep our humanity during the transformation."

Eleazar thought over what he'd heard. "You have a gift." He finally said. Fred nodded "I can manipulate time."  
"Yet you guarded the Romanians for a thousand years?" Eleazar asked. "I did." Fred confirmed. "My gift only works on a small scale. I can't speed the whole world through time, truthfully I wouldn't want to. The Romanians deserved to watch the world creep past them as they suffered cold, isolation and starvation. My people needed the time to give my brother and uncle a chance at undoing the damage caused by the previous regime. We have used that time to educate ourselves and carve out a place in this world. We speak many languages, hold many degrees. Now that we have a chance at freedom we can enrich the world with the skills we learnt."

The was a brief silence as Eleazar thought. "I will trust you and the wolves. I trust the Kings and I know they wouldn't lead us astray. Thank you for humoring me." Eleazar said. He approached Fred and shook his hand "Thank you for your patience, you and your pack are welcome in Denali" He said warmly. Aro exhaled in relief. Eleazar introduced Fred his coven.

Amun looked at the kings and Fred. He spoke softly. "My people were under the protection of a goddess, she was the mother of my people. My human world was governed by Pharaohs, I was born a slave. One night she walked among my people and saw the suffering caused by the masters. She fought for us, but was attacked by the kings who claimed to serve her. They set her on fire, I jumped onto the flames, hoping to snuff them out. She bit me and hurled my body miles away from the city.

"I awoke days later in a rage. At night I crept into the city and slaughtered the slave masters. I killed the Pharaoh and ran. I would guard my people at night, running perimeters in order to keep them safe from the supernatural world. The wealthy never learned from their mistakes, the conditions my people suffered never changed. For a year and thirty seven days I ran, hunting the sick and ending the lives of the cruelest masters and sickest slaves.

"One day I smelled the approaching scent of other vampires. I knew I couldn't defeat them so I ran to my wife and took her deep into the land. I changed her and hoped we'd find somewhere to make a life for ourselves. We travelled and saw the devastation the raiding parties caused to human villages. The survivors told me their stories, we tended to those we could. I heard about the wolves and grew angry with the humans and my species, neither seemed worthy of assistance. The humans hurt each other and the vampires enslaved mortals; they fed in such a way that they seemed destined to destroy their only food source."

Amun met Marcus' eyes as he continued his story. "It wasn't until I met you, Thegnmarr, that I truly saw the hidden good in the world. I'm sorry I listened to one young, arrogant, fool over my experience. I know I can trust you and your allies. The wolves are welcome to join us at any point." Amun finished. He waved his coven members forward and introduced them to Fred.

BPOV

I didn't know what to say. We were surrounded by beings thousands of years old and they showed true humility. Marcus approached the covens "thank you for your loyalty and trust. I promise it is appreciated."  
"We will stand by the Volturi and the other supernatural creatures. The Egyptian coven welcomes the unity of the species." Amun said formally. He looked at his mate and smiled. "We will never run again." He whispered to her. Ben and Tia looked relieved.

Tanya stepped forward and echoed Amun's announcement. "The Denali coven will stand with the Egyptian and Volturi covens to welcome the unity of the species." The whole room seemed to lighten.

The Masters led the Denalis and Egyptians into their quarters. We and the Guard were dismissed. We headed to our rooms to relax. I only hoped the other covens accepted the wolves as easily.

Rose POV

Our meeting in the throne room had taken up an hour of our time. We were keen to help the wolves. The human scientists were working on the cloned human blood. While they could create larger amounts, the process wasn't fast enough to support an entire species.

Charlie, Em and I were chatting as we worked. Charlie was worried about Bella. "She's hardly had a rest since she was turned. Her and J deserve some time away from combat." He said. Em agreed. "She's too young to have fought so much. Her newborn year should have been calming as she learnt to control her strength and blood lust, instead she had to rush through that and jump in the deep end."

"Well, with Carlisle and Edward dead and the Romanians soon to follow them, the Horsemen might get a break." I said. Charlie sighed. "I know Rose. I just wish things had been different, she's my daughter. I can't help but worry."  
"We're lucky she's strong and keeps good company. Pete, J and Char have taught her everything she needs to know." Em said.

An idea struck me. "Do you guys think the Masters would agree to sending them on a diplomatic mission?" I asked. "What did you have in mind?" Charlie replied. "Well, there needs to be a meeting between vampires and spirit walkers. Perhaps the Horsemen could do it and spend time in La Push and Texas." I suggested. Em shook his head and said "I don't know Rose. I was speaking to Felix the other day, he said they're due to return to the states to do a sweep for newborn armies."  
"How long will it take?" Charlie asked. "A few weeks at least. They're going to sweep the entire continent. They're supposed to land in Alaska tomorrow." Em said.

There was silence for a bit. Charlie turned to us and asked "wouldn't there be signs of a newborn army? I remember when they searched the Western states they were looking at abandoned areas, close to large cities." He said. I agreed and added. "They also like areas of high mortality and crime."  
"The government tracks this kind of thing, it helps find serial killers. It was a resource I used while Police Chief. It helped me keep an eye out of unusual deaths. I'd keep Billy in the loop when there was a killing spree close by.

"If we can get into the data base for Canada and America we can see if there are any anomalies." Charlie said. Em replied despondently. "It hasn't been long enough, only a couple of months since the Volturi and Horsemen cleaned the place up." Em said. Charlie shuddered, remembering the condition he'd found the Horsemen and Volturi in when he arrived in Georgia.

"We'll discuss it with Aro, maybe there's a way to give them a vacation." Em said. I decided to take a quick break. I walked out of the lab and went to our room in the level above. I was in luck, I saw the Masters and the two covens leave his study. Aro stopped when he saw me and smiled. "Are you looking for me, Rose?" I nodded and touched his hand, passing on my idea for a vacation for the Horsemen. His thoughts entered my mind _I agree with you, Rose. I'll speak with the others and make arrangements. There will be a meeting in the Throne Room shortly, could you gather the others?_ I agreed and left them to their discussion.

Esme POV

Marcus, Caius and Aro had spent all night talking with the Denali and Egyptian covens. I'd spent some time sparing with Dora and Picia. Alice and Alistair had joined us, learning to fight. They did well, but there was a long way to go.

When the wives decided to finish sparing we returned to our rooms to shower. I went to find Alice and Rose, we hadn't spent time together since we were part of the Cullen coven. Rose showed us her latest invention; bath tea. We relaxed in the spa in my room, the tension drained from my muscles, aided by the herbal mix Rose added to the water. Rose was happy with the results. We spent a few hours pampering ourselves. Alice and I added colour to our hair. I dyed mine purple while Alice added bright blue streaks, it looked fantastic against her natural black hair colour.

Bella and Char joined us a short time later for some online shopping. We discussed what we could do with the money we inherited from our old coven. I wanted to build a rehabilitation centre for supernatural creatures, the girls loved the idea. It felt wrong to use it for our own purposes, we'd earned every penny, but we'd lost so much of ourselves along the way. We all had our own funds so we decided to speak to the Masters about setting up a clinic later. There was a lot to achieve before we could get to that point.

It was early morning. The Masters, Denalis and Egyptians walked in. We were waiting in our positions. Picia was standing next to me with Dora on her other side. We were directly behind our mates' thrones. Rose and Em were behind us, Charlie joined them. He was going to introduce himself to the covens. I knew the Horsemen would introduce themselves to the Denalis soon, if Eleazar looked at them using his gift he'd recognise Jasper.

BPOV

Caius began the meeting, it was informal, similar to the daily debriefings he held in his study. I was relieved, everyone seemed more relaxed.

"We've been discussing the next step of our mission. Eleazar and Amun will gather the coven leaders and nomads when the time in right. There's a lot of preparation ahead of us. Aro, Sulpicia and Charlie will travel with Fred and his pack, they'll work out a treaty with the other werewolves.

"We are sending the Horsemen on another mission. This will be a diplomatic mission rather than combat. If you're willing we'd like you four to speak with the Quileutes and Spirit walkers." I was rapt, I missed the La Push pack like mad and I was keen to see Theresa again. Pete accepted for us with a nod of his head.

Caius continued. "Marcus and I will stay in Volterra, taking care of the daily duties and staying in touch with both groups. I'd like you, Horsemen, to consider this a vacation. Spend as much time as you like in La Push and Texas. We'll put together information packs so you won't have to spend much time on the diplomacy side of things. They'll need to communicate with each other and discuss the creation of a Spirit Walker government."

He turned to the few Guard members allowed in the meeting. "Demitri." Caius called. Demitri approached the Masters. Dora handed a large box to Caius. "We would like you to accompany the Horsemen. You know how Volterra is run and you'll be able to answer any questions the Horsemen aren't able to. I understand they consider you're an honorary Horseman?" Caius asked. "Yes, Caius." He replied softly.

Caius waved us forward, smiling. We stood next to Dem. "It is in the spirit of gratitude and friendship that we release Demitri from his service to the Volturi. I have witnessed the five of you work together and we are all proud to have worked with you. Demitri, you've shown yourself to be a loyal companion and treasured friend. Marcus has seen the bonds between the Horsemen and yourself, I can't think of a better person to help them in their role as Guardians of Fate." He handed Dem the large white box. Demitri's hands shook as he opened it.

A new cloak and pendant lay inside the box. Dark blue material lined with navy blue silk, Demitri's new cloak matched ours. Caius lifted the pendant out and hung it around Demitri's neck. He whispered lowly to us "you'll always have a home in Volterra, we'd love nothing more than to keep you here, but we cannot hold you back. You have helped us achieve our dream of a united future, I know your path lies elsewhere."

He took the time to hug and thank us individually. "I'll make the arrangements for your return to America. I hope you're able to stay with us a few extra days as we deal with the Romanians."  
"Of course. We'll be here as often as we can." Char whispered. I held back a sob. I didn't want to leave. "You're not firing us are you?" I whispered. Caius smiled and shook his head "of course not. The five of you are our family, believe me, you won't get rid of us that easily." He said.

"You'll call us?" J asked. "Of course, you will also call us. I trust Fate to guide you on your journey and bring you back home whenever possible." Caius said.


	43. Part 3 Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to put up the next chapter. Chapter 6 will be posted at the same time tomorrow :) Thanks for reading.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 5

BPOV

The meeting continued. Demitri stood with us, wearing his new Horseman cloak and pendant.

Aro stepped forward and declared, "The time has come for the Romanians to receive their punishment. For the next few days they'll live with the pain they inflicted on others. They will experience hopelessness, starvation and suffering. Those of you wanting to watch the sentence be carried out are welcome to join us." He turned and led the way to the dungeons.

Dad, Rose and Em made the first trip down in the elevator, they were carrying a basket full of bottles, each held the darkness of those who had been affected by the Romanians. The Masters joined them. I saw Aro touch dad's bare hand, he nodded to Aro. The doors closed and they descended to the dungeon. The Denalis and Amun were next. Kebi, Ben and Tia had chosen to stay in their guest rooms, they knew what was going to happen and didn't want to see it.

We were the last to arrive in the dungeon. Demitri and the Guard decided to remain in the main part of the Castle, it was already very crowded down here. The werewolves had arrived early, they'd been waiting for us. Fred and his pack were watching the Romanian's in their final hour of sanity. Amun and the Denalis stood with them, watching silently. We joined them in front of the cells. The werewolves, Egyptians and Denalis stepped back to watch the Healers work.

Instead of opening the bottles, dad stood next to Aro, his fingers were glowing in preparation. He would remove Aro's darkness and implant it directly into Stefan. Eleazar froze in shock as dad worked, he hadn't seen anything like this before and I could only imagine what he saw through his gift. He watched as Aro was enveloped in light from dad. The glow moved from Aro to Stefan, Eleazar's eyes followed it.

Stefan began to writhe. The light returned to dad and Rose handed him a flask, he took a moment to drink before they started releasing the bottles of darkness into Vladimir and Stefan. Four bottles of darkness had been removed from Marcus. Amun had contributed to the bottles, he was healed by dad. Amun's darkness was given to Vladimir.

Dad was handed another flask, I could smell the faint scent of energizing herbs as he drank. Once his flask was empty he took a few deep breaths and focused on the wolves. I was shocked as they all illuminated. I'd never seen him heal a group like this, I knew he had healed many of us in Georgia, but I had been a participant at the time. There were a lot more people being healed now and the wolves held a millennium of pain each. Pete moved to dad, touching his shoulder. Dad glowed brighter. Emmett saw what Pete was doing and added his hand to Charlie's other shoulder. The healing light grew intense.

The glow split in half; one part moving to Vladimir, the other to Stefan. They were forced to absorb the werewolves' darkness. They screamed. The light withdrew back into dad. Brenna rushed over to him, holding him up. He slumped forward, exhausted. Pete and Em looked pretty tired as well. Char and Rose rushed to their mates, moving them away from the cells and guiding them towards the elevator. I watched as Fred stood in front in the cells, preparing to use his gift.

There was a slight ripple in the air around us, it concentrated on Vladimir and Stefan. The bubble of time trapped them, making seconds last days. I shuddered, for the next three days they would experience three thousand years worth of suffering.

JPOV

The Romanians blurred around their cells. "We should give my brother space to work." Aro said. The Masters and a few of the werewolves left. I knew Briggita would stay at Fred's side, I didn't want to leave. Bella moved closer to Briggita. "Do you mind if we stay? I'd like to help you. We can bring down anything you need; food, drinks, chairs, anything." She offered. Briggita smiled and thanked us.

Eleazar kept us company while we watched Fred and his mate. Amun and the Denalis, aside from Eleazar, left with the other werewolves. We sat cross legged against the wall. Eleazar was looking at me, he was feeling joy. "I know who you are." He whispered and smiled. I held a finger up to my masked lips, silently asking him not to say anything. "I'll keep your secret." Eleazar promised. I sent him a small burst of gratitude. Kate and Garrett already knew our identities, I was relieved they hadn't told anyone. I knew we could trust the Denalis, but I was worried that it could be dangerous for them to know who we were.

PPOV

The Romanians were brewing in their cells. I had spent the last two days in bed, recovering from helping Charlie. As soon as I touched his shoulder in the dungeon I felt the ancestors siphon my strength to him. When Em added his strength I felt his power shift into Charlie.

Char had fussed over me for a few hours after returning to our room. She retrieved some enriched blood from Esme, undressed me and gave me a sponge bath. I had hoped she'd put on that naughty nurse outfit, but alas, she'd left it in Texas.

Alice was keeping me company while Char went to help Brenna and Charlie. He had slept constantly since he healed the wolves. Char was keeping Brenna calm while Charlie rested. Em was as tired as I was, Rose refused to leave his side.

Alice and I were becoming good friends, few people understood how dangerous knowledge of the future could be. We'd formed an impromptu Seers Anonymous support group, we both talked about how our gifts had affected our lives.

"You were strong to cope with your gift as long as you did." I told her. "Most seers I've met only get a small amount of audio or the flash of an image. Few were born with the Sight, like you were. Getting visions like you did; full video and surround sound, must have been maddening-"  
"It was in a literal sense" She said weakly. I wrapped an arm around her. "That's too much knowledge for anyone to handle, let alone a little kid."

"How do you cope, Pete?" She asked. "It's been hard at times." I admitted. "My gift developed slowly. I wasn't born a Seer, I became one through training. Most Seers you come across have to get into a trance to get visions, it's a controlled flow of information. For me, the information came from the spirit world and their connection to fate. While I was human I rarely got visions. However, while I was turning my connection to the spirit world was the strongest it's ever been. I saw what would happen when I woke up. It scared the shit out of me, but I also saw the bright future we're fighting for. It was that image that kept me on track, it kept me sane."

I tried to explain my gift to her. "Until recently the messages I'd get from my ancestors would feel like random thoughts. It didn't feel like a foreign message. It wasn't until recently that I found out my Spirit Walker training had carried over to my vampire life. It became stronger the more time I spent with Charlie and Bella.

"I can choose what I see sometimes. The paths look like a timeline with images attached to major moments. I'm limited in what I can see, I guess it's Fate's way of protecting me, but it's really annoying sometimes." I said. She agreed. "I used to get really angry sometimes. I couldn't see fate, only decisions. Some of the things that happen aren't related to decisions so I couldn't see them, I had to think of ways around it. When it came to the stock market I had to ask Carlisle to decide on investing in the bigger companies and I'd get a vision of him smiling and thanking me or frowning and telling me off. When it came to the weather I'd ask Edward to make a decision to spend the day walking in public, if I caught him sparkling I'd have to work out what time it would happen."

That was a huge amount of work for her. "Alice, I'm sorry that I thought you were power hungry, I'm sorry I didn't see what was really going on." I said. She shook her head, "it's not your fault Pete. I really didn't help that image. I was just so desperate to be accepted, to have a family I could make memories with since I barely had any to begin with. It's a relief not to have my gift anymore."

"Can I ask what your obsession with clothes was about?" I asked gently. Alice cringed "Carlisle and Edward were monitoring everyone. They wanted us to look perfect, I stupidly thought I could help them by making everyone wear the latest trends, it would make our family look wealthy and successful. I would have done anything for Carlisle and Edward. I felt so weak; here were these two leaders who held everything together, at least it seemed that way. I felt like nothing I did was good enough."

Fuck. I felt like crap for all the things I'd said about her in the past, all those times I wanted to tear her apart and burn her. Alice poked my shoulder "no feeling guilty, Pete. We're in a better place now and you've given me a chance, it's more than I deserve. I can't imagine how hard it was for you to see Jasper treated the way he was. You were always civil to me, and I acted like a brat because Carlisle and Edward looked down on you. What happened, happened and we can't change that."

I sighed. "You're right, kid. I just can't help but wonder what would have happened if we'd just taken you and Jasper away from them." The 'what if?' questions had been hounding me since I found out the truth about Alice. She shook her head "if you'd have done that Jasper would have missed out on Bella. They're good together and it was worth staying with the Cullens to see that happen." She said.

I smiled at her "now, you have Alistair. He's a keeper. You've helped each other so much."  
"He's amazing. I'm so lucky, I have to force myself not to question how lucky I've been. So many things could have gone wrong, hell I could still be part of the Cullen coven if it wasn't for you guys." She said. A shudder went through her, I rested my hand on her shoulder "you're free now, Alice. That's all that matters." She smiled, her eyes were glazed with venom.

There was a knock on the door and Esme poked her head in, "time for a meeting, guys." She ducked out again. I turned to Alice "you know she still thinks of you as a daughter, right?" She looked stunned for a second, I patted her shoulder "let's head out, kid."

We caught up with Char and Alistair in the foyer, I kissed Char before we put on our masks and cloaks. Her and Alistair had developed their own support group; Spouses of Seers Anonymous.

We stood with Demitri. Bella and J were still in the dungeon with Fred and Briggita. Aro nodded and the doors opened, the Denali and Egyptian covens walked in and stood with Alice and Alistair. Eleazar wasn't with them. Aro updated us on what was happening, there had been little change. Bella and J were helping the Masters care for Fred and Briggita. Eleazar was keeping them company.

The Masters dismissed us as they went to check on the progress of the Romanians.

BPOV

What was left of the Romanians had started to disintegrate. The Masters had arrived with refreshments for Briggita and Fred. They were sitting on a couch J and Eleazar had brought down from Aro's study. Marcus had surprised us all by cooking traditional dishes for Fred and his mate regularly over the last 50 hours, J and I would regularly ascend to the Masters' Quarters to get them food and drink. Marcus had substituted a few ingredients in the meals he made; using chicken instead of puffin and Italian salami instead of smoked fish, I could tell Fred and Briggita appreciated the gesture.

Aro stared blankly as the skin of his enemy cracked and their eyes turned solid black. It had been two days in our time and a couple of millennia for the prisoners. Fred maintained his concentration throughout the punishment. I thought of all those who had lost their lives, what the Romanians were experiencing was true justice. They had hurt so many people and caused so much damage all because they wanted to rule.

Their clothes had disintegrated and their bodies became petrified. Aro turned to Fred. "I'll get the others, I believe it's nearly time. They're broken, any longer will be a waste of your power." He said. Aro left. The wolves were the first to arrive followed by the covens. It had taken four trips for the room to fill again. Irina and Carmen joined us, they stood by the Masters, talking quietly. The room hushed as Fred removed his power from the Romanians.

It was time for me to execute them. Aro opened the door of Stefan's cell. Stefan's eyes had a milky film covering the corneas. His skin looked so frail and brittle. Was this how Aro had looked when Caius found him? "Death" Aro announced. I moved in front of Stefan and ignited my shield. I'd give them a quick death. I touched the flames to his skin, he disintegrated under my touch. The pile of dust Stefan had turned to sparked and died. There had been almost no venom left, nothing held him together. I moved to Vladimir's cell and repeated the process, he crumbled just as Stefan had. It was done. The Romanians only existed in painful memories now. The others left in small groups, returning to the main part of the Castle.

I knew there was one more thing to take care of. Char, Pete, J and I moved to the cell at the end of the row, Carlos sat still. He refused to move or talk. I was glad. Aro approached us "do as you see fit with him. I trust your judgment." Fred overheard Aro and walked over to us. "I can speed up time and trap him for a few hours. It would ensure he lived through a few centuries of pain." He offered. J sent him some gratitude. "Thank you Fred. I appreciate your assistance, but I don't want to drain you of energy-" Fred cut him off. "It's no problem, War. He is an ally to the Romanians, that alone is enough to convince me of his guilt."

We thanked him again and got to work. J sent Carlos the same emotional cocktail he'd sent Maria. Carlos clawed at his chest, trying to remove the pain. Fred sped up the time in his cell. After 3 hours Carlos was broken, lying in wait for death. Fred removed his power. Carlos didn't react as I entered the cell. J joined me, removing his mask and looking Carlos in the eye. I saw a flicker of recognition in Carlos' eyes, he began to shake. "My mate will deliver you from this hell to the next." J said. He put his mask back on. There was fresh venom covering Carlos' chest from where he tried to claw his heart out.

I slashed open the skin on the sole of his feet. My shield ignited and a few small flames jumped into the wound. I would make sure he'd burn slowly. Fred smiled grimly as we watched the prisoner turn to ash.

JPOV

"They're dead." Fred announced as we entered the Masters' Quarters. The wolves were chatting with the others, they had built a friendship between the Denalis and Egyptians. Aro, Marcus and Caius had cooked a feast for the wolves. Charlie and Em were resting, but food and blood had been put aside for them.

After we ate the wolves retired for the evening. We headed to our usual meeting room. The Denalis joined us in Caius' study. The Masters came in a little while later. Pete touched Aro's hand to pass him a message. Aro nodded in agreement.

Pete removed his mask. "My gift tells me we need to introduce ourselves properly. I'm Peter Whitlock, otherwise known as Pestilence." I was concerned at the potential fallout, but decided to trust Pete's gift. I sent a burst of happiness around the room. Tanya, Irina and Carmen gasped. Kate, Garrett and Eleazar already knew my identity and smiled. I removed my mask and hood and smiled at them.

"I'm War." I announced. Carmen hugged me "I thought you were dead!" She cried. Irina approached, grinning widely. "I can't believe you're really here! You look good Emo kid."  
"I've been healed, but I have post-traumatic stress disorder and disassociate identity disorder." I said. Irina's face searched mine as she asked, "you have DID?"  
"Yes, but thanks to my mate and her father I'm feeling better and back to one personality." I smiled down at Bella.

She lifted off her hood and mask. "Hi guys, I've heard a lot of great things about you." She smiled and turned to Kate and Garrett. "How have you been?"  
"You knew!" Tanya shrieked at Kate and Garrett." Kate smiled sheepishly and answered "I joined the Guard on a mission in the southern states. I caught up with them." Kate turned serious "I vowed to protect their secret, to protect them. It was not done out of distrust, but out of loyalty." They nodded and Tanya calmed "we understand." She said to Kate and Garrett.

Kate introduced Bella, there were a few gasps, Tanya's eyes bugged out. "You're not as I expected" she said to my mate. Bella nodded, but I could feel her defensiveness rise. "I was different then. After Edward cast me aside I grew stronger. My uncle and aunt helped me until I met my mate." She said, Char took off her masks and stood by Bella. Tanya's hands went up "I meant no offense. I'm just surprised you exist, I enjoyed giving your ex a hard time and when he said he had a girlfriend I thought he was lying." I could feel she was telling the truth.

I put my arm around Bella and sent her waves of calm. "You should have seen it, Tanya would be sitting calmly on the couch pretending to read a magazine. Edward would attempt to ignore her thoughts, but would become increasingly flustered. Esme's amusement would spike when she caught on to what was happening." I explained. Tanya chuckled in surprise "Esme really was amused?" The door opened to the woman in question "I was indeed. It would often be the highlight of my visit. I was always careful with my thoughts, but I knew Jasper would help guard my emotions from them." She explained. Tanya smiled at Esme and Bella relaxed.

Pete introduced Char. The Denalis were genuinely happy to see us. They had been very kind over the years when I was with the Cullens, I was a little surprised that they didn't count Rose, Em, Esme and I as a nuisance like they did Carlisle and Edward. Tanya and Bella started to compare notes on Edward, it was a funny conversation. Occasionally Pete and Char would add their two cents. Edward hadn't been as subtle as he thought he was. I was thankful he was now gone from the world.

Irina sat next to me. "How are you coping with Alice around?" She asked. "We're good. I consider her a friend, Alistair has been good for her."  
"She's an entirely different person now." Irina observed. I agreed, "She is. The Alice I knew was sick, knowing what I know now I understand why she lost her mind."  
"I'm glad Carlisle and Edward suffered before they died." She said. I nodded. Their death had brought us peace.

Esme sat down next to Marcus. Once the chatter died down Aro stood and addressed the room. "It's imperative the Horsemen, the werewolves and any other secrets not be discussed outside our quarters. You have an idea how dangerous it is for our kind to have the knowledge of Peter, Charlotte and Jasper's role in the Newborn Wars. You've seen how their reputations have led to them being hunted by the bored and arrogant people of our species. Bella will also be in danger if her identity is revealed. It is for this reason their real names cannot be mentioned."

"We understand and promise to honor their privacy. The Horsemen are welcome to visit Denali whenever they wish and should they need assistance we will stand by their side." Tanya said formally. She smiled and hugged Bella. I could see they were going to be good friends.

Caius spoke. "The Horsemen have an assignment in America. Tomorrow night they will travel to the States on a diplomatic mission. Felix and a handful of our Guard are in America at the moment. They are searching for signs of newborn armies. Felix has made contact with us and advised that Alaska, Canada and Washington are safe for travel."  
"We're taking our jet back home tomorrow afternoon, you could travel with us if you'd like?" Carmen offered. I was relieved, the Volturi jet was supposed to take Aro, Sulpicia, Charlie and the Wolves to Iceland. I didn't want to be stuck on a commercial plane for hours. I accepted the offer.

Caius continued. "I have already spoken to Billy and Theresa and arranged accommodation for you. They're looking forward to seeing you again. They'll have questions, answer as many as you want to. You can tell them everything, even our secret history. If there are any questions you and Demitri can't answer, call us and we'll talk to them.

Esme took over. "I understand that as an unofficial Whitlock coven you have plenty of resources at your disposal. I have spoken with the Healers and we've discussed what is to happen with the profits from the Cullen coven. Sometime in the near future we'll be setting up a rehabilitation center where supernatural beings can be healed. The bulk of Carlisle's estate will go towards the new center. There are other assets available for use. The house in Forks is available to you, as well as a few other homes Carlisle bought over the years. A small stipend has been contributed to your accounts and you have an open invitation to Isle Esme."

I could feel eagerness from the Denalis, I knew they'd want to help with the Rehabilitation center. Aro took over. "This could be a turbulent time if our history if not properly managed. You've seen the devastation our kind can cause with the wrong information. Should you encounter any problems with rumors please do what you can to stop them, there is no need for death. Marcus and Caius will remain here with the rest of the Guard to manage the usual Volturi duties while we travel. They will be able to help with any issues that arise."

When Aro paused, Bella raised a question "what about Alice and Alistair?" Marcus answered her "they'll take some time to travel. They're going to head to England and speak to Maggie about joining the anti-corruption committee. When they've had a rest they'll return and start training with Rose and Emmett. They have offered to help us with the synthetic blood project." There were a few more questions and more detailed discussions about the Rehabilitation Center, but the conversation eventually started to wane.

We were dismissed for the night. I lead Bella to our room. Tomorrow we would head back to the states. We wrapped ourselves in each other, enjoying the bliss.


	44. Part 3 Chapter 6

**AN: S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 6

PPOV

Char and I were back in Caius's sitting room, it was late in the afternoon. This would be our final briefing before we left for the states. I was looking forward to some alone time with my mate. I didn't know how the Volturi had coped with so much responsibility all these years. Aro walked in with Demitri, J and Bells. We were all desperate to start this 'diplomatic mission.'

"Thank you for joining us, I know it's early but we just wanted to go through a few things before you depart. While with the tribes we would like you to formally introduce them to the vampire world. There are matters they need to consider; they will need to form a government of their own. They'll need to think of laws, not just for their species, but what they'd like to add to our laws and the laws for the Children of the Moon as well."

He handed J two envelopes; one labeled for Billy and the other for Theresa. "These are for the Elders. Please convince them to accept our gifts. There are copies of our own rules and a few rules we hope to implement in the future." Caius explained.

"We're fortunate that both tribes are already aware of our presence, they will need to contact any other tribes who have a connection to the supernatural world like they do. We have put together an investment portfolio for each tribe which will give them resources for the future. We've been around a long time and built many investments in mining, pharmaceuticals, environmental science and medicine. We have also built Villas near us that will house them should they wish to visit.

"There is an outline of our plan to commence feeding from synthetic blood. This is in conjunction with the new laws we wish to implement, namely the global cessation of hunting humans and other species. There will be those with diplomatic immunity, the Horsemen will be given the only exception among our kind as you're instruments of fate. Other species may have similar concessions, depending on their reasons.

"Other rules regarding our kind will involve the territories held by other supernatural species. It will be possible for interaction between the species on each other's land, but only with written permission from three leaders; coven leaders, alphas, elders or rulers. We've written a rough draft of rules regarding crime within the supernatural world. So far our aim is to allow the leader of the species decide the fate of the criminal in question. There will be recommendations for punishment that must be adhered to with minimum and maximum sentencing guidelines.

"A governing body will preside over all species, it must be made up of a Spirit Walker, a Werewolf and a Vampire. We will need a representative from the spirit walkers or spirit wolves to be elected, the delegate must be immortal. I would like you to speak to Theresa and Billy and have them start talking about candidates."

Aro's mood lightened "now, concerning diet. You won't have to drink human blood while away from us. In fact it'll actually help it if your eyes are gold. Thankfully, Charlie stopped feeding you the human blood a few days ago, your eyes will return to their golden hue and your scent will change back before you land. Demitri won't have a problem blending in with you as he has been wearing red contacts for the last couple of weeks." Demitri smiled at us and removed the contacts from his eyes.

"While you're away we have a good stock of blood for you to feed from. There is about two months' worth of blood carefully prepared by Rose, Emmett and Charlie. Should you need more Theresa has volunteered to help you. Charlie has kept in contact with her and passed all his recipes to her and the other healers. Unfortunately, you'll only be able to see the Spirit walkers at your home in Texas, we cannot ask them to drop their shield to let you on their land."  
"We understand, I wouldn't want them risking their community." Pete said in agreement.

There was a lot of information to go through. Aro discussed their plans regarding Iceland and Australia. Caius and the guard would be busy with the Volturi duties. Felix was still doing a sweep of America, looking for any new signs of war with Jane, Alec, Renata and Eliza. Hopefully they would visit us before they returned to Volterra. Felix hoped to be finished by the time we left La Push for Texas.

We donned our disguises and headed to the airport. Demitri wore his blue cloak and Horseman pendant. When we arrived at the airport we were greeted by the Denalis, they would take us to SeaTac, refuel and return to Alaska. Demitri and Eleazar swapped contact details. The Denalis had insisted, just in case we needed help or my gift gave me useful information for them.

Demitri sat in the cockpit with Tanya, keeping her company and acting as co-pilot. The flight was almost enjoyable, Char stayed by Carmen and Eleazar's side, Bella was talking with Kate about her shield and J and I sat back and relaxed with Irina.

BPOV

We bumped onto the tarmac as SeaTac. We said goodbye to our friends and helped them unload our coolers full of blood and luggage. Pete arranged for the house key to be sent to Theresa with a note asking for some blood to be left in the fridge. He included Felix's contact details, advising her on the Volturi mission and asking her to call him to check in on their progress. Demitri called Felix and updated him on our whereabouts, extending Pete's invitation to use the house in Texas.

We each had a trolley carrying coolers designed as suitcases. No one stopped us or questioned our masks, the Volturi had a strong connection with the human world. A few tourists gawked, but we soon left the terminal. Leah and Seth were waiting for us when we got out into the fresh air. I gently hugged her, she had tears in her eyes, I would have too if I'd been capable of crying. I missed her so much.

Demitri introduced himself to Seth while Leah held onto me, she soon hugged J, Pete and Char. I smiled underneath my mask, hopefully the rest of the tribe would welcome us just as warmly. Leah turned to introduce herself to Demitri and froze. Her jaw slackened. Seth glanced between the two of them and started chuckling, Pete soon joined in, but had the good taste to try and curb his amusement. Leah had imprinted.

Pete took the keys from Leah and we headed towards the community bus. Demitri was looking at Leah in concern, she was still staring at Demitri. We loaded up the bus while Pete went to have a chat to the newly mated couple. I was happy, Demitri was a great guy and Leah deserved a good man. We headed into the bus, Seth, Char, J and I watched as Pete explained imprinting and Leah's face turned redder and redder. J huffed and headed back over to them. I saw him pull Pete away and send some calm to Leah and Demitri. They followed behind.

I heard Pete yell "shotgun!" As he entered the bus. Leah tried to grab the keys, but Pete shook his head and jumped onto the driver's seat. Leah sat across the aisle from us, hoping for a distraction from Demitri. Demitri sat next to her and her jaw clamped shut. He tried to talk to her a few times, she'd try to respond, but struggled to make words.

I nudged J and he sent her some calm. She turned and smiled at J weakly before turning back to Demitri and becoming red faced. "Hi." She mumbled. He smiled and returned her greeting "it's nice to meet you, Leah. Bella speaks highly of you." He said kindly. "Thanks. They speak highly of you too. You helped them clear out the southern states?" She asked. Atta girl! She was still quiet and blushing brightly, but this was progress.

Demitri seemed to relax as Leah regained the power of speech. I wondered if he felt the imprint. I'd have to ask J and Char later, I didn't want to embarrass Leah.

Seth was sitting near the front and chatting with Pete. I listened in as Seth caught Pete up on all the gossip. "Dad's started jogging. Mom couldn't believe it when he started. I think he's bored because Charlie isn't around to fish with him. He and Billy go fishing sometimes, but apparently Billy talks too much and scares away the fish." I chuckled, I thought my dad was a gossiping old lady, turns out Billy was just a bad influence. I should have guessed it when I found out about dad's belly button piercing and tattoo.

"Emily's nearly ready to pop!" Seth continued, I my amusement dropped as I tried to hear if she was okay. "She's due in a week and is already desperate for the kid to be born. Leah and Mom have been running the community dinners, Emily and Sam moved into Oona's place so she can keep making remedies for our pack." Thank god. She was doing well.

"Emily went to Port Angeles a month ago. She bumped into this old cow, Mrs. Stanley, who asked her who her plastic surgeon was because her scars had been healed. Emily nearly lost it, it was lucky mom was with her. Mom told the cow that 'it's easier to heal when you're young.' Man, was she pissed." Damn. I hadn't thought of anyone I went to high school with in a long time. I wondered how they were. I thought about Angela, Ben and Eric. They were so nice to me, I hoped they were happy.

We were on the ferry now. Demitri went to the back of the bus where the coolers sat, he wanted us to feed before we got on the Res. My control had grown strong since I was changed. I could be around humans easily. It was hard to believe it had only been seven months since I was turned. So much had changed. My world had changed drastically in my mind, but seeing my friends showed me how slowly the rest of the world moved.

The ferry ride felt short as my nerves kicked up a notch. What if my tribe rejected me? They would treat me different? I was their enemy after all. J stuck a flask in front of me, I lifted my mask slightly and sucked through the straw. He leaned down to me "they won't think badly of you, Honey. The Clearwater's wouldn't allow it." I smiled in relief.

I saw Demitri sit back next to Leah. She smiled, her blush eased slightly. She was finding it easier to be around him now. That was good. He was telling her his life story, I tuned them out and concentrated on J. His hand grabbed onto mine and he brushed his thumb across my fingers. I rested my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, concentrating on his scent, he smelt like himself again.

Dad's scent changing human blood had worn off, it was a relief. I noticed then that the wolves scent had changed. At first it'd been unpleasant, but now they smelled like pine and resin. It was a comfort. Dad must've made another recipe to make it easier to be around them. Hopefully it worked for them too, I didn't want to smell bad to them.

I heard Seth sniff the air "you guys smell different." He announced. "Less bleach and ammonia, more like a perfume counter in a department store." I sighed in relief. Hopefully we'd be tolerable. Pete started explaining dad's healing abilities and some of the remedies he's concocted. We were on Res land now, hopefully we'd be able to take our masks off soon.

JPOV

Sue's house was visible in the distance. I didn't know whether to be anxious or relieved. Leah and Demitri's emotions were a little strong; she was feeling worried and there was a strong need to be close to him. Demitri liked her, but also seemed worried. Hopefully, with him as Leah's mate, Sue would concentrate her affection on Demitri. It's not that I didn't like Sue, it was just unsure what to do. She was human and nurturing. It was very strange.

Pete parked in the driveway. Sue and Harry had jogged out to meet us. I could feel their shock as they took in our disguise. Pete took his mask off and smiled, we copied him. It was nice to feel the air against my face. Harry immediately went to Pete, he was oozing gratitude. "Come in, come in! It's nice to finally meet you. I hear you're the one who got the premonition about my heart attack." Pete nodded "nice to meet you too, Harry. Thank you for allowing us onto your land." Harry waved him off "you're practically family." I felt a spike of surprise from Bella and put my arm around her shoulder.

Sue saw me and made a beeline for us. She wrapped her arms around the both of us and Bella chuckled I was glad her control was good. "It's so good to see you kids!" Sue said, hugging us tighter. "Thank you ma'am" I teased lightly, she went to scold me until she saw my amusement. "Now, Jasper, I'm glad to see you've joined us in the land of the living, but please dear; cut the crap." I smiled and hugged her back. Harry cleared his throat, I rolled my eyes and hugged him. Sue's emotions were getting to me, although I enjoyed his surprise at being hugged by a male vampire. Bella laughed loudly behind me, Sue giggled along with her.

"Damn, Charlie did a good job." Sue commented. I turned to her "it was a joint effort between him and Bella." I reached out for my mate's hand and she joined me. I was glad to be here. This area was calm and simple; there was no backstabbing, no secrets, no hiding our identity. We could be ourselves here.

Demitri towed Leah towards her parents. I could feel her fear, she didn't want to disappoint them by imprinting with a vampire. I decided to help them out "Sue, I'd like you to meet Demitri. He's taken care of us on all our missions and protected us." I felt some relief from Leah as Sue and Harry introduced themselves nicely. Seth grinned and opened his mouth "Hey mom, dad, guess what?" Leah pounced on him. I couldn't blame her.

Sue and Harry tried to separate the pair when Sam turned up. Leah's embarrassment hit a record high and Demitri swooped in to pick her up. Bella stepped forward "is it okay if Leah and I show Demitri first beach?" She asked Sue and Harry. They nodded and smiled, I sent Bella a jolt of happiness. I'd help Pete explain the imprint. She smiled and led Dem and Leah away.

"Harry, Sue." Pete started "this is my imprint Charlotte." Char smiled and waved. So far, so good. "I imprinted on her after I was changed. You see, our tribes have a similar way of finding our mates. Char feels as strongly for me as I do for her, we protect and support each other like any good mate does. Vampires mate in a slightly different way, but the end result is the same.

"I'm telling you this because I found my mate in the same way my tribe found their mates, through imprinting. Technically, we're an example of inter-species mating. While I'm definitely a vampire I'm also a spirit walker. You know as well as I do that our mates are important for our existence, it's fate's way of bringing happiness and purpose into our lives."  
"Why are you telling us this?" Harry asked. I slowly let out a trickle of calm.

"Well, Harry, Sue. Your daughter has found her soul mate" Pete continued, I increased the calm. "Who?" Sue asked. Pete looked to me and I nodded, their emotions were curious, but there was an underlying dread. Their emotions were surprisingly stable. "Demitri." Pete said quietly. Sue gasped and Harry paled a little. "I can vouch for him, we all can. He is our family too and he helps us work with Fate. He's a good man and has converted to animal blood." Char said calmly, but firmly.

We waited for them to respond. It took a while. Their emotions turned to anger, before turning to denial, then acceptance. Sue was the first to recover "I want what's best for my daughter. If you can assure me he will be there for her and respect her that's all we can ask." She said. Harry sighed and nodded. He wasn't happy about this, but he knew how strong imprinting was. They weren't about to think less of their daughter because of something she had no control over.

"What's his role in your group?" Harry asked. "He's a communications officer. He is a gifted tracker and he can find anyone, anywhere in the world. The Volturi saw how close he was to us and release him from their service. We happily accepted him, he goes above and beyond what is needed to help the people he cares about." I said. Harry nodded and thought a bit more about the situation.

"What will this mean for our daughter?" Sue asked. I answered carefully "it means she'll always have support, she'll be happy with him and he won't take advantage of the imprint. He'll be as devoted to her as she is to him. Whatever plans they make will be equal, if they want to stay here on the Res then we'll happily release him. If they want to assist us we'll cover their travel when we go on missions and keep them safe. In the meantime we must let them make a life together. The choice is theirs alone." I said. Sue nodded and smiled, she was feeling relieved. "I'm sorry for doubting him, I trust you guys and I know you wouldn't be around people who weren't good. Imprinting has been an issue here of late." Her emotions dimmed.

Pete asked them "what happened?" Harry looked at the ground sadly, but there was an undercurrent of anger. "One of our boys imprinted on a girl in Forks. It hasn't turned out well and we can't help him. This girl uses him, cheats on him, and mocks us for not having much money. No one outside the tribe knows about your assistance, Pete, they think we're getting grants from the government. Sam issued an order than no one can discuss our livelihood with someone who isn't a blood member of the tribe or associated with you guys. She thinks we live of food stamps and calls us lazy."

"Damn." I sighed. "What's this girl's name?" I asked. Sue looked at me, her voice bitter "Lauren Mallory." I shuddered, and told them "I went to school with her. She's bad news. How about I contact Charlie, there may be something he or the Masters can do."  
"Really?" Harry asked. I shrugged "it's a long shot, but the Volturi have someone who can strengthen and weaken bonds and Charlie might be able to help with his knowledge or power. It's worth a try."  
"Isn't Charlie in Iceland?" Harry asked. I nodded "it could be hard to get a hold of him, but no matter how long it takes it's better than doing nothing." I said. They agreed.

I headed out to call Aro on the satellite phone. I sighed in relief when the call connected "War, how are you?"  
"I'm well. How is Iceland?" I was curious to see how the trip was going. "We just landed here. I've missed home, but I must admit the smell is worse when you're a vampire. Are there any problems at your end?" He asked. "There's a problem with one of the wolves, I was wondering whether Chelsea or Charlie could help." I gave him a rundown of the situation and he relayed it to Charlie.

Aro handed the phone to Charlie. "There are a few options we can try. I'll contact Em and Rose and see what we can do."  
"Thanks, one of the boys has imprinted on Lauren Mallory." Charlie cursed "I'll call Em and Rose now and give them a few pointers, maybe Chelsea can deliver it and we can release the poor kid from that bitch. Who imprinted on her?" Charlie asked. I turned to Harry and repeated the question "Jacob Black." Shit.


	45. Part 3 Chapter 7

**AN: S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 7

BPOV

We neared First Beach. There was a group of people I hadn't thought I'd see again. I growled and stopped. Leah and Demitri looked ahead. Leah growled lowly when she saw the group of adults sitting on the sand. They were smoking bongs and drinking beer. I recognized Jake, he was taller than the others and walking around, picking up their trash. Lauren, Mike, Tyler and Jessica were talking and laughing while they bossed him around. "Fuck." Leah whispered. I wanted so badly to go over there and beat the shit out of my old friends, but I couldn't. I was supposed to be dead and Demitri would stand out with his golden eyes. We grabbed Leah and started running back to the Clearwater's, the human authorities needed to get involved with this shit, not us.

Leah's anger turned to dread as she realized where we were headed. "It'll be fine, Leah I promise." I said as confidently as I could. I saw J hang up the phone. We reached Sue and Harry "we need to get the police, there are a bunch of morons on the beach smoking weed. Jake's with them, but they're treating him like crap." I said. Harry's face turned red, I was worried for him, but his heart never changed its beat. He stormed inside and grabbed the phone. "Mark, get down here now, that group's back again and this time they're smoking up on our land."

J quickly explained what was going on. I felt horrible for Jake. Lauren was the worst of the worst, clearly the others had sunk to her level. I was pissed off. Hopefully, Em and Rose would be able to send something quickly. "How long has this been going on?" I asked Sue. "Six months." She gritted out. "Jake went to Port Angeles to see a movie with a few of the guys. Lauren was in the back of the theatre making out with Mike and laughing loudly. When he turned to tell her to shut up he imprinted on her."  
"We should call Theresa." I said. "She might have encountered similar problems given their tribe imprints as well."  
"I hadn't thought of that." J said in surprise. "I'll call her now." I said.

I took the satellite phone and made the call. Theresa was happy to hear from me, I quickly updated her on our mission and the problem Jake faced with the imprint. Theresa sighed "unfortunately, it happens occasionally. The imprint is supposed to bring suitable mates together, but sometimes it fails. We've only encountered the problem twice in the past, it's a difficult process to break."  
"But not impossible?" I asked hopefully. "I can help, Bella. The process is uncomfortable, and the result, while better than the imprint, can be difficult to recover from."  
"We'll do anything, Theresa. Jake's a good kid, he's being used. I know this girl from my human days, she's bad news. She's disrespecting Jake, the tribe and the land."  
"I'll come as soon as I can, is it safe to travel?" She asked. "We have allies in your area, I'll get them to accompany you to the airport, I'll text you the information. Thank you so much for this Theresa."  
"No problem, Bells. I'll see you soon. It'll be good to meet the Quileutes."

The others were smiling when I hung up. "I'll call Eliza and handle the travel arrangements." Demitri said. Pete was telling Harry and Sue what was going on. I looked to Leah "will you come with me to talk to Billy?" I asked her, she smiled in relief and nodded. We turned and ran.

It didn't take long to get to Billy's house. I could hear the TV in the lounge room, but only one heartbeat. Jake still hadn't come home, but maybe that was for the best. We could talk to Billy first and he could speak to Jake.

Leah knocked, we entered when we heard Billy shout 'come in.' He was surprised to see me with Leah "I was going to wait for you to settle in before coming to see you, Bells." He smiled. "We just arrived, I heard about Jake." I said sadly, Billy's face dropped. "It's a shitty situation Bells, but there's nothing we can do about it. Jake isn't coping."

I walked up to him and sat next to him on the couch. "We might be able to help." I said, Billy's head snapped towards me, his eyes widened and there was a spark of hope in them. "What do you mean?" He asked. I told him about Theresa and the spirit walkers, passing on her warning that it was a difficult procedure. "We'll do anything, Bells. Lauren's awful."  
"I know Billy, I went to school with her. Leah and I saw her on the beach, Harry called the police, she's gotten worse by the looks of it."

Billy sighed "she's a bitch. I've seen her and her friends. They're entitled arseholes who don't give a shit about Jake or the tribe."  
"Does she know about his wolf?" I asked. He shook his head, "no, Sam usually lets the imprints and their families in on our secret, but when he heard about the imprint from young Quil and Embry he forced Jake to keep it secret until he'd veted the girl. Needless to say he didn't approve, neither did the rest of us."  
"Didn't Jake talk about her?" I asked. Leah answered, "No, when he imprinted he tried to keep it secret. He was ashamed, he feels the connection to her, but he hates her. He's powerless; because of the imprint he must be around her as much as possible. It could seriously damage him if they're separated."

Billy cleared his throat, he was struggling to talk about this. "It's bad. Embry tried to talk to him a few times. One time he found Jake in the garage-" His voice broke and he paused to control himself. Leah picked up the explanation "he tried to kill himself, Bella." I gasped, rage and sadness filled me. I saw in the reflection of the TV screen that my eyes had turned black. "We won't let him be hurt by her or the imprint, Billy. We have resources and we'll help him." I growled.

Billy remained quiet. I calmed myself and told him what we could do. "Billy, we're all part of the Supernatural world, the kings of our kind want to unite the species. They will help us, they've offered their services should you need it. The Volturi have a guard who can manipulate bonds, between her, Theresa and dad we'll make sure Jake gets through this."  
"How is Charlie doing?" He asked, I smiled "he's well. He found a mate, she's a werewolf and he's working with the wolves to keep them connected to their humanity around the full moon."  
"They're real?" Leah gasped. I nodded and told them a quick rundown of Aro and Marcus' history.

"Is that why these kings want to unite our species? They actually give a damn about the humans and supernatural?" He asked. "Yes, they're even working with Emmett and Rose to make synthetic blood so no humans or animals have to die when we feed. They're great men and I trust them with my life and the life of my mate." I vowed.

Billy smiled "I heard you'd found a mate. Are you happy?" He asked. I smiled "extremely. Although, we haven't had much time to ourselves. There have been a few rebel vampires that have caused trouble." I sighed "I've killed so many leeches, Billy. It's been really hard, I'm only seven months old. Vamps like me are supposed to be out of control maniacs. I've had to push past all that and fight."

Leah touched my shoulder, I looked towards her. Her eyes were concerned. "What happened?" She asked. I explained the extent of the vampire wars and the Cullens' trial. Billy shook his head "you're strong, Bells. These kings seem to have sent you here to relax a little, let me and the other elders work with Theresa. You, J, Pete and Char should rest."  
"We need to discuss the creation of a Spirit wolf and walker government." I argued. "Let us handle it." Leah said. She braced herself and said "my mate is supposed to be your spokesperson, let he and I work through the Volturi information with the Elders. You need to rest."

Billy's eyes widened in shock "you imprinted?" He asked Leah. She grimaced and nodded. I cut in "he's a good man, Billy. I promise, he's helped us and protected us."  
"He's a vampire?" Billy asked, frowning. Leah nodded, her eyes had started to water. Billy stopped frowning "calm down Leah. If Bells says he's a good man then I'll take her word. It'll work out in the end. It may be hard for a few to accept, but with what Bella's told us we have a reason to trust their kind. It'll take some getting used to, but we'll make it work. Now, when do I get to meet him?" He smiled at her. Tears ran down Leah's cheeks and she smiled slightly. "Anytime you want. He's with my parents now. I don't know how they've taken it. We kind of ran away and let Pete handle it."  
"That's probably for the best. Harry and Sue trust Pete implicitly, he understands imprinting as much as we do. It'll be okay kiddo."

We heard the heavy steps of someone approach. "Jake's home." Leah sighed. We left Billy and greeted Jake outside briefly before running back to Leah's house.

PPOV Meanwhile at the Clearwater's...

We sat around the tiny dining room. Harry and Sue were interrogating Demitri. J was smiling and watching, we could see they approved of him despite their scare tactics. Given Jake's imprint I think they were thankful Leah had found someone who wouldn't use her like Jake was being used.

We heard the sound of yelling in the distance. I peered out the window and saw a bleach blond struggling in handcuffs and being guided by a man in a police uniform. This must be the infamous Lauren. There were two other's behind her; males, one blond and the other dark haired. They were hurling abuse at the cop. I shook my head in disgust.

I peeked at Lauren's path of fate. I couldn't work out why Jake had imprinted on her. I saw a deviation in her path. Something had happened to her to turn her rotten, her path had torn in part, leaving an angry red scar on her soul. I didn't know or care what had happened, this had to be rectified. There was no pull directing me to end her life, it seemed like there'd be another outcome for her.

"I need to see Jacob Black." I said. Sue looked at me "are you sure?" I nodded "I can see his fate and help guide him. Between Theresa, Chelsea and Charlie we should be able to break the imprint, I need to see for myself what his destiny is." Harry stood up. "I'll drive you over to his father's place." He offered. He turned to Demitri "it was nice to meet you. You take care of Leah or we'll have a problem." He said sternly. We headed to his truck.

A few miles away from the house we saw Leah and Bella, they were returning. Bella saw us and smiled. That was a good sign. Harry parked outside a small red, weatherboard house. I stood next to him as he opened the door and called out. "Jake, Billy?" We heard Billy call us in, he was on the couch. "You must be Bella's uncle, Pete." He said. A young man sat on the other side of the room, he was bent over and had his arms wrapped around himself. I walked over to him at human pace and crouched down in front of him. "You must be Jake." I said softly. His eyes snapped up to mine, they were almost black. He was in pain. I was careful not to touch him.

"My human name was Peter Crow. I have tribal blood too." I introduced myself to the young wolf. He nodded, his jaw clenched. "I can see the paths of fate, may I see yours?" I asked as gently as I could. He stared at me. I heard Billy from his seat on the couch "do it, Pete." I nodded and tapped into my gift. His path had a scar from the imprint, but it stopped short. We would be able to break the connection. I looked further. Jake had leadership in his blood and a long life. I looked further still, there was the image of a girl, but I couldn't make out her face. He'd find a mate in the distant future. He was destined to remain immortal. I nodded to myself and backed away.

"It'll work." I said to Billy, he knew I meant that the imprint would break and his son would survive. Billy slumped in relief. "What's he talking about, dad?" Jake's rough voice asked behind me. Billy turned to his son, Harry joined him on the couch. "Our guests will be able to break the imprint between you and Lauren." Harry explained. Jake recoiled "how?" His voice hardened.

I answered him. "The leader of the Spirit Walkers, the one who trained Charlie in Texas. She's encountered this problem among her people and she can help. Charlie and a vampire called Chelsea could help ensure the break doesn't cause damage." Jake slumped. "I'll be free?" He asked. I nodded "you will, I have seen the path you'll travel. You live a long life and be instrumental in guiding and protecting your species."  
"I don't want that much responsibility. I don't want to be Alpha. Sam's better at it."  
"It's not a bad fate, Jake. You'll lead your kind and you won't be alone, there will be others who will rule with you." I said. He stayed silent, he needed to think.

I thanked Billy for allowing us on his land and headed back to the Clearwater's house with Harry. "You did a good thing there, Pete." He said as we drove. "Jake's been tormented by the imprint for the last six months." He added, I turned to him and asked "is this the first time an Imprint has been so poorly matched?"  
"No. I've heard the histories, there was one other wolf who suffered the same fate at Jake. It was centuries ago. The tribe banded together and killed the wolf and his imprint. Our wolf suffered badly, his mate was a traitor to him and the tribe. It was the last option left. Jake's a good kid, none of us could do what our ancestors did. He's suffered, but with your help he can live again." Harry said.

We parked and headed inside. Leah was standing next to Demitri, they were smiling widely. I saw Harry smile, but he quickly turned his expression neutral. I whispered to him "give them a break, Harry. They're good together."  
"Fine." He smiled sheepishly. Leah looked at her father, she was anxious for his approval. She relaxed when she saw his smile.

Harry excused himself to gather the pack, minus Jacob. I waited for them to arrive before updating them on what I'd seen. Seth, Sam and the boys arrived first. Old Quill arrived with Emily in tow. We moved outside, the house was too crowded. Harry introduced us. Many of the wolves looked wary of us, they'd get over it. I told the group what I saw and our plan to free Jake of his imprint. A few of the wolves looked hopeful and less suspicious as Harry backed us up and explained our role in the tribe. Emily smiled widely at Bella and went to hug her, Bella stiffened and stopped breathing, but didn't break the hug. "Sorry Emily, I don't know how to control my strength around humans and I don't want to hurt you or the baby." Bella explained. Emily smiled and nodded, returning to her seat on the porch.

The wolves weren't happy about Leah imprinting on a vampire, but Sam gracefully gave his congratulations. "I have a gift" He announced to us, the wolves and humans didn't seem surprised, but Bella and the rest of us were. Sam continued "I can see intent. I can see that this Vampire is worthy of our Leah, he is protective and cares for her."

A few of the wolves relaxed at that, all signs of wariness gone. "What about the others?" An older wolf asked, his voice was hard. "They're safe, Paul." Sam confirmed. Paul relaxed his stance, but eyed us suspiciously. I had already met the kid before, he worked with Charlie's replacement at the Forks Police Station. The old animosity would take a while to break out of. The elder, Old Quil, kept his face blank, I couldn't tell how he felt about all this.

The meeting disbanded and a few more people joined us. We were introduced to them; they were here to help with the community dinner. Sue shooed Leah away and asked her to show us to our accommodation. We loaded the bus back up with our luggage and she drove us to Bella and Charlie's old house. "We left it furnished. We mostly use it when a young one turns into a wolf for the first time and needs privacy. I've moved into Sam and Emily's old house for a while, I'm helping the younger wolves become accustomed until Emily has the baby and Sam can return to active duty." She explained.

Demitri set up the kitchen and packed the fridge and freezer with blood. The coolers had kept the blood frozen. He left out a couple of bottles to de frost. Leah stayed by his side and watched him worked. She asked him questions about what each package of herbs did. Charlie had supplied him with a few mixes to add to the blood if we need to hunt for ourselves and a few mixes that the wolves could use, Emily had been unable to make the teas for the last month and supplies were getting low. Billy had asked Charlie to make some when they arranged for us to visit the Res. Emily was having a hard time with the pregnancy.

Leah's cellphone rang, Billy had called "can you let our guests know they're invited to the community dinner?" She nodded and hung up. J walked out, he'd showered and was wearing a short sleeve t-shirt and jeans. "We'll be there." He said to Leah. Her eyes bugged out, staring at his scars. She broke out of her haze and apologized. J waved her off "many of our kind have scars like this. You should see the Masters." I was glad he was comfortable in his own skin. Leah nodded "I'd probably have a few as well, but we heal before they can form." She started listing off injuries she'd suffered through training. J smiled at her. I saw Demitri relax, he had a few scars of his own.

Leah caught Demitri's reaction and moved to him. She cupped his cheek "show me, Dem. I promise not to think less of you." She said. He kept his eyes to the floor and unbuttoned his shit. He shrugged it off and let it drop to the floor. She searched his torso, running her fingers over each scar. He shuddered and smiled sheepishly at his mate. "The ones who did this to you, they're dead?" She asked, he nodded. "Good." She said firmly. Demitri picked up his shirt and covered himself up again. His mood lightened, although his eyes had darkened. They wouldn't wait long to consummate their mateship.

Bella walked out "how about you and Dem stay at your place, it's pretty crowded in here with all of us." She said to Leah. Dem smiled at Leah and she nodded. "Why don't you guys head out, explore the Res, we can handle everything else until dinner." Leah said, shooing us out of the house. I smirked at Demitri, I knew he wouldn't make a move yet, they'd only just met each other.


	46. Part 3 Chapter 8

**AN: A short chapter for today :) S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 8

Charlie POV – Iceland with Aro, Picia, Fred, Briggita and Brenna

I just finished talking to Theresa, Bella had already called her. I was glad. I'd called Caius before I spoke to my mentor in Texas, Chelsea was going to visit Jake in a couple of weeks when I could be there as well. Em and Rose were making a mixture to boost Jake's immunity, energy and a connection to the spirit world. This would help him recover when Chelsea weakened the bond between Jake and his imprint, Chelsea would bring Em and Rosie with her when she visited.

Losing and imprint was dangerous to the health of the spirit wolf. I'd seen Billy wither when his imprint was killed. Oona had taught me how to make the tea to keep Billy healthy. He could still connect with his wolf side, but his body no longer transformed. He had only phased once and it was in that attack his spine had been damaged. With his imprint murdered by a cold one he never fully recovered.

Billy no longer needed the tea, but Oona made sure I knew how to make it and a few other rare remedies. Hopefully, Jake wouldn't need much assistance. Theresa told me about her experience with the broken imprint bond and the effect it had on our species. She had been there for the last Spirit Walker who's imprint needed severing, it had happened decades ago, but her memory recalled everything. I never considered how old Theresa was, she looked to be in her late twenties, then again so did I. Clearly our bond to the supernatural kept us young. I knew Oona was in her early eighties when she passed, but she had a weaker connection to the spirits and her craft lay in herbalism. I wondered how her spirit was faring with her descendants.

We were in a hotel in the small village of Holmavik. It had been an amazing drive from Reykavik Airport. We were in a remote part of the island on an arm reaching out to the west. This area had a reputation for hauntings, the nearby Glacier was known for magic. This wasn't where Aro grew up, but it was close to it. This part of the island was a haven for the supernatural. I could feel my connection to the ancestors hum. It was so peaceful here, I felt like I was recharging my batteries. Sulpicia giggled at me "Healer, you look like you've been meditating with War." I glanced at my reflection in the window, my pupils were dilated. I shrugged "this place is amazing. I can feel the energy, the land is alive. I can feel the lava underneath us, it's still growing. The plants and animals are weaker here than where I used to live, but the land nourishes them. It's a strong feeling."

Aro smiled "this island is my home. I look forward to taking you to where I grew up, I hope you feel the same connection there as you do here." I hummed in agreement, losing myself in the power around us.

"We'll have to bring the Spirit Walkers here" Aro said lightly, smiling. I couldn't agree more. "Definitely, I feel like a cat in a sunbeam." I said. I turned to Brenna "do you feel the energy too?" I asked my imprint. "It doesn't feel as strong as it does for you, but this place has a lot of energy. I can feel it around us." She said.

I sat up and turn to Aro and Picia. "This place is important, would I be able to make a home here?" I asked. I loved the States and the castle in Volterra had become a second home, but this place was a Manse. I could work directly with the werewolves and keep in touch with Volterra easier than if I moved back to Texas. Brenna smiled widely. "I'd love that. This was my home a long time ago, I'd love to live here again." She said. "I'm glad you enjoy our homeland, Charlie. This place would make an excellent base of operations for you. What about your family?" Aro asked, I would never abandon Bella or the others, but this was a small world and we could travel when we wanted to. "I'll think about it and ask them all." I conceded.

There was a knock on the door, Fred came in with his mate, Brigitta. "We've contacted Feykir, they're expecting us." He said cheerfully. Feykir was the pack master for Iceland, he and his pack had a crevasse in the glacier of Drangajokull, they used it for ceremonial gatherings and their transformations during the full moon. Fred had told me how there were gates made from Rowan wood to keep them contained during the full moon.

Picia put on the kettle and I arranged some tea for her and Aro, it would lessen their scent and make it easier to be among the wolves. Picia took out a few bottles of vodka I'd infused with the Chequer tree fruit and herbs. It was similar to the beer I'd given to Fred and his pack.

We headed out to the car, we were driving to Drangajokull. The scenery stunned me, so barren and vital at the same time. There was one major highway, it traveled around the entire island. The hum of energy lessened as we drove south east and the human population increased. We passed by small towns and headed North West, into another arm of the island. The energy picked up again, I felt stronger, more powerful than ever. For the first time I truly felt disconnected to the human world

Fred parked the car. "We need to hike for a bit." He announced. I was glad, I wanted to feel the energy flow through me, uninhibited by the car or manmade obstructions. "It's a bit cold, are you warm enough, Healer?" Fred asked. I nodded my head "I'm very comfortable. I know it's cold, but I don't feel it."

We walked for a few miles. The energy kept me warm, if I hadn't seen the surroundings I would have thought I was walking along a tropical path. The ice crunched with each step we took, echoing around us. Fred was guiding us, making sure we didn't fall through cracks and thinner ice. There was nothing for miles around, but instead of feeling isolated I felt calm. No wonder Aro had stayed in a remote Russian inlet for centuries, if his inlet was anything like this it would have been a sanctuary.

Fred stopped, I saw bundles of sticks concealed near the entrance of a crack in the ice. It would be hidden from human sight, but I could see them clearly. Fred stilled and stared at me, Brenna turned to me and froze. "What's wrong?" I asked, Aro and Picia turned to see what the wolves were looking at. "You're glowing." Aro gaped. I looked down at my hands, they were illuminated like they were when I healed someone.

I paused and closed my eyes, had I turned on my power subconsciously? No. Brenna touched my cheek. "How do you feel?" She asked. I shrugged, "I feel good, I think the energy of this place is supercharging me."  
"Your eyes are glowing too, their normal brown has changed to silver. It's really strange." Picia said. Aro nodded and said "I think you're right about the energy, I doubt it's a bad thing. Let's keep going and meet with Feykir."

Fred disappeared down the crevasse. There was a ladder made from white stone and chains. Brenna and I followed him down, climbing the ladder to the bottom. I glowed brighter with each step. I was beginning to worry. "It's a good thing, Healer." Brenna said to me. "This place is compatible with your power, it amplifies it. You'll be able to achieve a lot here." She said, trying to ease my nerves.

"Have you seen anything like this before?" I asked her, she nodded. Fred answered, "The mage who sealed our pack from the human world glowed like you did. His mother was from the mainland and was a human nomad."  
"Like a Gypsy?" I asked. Fred replied, "Yes, she joined the settlement and taught her son everything. That son stayed on the mainland for a long time, travelling with his mother's people and picking up their magic. He returned to Iceland four years after Eir and Thegnmarr were turned. He was sent home to protect us. They had similar powers to you, Healer, but they were clairvoyant and had a celestial connection like the witches in Volterra."

We waited for Aro and Picia to climb the ladder. When they saw we'd reached the bottom they stepped over the ledge and fell down to us, landing lightly. Aro chuckled at Fred's surprise. "If I had done that my shins would have splinted." Fred grumbled.

He led us down a passage that had been carved into the ice. Brigitta was by his side. Brenna and I were directly behind them with Aro and Picia behind us. Fred turned his head to me "usually we have to use a torch, I've never been able to see our surrounds so clearly, Healer." He joked. I had to admit it was handy being a walking light bulb.

The ice glinted around us, white and blue glowing ethereally from my light. There was an opening ahead, shielded by a gate made from sticks of rowan. Fred howled and the gate slid open. "You may take off your mask if you wish, Charlie. You're safe here." Fred said. I pulled back my hood and removed my mask. Aro and Sulpicia removed their red contact lenses.

The wolves were packed in a large room carved into the ice. There were battery operated lamps lining the hall. At least fifty wolves faced us, I recognized a few from Fred's pack. They appeared to have a uniform; dark leather sleeveless tunic and pants. There were patterns pressed into the leather around the neck. Each wolf had a branding scar, a crescent moon on their upper arm, a couple of inches long.

One wolf stood alone at the front of the group. He was tall, at least 6'2" with long blond hair and pale green eyes. His leather was black, there were swirls and knotted patterns all over his tunic. He walked up to me, squinting slightly. "I'm Feykir, leader to the Icelandic Pack. Welcome, Healer." His voice was heavily accented, he shook my hand. "Please, call me Charlie when we're safe." I smiled.

He turned to Aro and Picia. "It's good to see you again Eir, Picia. Fred mentioned the Romanians have been punished and destroyed." He said. Aro stepped forward "it's true. We have defeated them. They suffered greatly before they died. I can show you if you wish?" Aro offered. Feykir grinned "I would love to see that, but perhaps you can show one of our brothers, Gras. He is able to project thoughts to everyone in the room. We would all love to see their punishment." He said.

Aro nodded and smiled "it would be a pleasure." A short man with black hair and light blue eyes walked forward and bowed. Aro offered his hand and soon the images of the Romanians fluttered through my mind. I saw the dungeon where they received the darkness, Stefan and Vladimir's bodies writhed as an image of me released the darkness, I'd never seen this perspective of myself when I used my power, it was an odd thing to witness. The images of Stefan and Vladimir kept running through my mind, they crumbled as Fred trapped them in time.

The images stopped and a cheer went up in the hall. Feykir smiled "we commend your power, Charlie. You have all acted to bring the Romanian's to justice. We thank you and welcome you to our pack." He turned to Aro "I can see you have healed from your time with the Romanians. You look strong again, may I ask why your eyes are golden?"  
"With Charlie's assistance we have converted to animal blood. He has been able to enrich it so we do not weaken and we are able to extinguish our thirst. We have also made progress in creating synthetic blood. With the Healers help we will be able to stop hunting completely." Aro said.

Feykir chuckled "I had thought you a mad man for your optimism. I'm thankful to be proven wrong." Aro smirked "many thought I was a mad man, it was how I carried myself. By dropping the mask I have given people a reason to trust Charlie. We have a while to go until I can guarantee your safety, but we can make a start. We're here to help set up a government and laws between our species. Our allies are in contact with the Spirit Walkers, the fighting is over for now. This is a time for diplomacy."

Feykir turned serious. "You have our allegiance, Eir. We knew you from before and have witnessed the man you have become. You, Thegnmarr and Caius have fought for us and human kind. We are alive today thanks to your efforts."

Feykir turned to me "Charlie, Fred tells us you have created a remedy to connect us to our humanity during the full moon." I nodded and explained how I'd put together the ingredients. Sulpicia handed him a bottle of vodka. He opened it and sniffed "it doesn't smell terrible, like the rowan does. Are you sure it'll work?"  
"Not entirely. We won't know for sure until the full moon." I said. He nodded, "it's more hope than we had yesterday. Knowing that you've worked to help us is appreciated. We have had positive experiences with European witches in the past, and we welcome your assistance as people of similar species."

Feykir led us to a bench along the south wall. It was stone bench, carved ornately out of black stone. Moss grew on it, cushioning us. The formal meeting started. We spoke at length about our plans for the future. Feykir updated us on their lives; a few of the wolves had started a business, forging an alliance with a coven of witches who had settled on the island. "They're near here, they live in the town of Bildudalur. A few of them work for the oil company, they've managed to get many of us jobs. They understand our need for time off each month and have been able to work out a schedule."

"Have they been able to help you with the effect of the full moon?" I asked. Feykir shook his head "they tried, but had no luck. They grow Rowan and help us stay isolated from the human world when we're dangerous. We tried a few remedies, but they didn't work. They made a liquor from Rowan berries, it made us sick. No matter how they cooked or treated the berries we ended up with bad stomach cramps." He said. Fred nodded and said "we also became ill after the Rowan remedy." I felt guilty. Fred continued "the Chequer fruit hasn't made us ill. Hopefully it's the ingredient we need to tame our wolf."  
"I'm so sorry." I said to Fred and the pack. He waved his hand "don't worry, Charlie. We'll try anything to fit in with the world."

Feykir smiled and gulped down a few shots of vodka. He passed the bottle around, each wolf drinking a few big mouthfuls. I was glad I had made up so many, we had ten bottles on hand, it looked like we'd need all of them. I wondered if the wolves got drunk.


	47. Part 3 Chapter 9

**AN: I'm going to have a couple of days rest, I'll update again on Monday night. Thanks for your patience :)**

**Here are the groups as they stand now;**

**Iceland – Charlie, Brenna, Briggita, Fred, Aro, Picia with Feykir and the pack**

**La Push – Peter, Charlotte, J, Bella, Demitri with the Quileutes**

**Volterra – Esme, Marcus, Caius, Dora, Mark, Evan, Emmett, Rose, and a few of the Elite Guard and Lower Guard (Evan and Mark are the boys captured in New Mexico and were small time Generals)**

**America/Canada – Felix, Eliza, Jane, Alec, Renata searching for Newborn Armies**

**Europe – Alice and Alistair**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 9

Esme POV

The castle felt so bare. I was glad to have time to spend with my mate and the boys; Evan and Mark. They had learnt a lot under our guidance. We were sitting in Marcus' study watching TV and talking. The boys had opened up a lot about their human lives, they hadn't known each other before they were turned. They missed their parents, but had learned to move on.

Marcus came in, his eyes were bright orange. Em and Rose walked behind him, each carrying a basket of bottles. He was beyond happy "they did it, Esme! The scientist perfected the cloning process and created a lot of synthetic blood, look!" He held out a bottle. It looked like blood, it smelt like blood. I took a sip and quickly drank the whole bottle. Oops. I looked in shock between the bottle and my mate. He was smiling "I had the same reaction, dear." He laughed. "It's better than the real thing. Em and Rose enriched it, that one bottle should keep us full for longer. It'll also curb out instincts against the other species." I did feel full. I got up and hugged Em and Rose, congratulating them.

Marcus handed each of the boys a bottle of the blood. "Let us know what you think." He said, smiling. Their eyes darkened, then turned orange as they drank. They looked surprised. "It's awesome." Evan smiled. "Fuck yeah!" Mark said in agreement. Em looked shocked. I shrugged "their teenagers, Em. It's not the end of the world if they swear. Lighten the fuck up." I said, smirking at him. Rose laughed, she understood why I didn't give a shit about their language in our private quarters. I wasn't going to coddle them, they were old enough to know when to behave and when to relax.

"I'm going to go call Aro and Demitri. Rose, Em and our scientists are creating whole vats of blood for us. When Aro comes back we'll have to start distribution." He headed to the hallway to make the call. I left the boys to their TV show and went to the throne room with Em and Rose to show Caius their accomplishment.

I knocked on the door to the throne room. "Enter" Caius said, Heidi and Renata opened the doors from the inside and let us in. I approached Caius and bowed formally, offering him a bottle of blood. There were trials happening today to sort out the squabbles of a few of our people. The throne room was the one place in the castle that formality must be maintained at all times.

I saw Em nod his head beside me and Caius took the bottle. I straightened up as he fed quickly and smiled. "We have enough for the people here." Rose said bowing. Caius nodded and stood up. "It is time to feed. We have a complimentary meal for you all." He gestured for us to distribute the bottles and sat down. We served the guard first, there were few remaining here in Volterra. Many were on assignment around the world.

There were another ten people present for their audience with the Caius. They each thanked us and took a bottle, feeding quickly and handing it back to us. We left the room as chatter started in approval of the new blood. I hoped idly that it would calm the tension between fighting covens. It would at least help Caius keep calm.

Em and Rose returned to their lab in Aro's quarters and I headed back to Marcus' study. The boys were still watching TV, Marcus had joined them on the couch. He smiled as I entered "Aro's pleased. He just finished meeting with Feykir. They're going to spend a few more days in Iceland then head to Australia to speak with the pack masters there."  
"That's great. I hope Charlie's vodka works. How are the wolves?" I asked. "They're very well, a few of them are employed. They've formed an alliance with a coven of witches. It seems like a good arrangement."  
"Have there been any new wolves?" I asked, I wanted their species to grow and prosper. Marcus nodded "Aro said there were a few new faces. Fred and Feykir's combined packs equal sixty two bodies. It'll be interesting to see how many belong to the Packs in Australia." He said.

Things were changing fast. I couldn't wait for the Masters' wish to come true.

JPOV - Washington State with the Horsemen, including Demitri and the Quileutes.

We were at SeaTac waiting for Theresa to arrive. It was late in the evening, we were wearing our cloaks and masks again, I couldn't wait to get back to La Push and relax. Bella spotted Theresa, we walked over and carried her bags for her. "Thank you so much for coming to our aide." I said. She smiled "I'm happy to help. Who are you?" She asked, "I can tell you our real names when we're safely away, but for the moment I'm War and this is Death." I said. I felt her recognition. "Say no more, the Healer filled me in." She winked.

Theresa seemed to relax as soon as we arrived on the Res. I parked the car Sue had loaned me in front of the community hall. Bella and I took our masks off and smiled at Theresa. "Bella, it's so good to see you! You look fantastic as a vamp. It really suits you." She said. Bella grinned "it's good to see you too, it's dinner time on the Res, we thought you'd like to join us and meet the Elders and the community." We led her inside, the hall was full of chatter as we approached the Elder table.

Demitri, Pete and Char stood to introduce themselves followed by Billy, Old Quil, Harry and Sue. "I hope you don't mind staying with our daughter, Leah?" Sue asked. "Not at all. I appreciate the hospitality." Theresa said kindly. Billy's eyes watered a little, his gratitude flooded my sense as he looked at the Alpha Spirit Walker. The wolves walked in and joined us. Sam brought Emily over and they sat next to J and I. Jacob, Leah and Seth sat with their parents on the other side of the table.

Light conversation struck up between the Elders and Theresa. They didn't discuss Jake's imprint yet. They filled their plates from the buffet at the table. "We're having a bonfire tomorrow night. You're welcome to join us, Theresa. It'll be Jasper, Pete, Char and Demitri's first time." Old Quil announced. They all seemed to accept Demitri, but there was some wariness in the older members of the tribe. Sue looked at Demitri like another son, she had seen some of Dem's scars and instantly bonded with him. He seemed to enjoy her and Harry's company.

Harry was recounting a fishing trip he'd taken Demitri on this morning. It had been completely unsuccessful because of Dem's vampire scent. Demitri had gone into town this afternoon and bought some scent off, they were going to try fishing again tomorrow.

Leah and Demitri left once the cleaning finished, they took Theresa to their house. Sam and Jake went out to patrol. Old Quil yawned and we called it a night. Tomorrow morning Theresa would start working to break Jake's imprint.

BPOV

The humans were asleep. J and I walked along the beach. It was a clear night. We sat down on the sand, enjoying the wind against our faces. We didn't have to wear our disguises on the Res and I was glad to have a break from the mask and cloak. We wore a normal Volturi pendant; the gold V with ruby, instead of our usual Horsemen pendant. We were on diplomatic duty for the Volturi after all.

We heard Sam and Jake running through the forest. Their wolves came into view and padded over to us. We smiled and waved as they sat next to us. "Have there been any nomads?" I asked them, Sam shook his head. "That's good. Hopefully with this new government you'll get a break from patrolling." Sam nodded.

They ran into the forest and I felt the waves of energy as they phased into human form. They walked out in their cutoff jeans and joined us. "It seems too good to be true." Sam said. J agreed, "I thought so too, but then Aro told us his life story. Things were really bad before they came to power. They've worked so hard for the last thousand years to save the Children of the Moon and bring justice to their kind."

"Can you tell us more about the real werewolves?" Jake asked. J told him about Fred and his pack. "They're in Iceland now speaking to another pack. Charlie, Aro and their mates are with them. Our mission is sort of like theirs. The Master's wanted us to have a rest and arranged for us to come here and then go to Texas, we're to let you guys know of their plans and help you get started."  
"Charlie has a mate?" Jake asked. I nodded "yeah, she's a werewolf called Brenna. She's nice. They have powers too, Fred can trap someone in a bubble of time and Brenna can help grow plants."

"Do the Spirit Walkers have gifts?" Sam asked. "Kind of. Dad said their abilities conform with their discipline. Among the protectors there are shields like me and seers like Pete. Theresa's a powerful healer and the alpha. I don't know what all their gifts are, but they seem to relate to their role in the community." I explained.

"We're the same." Sam said. "I can see a person's intent; good or bad. Jake can sense vampires for miles around-" I interrupted him "Like a tracker?"  
"Sort of." Jake shrugged. I turned to him and said, "Demitri does the same thing, you should talk to him about it some time." He smiled "that's pretty cool."

Sam turned serious. "We heard the Cullens were executed." I nodded and growled "Carlisle was a complete fucking quack." J sent me some calm and I continued. "They were so fucking evil, Sam. Edward and Carlisle were mates, they lied to everyone and destroyed so many lives." I took a deep breath and continued. "Esme, Rose, Emmett and Alice are still alive."  
"I thought Alice was as bad as Edward." Jake said. I quickly ran through Alice's history and her healing. "What about her gift?" Jake asked. I smiled "Emmett took it from her. Did Leah tell you he's my uncle?"  
"I thought Pete was your uncle?" Sam asked. "They both are. Char and Rose are my aunts. Anyway, the ancestors gave Emmett a gift. He can take away other people's gifts. It really helped Alice."

"I can't believe Carlisle and Edward were mates." Sam said. "I'm really fucking glad Carlisle doesn't work at the hospital anymore." He growled. J shuddered and mumbled "tell me about it." He quickly ran through Carlisle's treatment for his PTSD. "Fuck man. That's sick! If we'd known what he was capable of we would have overturned the treaty and ripped the fucker to pieces." Jake said. I smiled, "If it's any consolation I burned them both, slowly." I said. Jake looked at me and seemed to debate something.

"Just ask us, Jake." J said, the silence had turned awkward. "CanIseeyourshield?" Jake blurted out. I nodded and stood away from the group. I slowly thickened my shield and saw the moment it was visible to the wolves. I smiled and ignited it. They recoiled in shock, J smiled at me, his eyes darkening with lust. I winked at him and turned down the flames. Pushing them down to my fingertips. There was a small branch nearby, I walked over and scooted the flames onto it. It crackled slowly, radiating a gentle warmth.

I walked back and drew the warmth of the flames into myself. I thinned out my shield again and sat next to J. Sam and Jake were staring at the branch. J leaned over and whispered, just loudly enough for the our group to hear "I wonder if they'll let you light the bonfire tomorrow."  
"Hell yeah!" Jake crowed. "A bonfire lit by a vampire at a historical site where a vampire was burnt." Sam laughed "it's like inception with fire."

Sam and Jake returned to patrol, Jake hadn't sensed anything since we arrived, but they still did a sweep of the land. They met up with us on the beach when their patrol was over, the sun had started to rise. The four of us headed to Billy's place. I felt J send out some calm. "It'll be okay, Jake." He said.

"I'm really nervous. Breaking an imprint connection is meant to be really bad. I don't want to die." Jake said. I patted his arm "you aren't alone in this Jake, not only do you have your tribe, but you've got the help of vampires and spirit walkers. You heard Uncle Pete; you're imprint is a scar on your path, but it will be healed." I promised. He smiled weakly.

Billy was still asleep when we arrived. I told Sam and Jake to sit down and rest for a bit, I cooked them some French toast. They snored loudly before I could give them the food, J smiled and sent them some alertness. Their eyes opened and they looked around confused. "Wakey Wakey." I teased, handing them full plates of food.

Billy rolled in and joined us in his pajamas. He smiled when I passed him a plate of toast. "I've missed your cooking, Bells." He said. He ate quickly and got ready for the day. At 8 AM Theresa arrived. Jake was a bundle of nerves and J had to touch his shoulder to give him enough calm to stand up. Theresa smiled gently and walked up to Jake. "We'll do what we can. Jasper here will help you, all you need to do is focus your breathing and drink a few cups of tea. I'll handle the rest. The Volturi will send a remedy from the Healers and a vampire with the gift to weaken bonds. At some point Charlie will come here himself and complete the process."

"Will it hurt?" Jake asked. Theresa shook her head and replied, "No, it'll feel uncomfortable and disorientating, but it won't hurt. Before we start we should give you some calming tea." She said, she was eyeing him in concern. "Peter told me this will work, Jake. He said you have a great future ahead of you. Have faith in us, we will make sure you're freed from this burden." She said. Jake's eyes burned with determination, Theresa handed him the calming tea and prepared the a few cups, adding herbs and hot water to each of them.

J removed his hand from Jake's shoulder as the tea started to work. Pete walked into the house and announced "I've come to help. The ancestors told me I can lend their strength to Theresa." She smiled at him "thank you. This will make it easier."

Jake sat on the couch and got comfortable. He looked to be on the edge of sleep. "I increased the dose of calming herbs, he should be in a meditative state. This way we can work with him and his wolf." Theresa explained. She put a terracotta plate on the ground and added a handful of leaves. She turned to me "I need your gift for this, Bella. You produce living flame."  
"I'll have to go outside before I get it under control, I don't want to burn the house down." I said. She nodded and I left, standing a couple of feet away from the porch. I pushed the warmth out of me and quickly moved it to my fingertips. It got easier every time. I walked back inside and knelt before the herbs, I coaxed the flames onto the dried leaves, they danced forward. Billy watched in amazement. I brought the warmth back inside me and the flames disappeared. The room filled with heavily scented smoke.

I began to feel like I was in a daze. I could see shapes moving in the smoke, the room was crowded with people. I stared in shock, they all touched their hands to Pete's shoulders and he started to glow. He grabbed onto Theresa's hand and she began to glow. Together they moved towards Jake. As soon as Theresa touched his chest his form began to waiver, it was like an odd sort of static. The outline of a wolf flickered through Jake's body. Theresa added more leaves to the smoldering heap on the plate. More smoke filled the air. A bright red cord appeared between Jake's heart and the wolf's. Theresa started to chant. Pete's eyes flashed opened and he turned to me "bring the first cup from the left." I grabbed it off the bench and passed it to Pete. He knelt down, still holding Theresa's hand, and tilted the cup to Jake's open mouth.

The red cord around the Spirit Wolf's heart uncurled, but the red cord stayed curled around the heart of his human spirit. The wolf spirit howled, vibrating the windows. Jake's face cringed. Theresa added another lot of herbs to the fire. Pete tipped more tea into Jake's mouth. The spirit wolf was absorbed back into Jake's body. Pete handed me the cup and asked for the one next to it. I obliged and watched Pete pour more tea into Jake. Jake's spirit lightened, the red cord was still wrapped around his human spirit. The spirit wolf made another appearance. The two spirits seemed to connect and form one, brighter, spirit. Slowly the brightness of Jake's spirit dimmed.

The red cord around Jake's heart had substantially weakened. "Next cup." Pete ordered, setting down the other cup by his side. I handed him the third cup and he poured it into Jake's mouth. His spirit grew brighter, the wolf had bonded with his spirit. Jake's corporeal form started to sweat. The smoke began to clear and the room grew brighten. The spirits of the Ancestors around Pete drifted away with Jake's spirit. They didn't dim, they just became absorbed into the light of the room.

Theresa let go of Pete's hand and stumbled towards the final cup. She drank heavily and slumped to the ground. I picked her up and carried her to Billy's room. Laying her gently on the mattress and tucking her in. When I moved back to the lounge room I saw Pete, Billy and J sitting near Jake. "He'll wake soon." Pete said. "I can't believe my eyes. I've never seen anything like that." Billy whispered.


	48. Part 3 Chapter 10

**AN:  
Here are the groups as they stand now;**

**On the plane to Australia – Charlie, Brenna, Briggita, Fred, Aro, Picia **

**Texas – Peter, Charlotte, J, Bella, Demitri with the Spirit Walkers and Jake**

**Volterra – Esme, Marcus, Caius, Dora, Mark, Evan, Emmett, Rose, and a few of the Elite Guard and Lower Guard (Evan and Mark are the boys captured in New Mexico and were small time Generals)**

**America/Canada – Felix, Eliza, Jane, Alec, Renata searching for Newborn Armies**

**Europe – Alice and Alistair**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 10

Charlie POV- On the airplane from Iceland to Australia

The Volturi jet had been sent to take us to Australia. I'd never left the US when I was human, but now I was a world traveller. I missed the states. Hopefully, I'd be able to return soon. I watched the tiny island of Iceland disappear from our view. It was going to be a long flight.

There was a lot of room to stretch out. Aro, Sulpicia, Brenna, Fred and Briggita were the only ones travelling on this leg of the journey. The rest of Fred's pack stayed in Iceland. They hadn't been home in a thousand years. They'd earned the rest. I was lucky Brenna was open to travel. I had a feeling we'd be doing a lot of jet setting in the future.

I checked our stock of Chequer vodka. There were another twenty bottles. Feykir had told us there were forty wolves in the Coober Pedy pack and another seventy wolves scattered around remote Western Australia. He had called each pack master to let them know we were coming. We'd be landing in Bangkok to refuel, then heading to Coober Pedy airport. The pack master, Aaron, would meet us there. I was intrigued by the place, a whole city living underground. There were a few people living on the surface, but it was apparently uncomfortable with the extreme temperatures.

I tried to sleep, but after being in Iceland I felt stronger than I have before. Thankfully, I wasn't glowing brightly anymore. Aro's phone rang, he spoke quietly to the person on the other end. I wondered how Theresa got along with the Quileutes. I wondered how Jake was faring. It had been four days since Pete first called to tell me about Jake and his imprint.

Time seemed to crawl. Damn, this flight was long. I needed a distraction. I got up and arranged some Vodka for the wolves and blood for the vampires. Aro finished his call as I walked out with the tray of refreshments. He was practically vibrating with joy. I handed he and Sulpicia a cup of pigs' blood and asked what was happening.

"Rose, Em and our human scientists have done it! They've perfected synthetic blood. It's ready for mass production." Holy shit. "That's amazing. What was it like? How much have they made?" I asked. Aro laughed in delight "better than anything they've ever tasted. Rose said their eyes turned red again. They handed it out during the daily public audience and it was very well received. They've got a large drum of it so far, they've ordered another twenty drums which will be ready by next week. This is it Charlie, this is what we've worked so hard for."

This would change everything. I'd have to call Theresa. "Can I notify the Spirit Walkers?" I asked Aro, he grinned widely "of course. Find out how the young wolf is doing and send our regards to them all." He handed me the phone. I quickly worked out it was around nine AM in Washington, I called Bells.

Bella was glad to speak to me. She told me Jake was recovering from his treatment, but was struggling with resentment. He had a lot of anger and hatred for his wolf form because of the imprint. Theresa was making sure he drank enriched tea with herbs, trying to keep him connected with his spirit wolf, but he was rejecting his wolf spirit despite their efforts. He felt tainted by the connection and had accidently phased due to anger a few times, his human spirit was still connected with Lauren and it was tormenting him. Lauren and the kids in Forks were causing a lot of trouble for the Res, Pete called his lawyer to help.

I could tell we'd have to cut our trip to Australia short. We'd need Chelsea's help to reduce the bond between Jake's human side and his imprint, I would need to be there to heal the effects of the weakened bond. J had been sending him as much calm as possible. I sighed. Lauren had been a good kid until her father, Ross, had been promoted and was a senior member of staff at Forks Chamber of Commerce. Since his pay increase Lauren had become more and more spoilt, his wife was just as bad. She quit her job and spent all the income Ross brought in on girly shit. I knew Ross was cheating on her, Sam had caught him while he was patrolling for Vampires. He had been able to leave before Ross and Jennifer Stanley had noticed him.

Jennifer Stanley, the woman was a menace and her daughter, Jessica, was looking to follow in her mother's footsteps. She had spread a few nasty rumors about Bella when the Cullens left. I wondered if the gossip mill knew about Mrs. Stanley screwing Mr. Mallory. Life in a small town was sometimes like a fucking soap opera.

Bella passed the phone to Theresa and we spoke about ways of helping Jake. She was doing her best and could hold off the rejection in the short term, but the longer Jake rejected the Wolf Spirit the harder it would be for him to find peace. I couldn't blame the kid, he had a huge responsibility ahead of him. He was supposed to be the Alpha, but had abdicated, letting Sam take over. Jake's wolf spirit wasn't happy with the arrangement.

Theresa said she would take Jake with her to the Texas Res when she returned home, she hoped that a break from all the pressure would help. Before Theresa handed the phone back to Bells I told her about the good news. "The Volturi have perfected synthetic blood." I said, she squealed and told me she'd inform the Quileutes at the community dinner that night. She was going to return to Texas tomorrow with the Horsemen.

I told Bella all about Iceland and the pack, she was intrigued. "Hey dad, if Jake keeps rejecting his Wolf Spirit would it be worthwhile sending him to Iceland so meet the pack?" That sounded like a definite possibility. I heard Pete speak in the background "that's a great idea! Who better to teach him how to accept his animalistic side." I agreed. "We'll have to see how the Chequer berries work. There's no point sending the kid there if the werewolves have trouble controlling their instincts."

We eventually bumped onto the landing strip at Coober Pedy Airport. The land was so isolated and few buildings could be seen around us. There were no humans around. A man was waiting for us on the tarmac, I guessed this was Aaron, pack master of the Coober Pedy wolves.

I recoiled as the door to the plane opened, the heat was terrible. It felt like I was walking into an oven. I saw Aro and Sulpicia cringe as they left the plane. I hated having to wear the cloak and mask. Brenna, Fred and Briggita seemed fine with the temperature, even while wearing the thick woolen jumpers and jeans they'd worn in Iceland.

The man slowly walked over to us. He was tall, about 6'2" and had short curly blond hair. His skin was deeply tanned, he had a baby face. He was wearing flip flops, dark blue shorts and a white tank top. "Hi, I'm Aaron. You can take your cloaks and masks off, the humans are underground and only our kind works on the surface during the day." His voice was oddly accented, Australian with a Scandinavian lilt. He led us into the small airport. There was a bag sitting on one of the seats. "I had a feeling you'd need a change of clothes. Feykir said you'd be wearing cloaks to hide yourselves."

He handed each of us a pile of clothes. We thanked him and headed to the bathroom to change. It felt strange to wear shorts, a tank top and flip flops after wearing a cloak and mask for so long. I was glad for the change of clothes. I caught sight of Aro and chuckled. He looked so odd in casual shorts. He was walking strangely. "I can't figure out this footwear." He said, grimacing. My chuckles grew; his pale skin and long black hair clashed with the clothing. He gradually started to laugh with me. Fred walked out of his changing cubicle, his laughter joined our own, the clothes at least suited Fred.

We composed ourselves and headed out of the change room, giggling occasionally. Our laughter started up again as we saw Sulpicia. Brenna came up to me, the clothes suited her, the wolves' skin was darker than the vampires. The women were wearing a feminine version of our clothing.

"I see you guys haven't worn thongs before." Aaron chuckled. What the hell? I could feel my blush and stuttered "I'm more of a boxers kind of guy." Aaron looked shocked for a second and laughed a little. Aro, Sulpicia, the European Wolves and I looked at each other in confusion. Aaron shook his head. "Shoes." He said, as if that was supposed to explain. "Flip flops?" I said in confusion, he nodded. "They're called thongs here." He said amused. Oh. I guess in a weird way they were like G-strings for your feet.

"How do you walk in these things?" Aro asked Aaron. Aaron shrugged and said "you kind of curl your toes a little. It should hold them on." We gathered our old clothes and put them in the bag Aaron had used to transport our new clothing. The sun was blazing hot and there was a slight hot wind. I noticed that I could no longer sweat, the heat was trapped in my body. Aro and Picia almost blinded us when they walked out in the sun, their skin glittered brightly. We headed towards a large jeep, Aro and Sulpicia were walking a little bowlegged trying to get used to the 'thongs.'

We got in and Aaron passed us some sunglasses. "Sorry guys, I should have brought these with me when I met you."  
"It's no problem, we're grateful for the new attire. I'll admit that when we got out of the plane I wondered if the mythology of vampires and the sun was true." Aro said. Aaron agreed, "Yeah, it gets bloody hot here. It's one of the reasons the pack came here; you vamps aren't keen on the daytime heat and the freezing cold nights. This part of the country is perfect for us; the isolation keeps humans safe from our kind, the temperature keeps us safe from vamps and there are good jobs in the mines." Aaron explained.

We could see signs of civilization ahead. Small buildings dotted the area, it was like a small desert suburb. "Me and the pack live above ground, we don't mind the temperature. I've arranged for you guys to stay in the hotel underground. Will you guys be okay around the humans?" Aaron asked. Picia replied "we have no problem staying near humans. We've actually changed our diet and don't hunt for blood like we used to."  
"Yeah, I noticed the golden eyes. Feykir said you drank from animals." Aaron said, smiling.

"We'll be leaving before the full moon, so we shouldn't pose a risk" Fred said. "No worries. We have an old mine we use at our time of the month. We've lined the entrance with Rowan and the sandstone rock keeps it sound proof. The dug out houses are the same; we've booked a few rooms for you in the hotel underground. If any of you need to hunt we have feral cats and camels so you'd be doing us a favor." He pointed to a wire fence in the distance "that's the dog fence. It keeps dingoes away from the livestock. There are a lot of pests over there. We've put rowan wood scent traps along the fence so we can let loose sometimes." He added.

It was a short journey to the 'dug out.' We sighed in relief as we headed into the underground hotel. The floors seemed to be paved with marble and the walls were cut, jagged rock. The temperature was a lot lower in here. No wonder the humans preferred it. Aaron helped us settle in. "Do any of you need human food?" He asked. It had been a few days, I probably should eat something soon. "Sure." I replied.

He led Brenna and me to a restaurant in the hotel. I was surprised by the quality and variety of the food. "There are a lot of European settlers here." Aaron said. "This town was created in the early part of last century. Me and the pack moved here in the 1950s."  
"Where were you before that?" I asked. "Western Australia. Our pack had grown so we decided to split up. We heard of this town and decided to move here. We fit in well with the humans; we became friends with a few people in the Aboriginal Nations and the white settlers. We help out when we can, it's nice being in a place where we're safe and accepted."  
"I can imagine. I met Fred and his pack recently. They've had it tough; guarding the Romanians, living in Siberia, hiding from vampires. It's good to know there are safe places for werewolves."  
"Yeah. Sometimes you got to do what you can to survive. I admire Fred for sticking it out as long as he did."

"Where were you born?" I asked Aaron. He looked up from his meal and replied. "Iceland. I was named Arn, I Anglicized it to Aaron when we arrived in Perth, Western Australia. When I lived in Iceland I was Feykir's second in command. I had been turned a couple of centuries after the Vikings settled. My ancestors were from Norway and migrated, settling in Ísafjörður. Me and a couple of guys from our village took a trip, we took a boat to the other arm of the Westfjords and walked for days, getting lost. We ended up in a cave during the full moon and got attacked. We managed to get out and once we passed the rowan wood we were safe from the wolves. We would have died from hypothermia on that damn glacier if we hadn't been bitten."

"Do you regret being bitten?" I asked, he shook his head. "Nah. I'm pretty happy with my life. Being immortal gives you fewer responsibilities; we can travel anywhere we want, put up with any weather we encounter. We're free." I finished and paid. Aaron guided us back to the room. He'd be taking Fred, Briggita and Brenna to meet his pack. Brenna would be giving them the Chequer vodka to drink before we met them. We didn't want to cause their instincts to flare with our scents.

Aro, Sulpicia and I went to explore the hotel. "I must admit humans still surprise me." Picia whispered. Aro smiled "they're incredible. It's one of the reasons I'm so keen to create the synthetic blood. Humans live such short lives, yet they gain so much information and constantly seek for answers. Immortality seems to curb our curiosity."  
"I still see myself as human. There are things you're forced to learn about in order to function in the adult world. Sometimes our interest is sparked by something, if we're lucky we can turn that knowledge into a career. Most humans live fairly sedate lives." I explained to them.

We headed upstairs and had a look in the shopping arcade in the reception of the hotel. There was a lot of jewelry and I decided to buy a few pieces for Brenna, Bells, Rose, Esme and Dora.

BPOV - Texas

We had just arrived in Texas after staying at La Push for a week. I was sad to leave so soon, but we needed to help Jake recover from the breaking of the imprint. It was too difficult for him to be so close to Lauren, she was a constant thorn in his side. After Theresa and Pete had performed the first stage of the healing, he had woken refreshed. He had taken a walk along First Beach, enjoying the partial freedom from the imprint. Lauren was on the beach with Jessica. She had walked up and slapped him for not intervening when she was arrested. He had almost phased then.

When Jake had told Lauren he was done with her bullshit she went on a rampage, accusing Jake and the tribe or racism and sexism. She called him a lazy and swore to take revenge on him and the tribe. Jake had laughed at her and told her to get off the Res. Jess had pulled Lauren away, taking her back to her car and driving back to Forks.

Lauren had turned up an hour later with Mike, Tyler and many from the football team. Sam called the Forks police station. The man who had taken over from dad, Mark, arrived with Paul, Paul had been promoted to deputy. Sam, Old Quil, Billy and Sue stood with the police officers and told Lauren and her impotent army that they were no longer welcome on their land. Jake had made a personal call to the gym teacher, Coach Clapp. Coach Clapp brought Principal Green with him as they sped to the Res and threatened the football team with expulsion. Mike and his friends left with their tails between their legs. With a month until graduation they couldn't risk doing anything that could ruin their chances at getting into college.

Lauren spat at Billy and was forced to leave with Principal Green and Coach Clapp. They were taking her to her parents' house. We had thought that would be the end of it, but it wasn't. Lauren's father turned up with his attorney. They threatened to sue the Tribal Elders for racism and launched an official complaint about Jake stalking Lauren. Pete called J. Jenks in Seattle. He brought a whole legal team with him from his Seattle law office. Lauren's father and his lawyer waited impatiently, twisting the events that had occurred and making more libelous claims.

It had taken Jenks three hours to arrive at the Res. The Elders remained silent as Lauren's father and his lawyer yelled and accused them of every crime imaginable. When Jenks had arrived with three other lawyers they quickly took control of the situation, calling Police Chief Mark and sorting through the complaints against Lauren. Her father and lawyer knew they were beat, they left, seething with rage. I was annoyed I couldn't be in there, but we had to hide, I was supposed to be dead and J's presence would have raised questions.

Jenks began setting up a restraining order against Lauren, Mike, Tyler and Jessica. He would file it with the courts on Monday. The following morning Pete and Char put in some blue contacts and went into Forks to monitor Mike and his friends. They stopped by Newton Outfitters 'looking for fishing gear.' They had spoken to Mrs. Newton about 'a rumor' they'd heard about a gang of youths trying to cause a race riot on the Reservation. Pete had gone into detail, describing Mrs. Newton's embarrassment. A few parents of the kids on the football team had turned up, they overheard Pete and Char's conversation about the racist gang of Forks.

Pete and Char hung around outside the shop to listen to the meeting between the parents. A few made excuses for their kids' actions, but when details came to light about Lauren they had changed their tune. It appeared Lauren had cheated on many of the boys in the team. They had heard Tyler's mother complain his son was being treated for Chlamydia. After that the parents decided to forbid their children from having anything to do with Lauren. She became the scape goat.

Pete and Char had then gone to the local supermarket, Pete's gift told him Mrs. Stanley would be there. They posed as newlyweds on their way to Port Angeles for their honeymoon; they made up a story about meeting on the board walk two years ago. Mrs. Stanley ate up their story of romance, she was hooked.

Char then told her about a gang of youths that had been spotted near La Push, they said they had gone fishing on First Beach and heard a group of boys being led by a girl with long blond hair. They told Mrs. Stanley about the revolting things being said about the tribe and told her they were lucky to escape before being spotted. Mrs. Stanley hung on to every word as they described how fearful they were and how they had called the Police. Mrs. Stanley lamented about the youth of the day.

It was with perfect timing the Cashier overheard the conversation and asked Mrs. Stanley, "isn't Lauren one of Jessica's friends?" Mrs. Stanley had turned ashen and stuttered "absolutely not. She has more class than to hang around a slut like Lauren." A brawl had then begun, Lauren's mother had overheard Mrs. Stanley and they battled it out over which daughter was to blame. Emily had tears in her eyes from laughter, for once Jessica's mother would suffer the gossip mill.

Theresa offered Jake a place on her Reservation. He had grown angry with his heritage and was rejecting his Spirit Wolf. He felt betrayed by the Spirits and guilty for the trouble Lauren had caused. The wolf spirit was no longer bonded with Lauren, but his human side was. There was too much dissonance between his human and animal side. Billy and Sue promised to keep them updated on what was happening with any legal problems. Theresa said she'd speak with Celia, a Healer Spirit Walker who had decades of experience with the legal system. She would liaise with Jenks about any possible law suits.

The further we got from Washington the easier it was for Jake to calm down. He and J had become good friends, my mate's power was able to help him greatly. Theresa was still a little weak after the healing. She was now asleep in the back seat of our car, next to Jake. She and Jake would be spending the night at our house and would travel to the Res in the morning.

J and Char readied dad's room and mine for the two Spirit Walkers to sleep. Pete and I were in the kitchen. I was cooking them dinner and he was going through some herbs the Res had delivered. There had been a couple of notes sticky taped to the front door when we arrived. One was from Felix, he was thanking us for use of the house and had contacted the Res to give them the all clear to travel beyond their borders. The other was from the Res; they'd left a package of herbs for when Theresa arrived. She'd asked them to deliver some supplies to us before we left Washington.

Pete put the kettle on and prepared a couple of cups for tea. Jake needed to drink an immunity boosting tea and calming tea a few times daily to cope with the incomplete imprint. Theresa would have to drink a few cups of energy boosting tea daily until she recovered.

Pete called the two Spirit Walkers down. He handed the cups to them both and guided them to the lounge room. Jake chose a film to watch while they waited for their food. I heard the opening credits to Mr. Vampire and called J and Char down to watch it with the others. I hadn't had a chance to show them the movie yet.

Jake was telling them how it had become a favorite movie of the Quileutes. I enjoyed hearing them laugh. I plated the steak and roast vegetables I'd cooked and brought them into the lounge room so they could keep watching and eat at the same time. J smiled as I sat down next to him.

Theresa and Jake fell asleep on the couch halfway through our impromptu vampire movie marathon. I carried Theresa upstairs to dad's room while J and Pete carried Jake into the room I shared with J.

A couple of hours after midnight J led me outside, it was so quiet. We lay on the ground and watched the stars. They were so bright here. J kissed down my neck, my lust rose. We were finally alone to be together. We kissed, I pushed him on his back and climbed on top of him. We ground our hips together, becoming desperate for friction. He quickly pulled up my t-shirt, flinging it into the trees. My bra soon followed.

I pulled off his shirt, brushing my fingers down his scarred chest as we kissed. I was getting desperate for him. I fumbled with his jeans, he raised his hips so I could drag them down his legs. He opened the fly of my jeans and pushed his fingers into my underwear. I started to grind against his fingers, the cloth of my underwear dampened, increasing the friction.

I knelt beside him on the ground and took his cock into my mouth as he continued to rub me through my underwear. I ran my tongue up his shaft as I bobbed my head. I felt him pull my pants lower, he pushed a finger inside me. I groaned as I worked his cock. "Bella, I need to be inside you." He panted.

I released him from my mouth and straightened, he pulled me up and I stepped out of the rest of my clothes, he removed the rest of his clothes. He kissed me hard, pushing me against a nearby tree. I wrapped my legs around his waist and thrust him into me. He pounded me desperately. The tree groaned in protest. Our eyes met, dark and full of need. He growled and I purred in response, our inner vampires took over.

The tree snapped, we fell and rolled on the ground. He lay on top of me and plunged back into me. I pushed his shoulders back, fighting for dominance. We growled, both of us wanting control. He pulled out and I roared at him, he turned me over and pushed into me from behind. My knees sunk into the ground with each thrust. The different angle brought new sensations of pleasure.

I raised my torso up so I was kneeling, my back against his chest. I turned my head to kiss him. He palmed my breasts, holding me in place. One of his hands trailed down my stomach, his fingers finding my clit and stroking me with each thrust. I felt myself clench around him as I was engulfed in waves of pleasure. My back and neck arched and my teeth sank into the side of his neck. He gripped me tighter and froze. I felt him twitch inside me, his head fell forward. He bit me, growling lowly and he came inside me.

J licked the bite and kissed down my shoulder. I shivered, my nerve endings sensitive to his touch. I leaned back and brought my legs out from under me. He moved me to the side and lay down next to me. I rested my head on his chest, breathing in his scent. The hours sped past as we lay still, the sky lightened and the sun sent beams of orange and red light over the horizon.

Our skin sparkled as we searched for our clothing. Somehow my bra ended up at the top of a tree. I blamed J for it so he climbed up quickly to retrieve it. We dressed in our tattered clothes and slowly walked back, occasionally stopping to groom the leaves and twigs from each other's hair. It had been a beautiful, clear night, but sex on the ground wasn't as enjoyable. While our skin wouldn't break, the rocks and twigs digging into my skin had been irritating.

We walked in to the house and saw the others in the kitchen talking. I smiled sheepishly and led J to our room to shower and change. We returned soon after, looking a lot more civilized. Charlotte had made Jake and Theresa a large pile of pancakes. Pete handed us each a cup of blood. "Theresa helped me enrich it." He said as we drank. It wasn't as good as the Healers, but it was filling. We thanked them.

The conversation started up again. "Do you miss feeding from humans?" Jake asked Pete and Char. "No. I actually prefer the feed this way." Pete said. Char agreed and added "our instincts are easier to control. The longer we feed this way the less humans look like food. Our Masters' have created blood which is cloned from human blood and enriched by our healers. Our eyes will become red again when we drink it, but it'll mean the end of killing in order to feed."  
"Are they expecting all leeches to change diet?" Jake asked. There was no malice behind his derogatory slur.

"That's the plan." J explained. "They're going to open up distribution centers globally. The blood will be given free of charge."  
"How will they be able to cover the costs?" Jake asked. Pete told him what he knew of Aro's plans. "There will be a rotation of volunteers. Each of us will need to volunteer our time to provide blood to the covens and nomads. The Volturi have invested in mining companies and pharmaceutical companies over the years. A lot of Children of the Moon have been able to find work in the mining industry and Aro has a large interest in medicine. The Volturi are extremely wealthy and looking at increasing the quality of life for all supernatural creatures."

The sound of a car approaching broke us out of the conversation. "That's our ride. Thank you all for your hospitality. I look forward to seeing more of you." Theresa said. Jake looked nervous as he followed Theresa out to the van.

We were alone at last. I knew exactly what my first task would be; taking my car out for a drive. I had barely driven Binky since Pete gave her to me. J appeared in the passenger seat "where are we going?" He asked. I smiled "where ever the fuck we want." I said as I hit the accelerator.


	49. Part 3 Chapter 11

**AN:  
Here are the groups as they stand now;**

**Australia – Charlie, Brenna, Briggita, Fred, Aro, Picia **

**Texas – Peter, Charlotte, J, Bella, Spirit Walkers and Jake**

**La Push – Demitri, Leah and the Quileutes. Leah and Demitri will start travelling.**

**Volterra – Esme, Marcus, Caius, Dora, Renata, Eliza, Emmett, Rose and a few of the Elite Guard and Lower Guard (Evan and Mark are the boys captured in New Mexico and were small time Generals adopted by Esme and Marcus.)**

**America/Mexico (travelling) – Felix, Jane and Alec. Evan and Mark will join them.**

**Europe (travelling) – Alice and Alistair**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 11

Char POV

As soon as J and Bells left, Pete and I raced to our bedroom for some alone time. It had been so long since we were alone. The sun moved across the sky, setting and rising while we made love.

The following afternoon we broke out of our lustful haze as the sound of Bella's car approached. We showered and met them down stairs. They looked happier and more relaxed than I'd ever seen them. I realized then just how much we needed this break. I could only hope things would start to slow down soon.

Pete and J discussed our next move. "We should have a bonfire here when Theresa recovers." Pete suggested, we all agreed with that, I loved the bonfire I'd attended in La Push. "Bella's living flame will help the Elders with their power. Remember how the Bonfire at La Push affected the wolves?" Pete said. It had been an amazing night.

The bonfire was held on our last night with the Quileutes. The Elders had granted Bella's request to light the bonfire with her gift. They were amused at the thought of a vampire lighting the ceremonial fire, but also knew it wasn't a vampire gift that gave her the flame, but a Spirit Walker power. The Quileutes and we sat around the hearth as Bella lit her shield. She walked towards the wood, the flames leapt from her to the wood stacked for the bonfire. She extinguished her shield and joined us, watching the flames. Old Quil started the telling of the stories, his voice strong.

We watched the fire, mesmerized by the flames dancing over the wood. It was then I noticed the wood wasn't burning, the flames were in contact with the wood, but they weren't scorched by the fire. Old Quil's voice never wavered, I felt connected to their world, almost able to make out the faces of their ancestors in the flames. It wasn't my mind playing tricks on me, I really could see faces, bodies, movement in the flames. I saw the cold man and the cold woman. I saw wolves running, jumping and turning human. I saw blood. I saw the faces of the people in the histories.

Billy took over the story telling. The flow of his words matched the flow of Old Quil's. He effortlessly spoke about the histories, his voice growing in strength. I saw the faces of Carlisle, Esme and Edward and they made the treaty with Ephraim Black. I saw a young Charlie standing by Billy as cold ones threatened their people. Charlie's crying face as he let Bella go with Renee. Charlie's strength as he stood next to Billy's wolf, firing off rounds to halt the vampire in its tracks. I saw Billy's wolf vibrating with a growl and jumping onto the vampire. I saw Charlie calling to him, scared for the life of his friend.

The air was so still, the forest so quiet. It felt like the Ancestors were around us, watching as their stories came alive in the flames. I saw Billy gesture to Theresa to take over, she started telling us the story of her people. We saw the Spider Grandmother teaching the tribe to connect with the spirit world. We saw the first Shield, first Shifters and the first Healer, descendants of the Spider Grandmother herself. The Tribe learnt about the resources around them, finding ways to treat their injured and sick.

I saw the generations evolve, finding a deep connection in the land and growing in strength and spirituality. I saw new tribes form, growing and changing with their connection to the earth and the spirits. I saw the Ancestors live and die, their spirits guiding their descendants on their paths of fate. The Quileutes hadn't heard the stories of the Southern Tribes. They listened with rapt attention as they watched the fire in front of them.

The power of the Spirit Walkers grew stronger still as vampires travelled to America. I saw the wars raging around the Res, the Shields and Healers trapped as armies rose and died on their doorstep. Their connection to the earth grew stronger, their lands untainted by spilt venom. I felt so ashamed, my kind had injured the land and its people while we fought for blood. We had desecrated so much during those years. I grieved for them and the atrocities that had befallen their race.

Bella's voice broke me out of my memory. "We were lucky Harry didn't have another heart attack." She said. I looked at my mate, remembering his face as the Histories were acted out by the flames. In the light of the fire I had almost seen Peter's human self. His eyes looked blue and his skin almost glowed. His Spirit Walker power outshone the vampire part of him. I knew he was keen to replicate the experience. I'd never been so in awe of my mate before.

At the end of the bonfire the Quileutes and Theresa had thanked Bella. They had been given a tangible view of their history. Bella pulled the fire back into her, leaving a little flame for the Quileutes. Her power now encompassed them. The tribe cleaned out the fireplace in the community hall and moved the flame into its new home. Theresa consecrated the area and helped them feed the flame, keeping it strong.

A new treaty had been formed between us, as representatives of the Volturi, and the Quileutes. We were welcome on their land and they swore allegiance with us. If either our coven or the La Push Reservation were in trouble we would meet and fight side by side against any threat. Theresa had also been included as a member of the Tribe, she was a honored guest with an open invitation for her and her tribe in thanks for her help with Jake.

"We should call Caius and update him on what's been happening." J said. I offered to make the call. J and Bella went to call Charlie. Pete joined me out the back as I called Italy.

"Charlotte, how are you?" Caius answered. "Very well, Uncle. We've had a lot of success. The Volturi and Horsemen have a treaty with the Quileutes. We are allowed on their land at any time. The Elders and pack want to send you their contact information. If ever the Volturi or the Pack need help, the other must assist." I explained. "That is excellent news. We will of course help the Spirit Wolves and their tribe with anything they require. How is Jacob Black?" He asked.

"He's recovering. His Wolf Spirit is no longer imprinted on the girl and he's joined us in Texas." I said.  
"I'm glad to hear it." Caius replied. "Were they happy with the news of the synthetic blood?" He asked. "Definitely, Theresa has also told the Spirit Walkers. They understand it will make our eyes red, but they know that it will mean the end of hunting humans and animals. They accept the new world order."

He debriefed us on what was happening at the moment. "Eliza and Renata arrived back in Volterra yesterday; there were no new armies in Canada, North America or Middle America. Felix, Jane and Alec stayed behind, Mark and Evan are heading to meet them in Miami, the boys were getting restless so we arranged for them to explore the southern States, Middle America and South America with Felix, Alec and Jane. They're on vacation while the boys visit their home country. The Denalis have offered their assistance as tour guides." He said.

"How long will they be here?" I asked. "A few weeks. Esme thought it would be good for the boys to have a week making new memories of where the Wars had been fought and have some fun exploring the continent." Caius said. It sounded like a great idea. He continued; "Jane, Alec and Felix are looking forward to being tourists, they've only ever been to America on business and have never been to South America. We've asked that they keep an eye out for any signs of Newborn Armies, we're sure there aren't any south of Mexico, but it never hurts to be aware of what is happening." He said.

"Zafrina, Kachiri and Senna are in the Amazon, it could be good for the boys to meet another coven. So far they only know the New Born wars and the Volturi." I suggested. He agreed, "that's a good idea. Those boys need to get to know our world outside Volterra. It will also be beneficial to have Felix, Jane and Alec meet the covens without being tied to business."

I realized there was more news to impart. "Demitri has met his mate, they're going to travel around America to speak with the other tribes, they're sorting out the contacts and itinerary with Theresa. Perhaps they could meet up with Felix and the others on their travels." I said lightly. "Demitri found a mate?" Caius asked excitedly. "Yes, Uncle. She is daughter of one of the Quileute Elders and the first female Spirit Wolf." I explained. "I'm happy for him, who is she?" He asked. "Her name is Leah Clearwater, daughter of Sue and Harry Clearwater. She's a very close friend to Bella." I said. "That is wonderful news. Demitri will be an excellent addition to the community." He said proudly. I agreed.

"I wish I was travelling with you, the Castle is so boring." He said sadly. Caius had never been one to suffer fools, usually Aro handled the daily duties, including the audiences with the vampire citizens. "Are you very busy?" I asked. He sighed, "there seems to be more of our kind needing guidance these days. We've grown in popularity since the end of the Southern Wars and the death of the Romanians. It's rather tedious I'm afraid." He grumbled. "We'll be home soon, it's the quiet before the storm, Uncle. We're at a loss here ourselves. I can see us growing bored." I said. Peter added his own thoughts, "there's a lot of stuff happening diplomatically, but I'm used to fighting. It feels like we're in stasis while the others are doing the work of fate." He grumbled. Caius agreed.

We caught up on what had happened over the last week and a half since leaving Italy. Rose and Em were working with the human scientists, they were teaching each other about what they'd learnt. Aro was apparently jealous he wasn't there to join the discussion. Charlie, Sulpicia and Aro would be spending the rest of the week in Coober Pede before travelling to Western Australia to meet the other pack of Werewolves.

"How are they liking the place so far?" I asked. Caius chuckled a little. "Aro's in his element. He's absolutely enthralled by the desert and its underground human inhabitants. Apparently he's bought us all strange footwear."

"How was their meeting with the rest of Aaron's pack?" Peter asked. "Good, apparently. They loved the vodka that Em and Rose prepared, Brenna and Charlie have been teaching them a few remedies. They also received a few native plant seeds used in Aboriginal medicine." He said. "Charlie must be glad about that. Marcus, Em and Rose will be too." I said.

After finishing the phone call with Caius we went back inside. It was odd being back home, free time had been such a scarcity that I wasn't sure what to do with it. We'd been so busy for so many months I wasn't how we'd spend our time. It was unsettling waiting for other people to make progress while we twiddled our thumbs. Hopefully Theresa would recover soon and we could have that bonfire.

PPOV

It had been two weeks. Two weeks at home with nothing to do. I envied the others on their missions. We'd read all the books in the library and had a few movie marathons, we'd travelled to the city at night and explored the town. I was getting bored. Demitri and Leah visited us for a few days while finalizing their plans with Theresa. They had started travelling to the tribes last week. We listened as they told us about meeting the Denalis, Felix, Jane, Alec, Evan and Mark with the rest of the Quileutes. The Spirit Wolves hadn't struggled with their instincts against the vampire visitors, the synthetic blood the vampires fed off had reduced their scent.

Demitri was glad that the Quileutes were so open to accepting his kind. The vampires had been welcomed on to the land, but the Quileutes had been secretly relieved that they stayed at the Cullen mansion. None of us wanted teenage boys turning into wolves suddenly, this was a time of peace. Leah had left Demitri with us so she could visit the Res. She caught up with Theresa and gathered information for the other tribes. Leah and Demitri would speak with each of the tribes about the new world order, they would represent the Volturi, The Quileutes and Theresa's people.

Bella and Chat had little time with Leah. They went shopping, had a makeover, gossiped a little, but then Leah and Demitri had to leave. There was so much that needed to happen. I was feeling a little left out. I'd spoken to Felix yesterday. He, Jane and the others were headed to South America, they had enjoyed travelling around the Southern States, it had given Evan and Mark a chance to make new memories and see the old army haunts recover from the many battles. Jane, Alec and Felix also enjoyed their time exploring, they had only ever been here during the worst times in our history.

In the meantime I was bored. Not even meditation held my interest. Charlotte and I had taken a few trips out into the woods for some Al Fresco nookie, but I had a feeling Theresa would call soon.

The phone rang and I swooped in to answer it. It was Charlie. The full moon was approaching and he wanted to stop by Texas and heal Jake before the werewolves turned. They were cutting it fine, the full moon was five days away. They'd already arranged for Chelsea to meet us at the airport, she'd be arriving tomorrow afternoon. Emmett and Rose would be joining her. I was glad for the extra company, I enjoyed time with J and Bells, but it was odd for each couple to hike into a remote area to have sex. Bella didn't want to hear her Uncle and Aunt going at it and we didn't want to hear them either.

I left Bella and J to their call with Charlie, they moved upstairs to continue their conversation. I decided to call Theresa. Hopefully she'd be ready to join us for the bonfire. She yawned as she answered the phone. Damn. I filled her in on our future visitors, she had some news of her own. Celia, the Spirit Walker lawyer, had received word from the Quileutes. Lauren and her family left Forks in disgrace. They were moving to Virginia. Lauren's mother, Katherine, had caught her husband sleeping with Jessica's mother, Jennifer. The Mallory's were going to start fresh. Mike and his buddies were planning Forks for the University of Washington the day after graduation. Jessica was going to move to Seattle with Mike and study cosmetology.

I told her of my plan to hold a bonfire. Theresa was excited to show the Spirit Walkers Bella's living flame. We said our good byes and planned for her visit in two days. I was excited and ran into the forest to find some fallen branches for the bonfire. There was plenty of wood around, I could see indentations Char and I had caused during our nights of alfresco sex. I grabbed everything I could and marched back to the house.

I saw Bella and J return downstairs. I listened as they updated Char. "Dad had fun in Australia, but he's glad to be coming home to the States. He can't wait to show Brenna and the others his birth country." Bella said. J added "they didn't spend long with the Coober Pede and West Australian packs. They cut their trip short to help Jake."  
"What were the packs like?" I heard Char ask. "Both pack leaders were very nice. Aaron gave them more appropriate clothes and arranged for them to stay at an underground hotel. They met the pack in the early morning when the humans were asleep and the sun was beginning to heat up the air. It was a short meeting, the wolves had discussed most of the business with Brenna, Fred and Briggita. All Aro and Picia had to do was look over a rudimentary charter and make a few suggestions. Dad joined them and healed a few of them from their past trauma." Bella said.

"Where did the wolves in Coober Pede work?" Char asked. "Most work in the Opal mines. Aaron is the manager, working mostly in the office and liaising with the Headquarters in the city. There are a few that have become trained nurses, doctors, lawyers, postmen, police men. Being in such a remote area means they were able to get training and help support the town, it's the same in the West Australian pack."

Bella continued. "The Pack Master of Western Australia is Cynewulf. Aaron joined dad and the others on the plane ride from Coober Pede to the town of Norseman. There were gold mines there which employed many wolves. Cynewulf isn't just a Pack Master, she's a doctor as well. She looks after the human and wolf miners. Her daughter, Ginna, works nearby in Kalgoorlie, she works as a lawyer. Apparently she has a gift, she can enchant someone, forcing them to tell the truth. Aro told Cynewulf about Alistair's anti-corruption committee. She agreed to let her daughter travel to Iceland, but only when they were sure it was safe for them to travel and providing the vodka worked, giving them control during the full moon."

"Won't those towns need a doctor and lawyer?" Char asked. I heard Bella reply, "definitely, but there are other wolves studying. Some are in University studying medicine and some are studying law. The town won't be left without help. With the West Australian wolves being close to a larger town they have more resources available. Despite the nearby town, they're still very isolated. There are a few unused mines that they've been able to use to contain them during the full moon." She explained. "Some of the wolves lived closer to the city, in an area called the Wheat Belt. They farm cattle and grain" J added.

As a vampire I had spent time in many old mining towns, I understood how close the wolves could get in the human world. Many old towns we'd lived near had accepted us, grateful for the new blood.

As I turned the branches into kindling and firewood an unsettling feeling came over me. There was something I had to do. I started stacking the fire pit. A whisper from the Ancestors chilled me, _you're getting closer, Peter_. What the fuck did that mean?


	50. Part 3 Chapter 12

**AN:  
Here are the groups as they stand now;**

**Australia – Charlie, Brenna, Briggita, Fred, Aro, Picia **

**Texas – Peter, Charlotte, J, Bella, Spirit Walkers and Jake**

**La Push – Demitri, Leah and the Quileutes. Leah and Demitri will start travelling.**

**Volterra – Esme, Marcus, Caius, Dora, Renata, Eliza, Emmett, Rose and a few of the Elite Guard and Lower Guard (Evan and Mark are the boys captured in New Mexico and were small time Generals adopted and rehabilitated by Esme and Marcus.)**

**America/Mexico (travelling) – Felix, Jane and Alec. Evan and Mark will join them.**

**Europe (travelling) – Alice and Alistair**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 12

BPOV

Pete was brimming with joy, waiting for Em, Rose and Chelsea to arrive. None of us had truly been able to relax since we got here. We were waiting on tenterhooks for something to happen. I had enjoyed having the alone time with J and my uncle and aunt, but I also knew the supernatural world was changing. I wanted to see our world grow, I wanted to be a part of it.

So far the Volturi had successfully aligned themselves with the spirit walkers and werewolves. I was proud to have remnants of tribal power running through me, I felt honored for the gift it had given me. I was strong and able to protect the people I cared about, I could bring the tribes closer to their spirits as well.

I called Leah the other day, she'd been in contact with the other tribes through Theresa. Her and Demitri were spreading the word of the new Supernatural government. There were a few occasions she had to leave Dem in the middle of nowhere to enter the tribal land, but they had welcomed her and her imprint on neutral ground outside the Reservations. The word was being spread that vampires would soon be forbidden from hunting all creatures. The news of the synthetic blood won over many people, although it was thanks to Theresa and Billy that they gave our species a chance.

Pete had also spoken a fair bit with Felix and the others. They were in South America at the moment. They'd run into the Amazon coven who led them to a small family of vampire/human hybrids. They sent Kachiri to Caius and Marcus in Volterra and were arranging for the hybrids to visit the Masters. Kachiri had explained to Caius directly that the hybrids were created by a vampire called Joham. When Caius heard how Joham had forced young women to bear his children he asked Felix to hunt him down and kill him.

The hybrids and their guardians were grateful for the Volturi's assistance. Joham had the power of invisibility. They had to get creative when it came to hunting an invisible vampire. Jane would called Demitri for a location and the group would travel to the area. Alec would release a burst of his power and they'd search the blast area for signs of an invisible statue. Zafrina had tried a few times to send an image of a potential victim for Joham, trying to trap him. So far they had no luck. Leah and Dem would join the search once they'd finished communicating with the tribes. I itched to join them, to destroy Joham slowly, starting with his genitalia.

We heard a car approach. Chelsea had arrived with Em and Rose. We ran out to meet them. I tackled Rose, I'd missed her. Emmett pouted playfully. I hugged him as hard as I could. "Hey there Bellzebub" he said. I laughed at my new nickname. "How long have you been waiting to use that, Em?"  
"A few days." He answered sheepishly.

Pete patted Em on the shoulder, "I'm glad you're all here. We're going to have a bonfire. You'll get to hear the histories of our people." He said. Rose and Em immediately perked up as J told them about the bonfire ceremony in La Push and how my power had altered to fit the stories.

Another car approached. Theresa and Jake drove up in her jeep. Jake was looking better than I'd seen him since he left for the Texas Res. We made our introductions, Chelsea, Rose and Em didn't know the current members of the Quileute tribe and they were looking forward to meeting Theresa since dad had told them about her.

Theresa made a beeline for Emmett. "You share a bond with us." She said to him. "Yep, I'm a nephew of Peter and an uncle to Bella and Charlie." He said. She smiled at him "it's good to meet another Crow. I see you have a gift of your own. Are you a healer or protector?" She asked him. "Healer. Charlie's been training my mate and I in remedies he's learnt and created with the help of your guidance. It's an honor to meet you." He said kindly. Theresa thanked him.

We led them inside the house. Peter made some energizing tea for Theresa and some immune boosting and calming tea for Jake. They smiled in appreciation. We sat around the lounge room and discussed what was going to happen. Theresa filled them in on what Leah and Demitri were up to and the tribes they'd met. They were making good headway.

When we told them about the Guard's mission in South America; hunting Joham. Theresa paled. "I've heard of him. Decades ago a group of women joined us, they'd heard of our invisibility to Vampire kind and sought refuge. They described how their daughters and sisters would come home after a walk in the woods, they'd been impregnated by a beast. Lobisomem, they called him." Rose patted Theresa's hand "he will be destroyed. I promise he won't be able to hurt another living being. Our Masters were enraged when they heard of him."

"How did the Volturi not know about Joham?" I asked, surely someone would have reported it. Pete growled lowly and explained "Carlisle. He led a campaign of slander against the Volturi for centuries, spreading discord with tales of barbaric experiments and greed. It was all to make himself look pure. No doubt rumor spread to South America. Edward himself was fleeced, accusing Aro of cruelty during the trial, saying Aro dissects vampires and living beings out of morbid curiosity. The Romanians heard about Carlisle's twisted perception of the Volturi and used it to recruit followers. If it hadn't been for Rose, Esme and Aro their plan could have worked. The scar Carlisle has left on our world is starting to heal. The Hybrids will be free of Joham."

"Hybrids?" Theresa asked. "Half human, half vampire. Born from Joham and his victims." Char growled out. Jake started to shake, I pulled him up and ran with him into the forest. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. When we reached the bottom of the valley he exploded out of his skin. His large red wolf tore up trees and boulders.

Eventually, his wolf slumped and whined. He slowly phased back to his human form. "The amount of evil in this world kills me." He said. I walked up and sat next to him. "That's why we fight. There is good in the world too, it needs protecting." I explained. "How am I supposed to trust a species that hurts so many people?" He asked. It had been difficult for all the Quileutes to trust vampires, but they did their best to alter their perception. "It's not your obligation to trust them, Jake. It's their obligation to earn your trust. You trust my family and me because you know us. Just like we trust you because we know you. Having Pete around helps; his gift can send us any information about threats."

"How many vampires have you killed?" Jake asked after a while. "Hundreds." I answered. "Were they all evil?" Jake asked. I shook my head, "I don't think so. Many had been created to fight in a war. They were a danger and had to be put down." Jake looked puzzled. "Why not rehabilitate them?" He asked. I sighed. "There were more than we could handle. In a way it was a kindness. The newborn wars are hell on earth." I said.

"Your mate and uncle were born into the Wars." He said hesitantly. I nodded. "They were, Jake. Few survive the wars. Those that lived past the newborn year usually became generals or created their own armies. J, Pete and Char were lucky to survive and find sanctuary in the north. I think Pete's gift kept them sane." I told him J's full story. He was quiet as he listened and stayed deep in thought.

"How are you enjoying the Res here?" I asked him, changing the subject. He smiled. "It's amazing. The knowledge of the Spirit Walkers is incredible. I've been spending time with the Healers and Protectors. They've taught me how they deal with their destiny. There's a girl on the Res who's a Protector, Samantha. She just started training, she's a shield too. Micah and Sally were relieved there was another shield, they were both feeling overwhelmed being the only people able to protect the Res.

"Samantha and me are both learning to cope with the responsibility. Theresa's helped us a lot; she saw my blood line and has been teaching me leadership, law and skills to help my people." He said. "Have you been able to connect with your Spirit Wolf?" I asked carefully. He looked ashamed as he replied, "yeah. I was so angry with it because it took away so many choices. I didn't choose this life, Bella, I don't want all the responsibility that comes with being a protector."  
"I understand that, Jake. It's been hard accepting my Fate as well."  
"How do you cope with it?" He asked. "I know I'm here to help people. Pete, Char, J and I are here to put an end to suffering. It's been hard, but I know the bad times will pass. In fact we have passed the bad times and now peace has begun."

There was a moment of silence. "Do you know much about the Vampire Newborn year?" I asked. He shook his head. I explained about the difference in strength, how my senses went berserk and how hard it was not to kill humans. He shuddered, "I would never have been strong enough to go through that, Bells. That sounds insane."  
"It is, but as Spirit Wolves the Quileutes have their own difficult rebirth." I pointed out. He nodded, "yeah, the first phase is fucking painful, for a week you go through fever and your bones break and reset. You get nightmare visions from the Spirit Wolves who lived before. You get all these voices in your head. It's hard to see it as an honor." He said.

"There's one choice that's been returned to you." I said. He looked at me puzzled, "When the imprint is broken you can choose a mate. You won't be tied to another person, dependent on them for your wellbeing." I said. He smiled and said, "That's pretty cool." I continued, "you knew about imprinting before it happened, would you have been able to form a relationship with someone you loved if there was a risk it would shatter from an imprint?" I asked, he shook his head and replied, "definitely not, I saw the shit it caused between Sam, Emily and Leah. I guess you're right. Maybe I was given a shitty imprint so I wouldn't put everything on hold waiting for it to happen. Maybe I was supposed to have a choice." He said, looking relieved.

"Come on, Jake. Let's get you back to the house, I'm sure J or Pete will have a change of clothes for you." I said. Jake looked down at his naked body and shrugged. He phased back into his wolf form so my vampire family wouldn't cop an eyeful of his junk. I appreciated the gesture.

Jake, in wolf form, followed me into the house. "Can anyone spare some clothes for Jake?" I asked, Em nodded and ran upstairs. "I think Em's clothes will be the only ones that will fit him." Rose said. Em came downstairs and guided Jake outside to give him some privacy.

Alice POV- Norway

Alistair stood by my side. I saw his joy and freedom and I began to sob. Every now and then I'd be overwhelmed by how lucky I'd become. He smiled and held me, he knew these were happy sobs. He understood how awe inspiring our healing had been. He kissed a trail down my cheek, 'happy tears' he called them.

We were in Norway, scouting for a potential site where the Volturi could build a distribution center. We had already found sites in Spain, Austria and Romania. Marcus had given us criteria; lower human population, proximity to major cities and blood factory sites, and ease of access for our kind. By ease of access for Vampires, Marcus meant somewhere safe for our kind to feed.

Marcus had worked hard to go through Aro's contact list. He'd interviewed quite a few people looking for factory sites. These sites would remain hidden. Bunkers would be built to ensure their safety. He had arranged underground factories to be set up beneath Italian Embassies. There were vampire friendly government workers who could orchestrate the construction under the guise of updating the buildings' foundations. Vampires would be the builders; this would ensure the renovations wouldn't take too long, leaving humans suspicious.

Some factories would be in areas with extreme temperatures and unforgiving terrain. These factories would employ werewolves. The factory in Siberia was already under construction with a few of Fred's wolves and local human builders. From the outside the factory would look like a vetenary hospital under quarantine.

A fleet of decommissioned mobile blood banks had been bought by the Volturi, they would travel from the distribution centers, to areas where nomads are known to visit. They would sit in the bat cave until the distribution centers were built. The Masters had also purchased a few special vehicles which would survive in the harshest weather, they had to make sure synthetic blood was available to all vampires.

Em and Rose had been busy making odorless and scentless vials of beneficial viruses. The concoction of herbs the Reservation in Texas ate to make them unpalatable to vampires had been altered; the plant DNA was extracted and manipulated into strains of RNA. The human scientists that worked for Aro were already unwitting patients to human trials, their scent no longer caused venom to release and they smelled unpleasant to us. The Masters were going to make it impossible for vampires to hunt any living creature.

Rose an Emmett had applied the virus to human blood, animal blood, werewolf blood and the venom of vampires and werewolves before trialing it on the scientists. In human and animal blood it boosted the immune response. The two Healers experimented with the unexpected side effect. They used Aro's Vampire genome map and extracted parts of the DNA from their own venom. They cut and added segments of Vampire DNA onto the beneficial RNA virus and ensured it wouldn't be contagious... yet.

The changes had been shocking. There were changes to the white blood cells, macrophages no longer died when they 'ate' bad bacteria or other viral infected cells, instead it secreted a toxin that destroyed non beneficial infections. The white blood cells would still die, the virus hadn't interfered with programed cell death. New cells would be created with the virus implanted, destroying infection and protecting the human body.

Other viruses and illnesses had been added to the RNA 'infected' blood. If the blood didn't have antibodies the new infections would take over, humans and animals would still get sick if they encountered contagious illnesses, but they would recover quickly when their immune system created antibodies. If there were antibodies already present they were strengthened and attacked the infection at a much faster rate. This was a miracle cure for many illnesses. If livestock could be inoculated against foot and mouth the disease would die out. In humans it would wipe out so many diseases, however some infections evolved too quickly and would still be a problem for humanity; staph infections, HIV and influenza especially.

When the beneficial virus was added to werewolf blood there was no change. The species excreted the virus with its waste. The venom from both species had a negative response to the virus; there was a slight weakening. It took the venom a while to recover. Vampires and Werewolves who fed on humans would be weakened for months.

The virus had been successful in its original function; it changed the scent of the scientists, they no longer smelled appetizing. When the factories were built and availability to synthetic blood was at its peak the virus would be make contagious and released into the human and animal populations.

Rose and Em had altered the structure of the cloned blood so it would be resistant to infection from the beneficial virus. It was an extreme measure, but the benefits would be worth it; vampires wouldn't be able to hunt humans and any vampire who turned a human would be weakened, this would dissuade the start of newborn wars and our kind would gain a new appreciation for life and peace.

We took photos of areas in Norway that could be used as a possible distribution site. We called it a day and headed back to the hotel to send the information to Marcus. This area spooked me a little, I felt a pull to the sea. Alistair noticed my shudder. "What's wrong?"  
"I don't know. I feel strange, like I have to go to the sea."  
"Have you ever felt this way before?" I shook my head. The pull was increasing with each second.

"Which direction is it pulling you?"  
"West." He thought for a moment. "Does the pull hurt?" I shook my head and explained as best as I could. "It's like a feeling in my bones, my body wants to obey but I don't know why."  
"I'll call the Masters. We can get their advice and see if we can investigate it safely." He said. This sounded like a good plan. I listened as he spoke to Caius. "Could it be Iceland?" Caius asked. As soon as he said the name the pull grew stronger. I shuddered and locked my joints, my body wanted to obey the call so bad.

"I think you're right Caius." Alistair said. I heard Caius' voice reply. "I'll call the pack leader there. You'll be safe to travel, the inhabitants are our allies." He said. Alistair smiled at me as he replied. "We'll go to Iceland. I can see my mate struggling against the pull, we'll keep you posted. Thank you Caius." He hung up. "Let's grab our stuff from the hotel and check out. Feel like a midnight swim?" He asked. I could see excitement in his eyes and looked at him questioningly "Charlie had an interesting response to Iceland, he said it was refreshing. There aren't many people on the island, it sounds like a perfect spot for a vacation." He explained.

We put our important documents, phone, money and clothes in waterproof bags, we'd seal the bags in a metal drum when we reached the docks and carry them as we walked under the water. Alistair checked out of the hotel and paid. I waited outside nervously.

We sprinted to the coast. I started to worry when I my foot dipped into the sea. "What if this is something bad?" I asked Alistair. "Caius said there are allies on the island, we've both met the wolves. The full moon is a week away, they've taken the medicine the Healers made and might not change when the moon is full, even if they do transform they know how to restrain themselves with rowan wood. We'll be safe." He said. I smiled and thanked him.

We walked along the seabed, jumping over trenches. The pull grew stronger, Alistair was jogging to keep up with me. The land ascended and Iceland came into view. As our heads rose out of the water the smell of sulfur hit our noses. We recoiled. No wonder the population was free from vampires. It was a horrible smell. My body pushed me forward.

The silhouettes of two people rushed towards us. We could make out the altered smell of werewolf and moved to a submissive pose. "Alice, Alistair?" They called. I looked up and saw it was Einar, Fred's second in charge, and his mate Freja. We relaxed and greeted them. Alistair explained my predicament. I was trying not to run in the direction of the pull. "Let's see where you lead us, Alice." Einar said. "We'll have to cross the geothermal fields, the smell will be worse. Try not to breathe." Freja suggested.

I gave into the pull, my legs carried be forward at a fast rate. The wolves were struggling to keep up, I heard Einar phone the pack, I couldn't understand what he said. Freja translated for us "he's letting the pack know our course. They'll meet us at a few points to ensure our safety." Alistair thanked them, he was still holding our luggage in a metal drum we'd stolen from the docks of Norway.

The smell got a lot worse, I didn't hold my breath in time. The smell of sulfur was stuck in my sinuses so I gave up and breathed normally. The warmth rising from the ground was incredible. I picked up speed, turning slightly north. The night sky swirled with neon green light. I felt something change within me. I felt faster and stronger.

I jumped over rivers and blurred through the alien landscape. I felt like I was running towards the sun, vibrations of power both pushed and pulled me. I felt like I was lost in a tumultuous sea, battered from all directions.

A loud crack vibrated through the earth as my speed had picked up. The scenery blurred. I could smell the faint scent of werewolf as I passed them.

My body stopped suddenly and there was a pain in my chest. I was standing in front of two young women and could see the hilt of a strange dagger sticking out of my chest. It's blade stuck inside me where my heart used to be. I heard a strange voice say "what the fuck?"


	51. Part 3 Chapter 13

**AN:  
Here are the groups as they stand now;**

**Texas – Peter, Charlotte, J, Bella, Spirit Walkers, Jake, Emmett, Rose, Chelsea, Charlie, Brenna, Briggita, Fred, Aro, Picia**

**Volterra – Esme, Marcus, Caius, Dora, Renata, Eliza and a few of the Elite Guard and Lower Guard **

**America (travelling) – Demitri and Leah**

**South America - Felix, Jane, Alec, Evan and Mark **

**Iceland – Alice and Alistair**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 13

BPOV – Texas, two days before Alice is struck by lightning.

Dad had arrived an hour ago with Aro, Picia, Fred, Briggita, Brenna and Aaron. Dad and Chelsea were attending to Jake. Theresa was absolutely fascinated by the wolves and new vampires. The rest of us looked on. Rose and Em were translating the medical jargon spouting between Aro and Theresa. They had already told our group about the advancement they made in creating an anti-vampire virus, but half of the information went in one ear and out the other. Aro's extreme happiness was the only thing we needed to see to understand that HEALERS DO GOOD. We felt like cavemen encountering a zippo; awed and a little afraid.

Rose explained as simply as she could that the virus wouldn't change the humans in any way other than making them stronger against disease. "We made sure the venom producing genes weren't added. The only changes that the humans would notice would be less time off sick." The infected scientists already needed fewer sick days. In a month they would arrange a physical examination under the guise of supplying the workers and their families with 'comprehensive health insurance.' They would thoroughly check each infected human for any side effects. So far the animal trials had shown no difference other than the increase to their immune system.

My head hurt, the only thing I took from the whole conversations was; healers do good. I looked to Pete; his eyes were glazed over. If he'd been human he would be snoring. He started suddenly. "The ancestors say the virus will be a success, but wait six months before infecting the rest of the human and animal populations. There are a few more details that need to be ironed out with the synthetic blood."  
"What sort of details?" Emmett asked worriedly. "They said it's something to do with the actual cells you cloned. I don't know, in my day we didn't know any of this stuff. I'm a fighter, not a doctor Damnit."

Dad and Chelsea came out of Jake's room looking exhausted. Em sprinted to the kitchen and heated up some blood and tea. Brenna came out with a bowl of pasta for dad, I smiled at her gratefully. I had forgotten dad still needed to eat occasionally. "How is Jacob?" Picia asked dad. She'd seen how young he was and the pain he held from the broken imprint, it had flared her protective instincts. "He's doing well. Chelsea was able to slowly decrease his bond to Lauren and I was able to heal the effects it had on his body. The bond is hanging by a thread."

"He won't be able to go back home." Theresa said sadly. Dad agreed "if he's anywhere near Lauren the bond will grow." My anger grew. I hated this so much, Jake was a kid who had a long life ahead of him and a lot of responsibility, I had been so sure the bond would break, but it was still there, like a cancer. He was still enslaved to Lauren, an ungrateful bitch. Why give the wolves the ability to imprint? It hurt so many people; Leah had been tossed aside, Emily had been hurt, Sam was caught between guilt for Leah and forced love towards Emily. What sort of gift was that? I froze. ...gift? Was it a gift?

J felt the change in my emotions as I had my epiphany. He looked at me. "What's wrong, Bella?" He was worried. "Is imprinting a gift?" I asked. They looked at me in shock. Em sprinted into the room where Jake was recovering. He came back out with a wide grin. "Charlie, how soon before you recover?" He asked. "It'll take a few days. I'm pretty tapped out." Dad said. "Theresa?" Em asked, she thought for a moment before replying, "I can give it a go, but I'll need back up." She said. Pete and I stood, we followed Em into Jake's room while Theresa grabbed a few supplies from Charlie's stores. The Ancestors could lend Theresa our strength to heal the removal of the imprint.

Jake was passed out, exhausted from the previous healing. "The gift is at its weakest now. We'll have to act fast." Em said as Theresa joined us. "I can see it. It shouldn't be too hard to get rid of it now." She said in relief. "Jake hasn't got a lot of strength left, we'll have to work fast and avoid disrupting the wolf spirit." She added. Em nodded, "It could hurt him, we'll have to tread carefully." He agreed.

"Would J's gift help?" I asked. Theresa agreed, "It's out best solution. Many of these remedies will drain the rest of Jake's strength, we have to use them sparingly. If we can alter Jake's level of consciousness without our remedies he'll be safe." She said. J heard out conversation and walked into the room. Theresa explained how Pete and I would need to be brought into a meditative state in order to open our minds to the spirit world. She also said that she'd need J's calming mojo as she healed Jake. J nodded and closed his eyes to focus on the emotions he'd need to send.

"Thanks to you, Charlie and Chelsea, the worst is over." Em said to Theresa. He continued, "My part will be easy, I just need to hook my gift around the bond and remove it gently, it's the healing that will be most important." A look of determination came over Theresa's face. "We'll do our best. It's up to Fate to decide how he recovers." She said. Pete and I moved forward. This would be different to the initial healing in La Push. There would be no burning leaves to draw out the spirits, we would have to get ourselves in the right frame of mind to make contact. I heard Theresa say J's name and felt a trickle of foreign emotion.

My body felt heavy, my head felt foggy. I concentrated on Jake. From the corner of my eye I saw a faint glow emit from Pete, he put his hand on Theresa's shoulder. A voice tickled my ear _we're ready, touch Theresa's shoulder and we'll pass your strength to her._ I didn't recognize the voice, I felt like I was dreaming. I touched Theresa's shoulder and felt the warmth I used to ignite my shield leave me and enter Theresa. She began to glow.

I watched as Emmett knelt by the bed. His fingers rested over Jake's bare chest. He had a dim blue glow around his arm, it reached inside Jake's chest. Em drew his fingers together and moved his hand back slowly. The blue glow was attached to a red cord, I had seen that cord before; the first time Theresa had healed him. The cord left Jake's body completely, Em's blue glow returned back inside his skin, bringing the red cord with it. I saw the cord flicker and die within Em's chest.

Theresa stepped forward, Pete and I followed. She sat on the bed and put her hands either side of Jake's head. Her fingertips glowed like dad's did when he healed someone. I saw Jake's whole body enveloped in pure white light. Theresa whispered J's name and the room flooded with calm. There was a flash of light, like a shooting star, it zipped across Jake's skin. The glow from Theresa faded back into her. I felt my strength return. Pete and I removed out hands from Theresa's shoulders and sighed in relief.

"How is he?" J asked. "He's healed. The imprint no longer exists, he's a free man." Theresa announced cheerfully, she high fived Em. "Good work, Emmett." She congratulated him. There was a quiet knock at the door, I opened it to find Rose who had a tray of cups, each cup held energizing tea. We took them gratefully. I smiled, Jake was free.

We walked back into the lounge room. The others were talking quietly, dad was snoring. "We'll have to postpone the bonfire." Theresa announced quietly. "What about the full moon?" Brenna asked, I understood her worry, I didn't want to be in close quarters with her during her transformation. Rose turned to Theresa "there's a Rowan tree on the Res, isn't there?" She asked. Theresa nodded, adding "yes, but it's not the same species as the European variety."  
"Would it be possible to get a sample? The wolves can smell whether the plant will help curb their instincts." Aro asked.

Theresa went outside to make a call. She and Jake weren't fit for travel tonight. The people on the Res could bring a sample of the wood. Neither the werewolves, Aro or Picia wanted to miss the bonfire, but they would if it was necessary. She returned with their answer. "They'll bring leaves and twigs of the Rowan tree soon. If it works we'll be able to help you contain the wolves." She said. The wolves looked a little relieved; they were in an unfamiliar country and we didn't know whether dad's vodka worked. Hopefully we could keep them contained when the moon rose. If the wood didn't work they would have to leave at dawn to return to Volterra in time for the full moon.

Jake woke up a few hours later, he looked better than ever. There was a weight off his chest, he seemed healthier and lighter. Theresa smiled at him, "you're at peace." She observed, he nodded and smiled. Jake was grateful Emmett had been able to remove the imprint completely. He spent some time getting to know Em, Rose and the werewolves too. I was grateful the wolves had travelled to us, they were giving Jake a very different perspective on phasing and their inner beasts. We listened as they told their history to him.

Brenna came over to me. "How are you enjoying your vacation?" She asked. I sighed, "I know it sounds strange, but I'm bored shitless. I've fought for most of my vampire life and now I feel stuck. There are so many changes happening and I want to see them happen. I'm glad you guys are here, I feel included again." I told her. "I'm glad too. I haven't had enough time to get to know my mate's daughter." She said. I smiled at her. "I'm glad dad has you in his life, Brenna." He'd been trapped by his love for Renee for many years.

We chatted about their trip to Iceland and Australia. I was particularly interested in dad's reaction to the den of the wolves in Iceland. It sounded like an amazing place. Hopefully we'd visit there soon. The underground city in Australia sounded interesting as well, I chuckled as Brenna described seeing Aro and Sulpicia in shorts and tank tops. I listened as she described the meeting place in Western Australia, they explored the Cave Hills at night with the wolf pack led by Cynewulf and her daughter Ginna. Her descriptions sounded similar to parts of Arizona. I'd love to visit the continent.

A car rumbled up the driveway. One of the Spirit Walkers had arrived with a sample of American Rowan wood. I met Micah at the door, I had only met him once while I was human. "Hello, Bella. It's good to see you again." He said with a smile. "It's good to see you too, did you guys have any problems with Vampires while we were gone?" I asked, he shook his head, "no problems at all. I met Felix and the other Volturi guards, they were very helpful." He said. I led him into the lounge room and introduced him to everyone. He was fascinated by Aro and Picia and asked many questions about leading the vampire species. They seemed to enjoy their encounter with Micah.

Micah was just as fascinated by the wolves, especially Brenna. "I see you have a strong connection to life." He said. She explained her gift; aiding plant growth. He was excited and was glad she was dad's imprint. He passed around the samples of American Rowan he collected, the werewolves noses wrinkled. "It doesn't smell very nice, our inner beasts should hate it." Fred said with a large grin. Micah left soon after with a promise to bring whatever Rowan wood he could salvage from their tree. Brenna arranged to visit the Res in the morning, she would use her gift on their plants in thanks for their assistance. The Res had never encountered a werewolf before, it would be interesting to see if their shield let Brenna in.

Slowly the wolves, Theresa and Jake went to sleep. Aro and Picia joined us outside as the sun began to rise. "We've never been to America before, there is a very different feel to the land." Aro said. Pete spoke, "Most of the Southern States smell of venom, this area was protected by the Spirit Walkers during the Vampire Wars. This is probably the cleanest smelling area in the south."

We took them on a tour of the land and told them about the places we'd seen. Picia was enjoying the scenery, it was a stunning area and we were lucky to have a great view from our home.

"Picia and I haven't travelled much since we came into power. It feels good to stretch our legs." Aro said. "Didn't you take vacations?" I asked in concern. Aro shook his head. One thousand years of constant work, being cooped up in one place. It sounded like a boring existence. "Well as agents of Fate I order the Volturi to relax." I joked. He smiled, "we will have to Bella. We've missed so much while sitting in the castle day after day."  
"I'll make sure we have time off, dear. You know no one wants to piss off the Volturi Wives." Picia said sternly. Aro chuckled. "Picia, my dear, we will travel the world." Her eyes lit up. "I'll have to arrange vacations for Marcus and Caius. Once there is the new government we can take all the vacations we want." He said.

"Won't you still be leading our kind?" I asked them. Aro nodded. "Of course, but there will be new leaders governing the three species. One vampire, one werewolf and one Spirit Walker." He said. "Who will be the vampire ruler?" I asked. He smiled and replied, "Eleazar." It made sense, "does he know yet?" I asked. Aro shook his head and smiled cheekily, "No, we'll break the news to him at a later date." Pete smirked. "He won't be happy, Aro, but Carmen, Amun and Alistair will convince him." He said.

We walked back inside as our skin started to sparkle. It was going to be a sunny day. "It's nice to feel the sun on my face, the Castle in Volterra is too public for us to enjoy fine weather." Picia said. Pete ran upstairs and brought down a few cushions from the meditation room. "Why don't you and Aro enjoy the sun, we can take care of the wolves." He offered. They took the cushions and headed back outside to sun themselves. Pete made a tray of drinks for dad, Theresa and Jake. Char and I got to cooking, I could hear Jake's heart beat pick up and knew he'd soon be awake. Dad and Theresa would join us soon as well.

The werewolves started to stir, they ate quickly and went into town to pick up some supplies. Brenna hugged me before leaving to go to the Res. I offered her the keys to my car, Binky, but she waved them off. She wanted to jog to the Res, needing some time to herself.

Jake padded down the stairs as soon as the next batch of eggs and bacon was plated. I made a coffee for dad and a put together small plate of food. When I went to put the remaining bacon and butter back in the fridge I noticed the shelves had been stacked with bottles of blood. Rose, Em and Chelsea had brought the synthetic blood with them from Volterra.

I was due for a feed and excited to try the new food source. I grabbed a few bottles, handing them to Char, Pete and J, then headed outside to join Picia and Aro. He jumped up when he saw what I was carrying. "Is that from Volterra?" He asked in excitement. I nodded and handed he and Picia and bottle each. Rose and Em came outside to watch our reaction to the blood. I opened the bottle and was hit with the scent of blood, venom pooled in my mouth and I practically attacked the bottle. The scratchy feeling of thirst abated and I felt strong and calm. The blood was incredible.

I heard Picia gasped something in a language I didn't understand once she finished the bottle. Aro looked to be filled with euphoria. He looked younger than he had while ruling in Volterra. He must have only been eighteen when changed. Picia looked to be the same age as him. It had never occurred to me how young they were physically, they were always so serious and mature in Volterra. It was a nice change to see them act their physical age. "The shower in Pete and Char's room is free if you'd like to freshen up." I offered. Aro smiled evilly, "I think I will get changed, I can get the gifts we bought for everyone while we're upstairs." He said, he and Picia ran inside the house.

I shrugged and decided to get changed while our bedroom was free. J followed me, picking out a clean pair of jeans and a black tank top. I chose a denim skirt and white tank top. J grabbed a few more cushions from the meditation room and we walked outside to enjoy the sun.

Aro and Picia called to us from the lounge room, Aro had pulled his hair back into a pony tail. He and Picia had left their cloaks off and were wearing tank tops with jeans, it was strange to see them in casual clothes. I could see a few scars on Picia, but Aro had a lot of scars showing where he'd been dismembered and bitten by the Romanians. It made the history of the Volturi all the more real.

They were handing out pairs of flip flops, I hadn't worn these in ages. I thanked them, scooting the flip flops on. J, Pete, Char, Em and Rose were looking at the footwear oddly. Aro began to chuckle and Picia rolled her eyes at him. "I've seen young people wear these, but never tried them." J said. They each put on the new footwear and tried to walk. The flip flops fell off their feet. Picia and I began to giggle. Dad came down stairs and watched Rose, Em and the other Horsemen in amusement. "Curl your toes slightly." He suggested.

They tried walking, but shuffled awkwardly. Aro's laughter grew. Dad smirked at Aro, "you were funnier." He teased. Aro shrugged, "true, but now I get to witness other people's discomfort." He said happily. I could only imagine how the Guard would fare with the flip flops. "Did you buy more pairs?" I asked Aro, he nodded gleefully and added "enough for two pairs for each person living in the castle and plenty of spares." He said. "I'll have to see that." I whispered conspiratorially. J and I went back outside, Aro and Picia followed us. My body warmed in the sunlight and patterns emerged where our skin reflected the light. It felt like I was in a large kaleidoscope.

The sun began to set. The Spirit Walkers from the Res would be here soon. Aro, Pete and J were preparing the bonfire site. Char, Picia and I cooked dinner for the Werewolves and Spirit Walkers. Em and Rose were putting a few remedies together at the dining room table. I looked forward to seeing Emmett's reaction to the histories. He'd never been to a bonfire.

Three cars pulled into the driveway. Nine people from the Res joined us, Brenna was with them. It appeared the werewolves would be able to visit tribal land. The werewolves returned from their shopping expedition a minute later. Jake made a beeline for one of the Spirit Walkers; she was tall, had long brown hair and green eyes. She looked to be about 18 years old. He smiled widely at her and led her to me. "This is Samantha, she's a protector like you and Pete." He said. I smiled and shook her hand. I could see she was nervous, but couldn't tell if it was because we were a large group of unfamiliar people or a group of species she hadn't come across before.

We led her to the back of the house with the others. Aaron was stacking the Rowan wood. Lucas, a healer Spirit Walker from the Res, introduced himself to the wolves while the others gathered the rest of the Rowan wood they'd brought from the Res. Aro, Picia, Em and I rushed to help them. Char called the Spirit Walkers and wolves inside to eat. We unloaded the rest of the cars and joined everyone in the lounge room.

The fire pit was prepared and everyone had been fed. Night had fallen, it was time for the bonfire. I glanced at the moon, it was nearly full, the wolves would transform tomorrow afternoon. Thankfully, the Rowan tree on the Res had supplied us with enough wood to contain them. I ignited my shield and pushed a few flames onto the wood in the fire pit. Theresa added some herbs "the smoke will cleanse the area and bring us closer to the spirit world." She explained.

I withdrew the fire from my shield and took a seat next to J. The warmth of the bonfire relaxed me, it wasn't like the oppressive warm air of Texas, it was a warmth that brought comfort and tranquility. Theresa spoke first, I watched the figures created by flame dance in the fire. The histories of the Spirit Walkers came alive. All was quiet, the living creatures in the area seemed to silence themselves and listen to the Histories.

I felt like I was being watched, I lifted my eyes from the fire and looked around. I could see animals peeking out from the forest, their eyes glowing from the light of the fire. My body seemed to hum from the energy around me. I saw a foreign light to the side of me, dad was glowing. I looked to the others, the Spirit Walkers were also glowing, but not as brightly as my dad. Pete's glowing skin was as bright as dad's. I passed the phenomenon off as a Spirit Walker thing and returned my gaze to the fire.

Theresa finished, we took a break. Jake would speak next. As a blood born alpha to the La Push pack he could orchestrate the telling of the histories, giving them the energy and gravitas they deserved. I could see him preparing himself, his brow furrowed in thought.

Theresa cleared her throat and introduced Jake. He braced himself as he started the Quileute history. His voice held a faint echo I'd only heard in Sam's voice. Through the flames I saw the image of the first wolf and his battle with a cold one. I heard the light padding of paws against the grass and looked up. A pack of wolves was walking in our direction. It seemed appropriate. Somehow I could tell there was no ill intent. This was the closest I'd ever been to a wild animal, they usually avoided vampires.

The wolves stopped behind Jake and sat, listening and watching. It was a beautiful sight.

Aro POV – Texas, the same time that Alice is struck by lightning.

This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We were surrounded by animals, listening to the history of the Spirit species. I couldn't help it, I leaned over and stroked the back of a wolf near Jacob. It looked at me and moved closer. I hadn't felt so connected to the world since I lived in the little inlet in Russia, even then the animals were wary of me.

There was an intelligence in the eyes of this wolf. It felt like it was looking into my soul. Slowly, the other wolves moved around our circle, other animals began to join them. I looked to Jacob, his voice was strong and steady, but tears ran down his cheeks as he saw the new additions to his audience.

The power of nature humbled me, I felt like a boy in a new world. Jacob finished speaking, we were all silent, enjoying the comfort of the fire and our new companions. The wolf and I returned our gazes to each other.

A large crack sounded from the fire. The animals turned and walked back into the forest. I was sad to see them go. I faced the others and looked around our circle. Many were watching the animals leave, but Bella, Jasper, Pete, Char and Emmett seemed to be in some sort of trance. I watched them carefully, unable to work out if there was something wrong or whether this was a supernatural influence. I decided it was the latter.

The rest of the group was transfixed by the forest. My attention was occupied by the Horsemen and Emmett. They stood and paced towards the flames. I called out to them, they didn't stop. I ran to them and tried to hold them back. The others turned their attention to me, Sulpicia and the others joined me in trying to pull the Horsemen and Emmett away from the fire. Rose was trying to tackle Emmett away from the flames. Charlie and Jake were trying to move Jasper and Bella, Fred and Aaron were trying to pull Peter and Charlotte away from the flames.

Bella covered the group of five with her shield, pushing us away from them. We couldn't stop them. We watched as they walked into the flames, Bella's shield dropped and their clothes caught fire. The flames grew. Charlie was screaming, the others were running into the house to get water. "Their skin isn't burning." Theresa gasped. I looked closer, she was right. Only their clothes were burning, they appeared unharmed.

Spirit walkers and werewolves returned with any container they could find filled with water. They poured it onto the fire, it didn't dim. "This is living flame, it's different to fire. They're unharmed." Theresa announced. The Spirit walkers stopped and sat. The rest of us watched the grim scene in front of us. I felt so helpless, scared for the wellbeing of the Horsemen and Emmett. If they died how would we carry on? What would happen to Rose if her mate died? How would Charlie recover if his daughter, aunt and uncles were harmed? Caius and Dora would be broken. I felt so helpless. Such pure hearts were needed in the world. To lose them would be a waste.

I heard Charlie sob and went to him. Picia moved to help Rose. There was nothing we could say to make the situation easier, but we could be there for them as a support. Charlie looked at me and touched my hand. Images flicked through my mind. A woman who looked a lot like Peter was standing next to Charlie, telling him the flames wouldn't hurt or injure his family. This was a gift from fate, they were becoming Spirit Walkers.

Fate had decided to bring them impartiality, making them part of both species. Charlie's memory of his Spirit guide passed on another message; tomorrow the Horsemen must be bitten by a werewolf, only the Horsemen. They would become a gestalt species; a perfect mix of vampire, werewolf and Spirit Walker. I stood and announced what Charlie had told me. Brenna ran inside and gathered some clean clothes for Emmett and the Horsemen to wear.

The fire suddenly extinguished. It moved into Bella, but didn't free them from the trance. They looked different. We averted our eyes from their bodies to give them some privacy. The others returned indoors. I stayed outside and faced the woods. I hoped my wolf friend would return as I stood guard over the Horsemen and Emmett .

Picia came out with my cell phone. "You have missed calls from Caius." She said as she sat next to me. I called him back. "Aro, something strange is happening. Everyone seems fine, but I heard from Alistair and Felix. Alice is in Iceland she was pulled there by unseen forces and struck by lightning."  
"Is she okay?" I asked Caius. "Alistair said she has a scar and she looks different, a couple of young witches were practicing a summoning spell. Something used the witches as a conduit and changed something in Alice's appearance. Their silver athame pierced Alice's heart. We'll know more when she returns." Caius finished.

"What about Felix? You said he called you." I asked. "He did, it seems that while Alice was being struck by lightning, there was also a lightning strike that hit Jane and Alec." He said. I froze, overwhelmed by everything that was happening. These people were like family! Caius continued after a pause. "Aro, they're alive and seem to be well, but they've under gone the same transformation. Alice, Alec and Jane seem to have scarring from the lightening, white hair and strange eyes."

Something was going on. "I'm glad they're alive, Caius. Something bizarre just happened here as well. We had a bonfire where the Spirit Walkers and Spirit Wolf told us their histories. The Horsemen and Emmett walked into the fire-"  
"What do you mean they walked into a fire? What the hell is going on?" Caius roared. "I don't know Caius, I wish I did. All of them are fine, but they're in a trance. It's been a strange night. The spirits were active. Caius, the wild animals joined us for the bonfire ceremony. They were docile."

"Do you think it's the witches?" Caius asked. "No, I think it's Fate. Charlie showed me his connection to the Ancestors. They had a message; the werewolves must bite the Horsemen-" Caius interrupted me. "That'll fuck them up! Aro, we can't let them be hurt. They're my family."  
"I know Caius, believe me I don't like the idea either. I have to trust whatever is behind this. Charlie's Ancestors would have warned us if this was bad. I'll speak to Peter if he recovers, his gift brings him answers from the spirit world."  
"Let me know as soon as you find anything out. Hopefully this is a good sign." He said as he hung up.


	52. Part 3 Chapter 14

**AN: I'm going to take a few days off, I'll post the next chapter on Monday. Thanks for your patience. There's a trigger warning with this chapter, it gets pretty violent and flashbacky.**

**Here are the groups as they stand now;**

**Texas – Peter, Charlotte, J, Bella, Spirit Walkers, Jake, Emmett, Rose, Chelsea, Charlie, Brenna, Briggita, Fred, Aro, Picia**

**Volterra – Esme, Marcus, Caius, Dora, Renata, Eliza and a few of the Elite Guard and Lower Guard **

**America (travelling) – Demitri and Leah**

**South America (Travelling) - Felix, Jane, Alec, Evan, Mark with Zafrina tagging along**

**Iceland – Alice and Alistair**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 14

Alice POV- just after the lightning strike in Iceland

An image of Jane and Alec being struck by lightning entered my mind, it was followed by another image of Emmett and the Horsemen surrounded by fire. My body hurt, it felt like I'd just gone through ECT again. I could smell the hospital, my eyes were shut against the blinding light of the operating theater, I felt Carlisle's cold hands against my flesh.

I screamed. Alistair's voice reached me. He was calling my name, he sounded so scared. I began to sob, the smell of the hospital faded, I could smell my mate's scent. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in Iceland and there was a knife in my chest. Alistair was looking at me, I saw my reflection in his eyes, I didn't recognize myself. My hair had turned white and my eyes had turned silver. Alistair's hand reached out to me, his fingers brushed the skin of my arm. He felt different, I pulled up my sleeve. An angry black scar ran up my arm and continued under my clothing. It looked like a branch with leaves.

Two teenage girls stood near me. I heard the wolves approach. The girls looked scared. I froze and composed myself, I would not look weak. I would not look vulnerable. "Speak." Alistair barked at them. They shook and began to cry. "Tell me what the fuck is going on. Now." He ordered.  
"We were practicing a summoning spell. Our mentor arranged with it with the Coven in Norway. We were to summon one of their coven members as a practical test of our ability." The smaller girl said. She had long black hair and deep green eyes. Her friend had the same green eyes, but red hair.

I glared at them. "I'm not part of the Norway coven, I live in Italy with my species you morons. Why is there a knife in my chest? Were you planning on using your magic to murder someone?" I asked sharply. "No! We meant no harm. Something went wrong, I felt something change. We aren't this powerful." The dark haired girl said, sobbing. Alistair was checking me over, two werewolves stood to the side, glaring at the girls.

The tall, blond haired wolf moved closer to me. "Are you okay, Alice?" He asked. I ran my hand down my face and replied "I don't know. I was just struck by lightning and there's a knife sticking out of my chest. Those idiot girls are lucky I'm not human." The wolf introduced himself, "I'm Feykir, Pack Master to the wolves of Iceland. I'm sorry you were injured in this way, I promise we had nothing to do with it." He said. My voice softened. "I believe you Feykir, this will not harm the new alliance. Thank you for sending the help we needed when we arrived." I said. The wolves had tried to protect us.

Einar was on the phone, his voice raised in anger. "What were you thinking?" I could only hear his side of the conversation. "I don't care about the intention, your children hurt our honored guest. We demand an explanation." He yelled. He was silent for a moment, then hung up. "The coven mother will arrive soon." He said.

Several pairs of footsteps grew louder. A tall man with silver hair and brown eyes came into view. He looked to be around 50 years old. "Feykir, we are truly sorry. Please don't be angry at the girls. This wasn't under their control." He was contrite. "Andres, what the hell happened?" Feykir asked.

A short teenage girl stepped out from behind him, "Cynthia?" I gasped. I couldn't believe my sister was here, she looked the same as she did when I was admitted into the asylum. Her hair was long and black, her skin pale and her eyes the same deep blue mine had been when I was human. How was this possible?

"I'm not your sister, Mary Alice, my name is Uni." She said. Her voice was different to the memory of my sister's voice. It was deeper, there was a strange lilt. "Who are you?" Alistair asked. She turned to him and announced "I'm the Oracle; the voice of Fate and mother of the Supernatural world." Alistair scoffed. What the hell was going on?

Cynthia's doppelganger, Uni, stepped towards me. "Fate has brought you back to us, Mary Alice. You are my direct descendant."  
"I'm not, I'm just a vampire. What did you do to me?" I asked. I was so disorientated. Was I losing my mind again? Uni shook her head and spoke softly. "You are a witch, you have always been a witch and you always will be a witch, Mary Alice."  
"I'm not! Emmett removed my gift. I'm just a fucking vampire." I yelled in frustration.

Uni smiled sadly, fuck her. I didn't want her pity, I wanted this fucking knife out of my chest. "My magic flows through your veins, Mary Alice. It has been activated by the lightning. You may be a vampire, but you're also a witch. Nothing can remove the magic, the Healer only took your gift away, not the power behind it."  
"Is that why I was given the Sight? You cursed me?" I asked coldly. I wanted to tear this bitch apart.

"You were given power, but it was corrupted by the influences in your life. Had you been born into a coven your Sight would have been easier to control. It was not the Sight that doomed you, it was when and where you were born. We should have been able to locate you and rescue you from the Asylum, but something blocked our power." Uni explained. The words felt empty, it didn't justify the hell I lived through. I never wanted the Sight.

Uni continued. "Your fathers' family were descendants of my daughter, Vergoia. She was a powerful Seer as well."  
"What happened to her?" I asked. "She died, Vergoia and her coven chose to remain mortal despite their Supernatural bond. That is why Fate needed you to be turned, the witches need immortal representatives." I shuddered,

"I know nothing about witchcraft." I said. Are they nuts? Uni wasn't convinced. "We'll train you." she replied. I scowled. "What if I don't want to train? I'm newly healed and mated. I deserve time to adjust. Get this knife out of my chest, my mate and I are leaving." I demanded. Uni looked amused. "The time has come for me to leave the sanctuary of this coven, like it or not, Mary Alice, I'll follow you wherever you go." Alistair growled.

Uni came closer and pulled the knife out of my chest. Pain shot through me and she lay her hand on the wound. Her fingertips began to glow, just like Charlie's did when he healed me. "Are you related to Charlie Crow?" I asked her. She nodded "he's another descendant from another daughter. His race called her Spider Grandmother. She taught the humans to connect with the spirits like Vergoia taught the first witches to connect with the moon and the sun." She explained.

"I've travelled all over the world, Mary Alice. I'd find consorts and bare children who would balance the Fate of the world. My first children, two sons, became the first Vampire and Werewolf."  
"What were their names? How long ago were they born?" Alistair asked. She turned to him and smiled. "They were born at the dawn of the human race, they had no names. Fate saw the path of humanity and how precarious it was. Fate created me to help keep the balance. Fate guides me to civilizations, to a temporary mate and I bear children that advance the human race. I serve Fate."  
"How long ago were you created?" I asked. "Two million years ago." She replied. "You look like a normal human. Why do you look so evolved?" Alistair asked. Uni smiled, "With each child I bear I am reborn. My appearance changes according to the people I live with." She said.

"How many times have you been reborn?" I asked.  
"Thousands. I've stayed with many civilizations and had many names. I was Artemis to the Ancient Greeks, Isis to the Egyptians, Diana to the Romans and Friga to the Vikings. A century ago I returned to Italy and found the descendants of the coven I lived with in Etruria, in 750 BC. I learnt that the witch hunts had threatened the Etruscan witches. Vegoia's direct descendants fled to America in the 1600s where they hid their heritage, eventually forgetting their ancestry and power."

I was starting to feel overwhelmed. My head was full of thoughts, each of them crippled me. My ancestors had neglected to hold on to the information that could have saved me from the Asylum. My mother was a staunch god-fearing woman. She had tried to have me exorcized as a young child and had told me repeatedly I was a child of the devil. Had my father should have known his heritage I could have been saved. I could have travelled to meet the coven instead of trying to hide the visions and succumbing to the madness. Uni's eyes softened.

"I understand you're upset, Mary Alice. I cannot blame you for that. Your path is with the supernatural world, we need you to lead the covens."  
"Why should I? Where were you when I needed you? Do you have any idea what I've been through-" She cut me off. "I know now, Mary Alice. I saw the path of your past when you awoke from healing. Your mother cast spells of her own, calling them prayers. She blocked you from our sight. When you lost your mind we couldn't get a read on where you were. What happened to you was an extreme deviation. Fate intended for you to stay with your aunt in Ireland, she would have brought you to Richard Plantagenet. He was supposed to turn you." Alistair growled, "I am no longer Richard Plantagenet. I am Alistair, mate of Mary Alice Brandon and head of the anti-corruption agency for the New World Order. Stop fucking us around." He ordered.

"So it's my mother's fault?" I spat. Uni shook her head again. "It wasn't solely your mother's fault. The deviation occurred through your recent ancestors and their need to escape the witch hunts. Fate has struggled to lead you here. We had already planned on our meeting, Andres booked a flight to Pisa to leave in a month's time. He was going to speak to the Vampire Masters and get permission to train you. Fate stepped in and brought you home sooner than expected."

"I don't want my powers. I don't want to see the future, I want to be left alone." I yelled. All of this shit was so fucking unnecessary. Alistair held me to him, glaring at the witches and Uni. "My mate has suffered through sheer stupidity and cruelty. She deserves better than to be a victim to your sorcery."  
"I agree Alistair, but-" He cut of Uni's words. "What you're selling sounds like grade A bullshit. You will not harm my mate. You will not order her around like some fucking puppet."

"We apologize, Alistair and Mary Alice. You are both right, you deserve a chance to live." Uni said. "We have no control over either of you, but we need you, Mary Alice. We had planned on meeting you later, giving you information without forcing anything on to you, but Fate has different plans." She said. I took a deep breath and faced her. "We'll give you a week, but if you dick us around we're leaving." I said sharply. She nodded, "that is more than we deserve, thank you. We will honor any choices you make." She finished quietly.

We walked away from the coven to speak to the wolves. Feykir apologized, "I wish we could host you longer, but tomorrow you must leave us. We'll transform at moonrise, it won't be safe for you to stay with us, there's a chance the Healer's tonic won't work." I held my hand up to stop him. "Thank you for your help Feykir. We appreciate everything you've done for us. If there's anything you need feel free to contact us." I said to him.

"Actually, there is something I can do to assist you." Feykir said, he turned to my mate. "Alistair, Aro told us you're to be in charge of the anti-corruption committee. My second in charge, Geir, has a gift similar to Marcus'. He can see bonds relating to allegiance. It could come in handy. If someone pretends to have a friendship with another, their false friend bond will show through his gift."  
"That would be perfect. Thank you." Alistair said. Feykir smiled, "there is more. I know of a wolf in Western Australia who can enchant people into telling the truth. I have spoken to their Pack Master, Cynewulf. Aro has already told her about the anti-corruption agency. Cynewulf will send her daughter, Ginna, to us in a month if the Chequer vodka works. She will be a great asset to your team." He added. Alistair smiled, "I'm truly grateful, Feykir. My vision for the future is to create an agency with authorities from each species. I will be honored to receive those you see fit." He said happily. As the wolves returned to their den Alistair made a call to Caius.

Jane POV South America

We were somewhere in South America searching for an invisible vampire. It was a difficult mission and it had been made more difficult when Alec and I were struck by lightning. I could still feel the energy shooting through my body, it was disorientating. None of us understood what was happening, we'd never heard of a vampire being struck by lightning. I would have guessed our bodies would have disintegrated upon impact, but Alec and I were still here.

The electricity had altered our physical appearance. Our hair had turned white and our eyes had returned to the color they were when we'd been human, blue. There was a scar down our body where the lightning had travel through us, it was black and looked like a branch with leaves. My scar mirrored Alec's, it covered the left side of my neck, down my body and stopped at my ankle.

When the lightning hit us we caught a glimpse of Alice, Emmett and the Horsemen. We were afraid, something was happening to us and we were without control. Felix's phone rang. We stopped and listened as Felix answered. Caius was calling with updated information. "Alice spoke to the witches, it appears she's a powerful descendant from the first witch. Her symptoms are the same as Alec and Jane's." Caius said. We froze, Zafrina and Felix eyed us in concern. Caius continued, "perhaps the nickname the villagers gave Alec and Jane had a foundation of truth. They could be witches."

I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. I heard Felix's response. "Caius, I don't give a flying fuck what species they are, Alec and Jane are still my kin."  
"I agree Felix. They are still part of the Volturi family, nothing will change that. I'm concerned for their wellbeing." Caius said. Alec grabbed my hand, I started to feel overwhelmed.

The sky began to darken and the animals stilled, their heartbeats' quickened. I could smell fear. An image flashed across my mind. I saw a crowd with flame torches, they were running toward a group of people, looking angry. I shuddered, it was similar to one my last human memories. Alec and I were called the witch twins, our village tried to burn us at the stake. I felt a softness against my lips and opened my eyes. Evan was kissing me and whispering words of comfort. We'd grown close, I knew he wasn't my true mate, but we were potential mates. We chose each other and embraced the new relationship.

I looked to Alec, Mark held him close and purred. The sky began to lighten and the animals resumed their activity. "I don't know what this means." I whispered to Evan, he knew I was talking about my possible change in species. He kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear "it changes nothing, Janey. You're still you, only a little more awesome." I looked at him. Few people had gotten to know Alec and I. We were infamous for our gifts and position within the Volturi coven. This could alienate us further from the vampire world.

"We'll get through this. The people who really know you and Alec won't turn their backs on you, especially with the unity of the species coming up." He said. "It's hard not to worry." I whispered. He shook his head, "from what Caius said this won't change your friendship with the Masters." He said. I hoped he was right, Marcus, Caius and Aro were like older brothers, their wives had become our older sisters.

I looked to Felix, thankful he'd declared his continued friendship with us. He smiled as he caught my eye, he didn't see us any differently. He walked up to us "quit worrying about how people see you. You know the rest of the Elite guard won't give a shit. We've fought side by side with you two for centuries." He said. Alec huffed, "the lower guard still fears us, Felix, I don't want them to fear us even more." He echoed my thoughts. Felix rolled his eyes and said, "fuck them. They haven't joined us on missions, they take care of the minor stuff. The Masters, Horsemen, Healers and the rest of the Elite guard are the only ones who count, we're the ones fighting the hardest battles."

Zafrina surprised us when she spoke, "Vampire's aren't the only supernatural species, to think we are is ignorant." I smiled at her, "we know. The Masters are working to unite the supernatural species." I told her. She looked at us in shock, Felix carefully explained how the government would change.

We continued to run, Zafrina was quiet as she thought over the information Felix had given her. Felix stopped suddenly, "we're getting close, I'll call Dem and see if there is a change in coordinates." Zafrina nodded and called Senna, her coven sister was in the Argentinian city of Salta. The Hybrids and their vampire guardian, Hulien, had a house there. They were waiting for news on Joham, they wanted to contribute to his execution.

Felix finished his call with Dem, we had new coordinates to follow. We ran south east, hoping we'd finally catch the arsehole. I looked forward to using my gift, in this instance I was glad I could cause pain. Many of the victims Joham violated had been close to my physical age. That Fucker was going to feel a lot of pain before he died.

We were a hundred kilometers from where Joham was supposed to be. Zafrina started using her power, she was implanting the image of an alone human female wandering in the woods. Either we'd find human criminals looking to kidnap the image and get a meal or we'd get lucky and catch Joham. We ran silently through the country, there were no signs of vampires anywhere.

We came across cities and towns, but were able to stay out of view. Our cloaks kept us from sparkling in the sunlight and drawing attention to ourselves. Zafrina and Senna also wore cloaks, we all carried extras incase the ones we wore were destroyed. The Amazon vampires wore Mark's extra cloaks, they were too tall for mine, Alec, and Evan's cloaks and too short for Felix's. The aging elixir the Healer had given us hadn't just matured our bodies, it had increase our height as well. I had originally been five feet tall, but had grown five inches. Evan and Alec were now 5'10" and Mark had grown to six feet tall.

We were coming close to the coordinates Dem had given Felix. He sent a text message to Dem to confirm the location. Dem responded with a slight variation. Joham was on the move, we turned west, towards Chile, I hoped he wasn't in Salta. I could smell the trail of vampire scent, hopefully it was Joham's. We were careful as we moved forward. Zafrina sent the image of the potential girl victim. Alec followed it up with a burst of his power. We crept forwards, searching for signs of an invisible vampire.

We were deep in the mountains surrounding Salta, there were a few roads, but not many people around. There was a river ahead of us. We lost the scent. Felix cursed. "We'll have to jump it, maybe we can find his scent on the other side of the river. There were no humans nearby, we took a running leap across the river.

There was a set of wet foot prints a few feet away from where we landed. The scent was strong, we were close to him. Alec sent out a burst of his power, we followed the tracks and the scent through the trees.

Mark walked into something and stopped. I saw him grab at the air in front of him and my hope grew. His hands grabbed onto something and he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled. There was a screech of vampire flesh being torn and a body appeared. Mark was holding its head. It was a man who looked to be in his late 20s when he was turned, he had brown hair and slightly olive skin. He was wearing a dark pants and a dark pullover.

"Excellent job, Mark." Felix cheered. Alec smiled and walked over to his mate. He pecked him on the lips and turned to the vampire body. He restrained it and I walked over to rip it's arms and legs off. Zafrina came closer to Mark and growled at the head in his hands. "Is this Joham?" Felix asked. Zafrina nodded and said "Yes, this is Joham. While you interrogate him I'll contact the hybrids."  
"Take your time Zafrina." Felix said, grinning. Zafrina shook her head "I'll be quick, we wouldn't miss his suffering for the world." She turned to me and said "have fun, Jane." She smiled and ran east towards the city.

Alec spat on the severed neck of Joham, before reattaching his head. It would increase the pain of the fusion. I put his arms and legs in a pile a few feet from us. When his voice box had healed, Joham began to scream. We were miles from civilization, he could scream all he wanted. We waited until Joham's screams turned to whimpers.

"Name." Felix barked at him. "Joham." He replied in terror. "Do you know who we are?" Felix growled. Joham whimpered "no." I moved closer and leaned down in front of his face. "Who is your sire?"  
"Benito." I froze, Joham was sired by the man responsible for the newborn wars. "When were you turned?" I asked. "Four hundred years ago. He wanted an army, I escaped thanks to my gift."

I moved back, Felix took over. "We are the Volturi, the law makers of the Vampires. You have been accused of cruelty towards humans, how do you plead?" He said lowly. Joham looked at him incredulously. "They're just humans, there's plenty of them around. Why would you care what I do to them?" He asked in confusion. I kicked the stump where his leg used to be. "Did you forget you were human once?" I growled. "I know I was, but we're vampires. We're the stronger species." He said.

Mark came closer and sat down in front of Joham. "Why did you hurt them?" He asked, he kept his face neutral. "I'm a scientist and father to many." Joham said, glaring at Mark. Mark nodded, but didn't show any emotion. Marcus had trained him well. "What did you hope to do with the hybrids?" He asked in a monotone. "I was creating a species to help vampires, my children can blend into the human world, they belong to me. Imagine if we didn't have to hunt for humans, that there were people we could trust to carry out the errands we needed to do, they could fight for us, work for us and gather humans to feed us." He explained.

This was one sick fucker. "So you preyed on young girls, killed them cruelly-" Joham cut me off. "- the hybrids killed their mothers, I didn't." He spat. I kept my voice level. "So you just raped the girls and doomed them to death. You're a walking cancer, Joham."  
"You little Puta. Great men have to sacrifice people for the greater good. You're weak, what do you know about how the world works?" He said to me. Alec, Evan, Mark and Felix growled around me. I smirked at him.

"I have a gift as well, I'm older than you and have learnt many hard lessons the world thrust upon me. I don't hide away and use humans to create slaves. You are a coward, Joham. You will die a coward's death." I released my power slowly. I concentrated my gift on his abdomen, it was the closest thing I could do to show him the pain of his victims. I sent blunt, strong waves of pain across his stomach and back, adding sharp stabbing pains to his groin. I could keep this up for hours.

We could hear footsteps approaching, I could smell the scent of Zafrina, Senna, Hulien and the Hybrids on the breeze. I saw them run towards us, dodging trees and fallen branches. Senna and Zafrina stood by my side, my concentration didn't break. I reigned in my gift, the Hybrids were looking pale and sickly. I didn't want to scare them. I bowed my head "we have captured Joham." I said quietly. Joham's eldest daughter, Rosa, approached me. Her black hair was in a long plat down her back, her brown eyes weren't full of anger as she looked at me. "Thank you Jane, I hope you've been able to show him some of the pain he put our mothers through."

Hulien walked up to me and hugged me. "From what I saw, you showed him exactly what my sister when through before she died." She waved Nahuel over and hugged him. "This is the man responsible for your mother's death, not you or your sisters. He holds the responsibility for it all." Nahuel looked at Joham with disgust and rage. Joham was still recovering from my gift. He looked up to his son "kill them." He ordered his son and daughters. Nahuel shook his head. "You're not my father or my keeper, you're weak and so fucking selfish. You don't deserve mercy. You will die like our mothers did." He said.

"You ungrateful shit. I gave you life!" Joham growled. I patted Nahuel's shoulder and moved to Joham. I grabbed his jaw and pulled slowly. The bones cracked and muscles snapped. His skin stretched as his jaw was dislocated. His skin started to tear and his jaw detached completely. I held it in my hands. "He had nothing worthwhile to say. Take your justice and don't let him taint your lives any longer." I said to the hybrids. They pounced on him. A few of his daughters clawed at his stomach, creating a deep wounds. Hulien ripped off his genitals while the others grabbed onto the stumps where his legs used to be, they pulled, slowly ripping him in half.

Joham's screams flooded the area. Hulien and the Hybrids stepped back, Joham was split down the middle, his stomach had deep clawed marks and his entrails lay between the two halves of his body. One of his daughters had punched his sides, his ribs stuck out at odd angles. I dropped Joham's jaw on the pile of his arms and legs. Mark pulled out a lighter and set fire to them. Senna crouched down in front of Joham's torn torso. "This is how those girls felt when you finished with them. You deserve so much more, but you're not worth the time. The Hybrids are free of you, the humans you prey on are free from you. We will watch you burn and then forget you ever existed. You are nothing; a coward and a bottom feeder. May you afterlife bring you more suffering."

Felix stood over Joham and dropped a lit match onto Joham's remains. His limbs were now ash, his torso would soon follow. I sent him another burst of pain as he burned. The youngest Hybrid, Julia, was crying. Hulien was holding her. Felix went up to them and rested his hand on Julia's shoulder. "You're safe." He promised. She looked up at him "I'm just so relieved. He'll never hurt anyone again." She explained.

We travelled with them to Salta, we needed a shower after killing Joham. As we turned north west, towards the town we heard the cry of a baby. It's heart was thrumming quickly.

Hulien gasped and ran, we followed. In a small clearing was a dead girl, her stomach had been ripped open. There was a baby nearby, crying on the ground, it's umbilical cord still attached to his mother. Nahuel ran and bit through the cord while Hulien held the baby in her arms. Julia was looking on in horror. "Hulien, is that...?" She asked, her voice breaking. Hulien nodded "he's a hybrid. A newborn." She replied. His mother was dead, her glassy eyes wide with terror.

Felix went to Julia and shielded her from the dead girl. He tucked her into his arms and rocked her gently. Evan came over and held me, I didn't realize I was sobbing. My imagination hadn't conjured up the true horror of what Joham had done. Seeing it first hand was so much worse. I heard Mark call Marcus and fill him in on what happened. Alec was on the phone with Demitri. Zafrina and Senna dug a grave for the girl, Senna found a thick branch and broke a piece off. She smoothed the wood and carved and inscription. Zafrina planted the rustic headstone in the ground above the body. We took a moment to grieve for the lost girl.

Senna had carved the word 'peace' into the wood. Hopefully, the girl had found peace in the afterlife. Alec ended the conversation with Demitri and stood over the grave, reciting the last rites. Few people knew that Alec and I were Catholic. Mark, Alec, Felix, Hulien, Zafrina, Senna and the Hybrids stood and said their own words of blessing. I hope one of us had been able to give her the appropriate send off. Hulien passed the baby to Rosa and ran into the trees. We stayed silent, mourning the lost girl.

Hulien returned with a few leaves. She placed them on the grave and set them alight. "This will cleanse the area, allowing her soul to reach the afterlife. Violent deaths can trap souls to the earth. We usually do this after we've fed, but a few times we've done this for the hybrid mothers."  
"Is it always this bad?" I asked her. She nodded, "all hybrid mothers look like this."  
"Could there be more out there?" I asked. Rosa nodded as she rocked the baby in her arms. "We know that Joham usually impregnates a girl every ten years. I'm the oldest at 200 years old. Julia is the youngest at 140 years old. We could be dealing with another ten to fifteen hybrids aside from the ones here."

Alec spoke next. "I called Dem, he said that there are only a couple of other vampires south from here, they're on the islands at the tip of the continent."  
"Could he pick up any hybrids?" Hulien asked. Alec shook his head "he's unfamiliar with the species and doesn't know what wave length to search for."

Zafrina cupped her forehead in frustration. "We have to stay and search for other hybrids while we take care of this little one." She said. I knew this would be where we parted ways. I handed her my cell phone and charger, they'd be staying in Salta. "Take this, Demitri and the Masters' phone numbers are in there. Keep them updated, they might be able to help. We have to return to Volterra. Call us if you need anything and we'll come straight back." They thanked us and we ran east, there was an airport nearby. The image of the girl haunted me. I just wanted to go home and hide in my room in the Castle.

There was a flight leaving in seven hours, we would have a few connecting flights before we would land in Pisa. We waited in the terminal. Evan pulled me aside after a few hours. "You need to hunt Janey." He said. The thought of hunting a human disgusted me. I couldn't do it. The thought of killing a human made me feel like a monster, seeing the Hybrid and his mother had turned me off hunting. Evan saw my disgust and stopped me. He cradled my face and kissed me "there's plenty of animals nearby. You don't have to feed on humans if you don't want to." He said. I sighed in relief.

The others waited as I ran into the mountains. I jumped from branch to branch to hide my scent. I saw a large cat lapping at the water of a small pond and pounced, breaking its neck and digging my teeth into its neck. The fur stuck to my mouth and the blood was bland, it tasted like watery mud. My thirst dimmed slightly and my emotions calmed. I wiped the skin and fur off my face and dusted the dirt off my cloak.

I rejoined the others and waited for our flight.


	53. Part 3 Chapter 15

**AN: Thanks for your patience. :)**

**Here are the groups as they stand now;**

**Texas – Peter, Charlotte, J, Bella, Spirit Walkers, Jake, Emmett, Rose, Chelsea, Charlie, Brenna, Briggita, Fred, Aro, Picia**

**Volterra – Esme, Marcus, Caius, Dora, Renata, Eliza and a few of the Elite Guard and Lower Guard **

**America (travelling) – Demitri and Leah**

**South America (Travelling) - Felix, Jane, Alec, Evan, Mark with Zafrina tagging along**

**Iceland – Alice and Alistair**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

_Previously on Hell Fire…_

_Texas: The Horsemen and Emmett walk into the bon fire, it burnt their clothes. All five of them are standing naked in the fire pit, stuck in a trance. Aro stays guard over them while the others go inside._

CHAPTER 15

PPOV - Texas

I felt odd, there was a breeze against my skin. I looked down. "Why the fuck am I naked?" I roared. I looked around me, Aro was the only one here. He turned his head to us and sighed. "Welcome back." He said.

"What the hell's going on?" J yelled. I turned to him, he was naked too. I expected his eyes to be black with anger, I was pretty sure mine were. Instead his eyes were gold with flecks of green. "Pete, your eyes are blue and gold, why are your eyes blue and gold?" Bella asked in a panic, hers were gold and brown. "Your eyes were blue when I turned you Pete, it looks like you're turning human." J stammered. "You're one to talk, J. Your eyes have green in them, Bella's has brown-" I looked to Char, she had green flecks in her eyes like J did.

It was then I noticed Em was with us. I saw Rose run out to us, Brenna was close behind with a pile of clothes. Charlie stumbled over to us. "Fucking hell, doesn't Fate give you warnings anymore?" He asked me. "Charlie, I have no fucking idea what's going on so if you have answers spill them now. I'm naked, standing in a fire pit with my mate, sire, niece and nephew. I'm starting to freak out." I gritted out. "You were all set on fire." He said. I motioned for him to continue. "Your clothes burned, the Ancestors set you on fire and made you full blooded spirit walkers." My eyes bugged out and I yelled at the sky "quit jerking us around you old fuckers! Give me some warning next time you decide to cremate my arse!"

My gift pinged me, _This is what Fate wants. Tomorrow the werewolves must bite you. Calm down Peter._ "Calm down? Are you fucking nuts?" I yelled. _Peter, trust us, trust Fate._ It was my mother's voice. I groaned. "Mom, seriously, this is bullshit. I care for you and love you and I do trust Fate, but that trust is being seriously tested right now. It's a low blow for you to speak to me after Fate decides to barbeque me, most of my family and my mate. I don't appreciate these tactics, Mom, it's downright shitty. So, if Fate and the Ancestors wish to do weird shit to our bodies at least have the decency to warn us." There was an echoed apology from the Ancestors. _Can you please let the werewolves bite you tomorrow?_ A voice asked. "Fine, but only because you asked nicely. If we die we'll make your afterlife hell." I said.

I turned to the others. It looked like they were in a trance. I poked Char's arm. She slapped me and broke out of her daze. "I heard them!" She shrieked. "You heard the Ancestors?" I asked, she nodded. J, Bella and Em agreed, they'd heard them too. Charlie patted my shoulder "Thanks, Pete. I was ready to tear them a new one for that." He said. Brenna passed around the clothes and we dressed.

Aro looked puzzled. "I didn't hear anything, but you Pete."  
"It's a spirit thing, Aro." I sighed. "Things were so much simpler when I was a vampire, now I'm two species, about to be three."  
"We have to be bitten?" Em asked. My gift pinged me _only the Horsemen. Emmett is now a spirit healer._ I relayed the message to the others. Em looked relieved, I couldn't blame him.

We walked into the house, fully clothed and bewildered. Bella and Brenna were talking behind me. "Since we're practically family, with you being my dad's mate and all, how would you like to use me as a chew toy tomorrow?" Bella asked her. My niece was always one for tact. "If that's what you want, I'll reluctantly bite you, Bells." Brenna replied. I could understand why Bella would want Brenna's werewolf venom, it would make Brenna connected to her like she was to Charlie, Em, J, Char and me.

I felt J send a burst of shock out and turned to him in question. "Did you guys hear that?" He squeaked. "Hear what?" Char asked. He cleared his throat and replied. "They said Fred would have to bite me."  
"That would be the Ancestors, J." I said. It looked like we all were spirit walkers now. I was glad I wasn't the only one pestered by them anymore. I saw Char freeze. "What did they say?" I asked her. "They want Aaron to bite me." She said. Bella overheard our conversation and turned her head to the sky. "Brenna's going to bite me, no one else." She yelled. She froze for a moment and looked sheepish. "What did they say?" J asked her. "They said they aren't deaf." She replied.

I finally got my orders _Peter, please allow Briggita to bite you._ "Yes, dear." I mumbled. I heard the Ancestors chuckle. "So are you guys sticking around now?" I asked them, Bella, J, Char and Brenna looked at me puzzled. _We'll pop in from time to time._ The Ancestors said. I relayed the message to the others. I was relieved, I didn't particularly want an audience while I was having alone time with my mate, I doubted the others wanted that either.

Jake, the werewolves and the Spirit Walkers stopped talking when we walked in. I rolled my eyes. "You may continue to talk about us if you want." I announced sarcastically. Rose grabbed Em and dragged him upstairs. Theresa walked up to us, "we were discussing tomorrow. A few of our tribe have gone to the Res to get more branches of Rowan for the wolves."  
"My shield will be able to help too." Bella offered. Fred shook his head "it might not be possible. You're going to be bitten, it could mean you'll be passed out for nine days while you transform. The Spirit Protectors are going to combine their shields and help contain us."

Nine days, a nine day nap. At least it wasn't painful. I wondered how I would change, would I transform at the moon? Would the Healers be able to help us? I sat down heavily on the sofa and pulled Char onto my lap. I rested my face in the crook of her neck. Bella and J sat next to us. Charlie was sitting in an arm chair close to us, drinking calming tea.

J, Bella, Char and I spent some time getting to know the wolves who were going to bite us. Briggita and Fred joined J and I in conversation. "How do you guys feel?" I asked, "a little nervous, I'm hoping I won't rip you apart when I bite you." Fred replied. "I hope you don't either." J echoed. "Do you guys feel any different the day before the full moon?" I asked. Briggita replied "yes, we feel a hum of energy in the air. I feel it now." She looked out the window at the almost full moon. I shivered.

"Do you feel any different since having the Chequer vodka?" J asked. They shook their heads sadly. Shit. "Hey, my gift told me a while ago that you'd find a way to keep in control. We won't give up on you." I promised. Fred smiled a little. "You sound like Aro, he's been working tirelessly on ways to help us since the beginning. It wasn't until recently that he had the technology to truly understand our physiology or the chemical makeup of why Rowan was so repulsive. Aro worked with blood samples, our venom and hair samples. He never once asked to dissect us or hurt us while trying to find a cure. When he met the Healers he resumed his search with vigor. I know they'll find a way to help us, we're grateful for everything you've all done to get us to this point."

Briggita smiled at her mate. "One day we'll be able to live amongst humans, maybe even other vampires and Spirit walkers." She turned to me and said, "the fact that you've gotten to know us and haven't judged us means a lot. You welcome us into your home, knowing that we're going to transform soon and instead of kicking us out, you all find a way to help keep us contained when the beast takes over. It means a lot to us."  
"For so long we've only been able to count on the Leaders of your kind and a few in the guard. We don't feel ashamed to be what we are, but we've learned to expect prejudice." Fred told us.

"You know, us vampires get pretty savage at times. If we are hungry or our mates are endangered we lose control. Aro told you about our newborn year, for the entire year we're engulfed in a red haze of thirst, we have to learn to live with it. We can't judge you when we are capable of violence and worse. Our kind hunted your species, humans turned their backs on you, if anything we're the ones who should be ashamed." J said.

I heard a couple of cars approached and walked out to see who it was. Two trucks loaded with Rowan wood arrived from the Res. The Spirit Walkers had gathered it for the wolves, we weren't going to take any chances. Aro, Picia, J, Bella and I gathered the wood and started making a fence. Theresa and the Healers were putting teas together which would calm the wolves as they transitioned. Jake and a few werewolves helped us, putting in posts made from Rowan branches and helping us space the wood out so they'd have room to run around. With the small twigs and leaves we spread them between the posts to increase the effect.

Aaron joined us. "I spoke to Aro, there was a 24 hour hardware store close by. I was able to get some copper wire and a suitable battery." He said. "Are you wanting to make an electric fence?" I asked in shock. He nodded. "It's just an added precaution. Theresa said it wouldn't rain for the next week, it'll be safe. The spirit walkers will still shield us, we just want a fail-safe incase they're drained of energy and can't hold the shield." He explained.

"We're going to be in the werewolf pen too." Bella said. Aaron turned to her. "You'll probably be knocked out cold for almost two weeks. Once our venom reaches your heart we lose interest in hunting you. It's how we can be confined together without ripping each other apart."  
"Our hearts don't work, they're just there for decoration, won't that fuck it up?" She asked. Aaron shrugged. "I have no idea." Fred came over to us, he'd heard our conversation. "Whenever we bit the Romanians they had plenty of time before our venom was likely to damage them, vampire venom fights against ours. If there are open wounds, the vampire venom will push our venom out. You'll have plenty of time to shield yourself and your friends, you'll be able to get away."

"So, if you bite us, there's a chance your venom won't stay in our bodies. I have no idea what Fate is thinking, it doesn't sound like an effective plan." I said. Fred shrugged. "There are plenty of Rowan wood chips around, try plugging the wound with that. Our venom might stay put." He suggested.

"What if you guys transform physically, but are in control mentally? How will we know?" Bella asked. Aaron smirked "you mean us trying to rip you limb from limb won't be a good indication that the remedies didn't work?" He asked. Bella groaned, "I mean, what if you need to communicate?" She asked. Aaron chuckled, "I don't know. We've never been in control before." He said. Fred had a possible solution, "Briggita and I know sign language, if someone here knows it too, we might have a way to communicate."  
"I don't know if that'll work. If anyone here knows sign language there's a chance they won't know the right type. Which sign language can you use?" I asked. "English, American and Russian." He said. J grinned "Rose learnt sign language a while ago. I'm pretty sure she knows the English sign language, we were living in Carlisle's human home at the time. It was the 1980s and we all went to university." He said.

I turned to Fred and Aaron, "you guys should head inside and speak to Rose, if possible give Aro, Aaron and Brenna a crash course in sign language." I suggested. They nodded and left. J and I planted the last post, there were thirty seven posts around a small paddock we'd created for the wolves. J started hooking the copper wire around the posts with an insulation to prevent it scorching the wood. I grabbed a some equipment and started setting up the generator. Within half an hour we were good to go. We showed Aro how to turn the fence on and off.

Rose was with Briggita and Fred, they were giving everyone a lesson in sign language. Having perfect recall helped, they were teaching us full sentences rather than individual words, I found it much easier to pick up than other languages.

At two in the morning the wolves ran outside. It took a second for us to realize they had started to turn. _We're going to take over again._ The Ancestors whispered to me, I was about to tell Bella, J and Char, but they looked like they'd heard the announcement. I quickly advised the others what was happening, suddenly my mind went blank.

Aro POV

"The Ancestors are going to put us in a tr-" Peter's voice cut out, his posture changed and he walked outside stiffly. The other Horsemen followed him into the paddock that contained the wolves. We ran out to see what was happening. Fred's eyes changed, his pupils grew and his iris' glowed green. His body elongated and started morphing into a wolf like human. They stood upright on two legs. Their shirts ripped in places as their muscles bulked up. I had never seen a werewolf during the full moon, when I was human we were forbidden to enter their den, as a vampire I kept away from them.

Their skin darkened and whiskers grew from their altered snout. Their teeth grew, tinged with green venom. The Horsemen stood in front of the wolves, still as statues. Charlie watched in horror as his mate changed into the beast. I heard their bones crack and expand, they howled as the transformation finished. They looked nothing like their human side, the Hollywood movies were closer in their imagined idea of werewolves than I had been.

Their muscles rippled as they moved, the clothes tearing more. They slumped on their knees and panted. After a few minutes they stood back up and looked at us. I could see a tiny bit of warmth in the eyes of the beast. "Fred?" I called quietly. The beast nodded. "Are you in control?" I asked him. He nodded again. A strangled noise left me, I stumbled closer to them. I couldn't believe it, they were in control. I reached my hand over the fence to touch him, I was careful to avoid the active electric wires. His hand gently touched my own. "Fred, you're still here. I can't believe it, they did it! The Healers succeeded." My voice broke. Fred's face morphed into an odd grin. I laughed with joy and relief.

Charlie walked next to me, reaching for Brenna. She walked over and carefully touched his hand. He grinned widely at her. "Hello, sweetheart. Are you okay?" He asked. Brenna nodded. Charlie grew silent and looked to his daughter. "If you're all comfortable we can turn off the generator." I said. Aaron, Briggita, Fred and Brenna nodded. I rushed to turn the machine off. Charlie cupped Brenna's jaw. "Let's get this over with, go bite Bella." He urged sadly. Brenna whined and looked from Charlie to Bella. "It's okay, Brenna. This is supposed to happen. I know my daughter, she chose you to be her sire to make us a family. She wants a connection to you." Brenna huffed and nodded.

The wolves moved to the Horsemen. They glanced at us and hesitated. "You can do this, we trust you." I told them. They gently lifted each of the Horsemen's arms and peeled back their sleeves. They raised the Horsemen's wrists to their mouths and bit into their skin. Werewolf venom dribbled out of their mouths, they tried to pump as much into the Horsemen as possible.

The Horsemen collapsed, the wolves picked up their new progeny and cradled them. Charlie and I jumped over the fence and grabbed a handful of the American Rowan wood chips. We approached the odd group slowly, careful not to startle them. I crouched in front of Briggita and Fred, they held Peter and Jasper. "Does the Rowan wood smell bad?" I asked them, they sniffed the air and stared at the wood chips. Fred slowly picked a piece of wood in his hands and moved it closer to his face. He sniffed it and paused.

Fred kept Jasper carefully cradled in his arms and freed his other hand. He signed something. I could only understand a few of the words. Rosalie translated for us. "This is very different to the European Rowan, in our human form it smelled the same, but in this form it smells nice." Fred nodded to Rosalie and signed 'thank you.'

He brought the wood chip to his mouth and licked it. He recoiled a little, but didn't drop the wood or jostle Jasper's unconscious body. Fred brought the wood chip closer to his face and shocked me by putting it in his mouth and chewing. Charlie and I watched him, waiting for him to vomit or howl in pain. Rowan wood was supposed to be awful for wolves. Instead something happened. Fred's eyes started to change. He carefully lay Jasper on the ground and stepped back.

Fred growled lowly and bent over, we heard the sound of his bones cracking and changing. His body smoothed out and his skin lightened. His face shortened, beginning to look more human. We watched silently, shocked by the transformation. Fred was back to his human form. He was shaking and looked disorientated. I walked closer to him, shushing him. I hugged him. "It's okay brother, you're safe." I said to him in our native language. He gasped and shuddered against my shoulder. I realized he was crying.

I looked to Rosalie for help. "I'll make some calming tea." She whispered and ran back into the house. I kept talking to my brother in our human language, reassuring him that he was safe. He sniffled against my shoulder, still breathing heavily. Rose came out with a thermos of tea and jumped the fence. Theresa and a few of the Spirit Walkers followed with three more flasks. I moved Fred's face from my shoulder and tilted his head up to drink the tea. His shaking stopped and his eye's cleared from their panic and confusion.

He finished the tea and looked at the moon. Sniffing occasionally. "I can't believe this, Eir." He said before dissolving into sobs. "Are you hurt, Frithugaizaz?" I asked him, he shook his head. "I feel good. We're finally free." He said between breaths. Aaron, Brenna and Briggita looked on in shock, it was an odd thing to see in their wolf form. Charlie helped them lay Charlotte, Peter and Bella's bodies on the ground. Fred handed them chips of Rowan wood. They moved back before eating the wood chips. They transformed as my brother had and marveled at their human forms.

"Are we still werewolves?" Aaron asked. I nodded, their scent wasn't any different to before, even muted by the Healer's remedy. They didn't smell human. Charlie, Theresa and two other Spirit Walkers, Lucas and Celia, were tending to the Horsemen. They were applying pressure to the bite mark, holding the werewolf venom in the bodies of the Horsemen. Brenna sat by Charlie's side, holding Bella's free hand to comfort her. Fred, Briggita and Aaron were enjoying the feel of the moonlight against their skin. "I can still feel it's energy." Briggita said quietly. Fred hummed in agreement, he looked happy and calm. I watched the wolves bask in the light.

There was a sound, a solitary thump. I looked at the Horsemen. There was a chorus of thumps that followed. Their eyes opened and their backs arched. They gasped and gripped their chests. Bella was the first to recover. "My heart!" She cried out. Rose rushed over to her and felt her neck. There was another thump. "You have a pulse, Bella. Your heart's working again." Rose told her. Charlie turned to Rose, "is she okay?" He asked her. She nodded and smiled, "she's alive, her heart beat is normal." I watched from my position, her skin darkened slightly and her body began to change.

Brenna noticed Bella was about to transform and picked up a discarded piece of Rowan wood. "Quick, eat this." She said, offering the wood to Bella. Rose sprinted inside and grabbed a bottle of Chequer Vodka. Bella growled as the transformation stopped, but her mind fought to keep control. Charlie and Brenna held her down. Peter, Charlotte and Jasper started to wake, their hearts took longer to work, they'd been vampires for a roughly century and a half.

Rose handed the bottle to Charlie, he poured the vodka into Bella's mouth and handed the bottle back to Rose to distribute to Peter, Charlotte and J. I helped her pick up a few pieces of Rowan wood and we gave them to wolves in charge of the other Horsemen. Bella started to relax and we waited for the others to follow suit.


	54. Part 3 Chapter 16

**AN: Just an FYI from the last chapter, it was the werewolf venom that restarted the Horsemen's hearts :) sorry if I confused you**

**Here are the groups as they stand now;**

**Texas – Peter, Charlotte, J, Bella, Spirit Walkers, Jake, Emmett, Rose, Chelsea, Charlie, Brenna, Briggita, Fred, Aro, Picia**

**Volterra – Esme, Marcus, Caius, Dora, Renata, Eliza and a few of the Elite Guard and Lower Guard **

**America (travelling) – Demitri and Leah**

**South America (Travelling) - Felix, Jane, Alec, Evan, Mark with Zafrina tagging along**

**Iceland – Alice and Alistair**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

_Previously on Hell Fire…_

_South America: Felix, Jane, Alec, Mark and Evan return to Volterra while Hulien, Zafrina and Senna begin their search for other hybrids. This chapter is set two weeks later._

_Volterra: Jane, Alec, Mark and Evan have returned. Marcus is helping the scientists with the synthetic blood project and is beginning to set up Blood Factories under Italian Embassies and a few isolated areas, with Alice and Alistair's help he has also started setting up distribution centers around Europe. While Alice and Alistair were searching for safe locations to set up distribution centers Alice was pulled to Iceland and got struck by lightning. Caius has been performing the daily duties between liaising with Alistair and Felix after Alice, Jane and Alec were struck by lightning._

CHAPTER 16

Caius POV - Volterra

I didn't know how Aro and Marcus could handle this. It was another day of petty squabbles amongst the idiots we governed. Usually Aro and Marcus would handle this crap while I gallivanted around the world, killing and capturing those who broke the law. God, I wished there was someone to fight, Felix had been ordered back to South America when he and the others arrived. Marcus had seen that Felix had found his true mate, a hybrid female named Julia. I was happy for Felix, but I wished there was someone here with his fighting prowess. Every afternoon Dora and I would head out to the paddock to spar, but neither of us could truly let loose, our mating bond ensured we wouldn't hurt each other.

I glanced at the clock, it was nine AM. I had another three hours of this shit. Two men were yelling at each other in front of me. "She loves me, she's my mate!" One screamed. The other just smirked and taunted him. "If she's your beloved mate, why did she sleep with me." The woman in question was standing in the middle, trying to look innocent. I could tell she was up to no good. I was tempted to retrieve Jane from her room and ask her to use her power on the woman. Marcus and I had assigned new rooms for Alec and Jane in Marcus' quarters when they arrived. Alec moved in to Mark's room and Jane was in a room next to Evan's. They were both scared of seeing the rest of our coven, worried they'd be rejected by the other guards.

I huffed and called to Heidi. "Can you get Marcus?" I asked. She nodded and left. Both men looked smug, sure that Marcus would announce they were her true mate, the woman paled. Heidi returned with Marcus. Esme ducked in and watched the proceedings. She gasped when she saw the woman the two men were fighting over. "Cecily?" She called. The woman, 'Cecily,' blanched. The men turned to the woman in question. "You told me your name was Margaret" they questioned.

Marcus looked on in amusement. I waved Esme forward. "You know this woman?" I asked. She nodded. "Please enlighten us." I grinned. Esme watched her. "She tried to seduce Carlisle."  
"And what was the result?" I asked. Esme smiled, "he called her a wonton jezebel and fired her." Intriguing. "How did you meet her?" I asked. Esme smiled, "I baked cookies for the hospital staff, I caught her trying to rip Carlisle's clothes off." She paused and smiled at Marcus, "I told her she was welcome to him." She said.

Marcus looked at the three vampires in front of the throne. "There is no mating bond for either man. She used you both. I suggest you stop arguing with each other and focus your irritation on her." He said. I dismissed them and waited for the next group to enter. Marcus and Esme excused themselves.

The morning dragged, there were territorial disputes, monetary disputes, arguments over which vampire belonged to which coven. Diplomacy wasn't my strong point, my patience was wearing thin. It had never been this irritating when I was sitting with Aro and Marcus, we usually received people reporting real crimes. There were more people coming to us with their problems now, it seemed that our reputation had improved since Carlisle's trial and the Romanians' execution.

A handful of people had genuine issues; a few had seen a vampire exposing themselves to humans in Spain, some heard of a rebellion against the Volturi and there were even rumors of an immortal child in England. I listened to their testimony and began to plan a way to resolve these issues. We had most of the guard with us, but with the rumor of a plot to overthrow our leadership we could only spare a few to investigate the claims of an immortal child and a vampire exposing our secret. As soon as the doors closed and the public were dismissed I asked Heidi to get Marcus. I needed his gift to help me plan the defense of the castle.

When he arrived I took him aside and told him about the genuine concerns. He looked at each of the lower guardsmen and picked out twelve of the thirty lower guards who were the most loyal. I assigned them places with the Elite Guards. One of the lower guards stood out to me, he was loyal and had a gift for tracking people. Marcus agreed he would be an ideal candidate to help us. I waved him forward. "Joshua, we understand you're a gifted tracker." I said, he nodded. "It just so happened we need a tracker. Would you be willing to travel to England to investigate a claim for us?"  
"What sort of claim, Master?"  
"A coven in Exeter may have created an immortal child. We need to you look at the child, listen for a heartbeat. Once you have assessed the information return and report your findings. I'll contact the Irish coven and have them meet you, they'll help you." I said.

Joshua nodded, I could see he was excited. Few of the lower guard were sent on missions. I looked at Marcus. "Any change in his bonds?" I asked once he'd left, Marcus smiled and said "his bond with us grew brighter."  
"Excellent, if he succeeds on this mission, we'll promote him to the Elite guard." I said.

Marcus and I discussed sending a few more people in the lower guard to Spain to investigate the vampire who had risked our species' secret existence. There were three contenders, none of them had gifts, but they were good fighters and knew how to remove traces of vampire from human communities. We dismissed everyone for the day.

As Marcus and I headed to the door leading to our quarters a girl walked up to us. She bowed her head and spoke softly. "Masters, I wish to help Joshua." I looked to Marcus, he looked at the girl and smiled. "You're his mate, aren't you, Penny?" She started to look afraid. "There's nothing wrong in having a mate, Penny. You're welcome to join him on his mission." I said. She looked relieved and went to join Joshua.

Marcus and I went to my study. I turned to him and asked "are many of the lower guards mated?"  
"A few, they try to hide their connection." He said. I groaned. "We need to inform them that we respect the bonds between mates, we can't have them scared of us. We aren't tyrants." The phone rang and I answered it. Alice and Alistair were calling to tell us they were on their way back. They'd arrive tonight. I was looking forward to seeing them, Alec and Jane would be thrilled too, they'd been hiding in our quarters since they returned from South America. I had left them in peace, they had been upset with their change and witnessing Joham's last victim. Esme and Dora spent as much time as they could helping them adjust.

Marcus and I walked to the rooms which housed the lower guard. We knocked and spoke to each of them, telling them our policy on allowing mates to be together. There was one guard, Claire, who asked us if having a mate outside the Volturi was allowed. We assured her it was, she asked Marcus to confirm her mating bond. "You have a strong, true mate bond." He said. "He's human." She admitted. "Does he know you're a vampire?" I asked. She shook her head. "Would you like to have him changed into one of our kind?" I asked, she looked at us "I want him to be like us, but I'm scared he'll be angry if he's turned."

"You need to talk to him, Claire. Give him a choice. Would it help if we spoke with him?" I offered. "I don't know, Master. It's against our laws to tell a human what we are, I've kept the secret and don't know how to break it to him." Marcus rested a hand on her shoulder. "The strength of your bond tells me he will have to accept our kind. Have him come here tomorrow afternoon, we'll introduce ourselves and talk to him about our species-"  
"What if he runs away in fear or gets angry." She asked in a panic. "We won't harm him, Claire. We'll ask him to take time to think about what he's learned, humans can be reasonable creatures. We'll do what we can to help."

"What if he doesn't want to join the guard?" She asked. I answered her, "he has no obligation to stay with us, neither do you. This is something you both need to discuss. Eleazar of the Denali coven met his mate outside the Volturi, we released him from his service centuries ago, we can arrange for you and your mate to talk to him if you wish." I offered. She calmed and thanked us.

Marcus seemed struck with a thought. "Who told you we didn't allow mates in the guard?" He asked. Claire looked scared, "I was turned in the mid-1800s in England. My sire was friends a golden eyed vampire. I met him and he told me the Volturi force people to join and killed anyone who questioned their decisions or tried to escape."  
"Was the vampire's name Carlisle Cullen?" Marcus asked. She shook her head "his name was Stanley Carlisle." I knew that alias well, Carlisle had a few of them. We told her what had happened and gave her an outline of Carlisle's true self. We had not allowed the lower guard to witness the trial, I could see it had been a poor decision on our part.

Claire paled. Marcus' eyes softened and he asked "what happened to your sire?"  
"He was sick. He kept seeing and hearing things that weren't there. He'd fly into a rage and attack anyone near him. Carlisle tried to fix him, but in the end he had to be torn apart and burned. I had no one and couldn't drink from animals so I chose to join the Volturi. Dr. Carlisle said I was a monster and should live amongst the Volturi monsters." I could see Claire was ashamed. I sighed, Carlisle had fucked yet again. "Claire, tonight one of our friends will arrive with her mate, she was treated by Carlisle as a human, we'll introduce you when she arrives. None of us here are monsters, not even you." I said. We left her to think and carried on talking with the lower guard. A lot of progress had been made.

Esme, Marcus, Dora and I were talking as we sipped the synthetic blood. We told our mates about our conversation with Claire. Esme stood and announced she would talk to the girl and left. Marcus smiled "she'll sort this out." He said proudly. I agreed, Esme was a force to reckon with when it came to helping people.

Marcus and I made a start on the next phase of our mission. We wrote invitations to a few coven leaders and nomads, asking them to join us in a week's time. Marcus and I spent time sorting through our contacts, we wanted to ensure the first group who visited would be accepting of the wolves and Spirit Walkers. The Denalis had given us their contacts, including a few contacts who had lived through the Romanian regime and hid from raiding parties. We also targeted nomads who had traveled all of the continents, they were likely to have come across other supernatural species on their journey.

It was time to introduce our kind to the synthetic blood and the other species. The Guard had changed their diet already. Every morning they'd receive a bottle of blood. Their mood had improved greatly. We no longer had to kill humans to survive.

Alice and Alistair arrived fifteen minutes later. Alice was hiding beneath her cloak, scared to display her new appearance in the halls of the castle. They sat on a love seat. We sat opposite them. She slowly lifted her hood. I was glad we'd been warned about the change in her appearance. Her hair was bright white and her eyes were blue, just like Alec and Jane. I was confused, Alistair had said her eyes were silver. "Are you okay, Alice?" I asked softly. She nodded and began to sob. Alistair wrapped his arms around her. We let her cry, Dora came in with two bottles of blood. She knelt in front of Alice and smiled. "You look beautiful, kid. Don't think we won't accept you for who you are." She said. Alice began to calm.

"She's right, Alice. This doesn't change anything, you're still our family." Marcus promised. She sighed. "I hate this, I finally heal and have my gift removed, for the first time ever I feel like a normal person and now this." She gestured to her hair and eyes. She undid her cloak and pushed it off her shoulders. We could see the top of a scar above her neck line. "You aren't alone, Alice. Jane and Alec look similar. No matter what, you're still part of our coven." I said.

I gave her time to compose herself. "May I ask why your eyes are blue and not silver?" I asked gently. Alice nodded and Alistair responded "they changed when we left Iceland. This is how they looked when she was human." They matched the blue coloring in her hair.

"Have you heard from the others recently?" She asked. I nodded, "Felix calls frequently. He has joined Zafrina and her friend Hulien. Hulien is the guardian of a group of people. Alice, there are other hybrids out there. Hulien's wards are half human, half vampire. They're searching for others. You, Jane and Alec will have lots of company." I promised her. Dora excused herself to fetch Alec and Jane.

"What about the Horsemen and Healers?" She asked. I smiled at her. "They'll arrive the day after tomorrow with Brenna, Aro and Picia. Fred, Brigitta and the Pack Master from Coober Pede will join them." I said. "Is Em okay?" She asked. Marcus answered her. "Yes, he's alive and well. The fire turned him and the Horsemen into Spirit Walker / Vampire hybrids." He explained. Alice nodded to herself before asking; "Jane, Alec, Em and the Horsemen are like me?"  
"Sort of. Emmett, Jane and Alec are like you. The Horsemen have also been given Werewolf venom. They're now hybrids of all three species." I explained. She had calmed down significantly.

"Did the Healers' remedies work?" She asked, she'd said goodbye to Feykir and the packs in Iceland before the full moon and not had time to see them since. Her and Alistair had spent the rest of the time with the Witches. "The wolves who were in Texas changed at the full moon, but they retained their humanity. They ate some of the Rowan wood native to America and returned to their human forms. Feykir told us the wolves in Iceland retained their humanity, but their physical form changed." I said. Cynewulf from the Western Australia Pack had reported the same result. Theresa had arranged for some American Rowan wood to be sent to Iceland and Australia for the packs.

Esme joined us and was happy to see Alice and Alistair. She hugged them both tightly and sat with them. She filled us in on her talk with Claire. Claire would bring her mate, Michele, to us tomorrow afternoon and Esme and Marcus would help her explain the vampire world.

Esme smiled and announced "I spoke with a few people in the lower guard, they were surprised to meet me. I met a few of the mated couples and promised there would be no harm done as a result of their bonds." I rolled my eyes and said "we already told them that, Esme." She smirked, "it's different hearing it from a Queen, Caius. They think you're grumpy." She said. Marcus laughed and added "it's not surprising, you looked like you were ready to decapitate everyone during the daily audience."

"Well it's a damn shame the people who come to us with issues don't notice my demeanor. They prattle on about unimportant shit while I sit there waiting for midday to come so I can dismiss them." I groused. Marcus nodded "there does seem to be a larger group than normal. I think they've realized we aren't dictators. We'll have to work something out. We can't spend all our time settling petty problems. Many of the covens are younger than us and don't know the hierarchy." He said. I agreed, "the coven leaders are supposed to handle arguments among their coven, hopefully when the synthetic blood is distributed the territorial disputes will end." I said.

Esme was quiet. "What are you thinking about?" Marcus asked her. She looked up and said, "while we were living amongst the humans, the kids sometimes had days off while teachers spent the day in seminars, they called it Personal Development days, or PDs for short. How about we hold a seminar on Coven Leadership and Problem Solving?" She asked. I exhaled in relief, it was an excellent solution. "I like it." I said, Marcus agreed. "We should also record the territories held by covens. It'll mean more work in the meantime, but it will make it easier to avoid disputes in the future." He suggested. I concurred.

The sun rose and I sent Claire to the post office to mail the invitations to the covens and nomads. She would spend the day with her human mate and bring him to us in the late afternoon, it would be the safest time as the castle would be free of the vampire public.

Marcus and I began to map out the established territories of the covens we knew. We'd update it after every alteration. I emailed Theresa and asked for her input on tribal territories. Marcus added the werewolf territories in Australia, Iceland and Siberia. Barely ten per cent of the map was colored in. There was plenty of room for new territories for each species and I knew we would purchase land for the Spirit Walkers and Witches, they had specific needs and deserved a place where they would remain untouched by the other species, humans included.

Alice and Alistair spent the day in their room with Jane and Alec. They were all impatient for the others to arrive. Esme visited them every few hours to make sure they were okay. She had managed to cheer Alice up a little by comparing her lightening scar to a tattoo, but Alice was still upset over the change in her species.

I called Aro to check in. "Caius I was about to call you. We'll be leaving Texas tomorrow for Volterra. The Horsemen have recovered from their transformation and have adapted to their new bodies. They will be able to carry on unassisted by the Werewolves and Healers. We've obtained more Rowan wood from the Spirit Walkers as well as seeds. Brenna will be able to assist their growth and help us propagate an orchard of the trees."  
"I'm glad to hear it. How are the Horsemen?" I asked. "They're very well. Their transformation has been a success, the appear human. Their skin is darker than the normal vampire pallor and their eyes have returned to their original human color. Their hearts' beat."  
"That's a surprise. Do they need blood?" I asked. "Yes, especially around the new moon. Their werewolf and vampire sides need blood to sustain them. With the new moon arriving their strength and instincts have leveled out. They aren't able to feel the energy reflected off the moon and require sustenance."

"Have you heard from Felix and the others?" I asked, I was curious whether the others had found more Hybrids. Aro replied, "Demitri and his mate are helping them. They'll call us when they have news. Felix has found his mate, she is a young Hybrid called Julia."

I smiled. "I'll be glad for your return, Aro. Life has become hectic here, many vampires flock to the castle with minor disputes, there are more than ever. Marcus, Esme, Dora and I are working out ways to help the covens fix their problems. There is also a rumor of a potential rebel army. I've set up the defenses." I reported.

Aro paused for a moment. "Caius, I'll talk to the Horsemen. I'll see if they'll join us in Volterra. The news of a rebellion disturbs me." He said. "What about their mission to serve Fate?" I asked, I didn't want to take them away from where they needed to be. While we had the Elite guard and had a plan to defend the city, we had been unable to gain the information necessary, we had to be prepared for anything. "We will work something out, we will not leave Fate without an army." Aro replied. My mind had already begun to plan ways to assist Fate while the Horsemen helped protect us. When Aro hung up I went to check on Alice and her mate.

I knocked and Alistair opened the door, letting me into their room. Alice was lying down, she looked miserable. Jane and Alec had returned to their rooms. "Do you want to talk about what's happening?" I asked her. She nodded and Alistair joined her, sitting on the bed, I took a seat in the nearby armchair.

I didn't have to wait long. The words spilled out of her. I could tell she had already spoken to Alistair about her concerns, but sometimes it helped getting a neutral opinion. "I don't know who I am anymore. For the last week and a bit I stayed with the witches. They showed me how to channel the power of the sun and the moon. I can do a few things, but it's unsettling. Even now I can feel the power inside me, I don't like it. I don't want it to change me." She said. I shook my head, "It won't change you, Alice. You have a few extra abilities, but you're in control of it. You choose when to use it. With your history I know you won't let it alter who you are."  
"I don't trust myself, Caius. Having power in the past hurt me, what if it happens on a larger scale?" She asked.

"What did the coven have to say about your past?" I asked her. They gave me a run down on the Fate she should have had and her ancestor, the Oracle. "It sounds like they could help you. I know it's not something you want to hear, but I think you're fear is holding you back. From what they told you they would have helped you control the Sight, just like they'll help you with your power. You need to confront those fears, Alice, otherwise your power could control you." I said as gently as I could.

"I feel like if I train with them I'll be more witch than vampire." She admitted. "No Alice, you are first and foremost, a vampire. That won't change, no matter how many times you're struck by lightning." I assured her. She shuddered, "hopefully, I won't be struck again. It's fucking awful." I smiled at her. "I understand why you feel the way you feel, Alice. You have every right to be angry and resentful, but you should keep in mind that the Witches have no choice over your Fate." I said. She sighed, "I suppose in the end we're all Fate's bitches."


	55. Part 3 Chapter 17

**AN: Everyone's either in Volterra or on their way to Volterra. The only exceptions are those with the Hybrids; Demitri, Leah, Felix. The Healers will join them in South America soon.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 17

BPOV - Texas with, Rose, Em, Chelsea, Jake, Theresa, Aro, Picia, Charlie, Brenna, Aaron, Fred and Briggita.

We were waiting for Eliza to arrive with the Volturi jet, she would fly us back to Italy. Theresa and Jake were coming with us to meet the Masters. They were looking forward to meeting the other Volturi leaders and the Guard. Jake and Theresa were going to work with the Volturi to draft laws, they would represent each of the Native American communities, Theresa had spoken with the Elders of the other Reservations in America. Demitri and Leah had made a good impression and the people in the Reservations were happy for Theresa to negotiate a treaty with the Volturi and had suggestions of their own for the new Spirit Walker government.

Dad's phone rang, it was Demitri. He sounded urgent. "Charlie, we need you to come to us. Leah's in danger."  
"What happened?" Dad asked. "We think Leah's pregnant." Demitri's voice broke. Dad looked at Rose and Em, "we need to go to Argentina." He told them, they nodded. We stood in shock as they grabbed their luggage, Jake ran to the airport counter and arranged a flight for the Healers. There was a flight in six hours to Martin Miguel De Guemes International Airport in Argentina. It was an 18 hour trip with a couple of stop overs.

Dad urged Brenna to fly to Volterra with us, she reluctantly agreed. She hugged him for a while. Jake was calling the Clearwaters. He spent a while calming Sue and handed the phone to Rose so she could assure her they would do everything she could. I heard Harry's voice as the phone changed hands, he had found a flight from SeaTac in four hours' time. They'd arrive shortly after the Healers landed. Rosa, the eldest of Joham's children was going to meet them and take them to Leah. The Healers would meet Demitri at the airport first and go straight to Leah.

The jet arrived and we said good bye to the Healers before boarding. We updated Eliza on Leah's news as we buckled into our seats. The jet sped down the runway and I felt us lift into the air. The force of the takeoff felt different than it had as a human and vampire. The pressure did strange things to our ears, I hadn't felt my ears pop since I was human. I watched J, Pete and Char, waiting for their reaction. I had enjoyed my transition, but the others were finding it difficult.

Char grabbed her ears and yelled, "I'm going deaf!" I chuckled and waited for the follow up. J saw felt my amusement and rolled his eyes. "Char, I think this is another one of those annoying hybrid things, Bella's laughing at you." She turned in her seat and glared at me. She growled as her ears popped. I heard Pete grunt as the change in pressure affected his ears. I kept my eyes on J, waiting for his reaction to the air pressure. His eyes widened and his fingernails turned to claws, puncturing the leather of the seat. I started to laugh.

Fred took pity on us and handed us some gum. J, Char and Pete were looking at the small foil parcels in concern. I unwrapped my piece of gum and put it in my mouth. I expected it to taste awful, like human food had tasted while I was a vampire, but I was pleasantly surprised. The minty taste caused my mouth to fill with a mix of venom and saliva.

J, Char and Pete tasted the gum and smiled. "Don't swallow it." I advised. The plane began to level out. I chewed happily, the gum grew smaller, my venom caused it to disintegrate a few minutes later. We sat in silence for a while. Jake and Theresa were tense in their seats. I remembered Leah's condition and sobered up.

Aro had informed us of how dangerous Hybrid births were when he told us about Joham. My mind filled with images of my best friend ripped apart. I began to feel sick. S_he's a wolf, she heals fast, she'll survive_ I chanted to myself_._ I pushed all thoughts about her dying from my mind, she had the best help available and she was a fast healer. J looked at me in concern, I mouthed Leah's name and he nodded, I didn't want to upset anyone else. He lifted up the armrest between our seats and put his arm around me. I snuggled into his side and took in his scent.

For some reason we were the only ones who could smell our mate's scent, Aro, Picia and the others said we'd lost all trace of smell. Perhaps it was a pheromone thing. I heard Pete move in his seat in front of us, but didn't bother to raise my head. A moment later I heard a message from the Ancestors _she'll survive, her and the child will be safe. _

I sighed in relief and stood up. I told Theresa and Jake the good news. Both looked relieved. Jake twisted in his seat, facing Aro and Picia sitting behind him. "May I use your phone, Aro?" He asked. Aro nodded and handed it to him. Jake punched in the number for Sue's mobile. "Hello? What's wrong?" Her voice was frantic. "Sue, the Ancestors told the Horsemen that Leah and the baby will be safe." I heard her sob, she thanked us and hung up.

Aro went to the change rooms and brought out a few cloaks, handing them to me and the other Horsemen. "You four should wear these." He said, the cloaks were black with purple lining, we were honored guests. "When we get to Volterra we'll need to design new pendants for you, ones which symbolize your position in the world." He said.

Aro then turned to Jake, Theresa and the werewolves. "We need to make pendants for you as well. Each person with authority needs to wear an identifier. It's something we learnt the hard way. We had trouble from people claiming to be Volturi agents, we created the first Volturi pendants from steel and vampire ash seven hundred years ago, no one has dared counterfeit them, the pendants are infused with a particular scent. We learned later that we needed to add a weak link in the pendant chain when one of our Guard was decapitated." He added.

"Who was decapitated?" I asked. He sighed and answered, "Felix, since then when his pendant chain breaks he uses it as a garrote. It's quite effective, but he does tend to need his pendant repaired after every mission." He said lightly. Pete turned to Aro; "Should we wear our masks while we're in Volterra?" He asked. Aro shook his head, "your eyes and scent have changed, not to mention your heart beat. People will need time before you return to the Horsemen disguise. We'll wait until there is peace amongst the species. In the meantime we'll need to arrange cloaks for the others.

Brenna leaned forward and spoke to Aro, "we have ceremonial clothes, can we wear them instead of cloaks?" She asked. Aro smiled and nodded. "Of course." Fred joined the conversation; "instead of pendants we have our positions carved into the leather of our ceremonial garments. We display a branding scar on our arms to show our species." He rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt to show us the crescent moon brand on his bicep. "That works well for formal occasions, but what about everyday use?" Aro asked, they agreed and started discussing ideas for pendants. Aro had vetoed many suggestion for Old Norse symbols. "I'm sorry brother, those symbols have been adopted by the humans, they use them to advertise their bigotry."

The wolves were angry. "Which humans have desecrated our symbols?" Fred asked angrily. "The white power movement, those associated with the extremist Neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan." Aro said sadly. "Fucking arseholes." Fred growled. "What about the wolf's cross?" Brenna suggested. "Mjolnir?" Fred asked, she nodded. Fred looked to Aro, expecting to hear of a white power alliance. Aro nodded, "Pagan humans wear that, they follow their own beliefs based on the Norse gods. I don't see why it would be a problem." He said. Fred smiled, "we can alter it slightly. We'll keep the shape, but add different designs." He added. "Like a moonstone in the top?" I suggested, I used to wear a moonstone ring. I lost it a while ago. Brenna grinned, "I like that idea." She said. Fred agreed.

There were more discussions over the designs. In the end they agreed that the person who represented the species and ruled alongside a Spirit Walker and Vampire would have a crown engraved into the center of the hammer with a knotted pattern in the shape of a wolf. The three leaders of the werewolves would have a similar design, a moonstone on a wolf's cross, but there would be an engraving of a tree, they called it Yggdrasil. Other wolves would wear a wolf's cross with moonstone and an engraving of a crescent moon, similar to the brands they wore on their upper arms. They discussed colors and materials. The pendants would be silver colored titanium with gold colored titanium filling the engravings.

They discussed ideas for a new vampire pendant. Picia and Aro liked the idea of including a sun stone, it would glitter in the sun like they did. Fred suggested a sword pendant with the sunstone in the hilt. I could see Aro liked the idea, it would be similar, yet different to the werewolf pendant. They would talk more about it with the coven leaders.

A voice whispered to me _Volterra is in trouble._ I gasped. I could tell Pete, Char and J had received the same message. J went to tell Aro, the rest of us sat together, working out a plan. "It appears we may need to test our gifts in combat." Pete growled. I expected our eyes to darken, but our anger only caused our pupils to dilate slightly, Pete's eyes were still light blue and Char's stayed green. Aro and J were talking quickly and quietly. Picia looked terrified. I went over and hugged her. "It'll be okay, we won't let anyone hurt our family." I promised, Aro smiled at me gratefully. Theresa and Jake came over, "what's wrong?" Jake asked. Pete quickly gave them an explanation.

Aro spoke to the wolves, Jake and Theresa. "Would you mind waiting at the airport while we take care of the problem in the castle?" They nodded. J moved to the cockpit to tell Eliza she'd need to stay with them. "I think we'll need to wear the Horseman disguise, Aro." I said, he agreed. We went to get changed, putting on our masks and blue cloaks.

We returned to our seats and waited. Eliza's voice came through the speakers. "Buckle up everyone, I'm going to use my gift to generate some fog, it'll allow us to perform a few illegal maneuvers and land quickly." We put on our seat belts and gripped the arm rests. Jake and Theresa looked scared. Aro assured them they'd be safe. "It'll be a rough landing, but you won't be injured in any way."

We were an hour from Pisa airport. I looked out the window into the dark sky. It was too peaceful up here, I itched to be at the Castle, fighting. The clouds thinned and I could see the lights of the cities below us. A fog began to slowly form, obscuring my view of the land. We were close, Eliza had started to use her gift.

I held J's hand and closed my eyes, begging the Ancestors for help. I felt Jake begin to shake and J's power released calm around us. It was stronger than it used to be. He reined it in and apologized. Jake had calmed, I opened my eyes, he was sitting tensely. Theresa was terrified. Pete spoke, his voice held an odd tremor. "Your people will be safe. The Ancestors stand with you." I realized he was in a trance. This was a direct message from the spirits.

Theresa looked less frightened. She turned her head to Aro. "I'll begin preparing remedies as soon as we land. Rose gave me her recipe for the elixir that disables gifts. I'll be able to make something similar and make healing tea." She offered. Aro thanked her and apologized for the predicament.

I felt the plane drop many feet. We froze, clinging to the arm rests. Theresa and Jake were sweating from the adrenaline coursing through their veins. I felt my heart speed up, J gripped his chest with his free hand. I turned slightly towards him and rubbed the hand he'd clenched against his chest. "It's okay, War. This is normal." He looked at me, there was a feverish look to his eyes. He was scared. "It's okay. Don't be afraid, you're safe. This is your body's reaction to fear. There's adrenaline running through your veins, it makes your heart pump faster." He was gasping behind his mask. A stray tear fell down his mask.

I unbuckled my seat, "where's the calming tea?" I asked Theresa. "Carry-on bag, in the change room." She gritted out. I ran to the change room and quickly rifled through the mixes, the plane was tilting and I slipped a few times. The Healers had labeled several small Ziploc bags, each held a dose of different remedies. I grabbed a thermos from the rudimentary kitchen and poured some boiling water from the urn. I dumped a dose of calming herbs into the thermos and ran back to my mate. "Close the blinds" I ordered. Everyone turned and pulled down the small plastic curtains over the windows. I lifted J's mask off, I hadn't seen him this way before.

I lifted the thermos to his lips and poured some of the tea down his throat. His heart beat slowed and I smiled. "You're okay, War." I pecked his lips and turned to help Pete and Char. They were in a similar condition to J, unused to their heart beat and the chemicals churning around their bodies. I lifted Pete's mask off and gave him a few drams of the tea, before moving to Char and repeating the process. Their foreheads were beaded with sweat. "You're both okay. Concentrate on breathing, take one breath every five seconds. It'll help balance out the chemicals in your bodies." I had quite a few panic attacks in my human life and knew how to handle them.

I rinsed out the thermos and refilled it with boiling water, adding it to Theresa's bag. I returned to my seat and put my mask back on. J, Pete and Char had calmed down and put their masks back on. The plane began to tilt further as Eliza came in for a steep landing. I felt the nose of the plane suddenly lift up and we bumped a few times onto the runway, before screeching to a stop. Eliza ran to open the doors. "I will stay with the wolves, Theresa and Jake. We'll unload everything. Go! Save the Castle." She ordered.

We unbuckled our seatbelts and ran, jumping onto the tarmac. Eliza's fog kept us hidden as we jumped the fence of the airport and sprinted to Volterra. Peter, Char, J and I were a lot faster than Aro and Picia. I could feel my muscles working overtime. "You'll feel the adrenaline return, don't worry about the feeling in your chest or the sweat on your skin. It's normal. Focus on your breathing and keep running." I told them. "Adrenaline is fucking horrible." Pete complained. "It may seem like that now, but it strengthens our reflexed and muscles. This is how human bodies work." I said. "We aren't human." Pete mumbled. "We aren't, but our bodies work in a similar way." I said to him.

We ran silently. In a matter of minutes we arrived at the walls surrounding Volterra. I could hear the crash of vampires fighting. There were human screams. I growled and ignited my shield. The bones in my fingers cracked, large, black claws sprouted from my fingertips. J waved us forward, his claws were out as well. We jumped the wall and landed in the streets near the plaza. Vampires were fighting around us.

Heidi was taking on two attackers, a girl in the lower guard was standing in front of a human, shielding him from attackers as best as she could. He was injured, his heart beat was weak. There were three large vampires trying to get past her. I ran to her and sliced my claws through the necks of the attackers, their venom caught fire from my shield and they immediately turned to ash.

I didn't have time to marvel at my power upgrade. I turned to the girl "bite him now, if you want him to survive." She looked terrified "I don't know if I'll stop." She whimpered. "I'll help you. Bite him now." I watched as she lowered her mouth to his neck, I could see the venom drip down her chin, onto the open wounds in his chest. Her teeth sank into his flesh. Her eyes turned black and she growled as her thirst took over. I removed the flames from my arm and battered her away from him. She landed heavily against a brick house and a crack appeared the wall. She shook her head and regained control over her thirst.

"Thank you." She said desperately. "Find a safe place and hide." I ordered her, she picked up the human ran down an alley with his cradled in her arms. I turned my attention to Heidi. Char was using her power against the attackers, I watched them desiccate before me. Her power had grown, she was able to drain every drop of venom from her attackers, their bodies crumbled to dust. J and Pete were further down the road, there was a trail of destruction behind them. Twitching vampire body parts littered the road. I moved my flames back over my entire body and walked, igniting the bodies as I went.

"Go help the girl." Char said to Heidi, Heidi followed the road the girl and her human had run down. Char walked next to me, the flames surrounded us, but did no damage to her. J and Pete disappeared into the Plaza, I could hear the tearing of vampire flesh. Char and I followed close behind them. There were hundreds of vampires fighting, dead bodies of the citizens of Volterra lay on the ground. We saw Caius, Marcus, Esme and Dora fighting off a swarm of enemies. There were few guards dotted around the place, Alec and Jane were disabling large groups of fighters as Mark and Evan ran to dismember them. I could see the difference in their appearance and nodded to them as we approached.

Alistair was running in and out of the melee, picking up limbs that had been torn from the guard. A vampire flew at him. I screamed and felt the flames reach out from my shield. Fire arced over the crowd and engulfed the attacker, leaving Alistair unharmed. Ash rained onto the gaping faces of the guards and attackers.

The Guard were the first to recover and got the upper hand. Pete, Char, J and I fanned out to help the Volturi fight off the army. There were hundreds against fifty Volturi fighters. Enemy attackers exploded into ash as I passed them by, I dodged the Guard as I ran. I cut a path through to the Masters and sent out a ring of flame, quickly disposing of the attackers swarming them. "Get behind me!" I called to the Guard, they fought their way over to me and pushed their attackers into the flames. I left a small gap open for them to run to safety. I was able to send out flares of fire as the enemy tried to get to the Masters. Soon I had the entire Volturi coven shielded. Pete, J and Char were the only ones fighting, they moved faster than the vampires and easily dismembered them.

Pete changed direction and ran out of the plaza. J and Char were left with a handful of attackers. It was an easy defeat. J and Char ran to me, I withdrew my shield from the Volturi and spread the flames around me. I walked slowly through the mass of twitching limbs, igniting them with each step. The flames grew high, towering over the walls of Volterra. They burned through the bodies quickly and rejoined my shield.

I saw Pete running out with the human in his arms, the girl in the lower guard followed behind with Heidi, they weren't as fast as Pete. Behind them were another twenty vampires. Once Pete and the two Guards were with the others I sprinted down the alley to head off the last of the attackers. They tried to run, but I caught them in my flames before they could escape. The rebellion had failed.


	56. Part 3 Chapter 18

**AN: Everyone's either in Volterra or on their way to Volterra. The only exceptions are those with the Hybrids; Demitri, Leah, Felix. The Healers will join them in South America soon.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 18

BPOV - Volterra

We ran back to the plaza and checked on the Volturi coven, they were badly shaken and needed time to heal. Char and I left our mates to tend to them as her and I ran through the streets, searching for any enemy soldiers. We came across a scent trail leading out of Volterra.

When we passed through the city gates we saw Aro and Picia dismember the last two enemy fighters. They saw Char and I approach and piled up the bodies for me to burn. Char quickly briefed them as I incinerated the attackers. They ran through the gates of the city. I drew the fire back into me, a pile of ash was all that remained from the attack. I quickly scooped up the ash in my cloak and ran back to the plaza. I caught up with Char, Aro and Picia quickly. Aro and Picia were looking at their city in horror.

Char was consoling them as best as she could. I dumped the ash from my cloak with the piles of ash from those burnt within the walls of Volterra and dusted myself off. I returned to Aro, Picia and Char. Picia was sobbing against Aro's chest, his eyes were glazed with venom. "We're here for you, Aro. Together the Horsemen, Volturi, Werewolves and Spirit Walkers will ensure this will never happen again." I said firmly. He nodded stiffly, still shocked by the scene in front of us.

Esme limped over to us and hugged me. "Thank you." She sobbed, she moved to Char and thanked her as well. Aro and Picia led her back to the others, she was walking oddly. Char and I followed behind them. I could hear Esme gasp with each step, Aro picked her up and cradled her gently, heading towards Marcus. She gripped her side, a few of her ribs were broken.

I looked at the coven in front of the castle. The others were healing slowly. Char and I joined Aro, Picia, Mark and Alec as they helped reattach limbs and assess injuries. Aro asked Jane and Evan to retrieve the wolves, Theresa, Jake and Eliza from the airport. They headed for the garage and I heard them drive away.

Caius was beginning to recover, he had deep gashes around his neck, his pendant was missing and his cloak barely held on. Dora was covered in dried venom, but she looked in better condition than her mate. There were deep wounds along her arm and I could see cracks slowly healing in the skin around her shoulder. Her dress was in tatters. Marcus' face was cracked from his fore head, down his right cheek to his chin. There were a few bite marks on his shoulders, he'd lost his cloak in the battle. The black t-shirt he wore was torn.

Looked over the rest of the Volturi coven. Alistair's sleeves were ripped in places and Alice was trying to reattach a few chunks of skin. I was surprised to see her white hair and blue eyes. Like Jane and Alec, she wasn't trying to hide her appearance, she was too concerned about her mate. The young girl from the guard looked exhausted and was tending to the Human as best as she could, he was writhing in agony in her arms. There was a deep gash down her leg. A few of the lower guard were having limbs reattached and the elite guard were looking worse for wear, Chelsea was tending to Afton, Renata and Corin.

Aro stepped out in front of our group. "I wish to speak to you." He addressed the crowd, we hushed. "Thank you for defending our home, I'm grateful for your efforts. Thanks to you all we will endure." He paused for a moment and hesitantly announced. "We'll be receiving guests very soon. I beg you to accept them into our world. They are good people who aim to lead a life free of prejudice." He looked at Alice and Jane and smiled. "Vampires aren't the only creatures in the supernatural world. There are many species who enrich our lives. I guarantee your safety and the safety of our species among the guests who will arrive shortly. I ask that you welcome them and accept their presence in our world."

Caius stood up, his jaw was tense from pain. "I'd like to thank our friends, the Horsemen, for their swift arrival and assistance in our hour of need." Many in the coven cheered. There were a few wary faces among the group. One girl put up her hand, "they have heartbeats?" She asked. Aro nodded, "they do, they are also part of the supernatural world. They are part vampire. When you were first introduced to them you would have seen them as vampires, they had red eyes, but no heartbeat. On their travels they joined with the other species. It is their job to follow the guidance of Fate with total impartiality. They are guardians, protectors." He explained.

"Will we be forced to change, like they were?" Another member of the lower guard asked. Aro shook his head "definitely not. We are vampires and we will remain vampires."  
"What other species are there?" Another guard asked, I recognized him as one who joined the Volturi after being captured by us in the Vampire Wars. "There are powerful humans who connect with the spirits of their ancestors and the spirits of their animal guardians, there are witches, healers, protectors and werewolves." Aro said as calmly as he could.

A few of the guard looked scared while others looked fascinated. Aro continued. "Please give them a chance before you judge them. They have every right to exist and we cannot tolerate those who are quick to condemn others because of their species." Aro said. There was silence. Marcus looked to the guard and said "if you have any concerns please raise them with us directly. If you feel you cannot accept them for who they are you may leave us. We cannot insult our guests by forcing you to be civil to them if there is hatred in your hearts."

Marcus looked at the guard, he squinted his eyes, searching for a change in their loyalty. I saw J touch Aro's hand, passing on the details of the guards' emotions. Marcus repeated the gesture, informing Aro of any change in loyalty. Aro's eyes narrowed as he singled out a few of the lower guard. "You have a problem with our alliance?" He asked them.

Another member of the lower guard we'd captured in America nodded, "we're supposed to be a master race." He spat. Aro growled. "If that is truly what you believe you have no place in our world. There is no master race-" The lower guardsman interrupted Aro. "You're deluded. No wonder we were attacked. Those rebels saw your weakness, how long before the rest of the vampire world revolts against you?" The man growled. His eyes turned black.

"Let me make this clear to you all. Any attack on an honored guest will be met with immediate death. I see a few of you agree with this fool, that line of thought nearly wiped out the human race millennia ago. The reason you exist is because we got rid of the old tyrants who exterminated many of your ancestor's communities."  
"I will not stand by while you let our world be overrun by weaker species." Another guard yelled. The Elite Guard looked at the arrogant guards in disgust.

Aro lost his temper, he swooped over to the mouthy little shit and gripped his neck. "Do you see? Do you see what kind of hell your ideals cause?" I gaped, Aro was showing the little shit his past. Those who had been unsure of the alliance move away from those who were against it. They seemed horrified at the prejudice of the vocal protesters. "Aro, they will not be swayed." Marcus announced. Aro let go of the arrogant shit and stepped back.

"What is your decision?" Caius asked. The Elite Guard were unanimously in favor of the alliance. A few of the lower guard agreed while most were hesitant to decide without meeting the guests first. There were seven in the lower guard who were against the alliance.

Pete touched Aro's hand. Aro growled. The two of them moved forward, Aro offered his hand to the Elite and Lower guard. In groups of five they touched Aro's hand to receive the message from Pete. The mouthy guardsman who was vocally against the united races smirked. "You lose. The vampires will rise against their pitiful leaders. Your pets won't be safe." He sneered.

"Death" Caius called, he gestured me forward. I ignited my shield and watched the vocal guard burst into ash, the flames were attracted to him like a magnet to metal. Pete walked through the group and threw a couple of others toward me, they exploded against my shield.

He walked back and nodded at me. I withdrew the flames from my shield. Marcus spoke softly, "is this what I can expect? Has our race grown so blind as to think of themselves as masters of the world? You reap the rewards of our hard work. Will you turn against us now without even considering the welfare of other creatures? Do you think us soft in the head?"

One by one the Wives stood by their mates, Alice and Alistair joined them announcing "we respect the new world order. We trust in the Masters to bring us into an era of peace and compassion." Kachiri from the Amazon Coven echoed Alistair's words. One by one the Elite Guard stood and repeated the pledge. The lower guards men repeated the gesture and bowed to the kings. J stepped forward and announced, "the Horsemen will work with the Volturi to ensure the safety of all supernatural creatures. Fate will guide us in our duty."

Two limos came into view, Jane, Eliza and Alec had returned with the wolves, Theresa and Jake. They parked close by and Theresa ran to us, looking over the guard and their wounds. She rushed to the human who was screaming in agony and opened her bag. "Death, I need your assistance." She called. I knew she needed living flame, she stacked a pile of leaves near the human, I brought out my warmth and ignited the shield around my fingertips, it was so easy to control now. I knelt and the flames jumped to the leaves. Sweet smoke drifted into the air.

"Aro, could you get more blood, please?" Theresa asked, he nodded and walked into the castle. Fred, Briggita, Brenna and Aaron joined him. She turned to Pete. "Conquest, I need your gift." She said. Pete's eyes crinkled, he was smiling behind his mask. It appeared that his name had changed since our transformation. He walked forward, Jake added a few more leaves to the small flames. Peter stood next to Theresa and held her hand. Theresa's hand glowed similarly to dad's. The human calmed. They had managed to take away the pain of the change. The guard was watching them in shock.

Caius stepped forward and bowed to Theresa. "Thank you for travelling to meet us, Alpha." He said, smiling. Theresa chuckled, "just call me Theresa. You must be Caius, it's great to meet you." She said. Dora approached her and thanked her for her help. Marcus and Esme introduced themselves, they moved to Jake and repeated the gestures. Jake looked a little flustered and asked they call him Jake.

Aro and the werewolves returned with bottles of blood. Theresa brought the thermos I'd put in her bag, she turned to me "this came in very handy. I was able to make a healing tea. Thank you for your foresight, Death." I waved her off and felt my cheeks heat up. Fuck! My blush is back! "No problem, Theresa. Happy to help." I murmured. Fred tipped a little of the blood out of each bottle and into an empty bottle to make room for the healing tea.

Briggita topped up the bottles with the tea from the thermos and passed the bottles to Brenna and Aaron to distribute to the wounded vampires. The guard accepted the bottles gratefully and thanked the werewolves. I saw Marcus smile. They'd done it, the wolves, Theresa and Jake had won over the guard with kindness. The Masters led us into the Castle. The wives and guests behind them and the guard following. Esme looked much better, she wasn't hobbling or in pain. The wounds were closing among the injured guards and the cracks disappeared from Marcus' face.

There had been more than one victory today. Alice and Alistair walked with Jane and Alec, we joined them, marching as representatives to the Hybrid species.

JPOV

The suspicion the guards had felt turned to shame, they had watched Theresa in awe and felt moved by Jake and the werewolves' compassion. The guard took turns introducing themselves to the guests. We were surprised as a few pushed past their fear to thank us for helping them defeat the Rebel Army. The Masters dismissed everyone for the night and led the wolves, Theresa, Jake and us to their quarters.

Alice, Alistair, Jane, Evan, Mark and Alec went to their rooms in Marcus' quarters, the werewolves were in Aro's quarters and Jake and Theresa were in the rooms next to ours, Bella and I were back in our bedroom. I closed the door and slumped in relief. Bella removed my shoes, socks, cloaks and masks. I kissed her deeply, undressing her. Her hands gently unbuttoned my jeans, she lifted off my t-shirt. Her lips kissed my chest, directly over my newly beating heart. I felt it flutter in my chest and smiled. I felt human.

I picked Bella up in my arms and carried her to the bathroom. A large, deep, bath had been added along the eastern wall, jet's lined the tub. I lowered Bella so she was standing next to the tub and turned on the taps. The room filled with steam, Bella opened a draw under the sink and pulled out a cotton bag, it was full of sweet smelling leaves. She dumped the cloth bag into the water. I sat down and lifted Bella onto my lap. I could feel myself relaxing. The tension oozed out of our muscles.

Bella turned carefully in the water, her legs gripped my hips. She kissed me deeply and ground her hips against me. I felt myself harden and grazed my fingertips over her nipples. She shuddered. I moaned as she sucked on my neck. I felt her trail kisses down my chest and stomach, her lips wrapped around my cock and I growled lowly as her head bobbed up and down in the water. It had been a while since we had time to ourselves. This was our first time being intimate in our new bodies. I felt my heart speed up from adrenaline and I felt a mix of euphoria and desperation. She sucked harder and bobbed her head quicker. This felt so different.

I could taste the salt on my skin from the sweat. I panted, but it wasn't from lack of oxygen, it was from the changes in my body as my mate pleasured me. My hips moved against my will, thrusting into her mouth. My back arched and I felt my muscles tense and release and I came hard. Bella surfaced with a gasp, I pushed her back against the side of the tub and lifted her hips, her arms and legs hung over the side of the bath. I licked up her slit, increasing the pressure against her clit. She gasped and jerked. I supported her weight, cupping her arse in my hands as I licked. Her muscles tensed and released with each movement. I plunged my tongue into her, she pushed against my face, needing more.

I gently moved my finger to her arse, adding slight pressure to her hole. We hadn't done this before. She moaned and asked for more. I slowly moved my finger inside her and kept running my tongue up and down, in and out. My finger was half an inch deep into her. She rocked her hips, pushing it deeper. Her muscles clenched and she panted heavily, pushing harder onto my finger. I moved it in and out slowly. Her back arched and I felt her clench around my finger as she came. I pulled out and lowered her back into the water. She sighed happily. "I wasn't expecting that to be so good." She breathed. I grinned.

I was starting to feel a little sluggish, my eyelids felt heavy. We got out and dried each other before lying on the bed naked. I cuddled up to her, she wrapped a leg over my hip and nuzzled into my chest. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her breath against my skin.

I was in the Throne room. Something felt odd. Aro, Marcus and Caius were there, as were the guards. I looked next to me and saw Bella, Pete, Char and Demitri. Wasn't Dem in South America? I was confused. I felt weird, unsettled. I looked around the room. Jake was lying along the Master's laps in his wolf form, Caius was giving him a belly rub. What the hell was going on?

The scene changed, Bella and I were skinny dipping with all of the male vampires we knew. Edward and Carlisle were at the back of the group, splashing each other and laughing. I was relaxing against the wall of a swimming pool with Bella beside me. The men were groping her tits. I tried to growl, but nothing happened. "I think something's wrong" I said to Bella, "I don't like how they're touching you." I was trying to stay calm, but the frustration was building. "It's Thursday J." She said, I had no idea what that meant.

The scene changed again. I could hear laughter. I saw Maria, she was dressed like a child and skipping rope. Charlie was smiling at her, encouraging her to jump higher. "You won't kill any humans if you don't learn how to jump." He said cheerfully. I looked around in shock "I can't believe it's not butter!" I screeched. For some reason I expected the Volturi to understand I was not happy with Maria and Charlie being friends. They turned and laughed at me, I looked down, my cloak had been shortened, it ended at my hips and I wasn't wearing any pants. I started to run. I opened the doors to get out of the Throne room and walked onto a beach.

The sun was hot, I was so thirsty. Rose and Em were sunbathing, their skin glittered. There were humans staring and pointing. I ran over to them and covered them in sand to hide their bodies. It wasn't working. Rose raised her eyebrow "are you finished, Jasper?"  
"Rose, something's wrong."  
"Of course something's wrong. I haven't got a lobster." She huffed and lay back down. Em ignored me.

I kept walking and started to cry, none of this made any sense. I decided to lay back on the sand and give up. Something tickled my skin, I looked down and saw small beetles crawling over my naked body. I tried to lift my arm to brush them off, but I couldn't move. I was trapped and covered in beetles. I tried to call for help, but no noise came out. I felt the ground shake, my heart thudded in my chest and sweat dripped into my eyes. Something soft touched my lips, but I couldn't see. The shaking got worse, there was a rumbling. Was there a storm coming? I felt myself calm down, I could feel the soft mattress below me and Bella's body close by.

I was breathing heavily. My fingers twitched, the movement felt normal. I opened my eyes. My head felt odd, groggy. Bella was looking at me in concern. Her eyes were puffy. "Were you crying?" I asked her, my voice was a little husky, I needed to drink something. "No, J. We were asleep. You were having a nightmare." I looked at her in shock. Information bombarded me as I put together the clues. I had been dreaming. I groaned "I don't like sleep." I grumbled. "It's not that bad when you can't remember the dreams, mine were really vivid. It wasn't as pleasant as it was when I was human." Bella said.

My stomach grumbled, Bella and I looked at each other in shock. "You're hungry." She gasped. I thought about drinking blood, but my throat didn't burn. I wasn't thirsty. Bella grinned excitedly. "Let's get dressed and try some human food." She rejoiced. I nodded and flitted around, changing into yoga pants and a tank top. Bella grabbed a similar outfit and we walked into the Hall way. Aunt Dora was already there. "Hi Dora." I grinned. She looked at me confused. "Hi Jasper, I saw you five hours ago. Is something wrong?" I felt strange, time felt different. I was confused. Bella patted my shoulder and let me think.

"Sorry Dora, J just woke up from his first nap in almost two centuries, he's feeling out of sorts." She explained. My stomach grumbled again. Dora looked at my abdomen in curiosity. "I think J's hungry, we're going to try and eat human food." Bella explained cheerfully. Dora looked worried, "okay, I can cook something if you'd like." She offered. I thanked her and we followed her to the kitchen.

Bella was inspecting the contents of the refrigerator. Her excitement grew and she brought out a white cardboard box, whatever was inside smelled pleasant. Dora stood back and watched as Bella opened the box and pulled out a cannelloni. She took a large bite and moaned with pleasure, I felt myself begin to harden. Damn blood supply! I subtly sat down at the table, hoping they hadn't noticed my pants begin to tent.

I watched Bella stuff another pastry into her mouth. Dora chuckled in amazement and turned to me, "is there anything in particular you'd like for your first human meal?" She asked, I shrugged. Bella mumbled something while her mouth was full. We didn't understand it, she swallowed and said "pancakes please." She winked at me and helped gather the ingredients.

Pete and Char entered looking bewildered. "Did you fall asleep too?" I asked, they nodded grimly. "The Ancestors told Pete to go to the kitchen. I decided to follow." Char explained. "Apparently we can eat human food now." I said, I was still very confused. Bella smirked and pushed a cannelloni in my mouth. I was surprised by the flakey pastry, the creamy custard and the sweet chocolate. I groaned, it was fucking fantastic. I force fed Pete and Char some pastries. I wanted to share the experience with them.

Pete's stomach grumbled and he looked down in shock. "You're hungry." I said smugly. This was how Bella felt when she informed us of the weird things happening to our bodies. Bella was foraging through the refrigerator again. She pulled out a can of whipped cream, chocolate syrup and strawberries. If pancakes were anything like the cannelloni I'd trust her opinion. She was our official guide to modern food.

Dora was watching us in amusement as she started handing out plates with a stack of pancakes on them. Pete handed his plate to Bella so she could 'modify' them. She covered them in whipped cream, chocolate and a few sliced strawberries before handing them back to him. Bella modified the next plate for me, then did the same for Char and herself. I waited until they all had their food. I had manners after all.

Pete poured us cups of coffee and added a lot of milk to three of the cups, handing a cup of black coffee to Bella. She thanked him and grabbed the whipped cream, spraying it in my, Peter and Charlotte's cups. I looked at her in confusion. "Trust me" she said, grinning. I licked the cream. It was sweet and pleasant. Bella gulped her coffee and groaned in pleasure, I felt myself start to harden again and cursed my new vascular system again. Pete took a big bite of pancake gawked at Dora in awe. "You're amazing." He said, crumbs falling from his mouth. She giggled at him "don't chew with your mouth open." She scolded playfully.

I cut a square from the pancake, dabbed on some chocolate sauce and cream and cut a sliver of strawberry. I put the mixture in my mouth and chewed. This was even better than the pastry. I swallowed and took a sip of coffee, it was kind of nice with all the milk and cream. I remembered the taste of 'coffee' from my human days, back then it hadn't been made from coffee beans, but anything else we could find. Our town had minimal resources. Modern coffee was infinitely better.

Bella was staring at me, I grabbed a napkin and dabbed my mouth. "What's wrong?" I asked. "You're such a dainty eater." She gasped. Huh? I looked at Pete and Char, they were almost finished their food. Pete had rolled up the pancake and added a thick layer of whipped cream. He was struggling to open his mouth wide enough to fit it in.

I laughed softly and endeavored my second bite of pancake, I cut a square, dabbed some cream and chocolate sauce and cut a sliver of strawberry. I chewed, swallowed and sipped my coffee. I looked up from my plate. Pete was trying not to laugh as he chewed, Char and Dora were frozen in shock and Bella was grinning. "You're so fucking adorable, J." She gushed. "I don't see what the big deal is, I'm enjoying the food and trying to get an equal ratio of chocolate sauce, cream and fruit." I explained. Pete started to choke, Char slapped his back and glared at him "eat like J is." She ordered. I smirked, I had mastered eating properly.

Bella began to laugh. "I'll be back." She said as she raced out. I shrugged and cut another square of pancake, covering it with the appropriate mix of condiments and ate it. Pete calmed down and tried to copy me. I rolled my eyes and prepared another mouthful of pancake. He took a bite which looked similar to mine and huffed, "fine, you eat better than I do." He conceded. Char smiled at me. I heard Bella return, we ate in silence for a bit, enjoying the food.

"Did you guys dream?" I asked Pete and Char as we finished eating. "Yeah, it was disorientating." Char said. Pete and I cleaned up as Char and Bella talked about their dreams. "I thought I was back in high school. We were in the cafeteria, I could remember the taste of the cafeteria food." Bella said, she cringed. "I dreamt Pete and I went horse riding. He fell off and broke his arm." Char said. Dora was watching us with total interest. "Thank you for cooking for us, Aunt Dora." I said politely, my human manners had returned. I saw Bella blush and began to laugh, she hated blushing.


	57. Part 3 Chapter 19

**AN: Greetings, this is the last chapter of the week. I'll post the next one on Monday night, my brain is fried so I haven't been able to concentrate while proofreading this chapter, sorry for the mistakes. **

**Everyone's either in Volterra or on their way to Volterra. The only exceptions are those with the Hybrids; Demitri, Leah, Felix and the Healers**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

CHAPTER 19

Aro POV - Volterra

We'd been home for a few days, everyone had healed and the castle had been repaired and cleaned. There hadn't been much damage done to the castle, the Throne Room was a little scuffed in places, but all in all Caius had defended our home very well. The hardest part of the aftermath from the Rebel Army had been the loss of many of our human citizens. Theresa and Jacob had led us in a service, we paid our respects for the fallen and helped the human survivors as best as we could.

We were surprised by the human authorities. They had been in contact with us and helped us explain the 'natural disaster.' They had completely covered up the Vampire attack without questioning what really happened. When I asked one agent why they were so helpful they said they appreciated the criminals we'd removed from their communities. It was at that point that Caius, Marcus and I had held a meeting with the human allies. We trusted them with our secret. They had known there was something different about us, but would never have guessed we were vampires.

Gianna held a press conference for us, telling the human media that there had been a bad storm which downed power lines. With many of the fixtures in the plaza being wood, they caught fire and created a large blaze. The human media were ravenous for information, they hounded our humans for details. We had held a community meeting in the throne room, it was an informal affair and only Marcus, Caius and I were there with our wives and the unmasked Horsemen. We'd worn contacts, Caius and I wore green colored contacts while Marcus and the Wives wore brown contacts. We darkened out skin with make up and wore modern, casual clothes. The Horsemen watched in amusement as we attempted current colloquialisms and mannerisms.

We had told the humans that a bovine disease had transferred to humans in a nearby town. I heard the humans talk about 'Mad Cow' disease and Zombies. We assured them the authorities had burnt the carcasses of the animals and the humans who were infected. Our best human ally, Agent Millieux had lectured our humans on the importance of keeping the outbreak of disease quiet to prevent terrorist groups and unfriendly governments from trying to recreate the disease.

A few of our citizens chose to relocate. We helped set up accommodations and employment for them. Those who remained in Volterra were grateful we had exterminated the problem. They became loyal to us, I had been surprised by their appreciation. Caius, Marcus and I discussed finding a new base of operations, but we couldn't risk leaving the humans defenseless. Instead we decided to concentrate our efforts on defending the city.

The Horsemen would stay with us until the unity of the species was complete. We had begun delegating allies to their cause. While they were here, protecting Italy from attack, we arranged for a group to assist them in protecting the paths of Fate. The Horsemen's allies went by the name The Seven Deadly Sins. We provided them with cloaks of their own, light blue with black lining. Alec became Sloth, Tanya from Denali became Lust and Heidi became Pride.

Jacob offered the services of two of the La Push wolves, Paul would be Wrath and Leah would be Envy, until Leah recovered from her pregnancy and childbirth Theresa had offered the services of Micah, a shield Spirit Walker, it was a temporary measure because the tribe only had two seasoned shields and they needed both to ensure the safety of the tribe. Tanya had moved into the Horsemen's residence in Texas, she'd coordinate with Micah and Peter on missions.

Fred called Feykir and discussed bringing two werewolves into the Horsemens' Army. Feykir sent Hamr from his pack, he would be Gluttony. His gift was precognition, it was similar to Alice's power, but he could choose what information he needed and even then it was limited to flashes of images or sound bites. Fred summoned one of his wolves to join the army, Katla. She was scentless and had a gift for stealth, she was a strong fighter. Her name would be Greed. We had given each of the Sins a Volturi pendant, Theresa included a few herbal remedies in the care package sent to each Sin Soldier.

Hamr and Katla would cover Asia and the Middle East. Tanya and Micah would cover the Americas. Heidi and Alec would cover the African continent and Paul would travel to Australia and stay with the Pack in Coober Pedy. Peter would be able to contact each of them and let them know where they were needed. It was the perfect mix of species and gifts. I could only hope the species would unite as easily as the Horsemen's Army.

There were other changes too. Alice, Jane and Alistair had gone to Iceland. Alistair would be our liaison while the girls trained. Apparently, when they had arrived on the island yesterday Jane and Alice's eyes had turned from blue to silver. Their power was augmented. They had carried with them the American Rowan wood chips we had brought from Texas and more bottles of Chequer Vodka. The two Icelandic packs were thankful and promised to keep an eye on them for us.

Rose kept us in the loop about Leah and Demitri. It seemed the pregnancy was going to be very short, only one month from conception. Leah had been unable to phase, her and Demitri were scared of what complications could occur. Hulien, Charlie and Rose were their constant companions.

Felix, Zafrina, Senna, and most of the Hybrids continued their search for Joham's other children. Emmett joined the search. They had found three so far, all scattered around the South America. Rosa, Joham's eldest, stayed near Leah and the Healers, caring for the hybrid baby they found, they had named the infant Mateo. I had sent some money to Emmett, he was scouting for large houses which could accommodate the Hybrids, while being close to amenities.

Emmett had given the Hybrids a checkup, ensuring they were healthy. So far they seemed unable to get sick. Nahuel and Rosa had a few old injuries from when they tried to fight Joham. I was thankful the Hybrids were now safe from him. We would ensure they would remain safe and Hybrid births weren't forced on anyone.

The Horsemen, Jake, Theresa and the four werewolves staying in Volterra had been fully accepted by the guard, although the Horsemen never removed their masks outside our quarters, their identities would remain hidden. Marcus was keeping an eye on the bonds, but there was no negativity among the guests and our coven. A few were afraid of us because we executed those who were vocally opposed to the unity, they thought it was an overreaction. Peter had informed us that the guard would learn to trust us again.

Theresa and Brenna had started working with Marcus to grow some of the seeds of the American Rowan tree. The garden had five new saplings, they were planning to create a grove with medicinal plants and more Rowan. They were looking for a secure location. Esme had told them about using Carlisle's estate in England to create a supernatural rehabilitation center. She helped them find sites where they could create a medicinal garden and was full of new ideas to help the Spirit Walkers and Werewolves.

At that moment two lower guards walked in from their mission in England, Joshua and his mate, Penny. I walked over to them. "Welcome back, did you have a safe journey?" I asked them. They bowed, Joshua began to report. "Yes, Master, we apologize we didn't return sooner, we only heard about the attack on the castle this morning." I waved him off, "we were lucky, I'm glad you're both safe." I said. Caius caught my eye and walked over to us, "were you able to see the immortal child?" He asked, "We saw a child, Master Caius, but it had a heart beat." Joshua said. "Did it have supernatural abilities?" I asked, Penny nodded, "it moved almost as fast as a vampire." She said. "The Irish coven visited them while we kept watch outside." She added.

"The Exeter coven said the child was half human, half vampire." Joshua explained. "What about the child's mother?" I asked. "She is turning, becoming a vampire. The birth almost killed her." Penny replied. "Who is the father?" Caius asked. "The youngest coven male, Lucius, fathered the child. He is mated to its mother, Karen." Penny explained. Caius smiled at them, "we're pleased with your results. Aro, Marcus and I would like to offer you both a position in the Elite Guard." He said, I agreed, but first I had to know their thoughts on the unity, I couldn't allow someone into the high level guard if they were going to cause problems in the future.

We led them to the smaller throne room and begun to tell them about the Hybrids, Werewolves and Spirit Walkers. It was the perfect audience to practice the speech I'd prepared. "The child you watched in England isn't the only one of its kind. There are many hybrids out there. Furthermore there are others in the supernatural world. We have guests staying with us who are immortal, but not vampires. They are able to connect to the world in different ways. Whatever you've heard about the supernatural world, put it aside and think of these people are equals." They both nodded.

I continued. "There exists another two species that we know of, both have protected their communities and humans, even during the worst parts of our history. They are brave and noble species who only want a life of freedom. We started the Volturi to govern our species and protect ourselves and reduce our effect on the Human species."  
"Who are these guests?" Joshua asked. He and Penny seemed interested rather than scared or disgusted. "There are those who connect with the energy of the moon, sun, earth, the animal spirits and the spirits of their ancestors. We only know them as Spirit Walkers and Witches. The other species is infamous, they transform at the full moon. They are not as they seem, they are kind creatures who helped us guard the Romanian tyrants until we could execute them. The Volturi has secretly had an alliance with their kind. They're werewolves." I finished, watching their reactions.

Joshua held his mate's hand, "will they hurt us?" He asked, "definitely not. They are innocent creatures who finally have a chance at living free from those who hunt them. They were betrayed by humans and almost hunted to extinction by vampires. With our hard work their numbers have grown, they have a chance at the living in ways our kind has taken for granted." I explained. "How can they trust us?" Penny asked, I was floored by the question, usually those we spoke to asked how we could trust them, not how they could trust us. "One of their leaders is my biological brother. Marcus, Caius and I have ensured their safety, we will continue to do so." I said. They seemed to accept everything I'd told them.

I was impressed. "Do either of you have any concerns or questions?" I asked. "What if someone attacks our guests?" Joshua asked. I smiled, "we have friends who are ready to intervene should any of our friends be hurt, they are unique and are guided by Fate. Fate wants our species to unite, it's something we're doing everything we can to achieve. You've heard of the Horsemen?" I asked, "they're the ones who stopped the American Newborn Wars." Joshua said. "Yes, they were vampires, but they've been transformed and are now part werewolf and Spirit Walker." I said. "Okay." They said. That was it, that was all they had to say on the matter. "Have you encountered any other species?" I asked, they were taking this very well. "No Master, we just assumed we weren't the only other supernatural creatures." Joshua said lightly.

I asked them to follow me as I led them to their new room. It was a surprise, the Wives had redecorated a room for the newest Elite guards. They would be between Felix's room and Chelsea and Afton's room. "This will be your now room." I said, opening the door with a flourish. I enjoyed the looks of joy on their faces. Dora joined us and handed them both new cloaks and pendants. "Felix will train you in fighting and Chelsea will help you with the laws and confidential information each of the Elite Guard needs to know." They thanked us and explored their new room. I walked back to the Throne room.

The Castle was bustling with activity as we organized for the arrival of the coven leaders. Eleazar and Amun were going to arrive soon, they would help us introduce the other species. Siobhan from the Irish Coven, Randal and his mate, Mary, Charles, Makenna, Riley the leader of the new Michigan Coven in America and another ten coven leaders were due to arrive tomorrow. There would be twenty vampire guests we'd be telling about the werewolves and spirit walkers. Kachiri from the Amazon Coven was helping me work on the speech, I was glad I was able to practice with Joshua and Penny.

Caius went to help lower guard, Claire, with her newborn mate. It had been a long time since we helped a newly turned vampire. Claire had befriended Bella, grateful for her help in turning her mate. Bella had chosen to introduce herself and was giving Claire advice and support in helping her mate, Felipe. Felipe had been angry when he awoke, Jasper had been able to calm him while we gave him a cup of Theresa's calming tea and a bottle of synthetic blood. He had listened to us and thought about what he wanted from his new life. He had forgiven Claire for turning him against his will.

It had been bad luck that the attack had occurred as Felipe arrived to observe a day in the life of the Volturi coven, it had undone the good will from Marcus and Esme's meeting with the boy the previous day. Claire and Felipe were going to stay with us until the end of his newborn year and then find a place to settle away from Italy. Esme was helping them look for locations and giving them financial advice, each vampire that left the Guard on good terms was given a stipend so they could start a new life. Many of the lower guard were surprised to hear of our generosity, we were surprised no other guards left our coven.

Bella had received good news this morning, a letter arrived from America. Emily had given birth to a healthy daughter on the same day as the bonfire in Texas and lightning strikes in Iceland and South America. I secretly wondered what time the child was born and pondered over the possible meanings of her arrival into the world. Sam and Emily had named their daughter Hailey.

Bella had called them immediately to congratulate the happy couple. We were all surprised to hear that Sam and Emily were in talks with Alistair about joining the anti-corruption committee. Sam wanted to lend his gift to a good cause, he could see intent, a very useful gift to any agency.

Emily was thinking of being turned, she wanted an immortal life with her family. Alistair had gotten her in touch with Briggita, they were telling Sam and Emily about the pros and cons of being a werewolf or vampire. Bella was hoping Emily would choose to be a werewolf, especially now that the wolves had taken control of their beasts. She would fit into the human world better as a werewolf and not have to worry about blood lust.

Theresa was talking with the Wives about recipes and remedies. I excused myself to check on the preparations. Afton was setting up two prayer rooms, each with a wash room for our Islamic guests, he was lining up a prayer mats so they faced Mecca. Picia had worked out the times for the Salat and written them down for us.

Gianna was talking with the local priest, letting him know there would be a few more attendees for the Sunday private mass. Eleazar was going to lead Jewish community prayers in the Beit Knesset, we already had the room set up for our Jewish guards. It had been created when Eleazar was part of the guard, a handful of our Elite and Lower guards used it daily, they were looking forward to having Eleazar join them again.

The coven leaders would be with us for a full week. Esme, Caius and Marcus had worked on a seminar to teach problem solving, leadership techniques and dispute resolution. Many of the younger covens seemed in dire need of guidance. This was going to be more like a corporate retreat. Dora and Picia were working on gathering the supplies needed; food for Jake, Theresa, the Wolves and the Horsemen, blood for the vampires and Horsemen, bedding, an extra laundry service, toiletries, et c.

I walked to Marcus' garden. Jake was in his wolf form, communicating with the La Push pack, and Theresa was meditating. She looked up when she saw me approach. "Are you enjoying your stay with us, Theresa?" I asked. She nodded happily, "I love this garden. Marcus told me he created it in honor of Didyme." I sat next to her on the path. "He did. She loved all life, this garden is a part of them both." I told her.

She looked in front of her, her eyes were a little unfocussed. "She's here." She whispered. I was surprised, "Didyme's spirit is here?" I asked. Theresa nodded, "she sits among the plants, watching them grow. She's at peace here."  
"Is she here for Marcus?" I asked. "No, this place draws her near. There is a lot of energy here, it energizes me and Dyme. She watches Marcus from time to time, but she is happy he has moved on. It hurt her to see him grieve."  
"She knows about Esme?" I asked. "Oh definitely, she adores Esme. They're both pure spirits, she sees how Esme cares and loves those Didyme misses."

I looked around the garden, searching for any sign of Didyme. There was none. "I didn't know Vampires had an afterlife." I commented idly. Theresa nodded, "all life does, but some spirits guide the living, staying grounded and watching over their loved ones."  
"There must be a lot of human spirits."  
"There are a few, most are animal spirits."

"Can anyone learn to see spirits?" I asked. She shook her head. "No, there needs to be a connection." I was disappointed, Theresa continued. "I believe you can Aro, you have a connection to life, you respect it and appreciate it. Few beings share your views."  
"Can you show me?" I asked. "Gladly. It's a hard thing to learn, but I know you are strong enough." She said. I was excited, there were so many new things to learn.

Jacob padded over to us. "Everything okay?" I asked, he nodded his head and lay on his belly. We sat in silence, enjoying the atmosphere of the garden. I was glad Dyme liked it, Marcus had poured his soul into creating it for her. Esme had turned it from a place of grief to a place of vitality. Brenna walked out, looking a little forlorn, she missed Charlie. She smiled and sat down with us. I watched as she used her gift to strengthen the plants. "Didyme sends her thanks." Theresa said to her. Brenna smiled, "how is she doing today?" She asked Theresa. "She is happy, she loves watching you work." Theresa said. Brenna cheered up.

Chelsea came out, "Amun and Eleazar have arrived." She announced. I said good bye to Theresa, Jake and Brenna and walked to the Throne Room. "Thank you both for coming to help us." I greeted them. "We're happy to help, I understand there are a few more guests?" Amun said. I led them around the castle and introduced them.

Jacob returned to his human form, he and Theresa came and introduced themselves. Eleazar looked at them in awe. "You're incredibly gifted." He said, shaking their hands. "Your wolf spirit is huge." He said to Jacob. He grinned at Eleazar. We led them to Caius' sitting room, he and the Horsemen were already there. Amun was properly introduced to them, he was surprised by their new species. Eleazar was stunned by how their gifts had evolved.

Peter came forward, unmasked. "I'm now known as Conquest." He announced to Eleazar cheerfully. "I can see why, your gift used to be intuition based with an ability to connect with the deceased. Now I can see that you're able to see the strengths and weaknesses of those around you." He said. Peter nodded, "it came in handy a few days ago-"  
"I heard Volterra was attacked, is everyone okay?" Amun asked in concern. We filled him in on what had happened. "We were lucky we were warned." Caius said. I agreed, the London coven who came to warn us would be arriving tomorrow, we would have to thank them.

Eleazar looked at the Horsemen through his gift. "I see your shield has grown, as well as the flames. Have you been able to manipulate them?" He asked Bella, "I haven't done much, I was able to send out some flares, but I haven't tried anything else." She said. "From what I can see, you should be able to enclose part of your shield around someone and have it separated, like a bubble. It also appears you have complete control over the fire." He said. That was a hell of a gift, we'd have to ensure it was kept secret.

"Your gift is absolutely terrifying to see, Charlotte." Eleazar announced. Charlotte grinned, I looked at her in confusion, "I can drain vampires of their energy and venom. The vampires I fought disintegrated like Vladimir and Stefan did." I was stunned, I looked at Jasper. "How about you?" I asked. "My empathic gift is stronger, I can disable anyone easily." He said. Eleazar agreed, "your empathy has increased, but your physical strength has also increased. I can see there is a mental gift, it's very slight but it mirrors Peter and Alice's gifts. I believe you'll be able to anticipate the moves of any opponent." The Horsemen were a force to be reckoned with. We updated them on the progress with the interspecies alliance and how the Guard had reacted to the wolves and Spirit Walkers.

Eleazar sighed "I agree you had to execute the vocal opposers, but I imagine it hasn't done you any favors with the rest of the guard." He said. I nodded, "they fear us, but we had no option, if we had delayed they would have left and started a rebellion that hunted other supernatural beings. Too much blood has been spilt because of our species." I replied. Amun nodded, "you did the right thing. The werewolves have suffered enough. Have they been able to find a remedy to control themselves during the full moon?" He asked. I grinned, "yes. We found a cure in America." I said.

Eleazar was quiet. "Is there something wrong?" I asked him, he shook his head. "I can see a difference in the wolves." He answered. He started staring at Jasper and Jacob. "what sort of difference?" I asked. "I have a theory." He turned to Marcus, "are you able to see the relationship between the werewolves and their beasts?" He asked. "I haven't looked." Marcus admitted, he excused himself to find Fred.

Eleazar continued. "I can see the binding Charlie put on you Jasper. I can also see the wolf spirit in Jacob. I can see a spiritual connection between your conscious selves and your wolves, I believe it's part of the supernatural remedy, I can see it with my gift. If Marcus can see a bond between the wolves and their beasts theoretically the Healer may be able to bind the human and wolf side in the werewolves. The remedy builds a bridge between both sides, but it is a temporary measure." He explained. An idea struck me like a bolt of lightning, "Eleazar! You brilliant man! What about Chelsea?" I yelled in excitement.

Eleazar grinned, "I forgot about her gift. That could work." Jasper looked relieved, "Chelsea's gift isn't painful, is it?" He asked. I shook my head and he continued. "The binding Charlie gave me was excruciating. If Chelsea can do it painlessly that would mean a world of difference." He explained. Pete's head shot up and he gaped at us. Bella, Charlotte and Jasper gasped. Eleazar's eyes widened. "It'll work, but we'll need Theresa's help to make it permanent." Peter announced. Jasper explained to Eleazar that they all received messages from the Ancestors, but Peter was their primary contact.

Marcus came in with Fred. I went to fetch Chelsea while Eleazar explained his idea. I caught with Chelsea in the Throne Room and asked her to follow me. We arrived at Caius's sitting room, I was shaking with excitement. We were having one success after another. This was a great streak of good luck. I remembered what Jasper and Peter had said about Fate fighting for the unity of the supernatural world. I was so grateful, so humbled. The power of Fate was working in our favor, giving us miracles and hope.

Theresa was sipping some tea, Brenna joined us and sat between Bella and Fred. "I'll do my best, Aro." Theresa said. I was feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. A whole species would be free and live happy lives. I approached Jasper and touched his hand, sending him a request to pass my gratitude to Theresa. He nodded and flooded the room with my emotions. Theresa smiled, "I'm happy to help. The Volturi have given my people resources to preserve our culture and knowledge, we appreciate all you've done." She said. Jacob nodded, "thanks to the Horsemen and Volturi the Quileutes have their own hospital, we've grown closer as a community and are healthier and stronger than we have ever been." I nodded and sat down.

Brenna and Fred watched as Eleazar, Marcus, Chelsea and Theresa spoke about the permanent binding. Chelsea began, she was concentrating on the Horsemen, Fred and Brenna. They didn't look any different. Chelsea nodded her head and Theresa stood and approached Brenna and Fred, the Horsemen moved to stand near them. Jake rifled through a bag of remedies and pulled out a Ziploc bag of leaves and small terracotta plate. "Are there any smoke detectors in the castle?" He asked. I shook my head, he lay the plate on the floor and piled in the leaves.

Bella stood in the middle of the room, Jasper sent a beam of calm. Eleazar watched and said, "that's in Bella. Try to bring out a small amount of the warmth." He encouraged her. Small flames licked over her palm. She knelt and set fire to the leaves and extinguished her flames. The room filled with smoke. Bella, Jasper, Charlotte and Peter lightly touched Theresa's shoulders. In the smoke I could see the outline of many people, I realized it was the Ancestors. Theresa began to glow, channeling the strength of the Horsemen. She asked Fred and Brenna to touch her hands. The glow brightened, lighting a path through the wolves and Horsemen. Eleazar watched in awe.

Fred, Brenna and the Horsemen winced, the glow retreated back to Theresa. Peter helped her back to her seat and poured another cup of tea. "I'm okay, I just need a nap." She said, smiling. Jacob approached the Horsemen, Fred and Brenna. "I can see that your energy resembles my own." He said. He turned to me and asked "is there a safe room for the werewolves?" I nodded and led them to the Rowan room. It was a large hall, strengthened with vampire ash and lined with European Rowan wood. Jacob started to undress, he wasn't a shy lad. Amun and Eleazar watched in interest. Theresa smiled at him as he stood naked in the front of the room. We watched from the door way.

"I'm going to try something with you." He said. Brenna and Fred looked worried. The Horsemen looked on in interest. "Close your eyes and try to remember how you felt in Texas when you transformed. Think of the change in your senses and how it felt to transform." They closed their eyes and concentrated. I hear the sound of bones cracking and changing. Fred's skin darkened, Brenna's concentration broke as she watched her Pack Master. The Horsemen were struggling, sweat began to form on their brows.

I looked back to Fred, his shirt began to tear in parts, his muscles were bulking up. He was slowly transforming. His mouth and nose began to protrude, he opened his mouth as his teeth grew. Brenna was watching the transformation in shock. Fred's nails grew into claws and he stilled. He looked at his body in surprise. "Are you okay, brother?" I asked, he turned to me and nodded. Eleazar and Amun were watching in shock. They had never seen a werewolf during the transformation.

Brenna turned to the front of the room where Jake was still standing naked. He smiled at her. "It's okay, it can take a while to get used to it. Fred's a Pack Master so he has greater control, I have the blood of an alpha so my change is quick and easy. I'll try to phase slowly so you can see." He said. The Horsemen opened their eyes to watch. Their eyes had changed; their pupils enlarged and their eyes glowed green. They'd had a little success. "The Horsemen didn't fully transform, it could be harder for them to tap into their beast." I said. Fred nodded in agreement.

I walked over to him, "can you show me what it feels like?" I asked him, he nodded and held his hand out, I touched his palm and saw how his thoughts differed in wolf form. "How about I show the Horsemen, if you concentrate on your emotions, Jasper may be able to send them to the others. Fred nodded again and followed me to the Horsemen. They touched my hand as I passed on Fred's memories. Jasper released a cocktail of emotions, it was similar to the emotions I felt when I hunted animals in Siberia. I told them my observation. Their bones began to reshape themselves. They were transforming.

Fred and I turned back to Brenna and Jacob. Jacob was breathing slowly, fur burst out of his skin and his body morphed quickly into his wolf form. Brenna closed her eyes and concentrated, she slowly began to transform.

We watched in fascination as the werewolves and Jacob jogged around the room. Jacob stopped at the front of the room and stood on his hind legs, his head brushed the ceiling. His body returned to human form. He smiled at the group, "let's try turning human." He said. The group closed their eyes, Jacob described human actions; brushing hair, cooking, dressing, greeting friendly vampires. We chuckled. Their forms began to change, Theresa clapped and laughed. "Brilliant work Jake." She cheered. Brenna and Fred looked at their human hands in surprise and cheered.

"I'd say that was a resounding success." I announced. Eleazar and Amun applauded. Theresa retired for the evening. Brenna walked out to the garden, Jacob and I followed at a distance to give her some privacy. I heard her talking to herself. I soon realized she was talking to Didyme and smiled. Jake watched Brenna and smiled. "Did you see the Ancestors?" He asked me. I nodded and grinned, "it was an amazing sight." I replied. He held the terracotta plate and a bag of leaves. "I can get Death and see if she'll help us find Didyme if you'd like." He offered. "Absolutely!"

He ran to get Bella while I brought the plate and leaves outside. Brenna smiled as I sat next to her. "Jacob has offered to help us see Didyme." I told her, she smiled "I'd love to meet her, Aro."  
"Do you talk to her often?" I asked. She nodded and said; "Every day I'm here, I can't see her or feel her, but I feel the plants, they know they have a guardian." She said.

Bella came out with the mask and cloak back on. "That was amazing!" She squealed. She sat down on the other side of Brenna and put an arm around her werewolf mother. They'd become close since she was bitten with Brenna's venom. I wished Charlie was here to see it. I wondered how Leah was going. Esme had told me she sent two dozen bottles of synthetic blood to South America for her, she needed to drink blood to remain strong. I watched as Jacob prepared the plate and Bella carefully ignited the fire on her hand, she smiled at her success.

Smoke surrounded us. I caught sight of a movement to the left of me and gasped. "Dyme, I can't believe you're here." I said, she smiled and walked over. "Hello Eir, I'm pleased you've regained your strength." She said. She looked so real, so vital. She moved to Brenna, "it's wonderful to meet you." She said, "I enjoy hearing about your day." She said. Brenna blushed. We heard a couple of gasps behind us, Marcus and Esme were staring in shock. Dyme smiled at them, "come." She beckoned, they walked forward in a daze. Dyme looked at Esme, "thank you for healing Thengmarr. You both deserve happiness." She said. The smoke began to clear, Dyme's spirit dimmed. "It appears we don't have much time so I'll say good bye, thank you for tending the garden. You've given this place energy and life." Her voice became a whisper as she drifted away.


	58. Part 3 Chapter 20

**AN: Everyone's either in Volterra or on their way to Volterra. The only exceptions are those with the Hybrids; Demitri, Leah, Felix and the Healers. Alice, Alistair and Jane are in Iceland with the witches.**

**Some bad news; I'm going to post every second day instead of daily. We've got some nasty shit happening with our neighbor and are gathering evidence to press charges. I have to sort through hours of surveillance video daily and don't have enough time to work on Hell Fire.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

_Previously in Volterra:_

_Theresa bound the Horsemen and Werewolves' human and beast sides. She's having a nanna nap. Aro, Brenna, Jake, Marcus and Esme had a chat with Didyme's spirit._

CHAPTER 20

BPOV

The first of the coven leaders had arrived. The vampires were bustling about while the rest of us stayed in the Masters' Quarters. Jake, Theresa, there werewolves and my fellow Horsemen decided to hide until the Masters told the coven leaders of our existence. Theresa was happy Aro, Marcus and Esme had spoken to Didyme, she was sorry she missed it. She sent away for more supplies from Texas, she thought it was good for the Volturi Masters to learn more about the spirit world. Aro was overjoyed. Marcus and Esme had initially been spooked by Dyme's presence, but it also gave them closure. Esme didn't feel like she was filling a role and Marcus got a chance to see that Didyme had found peace.

Esme had started to create another garden nearby, one full of remedies for each supernatural species, it was an extension to Didyme's garden. Marcus and Esme gifted Theresa with seeds for plants they knew to be beneficial. Brenna promised to visit the Reservation to use her gift on the tribal gardens again. Theresa had grown close with Brenna, she said Brenna exuded energy which recharged her. They were talking about taking a trip to Iceland, Brenna wanted Theresa to feel the energy of her homeland.

Chelsea popped in and told us everyone had arrived. It wouldn't be long until we would be introduced. I felt like I was waiting for a battle to begin. We sat still and waited.

I had a large bowl of popcorn on my lap, I couldn't seem to stop eating from nerves. Pete was the same, we'd gone through three packets in the last five hours. Char was fidgeting next to me. Jake huffed. "There's no point us sitting here, doing nothing. How about we go to the Rowan room and practice phasing." He suggested. We agreed, we were too restless to sit still.

We found it impossible to concentrate, Theresa made us some calming tea. I felt much better. For a few hours we stood moving between forms. Brenna was getting the hang of it much quicker today. She and Fred could transform quickly. Briggita and Aaron watched us. "It's so bloody weird." Aaron commented. Briggita bumped his shoulder, "don't listen to this grumpy arsehole, he's just jealous." She announced, they hadn't had their human and bestial forms bound yet. Theresa had promised to bind them when her energy returned. She was still a little weak from working with the rest of us.

We were switching forms quickly now, it wasn't without effort, but it was getting easier. I started to experiment, changing my eyes and hands while keeping the rest of me human looking. I returned my eyes and hands to normal and decided to try bulking up my muscles. Jake laughed at me, "Bells, you look like a body builder." The others looked at me and chuckled. I reduced my muscle mass and focused on changing my teeth. My mouth was stuck open, the teeth were too big for my human mouth. Pete laughed and I quickly returned them to normal length.

Fred returned to his human form, "That's very impressive Bella. How do you do it?" He asked, I told him how I focused on one part of my anatomy and concentrated on changing its appearance. He tried to focus, but his body turned into his wolf self. The others were trying to change different parts of themselves. Even Jake was concentrating hard. It seemed that only we Horsemen could alter our appearance, it must be a hybrid thing.

I heard footsteps approach, J had changed his facial appearance to the wolf, but kept his eyes and hair human looking. Char had changed her tongue, it hung out of her mouth, Pete was laughing at her. Esme was at the door, watching us in shock. We returned to our human form and smiled sheepishly. "It's time to make your debut. I suggest human forms for the moment, Jake you might want to put some clothes on." She said. We nodded and headed out. Pete, Char, J and I were lucky, we'd wear masks. Theresa, Jake and the wolves would be meeting them wearing the black cloaks with purple lining. Their faces would be visible.

Theresa was fussing next to us. I leaned over "no matter what we'll protect you. The Masters wont tolerate any rudeness." I promised, "I know, I'm just nervous. What if they hate me? They're going to judge us."  
"I know, but it's up to them to give us a reason to trust them." I said. She nodded, J sent a wisp of calm to us. It was just the right amount to take the edge off our nerves.

Caius opened the doors for us and smiled. "It's okay. We chose this group because of their likelihood to accept your species. They're curious and want to get to know you." He said. We walked in and the room hushed, the vampires were staring at us. I saw empty bottles of synthetic blood and smiled, the scent of the wolves and spirit walkers wouldn't set off the vampires' instincts.

"I'm proud to introduce my friends." Aro announced, he was grinning and looked relieved. Marcus was looked relaxed and happy. Aro walked over to us and whispered "everything is going better than expected." He grabbed Fred's hand and brought him over. "This is my biological brother, a leader among the werewolves and a great ally." Eleazar and Amun walked over and shook his hand with great ceremony. "The Egyptian coven welcomes to wolves to our world. We give our alliance to Fred and his pack."  
"The Denali coven welcomes the wolves. We give our alliance to Fred and his pack."

One by one the vampires greeted Fred warmly. We were in shock. I could see Fred struggle to push past his surprise and speak with them all. Aro announced proudly that Fred and his pack had helped remove the Romanians from the world. A cheer went up, they'd obviously heard the truth about the Romanians. Aro came over and cheerfully asked Brenna, Briggita and Aaron to join Fred. "I'd like to introduce Briggita, she is Fred's true mate. This is Aaron, another leader of the wolves. Finally, we have Brenna, she is the mate of the Healer. Unfortunately the Healer has not been able to make it today, but the Alpha of his species is here to meet you." He returned to our group and ushered Theresa over.

Amun and Eleazar pledged their allegiance to the Spirit Walkers and Aaron's pack, applause echoed around the room. They were greeted like rock stars.

Vampires were splitting into groups and talking with each of the wolves, getting to know them. Aro introduced Jake, he received the same reaction, Amun and Eleazar pledged their allegiance to the Spirit Wolves. Conversation broke out amongst the vampires, werewolves and spirit walkers. I couldn't understand it, I expected some resistance, weren't vampires supposed to be scared of change?

Aro waved us forward. "My friends. It is with great honor I introduce you to a group of Guardians. They are responsible for the eradication of the newborn armies. They fought the Rebel Army and saved our home and coven. They Captured the Romanians from Chernobyl and prevented their uprising." The room silenced and stared at us.

Aro continued, "They are among a new race of supernatural beings. They are hybrids; a combination of vampire, werewolf and spirit walker. They fight for our freedom and the lives of the innocent. The Volturi coven thanks them for their help and we give our allegiance to them and their allies."

I heard a whisper from the Ancestors _Trust what you see, Fate is building bridges between the species.. The Volturi Kings have succeeded, the unity has begun._ Pete walked forward, his voice rang out "I am Conquest." He introduced himself. J went next, repeating Pete's introduction, "I am War." Charlotte was next, she echoed her mate and sire. All eyes turned to me, I took a deep breath and announced "I am Death." The Vampires didn't move.

Eleazar and Amun repeated their pledge and alliance. Slowly vampires began to approach, they bowed their heads in submission. I recognized a few nomads we'd come across in America. They told us their stories, many had been born in states affected by the wars and were grateful they could return home.

A couple from Spain thanked us for helping the Volturi defeat the Rebel Army. They told us how the army had invaded their city, killing many. There were similar stories from those in France and Switzerland. A couple of nomads had travelled Eastern Europe, they had encountered the Romanians in Chernobyl and been attacked by Carlos as his army.

There were sad stories of those who had lost everything under the Romanian rule, those who had been hurt by the Newborn wars in Middle America and recently, many had been hurt by the Rebel Army. We all split off in groups, listening and speaking to many in attendance. Jake was particularly popular with a few of the ladies. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Claire and Felipe joined me, telling the others how I saved her mate. Felipe smiled at her. I was glad to see they were happy.

After a few hours talking and greeting people Aro dismissed us. I was glad, we entered the Master's Quarters. I yawned and stretched. Caius followed us out and led us to the kitchen. Kachiri was cooking some lasagna. "I thought you'd be hungry." She announced. She passed us plates of lasagna and we sat around the kitchen table. The lasagna was perfectly cooked, I thanked her. She waved me off "I've missed cooking, the Hybrids taught us how to and we'd help make family dinners once a week."  
"I didn't see you in the Throne Room." Pete said softly. She nodded, "I'm not used to so many people, I said my peace and snuck away." She admitted sheepishly. "I envy you. It was pretty intense in there." J said.

"Caius, what happened in there?" Theresa asked between mouthfuls. He smiled, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Aro, Amun and Eleazar told their histories. They didn't go into too much detail, but the spoke about the savagery of the Romanians and life as a human in those times. There were a few who shared their stories about raiding parties. They had hidden for a long time to survive. A few had been a part of human villages who had relied on the werewolves as protectors. They vouched for the species. Amun and Eleazar backed them up and spoke about how the werewolves had been betrayed." He explained.

Fred exhaled brokenly. "I never expected this day to come. I thought the former humans had forgotten our species and associated us with our beast and bad luck." He said, Caius shook his head and explained "a handful of the people out there were children when the Romanians started hunting wolves. They befriended a few of your species and thought of you as superheroes. They were sad to see the species disappear."

"I wish those wolves were alive today to see this. All that's left of our species are those from the island." Fred said sadly. Theresa touched his hand, "they didn't die in vain. Their spirits live on, they share our success. When you trapped the Romanians in time you gave those Souls justice. They're at peace, Fred." She said.

Caius continued, "When we told the group that the Healer was a Spirit Walker, everyone was keen to know more. Like with the werewolves, the locations of your people are kept secret."  
"How are they so accepting? Surely there will be vampires out there who will be intolerant of our species." Fred said. Caius sighed, "You're right. There will be more opposition to come. The leaders and nomads we invited were chosen because of their histories. We thought it best to start with those who might accept the unity and took a risk by inviting Siobhan, her gift will help us. Amun and Eleazar took time talking to her, she supports the unity and sympathized with how poorly the werewolves were treated and how the Spirit Walkers have been living below the bread line-" Jake interrupted Caius "we don't want pity." He growled. "I understand, but we need to show them the reality of the situation. They need to understand that they have taken their freedom for granted and learn to appreciate the strength and drive of werewolves and spirit walkers." He replied. Theresa sighed "he's right, Jake. Once they get to know us they'll see our strength and resilience."  
"Besides, Aro told them how despite setbacks you still protect and appreciate all life." Caius added.

"I feel like a circus freak." Jake groaned. Caius nodded and added "for the moment you are. I know it's offensive, but this way the vampires will get to know your species, it's the best option we have. If it's any consolation many of our guard are talking with them, telling them of your good deeds. The covens and nomads respect you, they're also intrigued by novelty of the other species. We spent a long time talking about the differences between the species and how important your existence is to all life."

"We won't have to perform or anything, will we?" Fred asked sadly. Caius shook his head, "absolutely not. While many are curious to see you transform and use your gifts, we will not tolerate that sort of showmanship. You are honored guests and they will learn to accept you for who you are, not what you are. I apologize that this is how things are, we wish there was another way." He said. I didn't like it, but I'd tolerate it for now. I felt angry for Jake, Theresa and the wolves.

"With the support from these vampires, it'll be possible to sway the rest of my species. The next phase will be difficult. Our next group of visitors won't be as tolerant, they were the ones who reported the wolf sightings in Siberia. They'll be upset the Volturi deceived them." Caius said. Jake was on this third serving of lasagna. He swallowed, "I guess having allies who see us as novelties is better than having no allies at all." He said.

Caius looked at him sadly, "we promise to keep you safe. We have already killed a few of our own guard for their opposition to the unity, we will destroy those who seek to hunt you." He said. Theresa, Jake and the wolves looked at him in shock. They hadn't seen the executions after the victory over the Rebel Army. Caius explained what happened, Pete added his vision of what would have happened if those vampires had been allowed to leave.

It was at that point they realized how far the Volturi would go to ensure their safety, they understood the consequences of what was happening. Jake was looking at Caius in awe. "I never thought I'd be in Vampire Headquarters finding true compassion from creatures my species hunted." He said. Caius smiled, "we both kill to protect the innocent, Jacob. We all have a strong connection to our humanity. Monsters exist in all species." He said.

Charlie POV

Rose and I were tending to Leah. The hybrids had been very helpful, a couple of days after we arrived Leah had started to weaken. She had been exhausted and looked on the verge of death. Rosa was visiting and rushed to our side, "she needs to drink blood." She announced. Rosie had gone to the cooler and brought out a bottle of synthetic blood from Volterra. Leah drank desperately, it was the first thing she'd been able to tolerate. Demitri had begun to feel hope when he saw Leah's strength return.

Another package of synthetic blood was due to arrive any day now. Rosie and Dem had taken to hunting animals, saving the synthetic blood for Leah. We'd been tending to Leah for the last ten days. Her belly was swollen from the pregnancy. Her ribs had copped a beating, I didn't know how the human girls had survived until the labor, Leah was lucky she was a quick healer. Sue, Harry and Seth didn't leave her side. They watched as Demitri cared for her and worried about her health. They could see how good a man he was for their daughter.

Seth had become indispensible. His body heat kept Leah warm. Sue and Harry had stayed positive since Jake called to tell them Leah and the baby would survive. I had expected them to castrate Dem for impregnating their daughter, but they respected the imprint bond and had gotten to know the hybrids well. They looked forward to meeting their first grandchild. Sue was sitting in a nearby armchair knitting a white beanie for the baby. "It's a shame we don't know whether the baby's a boy or a girl." She sighed.

Sue looked at Dem and smiled, "how are you holding up, Papa Bear?" She asked. He smiled widely, "I'm still stunned, I never expected to be a father." He said. Seth chuckled, "a lot of guys have kids when they're old." He teased lightly. Dem smirked "I doubt there are many 1200 year old fathers out there." There was a crack as Leah's rib broke, she gasped in pain. Demitri gently rubbed her stomach and sang lowly, he knew how to calm that kid down. I made a cup of calming tea for Leah, it seemed to help the baby.

"How long until we get to meet the baby?" Seth asked. Rose smiled, "another week." She replied. "I just want this over with. I don't know how chicks do this for nine fucking months." Leah growled, she had ridden the rollercoaster of emotions. In the beginning her and Dem had wanted to terminate the pregnancy, they were terrified. So were we. In the first few minutes of arrived we tried cocktails of abortificants, but nothing had worked. The baby had been wrapped in a hard membrane, there was nothing we could do but wait out the pregnancy. When the Clearwaters arrived two hours later they told us what the Horsemen had told Jake and we allowed ourselves to hope.

Hearing that Leah and the baby would be safe had changed everyone's mood. The fear relented, changing to hope and acceptance. Leah had started to bond with the baby, Dem soon followed. I knew he'd be overwhelmed when the baby was born; love for the child, amazement that his mate had created a beautiful being in their image and gratitude for the chance of fatherhood. I had felt that when Bella was born, I could see the beginnings of those emotions in him now, but he'd never fully understand what was happening until his son or daughter would come into the world.

The childbirth itself had been a long discussed issue with Rose and Demitri. They had discussed ways to assist the birth; they planned on performing a cesarean if it became too dangerous, Leah wanted to try a natural childbirth with a hell of a lot of pain killers. The plan was to give her medicine to induce labor and see how it things progressed. Rose, Sue and Demitri were prepared for anything.

Leah got up from the couch and waddled to her bedroom. She needed a lot of sleep these days. Seth decided to grab some sleep as well, he was glad to be away from the Res. Sam had everyone running patrols day and night. I knew that with Sam's daughter newly born his instincts were in overdrive, everything looked like it would hurt your family, from a patch of ice on the ground to a creaking branch in the tree.

My mobile rang, it was Zafrina. "How are you?" I asked. "Good, thank you Healer. How is Leah?"  
"She's doing well. There have been a few bone breaks and her kidneys and liver have taken a beating, but she's a fast healer."  
"Is the blood helping?" She asked. "It's made a big difference, she's looking a lot better." I told her. "What about her wolf spirit?" Zafrina asked. "It's calmed, we've added some bonding remedies to the synthetic blood, the wolf accepts the pregnancy and is no longer fighting it."  
"I'm glad to hear it, Healer. The hybrids have been worried. They see Leah as a beacon of hope, they feel like she is a mother to their species." She said. Poor kids didn't have any parents, they only had a few vampires to guide them.

"Sue sends her love to them." I said. Sue had taken to the hybrids as if they were her own. "They send they love and hope that her daughter is well. We've had some luck finding more hybrids."  
"Are they okay?" I asked. Zafrina made a noise in agreement and added "Emmett has thoroughly checked them. They are a strong species. We are sending five to Hulien and Rosa, they should reach Salta in two days."

"How many are there so far?" I asked, "Twelve including the original six. The last two we came across told us of rumors about possible hybrids west of here. They're guarded by the Grandmother of the tribe and are considered Angels."  
"Will you be able to talk to them?" I asked. I was interested to hear how they managed to assure the unknown hybrids they were here to help. "Julia and Nahuel will go first and introduce us. We have a set plan we've perfected. With Julia and Nahuel greeting them first they can see they belong to the same species. They tell them about Vampires, the Volturi and Joham. Once we tell them we destroyed Joham so he couldn't harm anyone else they introduce me I show them Joham's death. That is usually enough to have them trust us." She explained.

"What happens if you come across one who had a bond with Joham?" I asked. "We have planned for that eventuality. I am able to defend us from attack, I can fill the minds of any enemies with bright light and loud noise, it's very disorientating, but that is going to be a last resort. We will not force any of them to join us if they do not wish it. We can only make sure they are safe and will not harm innocents. If there are any that plan to carry on Joham's work we will have to execute them."  
"I hope you're never in that position, Zafrina." I said. "So do we, Healer. We've been lucky, but sooner or later our luck will run out. We are prepared for every eventuality."


	59. Part 3 Chapter 21

**AN: An epic amount of sorries to you all, we've been sorting through a lot of CCTV footage and are working with the police regarding the problem neighbour. Thank you all for your patience :) I'll update again sometime next week.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

_Previously in Iceland:_

_Jane and Alice arrived in Iceland with Alistair to train with the witches._

CHAPTER 21

Alice POV - Iceland with Jane and Alistair, training with the witches

The witches seemed to overestimate my intellect and limitless energy. I was tired, my head hurt. They were teaching us in shifts; during the day we would learn about herbalism, in the evening would be history and at night time we would be using our connection to the moon and the earth. Jane and I didn't get a break.

We were currently learning to scry. The witches had given us a silver bowl, at the bottom was an obsidian disc. We were supposed to look for messages. They couldn't tell us who or what was behind the messages or what purpose they were, but we had to open our minds to anything. There was half an inch of water at the bottom of the bowl. We were sitting on the western most shore of Kaldbakur. There was nothing for miles, behind us was a couple of villages, but there were no signs of human life in the vicinity. This area was supposed to have the thinnest membrane between the mortal and spiritual worlds. The area made us feel unsettled, Jane and I would see flashes of movement from the corner of our eyes, but when we looked in the direction we could see nothing.

It was the night of the new moon, the energy around us felt heavy and we were beginning to feel drained. I put my scrying bowl down and focused my mind. We had learned to tap into the energy of the earth, moon and sun. I imagined a ball of energy inside me, like a battery. I imagined my veins connected to the battery and pushed my fingers into the ground, tapping into the energy source. The unsettled feeling lessened. It almost felt like I could feel the lava bubbling deep in the ground, surrounded by stone and water. I began to feel full, sluggish.

I moved my fingers back and leaned over the scrying bowl. My mind felt clearer and I concentrated on the water in the bowl. I focused and unfocused my eyes, maybe it was like a Magic Eye picture, I hoped I'd see a sailboat. There was a ripple on the water, but there was no wind. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, but ignored it in favor of the water. Shadows bloomed in the bowl, but I couldn't tell if it was the water or the obsidian. Wisps of shadow moved together. There was more movement in my peripheral vision. The shadows formed a negative image of myself, I froze, daring not to breathe or blink.

The shadows told a story, I saw myself sitting on the shore next to Jane. A whisper of breath passed my ear, like a voice on the wind. _Why?_ It seemed to ask. I didn't know how to respond, but I felt power sing through my veins. _Welcome, last daughter of Fate._ I heard faintly. I felt a swirl of movement around me, energizing me and telling me its secrets. The image of Jane and I changed, zooming in. I felt something move through me, bringing with it a cold chill.

I kept my focus. I saw our shadow image in the bowl change. Arcs of thin black shadow poured from us, into the shapes of many creatures. The image showed a close up view of a beast, he ate something. The image changed, the beast turned into Feykir. Arcs of magic from Jane and I struck Feykir and the packs like lightning, but instead of turning to dust, they glowed like angels. An image of the sky appeared, shadow clouds raced across it, the moon began to grow; a thin crescent, a half moon, growing, becoming full. An image of the wolves in a large cave carved into the ice, they looked up at the full moon through a crack in the ice and smiled, remaining in their human form.

There were whispered instructions from the spirits, it wasn't a language I recognized, but somehow I could understand it. _The wolves will eat a gift from the Merciful ones. Your powers will give them what they desire._ The shadows slowly disappeared from the bowl, the cold movement seemed to fade and I felt my full energy return. I slowly relaxed and move my face to Jane. Her eyes were unfocussed; they had turned black, no sign of whiteness. She looked like a porcelain doll. Her eyes stared at nothing, looking like deep abysses.

I watched her and slowly reached my hand in her direction, I knew I wouldn't make contact with her, she was a fifteen feet from me. My fingertips felt chilled, like I was holding them in front of a freezer on a hot day. Had I looked like her? I watched her, she didn't move or breathe for a long time. Slowly the black in her eyes started to shrink, they became two pinpricks as the whites of her eyes and her silver irises returned. She blinked and looked at me. "We can help the wolves." She announced. "I saw it too." I replied.

We walked back slowly, it was still dark. Alistair was waiting for us near our cottage. He smiled when he saw me and ran to kiss me. "I missed you." He said, I hadn't spent any time with him since we arrived days ago. I heard the others in slumber and we decided to sit and catch up. Jane joined us.

Alistair filled us in on everything that had happened. "First, I promise no one is harmed." He said, that was never a good sign. "There was an attack in Volterra." Jane and I froze, on the edge of panic. "The Horsemen arrived in time to defeat the attackers. Many humans were killed in the battle." He said sadly. I reached out and touched his hand, "how many, Alistair?" I asked. "338, the Masters are helping everyone they can, the human authorities have helped greatly."

Jane and I were silent as we thought of those whose lives had been lost. I felt moisture on my cheeks and gasped. They were tears. I wiped my eyes, more tears appeared. I looked at them, there was a pearl like shine to them. I tasted them, they were sweet with venom and salty like human tears. I looked to Jane, she was crying too. She sniffed, "we need to honor the dead somehow." She said. I heard a heart speed up in the house next to ours, Andres was awake. He shuffled over to us and sat next to Alistair, "something terrible must have happened to make vampires cry." He said gently. Alistair told him about the attack on Volterra.

Andres was silent for a while. "We will honor their lives." He said quietly. He led us to a barren out crop with a flat stone, there were small parcels of dirt. "Honor the lives of the innocent with your tears. You are closer to the earth being made from rock, let those tears fall where they may and we'll bury them in honor of the lives lost." Jane and I walked slowly, letting the tears flow down our cheeks. We'd collect them on our finger tips and let them fall to the dirt. Andres left us, taking Alistair with him. Jane and I walked, sobbing for a while. With each tear we felt a release. We were starting to calm. The last few tears left us and Andres returned.

He carried a linen bag and began to set the flat stone up like an altar. He set up small silver bowls at each of the four compass points; in the northern bowl he added some incense, lighting it. He moved to the eastern bowl and adding a pinch of dirt from near the altar. He brought out a small glass bottle of sea water and tipped it into the bowl to the east and brought out a candle, lighting it for the south. He was casting a circle, he'd taught us to tune into the earth and let it guide us; North; the harsh Arctic winds, east; the bulk of the Icelandic island, south; the volcano called Hekla, and West; the water of the sea hummed with life.

Andres placed the censure on the ground in front of the tears. He spoke an incantation and brought out a firestone and flint. He lay the smudge stick on the censure and struck a spark. The wind picked up, slowly blowing the smoke over the tears and cleansing the area, but it didn't blow out the candle. The smudge stick smoldered. We picked up a handful of dirt from around the altar and sprinkled it over the tears. When the smudge stick turned to ash we sprinkled it over the tears.

We sat in silence, the sun began to rise. The flame of the candle shrank and extinguished. When the wax had cooled we buried it deep into the earth with the water from the western bowl, ash from the northern bowl and filled the hole with the dirt of the eastern bowl. We headed back to the cottage to tell our Scry instructor, Disa, what we'd seen.

Alistair POV - Iceland with Alice, Jane and the witches

Feykir visited me today, he had received a package from America. The others had found a way to stop the werewolves from transforming into their beasts, all it took was a chip of wood from the American Rowan tree. When we had arrived he visited us with the good news about the Healer's Chequer Vodka. They had been able to stay connected to their humanity despite changing into beasts during the last full moon, they had been overjoyed with the results. I saw that same look in his eye today.

He showed me the letter from Theresa, it appeared she'd sent it before they left for Volterra. She wrote how the wolves had been stranded in Texas and they had urgently found the nearest Rowan tree to contain them. When Fred had eaten a chip of wood he returned to human form. I told him about the vision Alice and Jane had seen while scrying. Feykir had spoken to Fred and Briggita last week, they had told him how Theresa and Chelsea had been able to bind the human and animal sides of the werewolves and they could transform at will.

We rushed over to Kavie's house, he was teaching Alice and Jane about the history of their species. He smiled as we walked in. We told them about the wood and letter from Theresa. Kavie excused himself to speak to Arria, she was teaching Alice and Jane how to channel their power and with her sister, Peci's, help they would help Alice and Jane give the wolves their independence, binding their human and beast sides.

When Kavie returned with Arria and Peci, Feykir invited me to the den of the wolves. I was glad for the company. Everyone in the coven of witches was busy, especially Alice and Jane. They were squeezing decades worth of study into a few months. I understood how important this time was, but still wished Alice and I had time to ourselves. For once the solitude wasn't a comfort.

Feykir noticed my mood, "the western world has a saying, does it not? Absence makes the heart grow fonder." He said. I was already very fond of Alice, time apart wouldn't change that. I nodded. Feykir stopped, "this is a busy time for all species. Why not use this time to construct the Anti-corruption Agency?"  
"I don't want to miss out on time with Alice." I said, the odd smile and wave from my mate sustained me. "Alistair, my friend, this is work that needs to be done. There is little point to waiting around here when you have your own mission. What is the point of waiting when in the future you too will be too busy to spend time with your mate." He pointed out. He was making a lot of sense.

I conceded. Tonight would be my last night before starting my destiny, I was disappointed I wouldn't be able to see Alice daily, but the more work I put in now, the less time away from my mate in the future. Feykir and the packs welcomed my company. We spoke about how our human lives had played out before being turned. Many of wolves had been turned as part of an honor ritual, they had been chosen because of the order of their birth. I wondered how my life would have played out if Richard hadn't kidnapped my brother and I.

There were those who had been turned because of bad luck, they didn't resent their sires, their human lives had lacked purpose, they were at peace with their destiny. It had given me a perspective I'd never considered. It struck me how grateful I was that the Volturi had protected them. The wolves appreciated every morsel of good luck they had, it was that compassion from the Volturi that had brought me to my mate and healed me. I was no longer bitter and terrified of making connections with the world, I had finally accepted my lot in life.

When the first beams of light illuminated the ice around us I readied myself to leave. Feykir walked out with me. "I have spoken to the West Australian Pack Master, Cynewulf. She has agreed to send her daughter, Ginna, to us after the next full moon. She is satisfied that the Chequer Vodka has given them enough control to travel amongst the humans and is anticipating the arrival of the American Rowan Wood."  
"When will she arrive?" I asked. "Three weeks, Cynewulf will accompany Ginna to Iceland. She would like to meet you before giving her daughter to our cause." Feykir explained.

I thanked him and went to the cottage where Alice, Jane and I kept our belongings. I only packed a few items; my phone, clothing, maps and lap top. I'd read through the official laws of the Volturi and had files full of possible new laws between each of the species. I would speak to Maggie and discuss what laws needed to be added or modified.

I reluctantly went to say goodbye to Alice. I walked slowly, it was unlikely I'd see my mate for months after I left. I picked up my pace as the clouds parted and kept to the shadows. Occasionally a car would pass, but I knew they wouldn't see me glittering, I hid myself well.

I saw Andres tending to his garden. I greeted him and told him my plans. "We promise to take good care of Alice and Jane." He vowed. He asked me to wait a moment and ducked into his cottage. I thought about what I'd say to Alice, I didn't want her to think I was abandoning her.

Andres returned carrying a pendant fixed to a leather cord. "Take this, it's a protection amulet. The cord is infused with calming energy. I made it when in the first week you stayed with us." He handed it over, I gently ran my fingers over the pendant. It was a small silver disc with a strange glass bead embedded into it; blue with white, light blue and black concentric circles. "It's the evil eye, it protects the wearer from harm and wards off nefarious intent." Andres explained.

He walked with me to Venel's cottage, Venel was teaching them how to protect and banish. Andres let me inside. I hugged my mate and kissed her cheek. "I'm proud of you and Jane for working so hard, I know you haven't had any down time." I began, Alice started to look guilty. "It's okay, Ali. This is important, you're following your fate. I'm going to work on mine, it's time I started the Anti-corruption council. I'll return when I can." She looked so sad, but nodded.

"I'll be safe, Ali. I promise. Andres gave me this." I showed her the pendant. "It'll keep me safe. I'll wear it constantly. I need you to continue studying with Jane and the coven, I'll stay in contact as often as I can. If I get this done now we won't have to be separated later. This is a good thing, Ali." I said. She smiled sadly, "I understand. I'll miss you, but you're right. This needs to be done." She turned back to the table top, there were terracotta plates called censures and bundles of leaves on them. She picked one up and lit it. She moved the censure in front of me and said an incantation. I felt warmth pass through me and smiled.

"Excellent work, Alice. That's one of the hardest protection spells to master, I'm surprised you were able to channel the earth's energy so easily." Venel said impressed. "I've been practicing." Alice replied shyly. That was an understatement, I'd seen her sitting on the ground with her fingers pushed into the dirt several times. She liked to feel the energy from the lava, stone and water. I was proud of her.

"We eat our evening meal at six, it would be the best time for you to phone and check in with them." Andres said. I smiled and thanked him. I hugged Jane good bye and walked outside with Alice. The others gave us privacy. The afternoon sunlight hit our skin, I sparkled brightly. Alice's skin had changed after the lightning strike, there was a faint glitter, but it wouldn't be noticeable to humans. Instead, she glowed with the energy around us. I held her for a while and kissed her.

We said good bye and promised to call each other every day, she knew it would take a full day to fly from Reykjavik to Dublin. I put the necklace from Andres around my neck, I didn't feel any different, but I'd never take it off while I was separated from my mate. She watched me as I started walking, I'd reach the airport by midnight, I'd already book a flight for 1 AM. I would arrive in Dublin the following evening.


	60. Part 3 Chapter 22

**AN: Another update! WOO! Thank you all so much for your patience :) I'll update again sometime next week.**

**S. Meyer owns twilight**

_Previously in South America:_

_Zafrina, Hulien, Emmett and most of the Hybrids are searching South America for other hybrids. Leah, Demitri, the Clearwaters and Healers are in Salta with Rosa, Joham's eldest. _

_Previous in Volterra:_

_The first meeting with the covens. The Masters introduce the Spirit Walkers, Werewolves and Hybrid Horsemen to the first group of coven leaders and nomads._

_This chapter is set two weeks later._

CHAPTER 22

Charlie POV - South America with Leah, Demitri, Rose, Hulien and the Clearwaters.

I sat outside with Harry and Seth. Rose had given Leah a tea to induce labor, the baby had been restless for days as it grew too large for Leah's womb. I could smell the scent of the analgesic herbs burning from the ensuite bathroom. We had sterilized Leah's bathroom yesterday and brought cheap cushions to make it comfortable, it would be an ideal place for the labor.

I could hear Demitri singing to calm the baby and Leah's footsteps as she paced the room. Leah let out a scream of agony. Seth and Harry looked up in alarm. I'd heard screams just like that when Renee was going through labor. I listened as Sue comforted her daughter, she was helping Rose and Hulien deliver the baby, she had a lot of experience as a midwife on the La Push Res.

Harry began to pace as time seemed to crawl. I had reassured them both over the last six hours. I understood their fear, but allowed myself to hope; the Ancestors had told the Horsemen that Leah and the baby would be fine. The scent of the analgesic smoke increased, Sue had added more leaves to the censure. I wasn't sure how strong an effect it would have on Leah, Rose has been unable to give her an epidural, Leah's skin was too hard.

I'd offered to make some food for Seth and Harry, they said they weren't hungry. I'd made several thermoses of calming tea for them hours ago, they'd both gulped down the tea, but it hadn't calmed them completely. Nothing would stop Harry and Seth from fearing for Leah's safety until they saw her and the baby after the birth. It had now been eighteen hours since Leah began feeling contractions.

At last we heard Sue tell Leah to push, she had finally reached the final stage of labor. This was an excellent sign, the baby would be delivered without a cesarean. Harry and Seth's scent changed as more adrenaline pumped into their blood. I went inside to make more tea. I saw Hulien run down the stairs to join me. We made a few more thermoses of calming tea, Hulien was in a good mood, "it's going well isn't it?" I whispered to her, she smiled wider and nodded. "The baby seems to understand what's happening, it's being careful. We give Leah the tea to make sure her and the baby are calm." She whispered.

I returned to Harry and Seth with fresh calming tea. "She's doing very well. It appears to be a normal labor, she's handing it will remarkable strength." I told them. They seemed to relax a little and started to drink more tea. "I hope when I imprint I never put my mate through that." Seth said quietly. Harry nodded, "it was hard watching you and Leah being born, I was panicking both times. Sue handled it like a champ, she was the one consoling me." He said to Seth. "Renee tried to castrate me in the delivery room." I told them. Harry chuckled, "I remember, you couldn't walk straight for a week." I cringed at the memory.

Twenty minutes later I smelled blood, I heard the cry of the baby as Leah sighed "thank fuck that's over." Harry let out a ragged breath in relief. "She's okay?" Seth asked, I nodded. He slumped in relief. We could hear Sue cooing as she tended to the baby. Harry smiled and called out "hurry up, I want to meet my grandkid!" Rose appeared at the window and glared at him "Harold Ephraim Clearwater, you will sit there and wait patiently like a good boy. We're busy." She chastised him, she was looking disheveled. Harry grinned and nodded.

Demitri came outside a few minutes later, holding the swaddled baby. He was looking a little green and shaking slightly. Harry rushed over to him and stared at his new grandkid. "Her name's Violet." Dem said roughly. Harry patted him on the back and led him over to us. He passed Violet to Harry and Seth, I handed him a thermos of calming tea. "Congratulations, Dem." I said as he swigged the tea. He sighed as it began to work, "my god, I don't know how Leah did it." He said.

BPOV - Volterra

We were in Caius' sitting room with the Masters, Jake, Theresa and the wolves. I felt absolutely exhausted. After the first group of coven leaders had left us two weeks ago we were hopeful that the next group wouldn't be too bad. We had been wrong. The second group had a handful of people who had reported werewolf sightings to the Masters. The other guests had been nomads and a few coven leaders from the remote parts of Africa and South America. Kachiri had pledged loyalty to the werewolves, spirit walkers and Horsemen, there had been some backlash.

Coven leaders from Eastern Europe, the east coast of America and northern parts of Asia had been offended the Volturi had lied to them about exterminating the werewolves. Many of the coven leaders were five hundred years old and younger, they hadn't seen the effect the Romanians had on the world, they hadn't fought to survive. They'd isolated themselves in densely populated human cities and had lived comfortably for centuries. Kachiri lost her temper and lectured the attendees on arrogance and cruelty.

The nomads agreed with her, they had witnessed powerful humans in their travels and accepted there were other supernatural species. They accepted us, the spirit walkers and the werewolves when Aro told them how we wanted normal lives and freedom, they were open minded and listened to us when we spoke, they were very respectful. Many of the coven leaders had shown a lot of bigotry, talking down to us like we were savages and trying to 'inform' us about 'the real world.' We did our best to look outwardly calm, but it was a challenge.

Marcus looked on in rage as he heard some of the leaders talk to us with total contempt. Aro and Caius interrupted the conversations as best as they could and were frequently taking the vampires aside to chastise them. Char had been cornered by a mated couple who spoke at length about the cities they'd lived in, boasting how the little humans respected them and idolized them for their superiority. Several arsehole coven leaders 'informed' us about the technology the 'civilized world' had created; smart phones, computers, plumbing and cars.

Theresa was red faced with anger, Jake rescued her in a spectacular display of snobbery. He'd approached the group and joined the conversation. "What year was your car manufactured?" He asked the stuck up shit, "It's a 2002 model, we brought it brand new." The moron said smugly. "Huh, how did you fix the transmission problems?" Jake asked with faux innocence. The moron puffed his chest out with pride, "we had one of our humans deal with it, we're too busy to concern our time with such things. Our mechanic is excellent, he replaces the blinker fluid weekly, puts heavy duty tire beads on the wheels in winter and kept our tires filled with seasonal air."

Jake's eyes had lit up as the moron droned on. "Has he replaced the muffler bearings?" He asked, the moron nodded smugly. "What about the adjustable power band?"  
"Of course, we've even fully equipped our garage so he can pop in and work on the car without having to carry all the heavy tools." The moron boasted. Jake nodded and looked pensive, "does he have access to wiper blade sharpeners?" He asked. The moron nodded and added "it's a fully equipped garage. We have chin nuts, a complete set of left handed metric screw drivers, spark plug wire cleaner, tubs of elbow grease, engine scrub and pilot wrenches." Jake grinned, "It sounds like you've found an excellent mechanic."

I looked around Caius' sitting room, Jake was in the corner. "What were you saying to that snob with the car?" I asked him, he began to chuckle. "They mechanic they hired is conning them. There's no such thing as blinker fluid, tire beads, seasonal air and the other shit he said. Those are things mechanics say to annoying customers." He explained, Theresa cheered up. I slapped my forehead, blinker fluid, I can't believe I didn't pick that up from the start.

It took days to win over the majority of people, but many had remained obnoxious. We'd been ordered by a few of the guests to transform, the Masters had dismissed us for the day and spent hours lecturing the offenders about proper behavior. Aro, Marcus and Caius had lost their shit when they caught the guests poking around their quarters looking for us. J and I had nearly been caught in the throes of passion by one particularly spiteful bitch, she and her friends had become outraged when the Masters asked them to return to the main part of the castle. Since then we'd locked ourselves in our rooms, only leaving when we were obligated to make an appearance.

Marcus and Esme held a seminar on etiquette in the throne room. We watched from the laird's lug. J sent the class alertness and boosted their concentration while Chelsea played with the bonds of the worst offenders. Marcus' mood had improved when he saw Chelsea's alterations. She was careful not to damage the alliances and increased the mating bond between couples, they'd be too busy worshipping each other to bother with us.

J had taken to sending the more obnoxious people embarrassment and gratitude every time they spoke. It had worked wonders and their personalities improved. I knew it would be short lived, but we'd ensured they would respect us and give us privacy. The group had left us an hour ago, we were enjoying the time together. Caius began the debrief, "that was more painful than all the daily audiences combined." He announced, Aro and Marcus agreed solemnly. They apologized for the behavior of the guests, but Theresa and Jake waved them off. "Most of them were nice, the nomads treated us like equals. It was only five of the coven leaders who were complete pricks." Jake said.

Theresa was silent. "Are you okay?" Caius asked her, she nodded. "I don't trust some of the coven leaders." She said. "I don't blame you. I don't trust them either, but they are loyal to us. I've spoken to Eleazar and Amun. They will send trusted allies to watch over the problem covens. Thankfully the first visitors we had here are strongly in favor of the unity." By the end of that first week the first group had grown to respect us and no longer saw us as a novelty. They left on good terms, we'd need their assistance to ensure the other groups were managed after the weeklong stay in Volterra.

The next group to arrive would consist of those in close proximity to the werewolves and tribal lands. We were unsure how they'd react. There would be coven leaders from Montana, Ohio, Minnesota and Michigan in America, Adelaide and Perth in Australia, Norway, Finland, Scotland and the north and south islands of New Zealand. There were nomads invited from the Eastern Coast of Australia, across Western Europe and Canada. We had a week to rest before they arrived.

I looked at Pete, "do you see any upcoming nastiness?" I asked him. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He exhaled slowly and spoke. "The rest of the meetings will go well. It appears the next group will get us in contact with other supernatural humans." Aro looked at him in surprise, hell we were all surprised. Pete opened his eyes and smiled, "it seems that the vampires have assisted their own supernatural allies."  
"What should we do?" Aro asked. "We'll stand with you next time you greet the visitors. The Horsemen will remain cloaked and masked. The werewolves should wear their ceremonial robes and Theresa and Jake can dress comfortably. They need to see the species stand as equal independents." Pete replied. "I like it." Jake said.

Marcus changed the topic, he updated us on the progress of the Factories and Distribution Centers. Italian Embassies in Egypt, America, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Siberia and New Zealand were undergoing renovations, Werewolves from Fred's pack and Australia were helping a team of trusted nomads to build hidden blood factories. They would be completed in a month. Amun would send Ben and Tia to each of the embassies and they would use their knowledge of technology and security systems to make the new factories secure and hidden from the human employees.

The distribution centers would be created next. Cynewulf, the Pack Master from West Australia, had contacts in several human medical organizations from her work and a rural community doctor. She was able to set up a global blood collection charity, it would be a shell company for the distribution centers and mobile blood banks. Humans would still be able to donate blood, Cynewulf had worked with her daughter, Ginna, and Celia from Theresa's Spirit Walkers. Both were qualified lawyers. The three of them ensured the organization surpassed the national standards of each country for safe blood collection and would ensure the donated blood would reach hospitals safely. It was a huge undertaking.

Esme had also been busy, she had purchased several lots of government owned land in America. Many sites had all the infrastructure needed to become self-sustaining. Many Native American communities would be able to live there without interference from the outside world. She had arranged full ride scholarships in a few Ivy League schools for Native American people to study medicine, law, and teaching. It had cost millions of dollars, but it barely made a dent in the money from Carlisle's estate.

Esme had also been designing the communities with input from the Elders of each tribe. The houses would be fully furnished, there would be a community garden, solar panels, play grounds, schools, small community businesses, a hospital with the best equipment and a community hall. She had arranged for the trees to be relocated rather than turned into wood, the houses would be made from sustainable materials and would work with the environment rather than against it. The Elders would oversee the laws and be able to handle community disputes without having to involve outside parties.

It was an exciting time in history. Soon the supernatural world would exist in harmony with the mortal world. Each species would have a sanctuary. The Werewolves would not only have homes, jobs and safety, they'd have a government of their own and would work with Vampires instead of being hunted by them.

Jake and Aro's phones rang. Harry had called Jake and Demitri had called Aro to tell us the good news about the birth of the newest Hybrid. I was relieved to hear Leah was healthy and had healed from her injuries from child birth. Dem and Leah were proud parents of a daughter, Violet. We each took turns congratulating them. Aro updated both guys on our progress. My phone dinged as dad sent me a picture of an exhausted looking Leah and a sleeping baby. Dad was going to fly back to Volterra tomorrow, he missed Brenna like crazy and asked us to keep it a surprise. I couldn't wait to see Brenna's face when dad suddenly appeared.

Rose and Em would stay in South America for a little longer, they wanted to make sure Violet was healthy and support the Hybrids with Zafrina, Senna and Hulien. They had found another three Hybrids, bringing their total number to eighteen. Demitri had familiarized himself with the mental signature of the Hybrids and told the others there were another three brothers or sisters south, near the tip of Chile.

Emmett, Zafrina and a few of the Hybrids went to retrieve them. Hulien and the remaining hybrids helped Dem and Leah care for Violet. Leah had given them hope, she lived through Violet's birth, it was proof that they were not all evil murderers, they saw Demitri care for Violet and Leah and had been impressed by him. They saw a family with a child of their species, it was a sign that bode well for the future of the Hybrids.


	61. Part 3 Chapter 23

**AN: Another update! Sorry it took a while. **

**S. Meyer owns twilight.**

CHAPTER 23

Alistair POV - Ireland with the Irish Coven. Two weeks later.

Maggie and I had been working through the information the Volturi had given us. We had received more documents from Andres and Feykir, both leaders had drafted a list of laws for their species and the Vampires. Both men had made an impressive start on a witch and werewolf legal system. Maggie and I blended the new laws with the proposed laws of the Spirit Walkers, we altered a few of the laws the Volturi had created centuries before.

Marcus and Caius had drafted a basic outline of Vampire Hierarchy, we applied it to the other species as a suggestion. Aro had given us digital copies of his diary, each page held details of every trial and execution. It was surprising how many vampires had been sentenced to death over the last millennium, there had been so many atrocities committed by our species.

Maggie sat back and sighed, "There's so much to do, Alistair. This is nuts." She said. I agreed, "We only need a rough draft, something we can bring to the Elders of the tribes in America, the Witches in Iceland and Cynewulf, Feykir and Fred. We've got a long road ahead of us." I replied. Maggie nodded, "I've finished the rest of Aro's diaries, we've done most of it now." She added. "Yes, I believe we'll have something presentable by the end of the week." Maggie and I had been working tirelessly for the last week and a bit. There were so many new laws needing to be implemented; ceasing hunting and feeding from humans and animals, limits to how many newborns could be created in a century, cruelty to other species, revealing the secrets of the supernatural world, compulsory blood duty, the list goes on and on.

I glanced at the clock, it was almost six PM. I looked forward to calling Alice, the distance between us hadn't harmed our relationship in any way. I missed her like crazy, but I was able to concentrate and work through what I needed to do. Siobhan and Liam had been fantastic hosts. We'd bounced a few ideas off them and received excellent feedback.

We were so close to having a first draft of the proposed laws. The next step would be discussing the draft with the witches, werewolves and Spirit Walkers. I hoped Alice and Jane would be able to take a break from their studies to travel with us, but there was still so much for them to learn, they needed to master all the major disciplines in witch craft and be able to understand the laws between nature and power.

Maggie returned downstairs, she'd spend a few hours with Siobhan and Liam while I spoke with Alice, Andres and Feykir. I dialed Alice's number, she picked up before the first ring as usual. "Alistair, I miss you." She said, "I miss you too, Ali. How was your day?" I asked. She sighed, "Busy, as usual. Tonight Jane and I will try to bind the werewolves." This was something Alice had been nervous about for the last two weeks. Andres had been in contact with Theresa in Volterra and Eleazar, working out the best way to bind the human side of the werewolves to their beasts. For days Jane and Alice had been charging themselves with power from the earth, sun and moon. They needed all the power they could get to work on helping the wolves.

"Has Cynewulf arrived?" I asked her, the West Australian Pack Master and her daughter were due to arrive today to witness the binding of Fred's pack. Feykir and his pack would undergo the binding during the next full moon. "She arrived a couple of hours ago. Ginna seems really nice, we spoke about the anti-corruption committee, she's really excited." Alice said happily, I was thankful. I would accept any help offered, but I wanted the people I would work with to be easy to get along with. "What's Cynewulf like?" I asked her. "She's very quiet, she tends to observe everything around her. She was polite, but I don't think she's very comfortable here." She replied. I had kind of expected that, Aro had told me a lot about the Australian packs, they had lived in isolation for a long time. "It's been decades since they've been to Iceland. She's probable taking in all of the changes." I said.

"Has Uni told you anything lately?" I asked her. "Yeah, she's very cryptic, but seems sympathetic to our nerves. She took Jane and I aside today and gave us a pep talk." Alice replied. "How are you and Maggie doing?" She asked. "We've nearly finished the first draft. Billy from La Push has offered to host us when we visit America in two weeks. We'll be able to meet Sam and his family. First we'll have to collect Celia and her mate, Lucas, from Texas then we'll head to the La Push reservation and we'll get to know each other while the Elders look over the draft. They'll speak with Theresa and the other tribal Elders on the progress we've made." I explained.

"How long will you be in America?" She asked. "Three weeks, we'll fly directly from America to Iceland with Sam and his family. By that time the Elders should have gone through the documents and made their amendments." I answered. "I wish I was coming with you." She sighed down the phone. "I know, Ali. We'll be together soon, once your training is complete and the Anti-corruption committee is established we won't have to separate again."  
"I know, it's just hard not to be impatient." She said.

"Aro called today." I said, changing the subject. "He's purchased houses on every continent for the Agency. We'll be able to explore the world while we work." I told her. "Where are the houses?" She asked. "Iceland, Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Laos, Russia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Argentina, Cuba, America and Canada." I listed. The properties would also act as a safe haven for supernaturals needing sanctuary if their country was at war or threatened. Aro had arranged for each property to be reinforced with vampire ash and each held a few panic rooms and prison cells.

"Did Aro talk about the guests they've received in Volterra?" She asked. The Volturi had held three week long seminars for coven leaders and nomads. The third group had left this morning. The Masters had received a lot of new information about other supernatural species. There were communities in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe who had similar powers to the witches and Spirit Walkers, there were hybrids, Elemental humanoids who could control earth, wind, fire and water, a species who could breathe fire, those who could change their appearance at will. Many of the new species are immortal and have been able to hide from the mortal and vampire world. A few vampire covens had built an alliance with these beings and helped protect them from attack.

I gave Alice a rundown of all the new information. Aro had been giddy at the prospect of meeting new beings. He had planned to contact them as soon as our phone call had finished. It appeared that all the mythological creatures we'd assumed humans had dreamt up really existed. There were beings that caught fire in the sun, but they were Fire Elementals, or Phoenixes as they preferred to be called. There were beings that morphed into large sea creatures, those had many different names depending on where they lived, they were Water Elementals. There were people who could turn to smoke and fog, they were Air Elementals and those whose skin could turn to stone and burrow underground, they were Earth Elementals.

All these people had either blended into the human populations, hid underground or lived in large bodies of water. They had all gone into hiding when the Ancients died and the Romanians took power. A few unlucky beings had been exposed to the humans, creating the myths that spread through the world. I thought about all the mythological creatures I'd heard about throughout my life, they each had a basis in reality; mermaids, sea serpents, ogres, giants, ghosts, even dragons. It appeared there were many species of dragon, all who kept their human form and hid among the humans. They could transform into reptiles, mammals or insects who all breathed fire. I wondered how this would affect the new world order; would they each have their own governments? Would they trust us to keep them safe? Could we trust them? How many new laws would have to be made?

Alice and I ended the call, the dinner had finished and she had to return to training. She passed the phone to Andres. "Andres, I need to speak to Uni. It appears there are many more species in the world than we'd taken into account." I said as soon as he greeted me. "What sort of species?" Andres asked in confusion, I gave him a quick overview of what Aro had learnt. "I'm guessing there are even more out there than what your Master heard about. I'll get Uni, but I should probably warn you not to get your hopes up. Uni is a mysterious being. She tends to keep a lot to herself." He said. I knew I wouldn't get much from her, but I was at least going to talk to her.

The phone passed hands from Andres to Uni. "Now, Alistair. Tell your Masters that my children and their progeny are the only ones who can choose to enter your world." She said immediately. "I understand that, Uni. Any information you give me will be kept confidential, we just need to know how we can assist them and ensure they're represented appropriately." I explained. "They choice belongs to them, not me. I cannot tell you anything, nor can I tell the Masters."  
"Shouldn't your children's progeny have a say? How can we ask their opinion on matters if we cannot contact them?" I pressed. Uni laughed, "I know your intentions are good and I trust your Masters, but I'm no snitch. Aro has been given all the information he needs to get answers. I will not assist you with this, Alistair. There are many secrets in the world and knowledge is dangerous, I will not tell secrets that don't belong to me."  
"I know, Aro and the Horsemen have the same rule." I groaned.

"I've been waiting for you to mention the Horsemen. That was one little invention my Master is most proud of." She said cryptically. "Are they like you?" I asked her, "no, they're descended from my children, but have been given the gifts to help them serve fate in a different way. I exist to create life and educate, they exist to guard the paths of fate." She said. "What are you?" I asked her. "I am all species and none. I am a gestalt."  
"So, anything the supernatural beings can do, you can also do?" I asked. "Yes. I am the mother after all." She said.

"Are there any species we should be concerned about? Any that will endanger the unity and safety of the species?" I asked. "No, no one species is evil. Only individuals." She said. I huffed. "Fine. Are there any individuals we should be concerned with?" I asked. "There are a few, but it is not up to me to advise you, Alistair. It is not in my job description to alter the course of Fate, only the Horsemen can hold that information. I am a guide, not a guardian." She said. "Well are there others out there like the Horsemen?" I asked. "Yes, but they are already known, they work for the Horsemen and aide the paths of Fate." She said. I gave up, getting information from her was like getting blood from a stone. "Goodbye, Uni." I said, hanging up before she could respond.

I decided to skip calling Feykir, they would be busy preparing for the binding. I looked out the window at the full moon. Part of me was a little anxious, I knew the Chequer vodka had kept the pack in control during the full moon, but I was still worried about my mate and Jane. Jane had become like an older sister, she reminded me of my brother, Edward Plantagenet. Both carried the weight of their destiny heavy on their shoulders. Both were treated differently because of the power they held, few people allowed themselves to really get to know them. Edward was socially isolated because of his royal blood and Jane was isolated by her powerful gift. Both resented their power and yearned to be normal. Both her and Alec and Edward and I had been betrayed by those around us, we all met death because of our heritage.

Alice and Jane had become as close as sisters, Jane had helped my mate enormously with the power residing within them. Jane understood how scary power could be and was teaching Alice coping mechanisms, I was grateful to her. Alice had also filled the void in Jane's heart that Alec had left, since he mated with Mark a distance had formed between the twins. It was something they both acknowledged and accepted, Jane and Alec's relationship was evolving.

It appeared this temporary separation between Alice and I was a boon. We both had a chance to grow individually and appreciate the world outside our relationship bubble. Maggie had become a close friend and confidant. She warned me about what would happen once the anti-corruption agency was established. People would be afraid to get close to us because of our position in the world. It was something I'd already anticipated and it didn't bother me. What worried me was how it would impact the others we worked with and their families.

Maggie had an interesting life story. She was the daughter of a Green boy in the late 1700s. Her father had joined the Hearts of Oak secret society because of the outrageous taxes and tithes to the Church of Ireland. He'd lectured her on honesty and politics, despite his limited education. He'd been a blacksmith in Cork and was struggling to keep his family fed, he was captured and killed while on a raid one night.

Maggie's mother and brothers refused to carry on their father's work so Maggie set off on her own, disguising herself as a boy and becoming an apprentice to various blacksmiths in the towns leading north to Kells where she met Siobhan and Liam. Siobhan appreciated Maggie's spirit and work ethic and offered to bring her into the supernatural world. By that time Maggie had given up the cause, instead of the citizens rising up against the institutions who stole from them, the people around her fought each other instead. Many were dying while the aristocracy got richer.

For a while the three would travel, stealing from the wealthy under the pseudonym William Brennan. They had to stop when Liam had been hung for the third time in 1812, it was drawing too much attention to them. They took the money they stole and travelled the world, meeting the Volturi the following year and Carlisle in 1840. The Irish coven had adopted Siobhan's surname, Gabhanns. They returned to Ireland in the 1950s and settled here, in Ashborne, hiding among the human population.

I joined Maggie downstairs with Liam and Siobhan. They heard me arrive and started talking in English. They had taught me quite a bit of the Irish language, I loved listening to them communicate and the flow of the words. Liam smiled as I joined them. "Siobhan's telling us the story of Aengus Óg and Lugh." They invited me to join them, Siobhan restarted the story, speaking sentences in English then translating them to Irish. They were happy I was keen to learn. I'd spent a few nights listening to tales from the Old Religion Siobhan and Liam followed and the tales of Saints Maggie had been told growing up in a Catholic Household. I didn't remember much from my upbringing, I knew we had religious men who guided us in our faith, but I had forgotten so much during my years in the white tower.

Siobhan finished her tale. We began discussing the next phase in establishing the Anti-Corruption Agency. Siobhan had warmed up to the other species, especially when I told them how the werewolves had protected humans and the world from the Romanians. They had been keen to learn as much about the Supernatural World as possible. They were particularly interested in the other species and how they related to Irish myths. "Balor could have been a Fire Elemental." Liam wondered aloud. Balor had been a vengeful creature who had brought drought, plague and death.

"Cù Sìth could be a type of Shape Shifter." Siobhan suggested, I'd heard the tale of the Black Dog; the omen of death whose bark could kill. "Perhaps it's The Morrígan, some of the tales describe a banshee that can change her form in to certain animals, maybe Cù Sìth is one of The Morrígan's forms." She added. I hadn't heard of the Morrígan. Siobhan quickly described the being. "Some of the tales have her as a beautiful woman, when her appearance changes to that of a crone in bloodied armor it is said death will soon follow. I was told she was a goddess of War. There are variations, some people believe the Morrígan to be three women. The Old Religion had no texts and our knowledge is kept through spoken histories. There have been many alterations made to the tale over the centuries." She explained.

They continued to speculate about the other species. I excused myself and went outside to call Caius. I wanted to update him on our progress and find out how the meetings were going. "Hello Alistair, is everything alright?" He answered. "Everything is fine, I was just calling to catch up. How are you doing?" I asked. He sighed, "this group is infinitely better than the last. We have another thirteen of these seminars to go. This group has been the best so far, they're very respectful of the wolves and spirit walkers. Aro's been stuck to the guests like a limpet as he searches for more information about the other species." 

"How is the distribution of synthetic blood going?" I asked. "Excellent. The factories underneath the Italian Embassies in the United Kingdom, Canada, India and Egypt are almost operational." He replied. I was glad to hear it, the factory in Italy was keeping us well fed, I knew the last few visiting covens would receive their own supplies.

"Alice and Jane are performing the binding tonight, some of our allies could be available for employment." I said carefully, hopefully Fred's pack would be safe to start training soon. Once the wolves were bound they'd be ready to start their new lives. I could hear the smile in Caius's voice. "I'm glad to hear it. The factory here is producing a lot of blood, but we'll need the other factories working over the next few months. Fred has picked out a few of his pack who already have medical and science degrees, they'll need little training." Caius said.

"How are you going with the New Laws?" He asked. "Maggie and I are nearly finished with all the information Aro gave us and the suggestions we received from the other species. We know what we want to include and have a rough guideline for maximum and minimum sentencing, but it'll take another few days to have something we can send the other species." I replied. "I'm impressed you've gotten this far, Alistair. Just looking at what Aro sent you gave me a head ache. That man is a hoarder." He complained. I chuckled, "some of it was a little dry, but his records of each trial are impeccable."

"Any news on the Hybrids?" I asked. "Yes, Demitri's mate brought their healthy daughter, Violet, into the world. Zafrina and the others are on their way back to the happy couple. This will be their first positive contact with the mother of a Hybrid. There is another Hybrid in Exeter,England, the newborn mother keeps in contact with Leah. The Exeter coven is delighted with the information we've been able to give them. They'll visit us when the Hybrid's mother has passed her newborn year."  
"I'm glad to hear it, Caius. From what Maggie said the coven was terrified. They never did find traces of the guards you sent to spy on them, they thought the Gabhanns had dobbed them in. I had to speak to the coven leader, Sebastian, and assure him there would be no harm done to his coven."

Caius gave me the run down on the next group to arrive for the seminar in Volterra. I knew many of them personally and told Caius I'd speak to them before they arrived at the castle and vouch for the Volturi. Many of our kind were still distrustful of the Masters, they were aware of my feelings towards all Monarchs and would listen to me when I told them they could trust the Volturi. It was my way of making up for the unfair judgment of our leaders. Sure, the Masters had been forgiving and understanding, but I still regretted pigeon holing them as corrupt leaders.

BPOV - Volterra

This group of guests were by far the best of the lot. They were polite, offered condolences for the struggles we face and pledged to protect our species from any hunters. One nomad had given us the information about the origin of the Rebel Army. He was a gifted illusionist who could hide in plain sight by forcing the perception of others into overlooking his presence. Pete had immediately given the nomad the nickname Yoda. Yoda, whose real name was Jim, had promptly performed his Jedi mind trick by forcing Pete's mind to see him as Darth Vader. He had made a lasting friend in my uncle.

Yoda told us how a Somali pirate had been changed during the 1980s. He had killed his sire and built a militia of humans to plunder local communities. The pirate had grown bored and didn't trust those he recruited enough to turn into vampires, after all he had easily killed his sire. He travelled north, fighting and killing many in secret. Not even the humans grew suspicious, it was a dangerous area and the deaths were thought to be done by rebels and cartels. Yoda told us how he had watched the pirate stalk another Nomad, then attack him viscously. Yoda had tried to save the nomad and defeat the pirate, but didn't have the fighting skills to destroy him. He had used his gift to convince the pirate he'd been killed and ran ahead to warn others.

It wasn't until Yoda reached Europe that he grew fearful of the Volturi, he came across other nomads who told him the Masters were corrupt and used werewolves as pets, feeding vampire prisoners to the wolves. Yoda had turned back, he'd warned many covens and saved many lives, but felt guilty for distrusting the Masters. He had been quiet when the first introductions had been made, but listened as people spoke about the werewolves kindly and learnt the existence of other species. He had finally been convinced when Amun and Eleazar vouched for each of us.

Yoda offered his hand to Aro and passed on everything he knew about the Rebel Army. Many questions were answered; there had been deaths of vampires and humans alike, the pirate had recruited human criminals who used their connections with corrupt authorities to cover up the massacres. He found many who sympathized with the Romanians and many who had talents for cruelty. He absorbed all that knowledge and became more arrogant, believing the propaganda that the Masters were weak leaders who hid behind gifted guards. The pirate had found gifted humans who he blackmailed into helping him. It had been a long and bloody campaign and we were lucky to stop it when we did.

No wonder Fate had hurried our transformation, we were the only ones able to defeat an army of that size. The Masters, Eleazar, Amun and us had discussed how to avoid that situation from repeating itself. It had been decided that all human candidates for transformation would have to be vetted by Eleazar, Peter, Aro and Emmett. If the human candidate was near death they'd have to be brought to Volterra during the transformation. Any signs of danger would result in the immediate death of the human, any signs of dangerous gifts would be removed by Emmett. It wasn't an ideal solution, but it was necessary to prevent the creation of those who would destroy many innocent lives. Fred agreed that the werewolves would also follow the same laws.

J and I returned to our room for the night, we needed to sleep for a couple of hours. It had been a draining day of socialization and we needed a break from our disguises, for three straight days we'd spoken with the guests. We were thankful it was the first day of the full moon, our energy levels were raised, but our brains were fried from all the new information. We made a beeline for the shower. We noticed the new addition to our bathroom, Esme had fitted our room with a toilet. I was glad that when we'd next need to eat we wouldn't have to go to Aro's quarters to go to the toilet.

That had been a hell of a discovery. One afternoon I'd woken from my nap with a familiar pressure in my lower abdomen. J's eyes had nearly fallen out of his head when I had announced my need to pee. For a few days afterwards J, Char and Pete had walked around in worry, waiting for the sensation of needing to go to the bathroom. They had been afraid of the new experiences. I had found the transitions back to human moments easy, Pete, Char and J hadn't. I'd helped Char get used to the new sensations and avoid accidents while poor Fred and Aaron helped J and Pete become toilet trained. Needless to say we had mastered our new digestive systems after a few days and we glad we could go to the bathroom in our own quarters.

J and I showered and dried quickly before heading to bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The dreams came fast; Demitri breast feeding his new daughter, Aro delivering his speeches in interpretive dance, Dad catching fish then healing them and throwing them back into the water, the usual weird shit my mind conjured up when I slept. I felt a sharp pain travel up my leg and opened my eyes. J had accidently kicked me in his sleep again. I huffed and got up, Esme had knitted J some padded sleeping booties and boxing gloves so he wouldn't hurt me as he flailed in his sleep. I went to the chest of drawers and took out a pair of baby blue booties and pink boxing gloves.

He snorted loudly and his leg kicked out again. I wrangled the booties on his feet and laces up the gloves over his hands. He groaned and drooled a little as he turned over. I grabbed some extra pillows from the wardrobe and created a little wall between my mate and my side of the bed. Just as well we had a king-sized bed. I was going to ask Esme to make a swaddling blanket for J next time I saw her.

I got comfortable and soon drifted off again. The familiar feeling of disorientation overcame me as I saw I was on First Beach. I looked around and smiled, I was warm and cozy in my old coat. My body looked as it had when I was human; scrawny and pale. I heard laughing and looked up. Jessica, Mike, Tyler and Lauren were frolicking on the beach. I cackled evilly and stole a car from the nearby car park. I ran over Tyler, HA! No Sparklepires would stop me hitting the fucker, ripped a clump of hair from Jessica's head, kneed Mike in the groin and punched Lauren in the throat. I giggled and skipped around them as they looked at me in shock.

The dream changed, I was still in my human form, but this time I was in the Cullen house. Eddy and Carlisle were watching Oprah, I sat on the arm of the sofa. "Have any ah-ha moments?" I asked, smirking at them. "Shhhh, it's Oprah's favorite things!" Edward chastised me. I turned to the dream TV and watched as the beloved host handed out books on how to seduce your young male lover, a love test-o-meter, a bulk supply of glow in the dark condoms and a TiVo. I saw Alice prance down the stairs and I turned sad. She looked how she used to; the manic glint in her eyes, high fashion clothes, short hair, skinny as hell. Jasper was trailing behind her with a fake grin on his face and clothed in his old wardrobe.

I started to feel angry. Rose and Emmett stood in the corner, looking at the floor in submission. Esme was quiet and working feverishly in the kitchen to create a banquet for my dinner. I felt sick. I grabbed Alice's hand and walked into the kitchen. I grabbed a knife from the counter and marched back into the living room and stood in front of Edward and Carlisle. I held Alice by my side and ordered her to watch as I stabbed Carlisle and Edward in the eyes. No one moved, they watched the scene detached as I destroyed Edward and Carlisle's eyes and frontal lobe. I would make them PAY! Alice's body began to change, her eyes turned blue and her body looked as it had after dad had healed her. I fell to the floor crying as Carlisle and Edward ignored me, the gaping holes where their eyes used to be focused on the TV.

I felt warm arms around me, Alice's voice whispered in my mind. "You already saved me. They can't hurt anyone again." I felt the wind around me and looked up, I was on a rocky shore, Alice held me as I cried. "They hurt so many, they should have been stopped sooner." I whispered to her. I didn't know why I was dreaming this, I didn't feel this way, Eddie and Carlisle were old news. "You're worried about the balance, you're scared there will be others out there who prey on innocence." Alice said. "I don't need to speculate, I know there will be others like them." I said to her. She smiled at me, "I know that what atrocities have been committed won't be repeated. There are good times and bad times, it's the balance of fate."

Suddenly I was alone on the rock. I looked around me and saw Alice in the distance Jane was next to her, they were surrounded by people. Lightning struck them both, but instead of looking hurt, they looked euphoric. Arcs of electricity flowed from them to the crowd around them. I felt lighter, freer. There was a hum around me that soothed my soul. I closed my eyes and relaxed. The soft feeling of my mattress returned. I was in bed and feeling confused, but good. J was glancing at me in worry, "I tried to wake you, you were out cold. I couldn't even feel your emotions." He said.

I sat up, the covers fell off my naked chest. J was already dressed. "I'm okay, I just had a weird dream." I explained. I got up and stumbled to the wardrobe, changing quickly. "Esme made dinner for us." He said, I could tell he was beginning to calm down. We walked to the kitchen in silence, neither one of us were morning people. It took a while for us to recover from sleep. We were greeted by the smell of pizza. I squealed in delight, J had never had Pizza before. I loved being able to show him new foods. We'd already discovered he was a huge chocoholic and he loved the tropical fruits that hadn't been available in his human days.

Esme had made a huge pizza, each quarter held different toppings. I hugged her and grabbed a slice of vegetarian. J picked up a slice of Hawaiian, pineapple on pizza was something the Italian vampires detested, they didn't understand how fruit could work well on a savory food. I'd managed to stop their complaining when I pointed out that tomato was a fruit, they accepted it after that. J used his knife and fork in his usual dainty manner. I loved watching him eat. I put a slice of vegetarian, salami and margherita on his plate, I wanted him to try them all.

Pete and Char joined us a minute later. Pete seemed to enjoy flat foods, he liked being able to roll them up. He and Char loaded their plates with food. Esme joined us at the table, chatting happily. It felt like a perfect family moment; a vampire mother with her odd ball children.

My cell phone rang, I excused myself from the kitchen and answered. "Hi Bella, it's Alice. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after the nightmare." She said. I was stunned, "you were with me?" I stuttered. "Yes, I felt your frustration and saw what was happening in the dream-"  
"I'm sorry Alice, I didn't intend for you to witness it." I said, cutting her off. "Bells, it's okay. I chose to be there. Truthfully, it helped to see myself as you saw me in the past. I had no idea I was so... peppy." She cringes. "Sorry, Alice." I replied. "Hey, quit apologizing. I meant what I said in your dream, you helped and protected me and now I'm free. You're free too, you just need to accept it." She said. "Ugh. It's hard to just accept shit sometimes, Ali."  
"I know Bells, but in this respect you have to. Your dad helped free my mind, Em and Rose freed my body and the Horsemen avenged me and the others hurt by Carlisle and Edward. I get why it's so difficult, you have had to push your emotions down while fighting to save innocent people and this is the first time you can truly digest everything. You'll be okay, just let the emotions come."


End file.

Twilight, Hurt-Comfort, Supernatural