Warnings:
Rated M
Possible Gore
My Victoria is always Rachelle Lefevre because Bryce Dallas Howard is too cutesy and Victoria is a maniacal hardass.
As the truck chugged along Route 101 toward Charlie's house, the feeling that she was being stalked never let up. Chill bumps scattered over the creamy pale of her skin, scratching at her henley but she was to scared to even take her hands off the wheel to rub at them. The white of vampire skin flashed in her rearview mirror this time and she gasped loudly, jumping in her seat.
"Please, let it be Jasper." She whispered again, her voice shaking with her terror.
Darting her eyes from each mirror to the sides of the road and back to the lane itself, Bella kept driving. Pushing her poor truck to almost 47 miles per hour, she was worried the engine would blow up and she'd be stranded. Maybe Jasper was the one tailing her. Maybe he was just making sure she made it to her father's safe and sound. Inhaling a deep, calming breath, Bella blew it out through puffed cheeks as her eyes scanned the treeline again.
She should have known that it wasn't Jasper.
As her eyes landed on the pavement in front of her vehicle, she screamed as she saw Victoria waiting for her. The tall, slender vampire stood with her legs shoulder width apart and her slim fingers wrapped around her hips. Red hair lay over her shoulders in tight curls that shimmered in the very weak afternoon sunlight. Her dirty mink shawl -once a transcendent white- was now stained brown and gray. Filthy, torn denim jeans fit her legs snugly, a little to short in the ankles, showing off her bare feet. A grin stretched across her flawless face as she watched the human try to react in time to not hit the stone creature.
Both of Bella's feet slammed on the brake at the same time, bypassing the clutch altogether, forcing the rear of the truck to bounce and shake. The engine protested and whined as Bella clenched her teeth and tensed her arms for impact -something she shouldn't have done at all. Rubber screech marks led a trail to the tires of the truck all the way down the road as the old 1953 Chevy 3100 slammed into Victoria. The tension in the human's arms snapped as well as the bones at her shoulders when metal collided with marble and Victoria grinned wider as she watched almost in slow motion as the metal of the truck hugged her intimately. Glass shattered and spewed from the vehicle, landing over the human girl and the vampire alike, only the vampire didn't get cut. Smoke plumed from the dying engine immediately, engulfing Victoria in the putrid stench of burnt oil and transmission fluid. The rear of the pick-up lifted off of the pavement the same time a wolf howl could be heard. The vampire had downed one wolf on her mission, clawing his underbelly as she flew passed him. She knew she didn't have much time to savor this game.
Bella's head hit the steering wheel with enough force to black her out as well as break her nose with a sickening crunch. Every part of her exposed skin was sliced by hundreds of tiny shards of glass and her legs were trapped under the harsh, biting plastic of the dashboard. Blood poured from the wound as well as pooled in her arms under the skin from her scapula and humerus breaks and the vampire smiled wider. Brushing the truck's metal frame from her own, Victoria rounded the mangled vehicle to the driver's side. There was no way it was coming open willingly so she tore it off the hinges as if it were a piece of unwanted lettuce on her burger. The human girl lay limply against the steering wheel, her breath stuttering, arms at her sides and ever expanding as the blood pooled rapidly underneath the skin and Victoria knew she wasn't long for this world.
Closing her blood red eyes, ignoring the smells of gasoline fumes and the sounds of large paws pounding against the damp forest bracken, Victoria tilted her head back and breathed in the enticing scent of Bella's floral ambrosia. Her long hair fluttered in the breeze as she pointed her sharp nose to the sky, nostrils widening as she took in the scent of fresh blood. She wasn't worried about the wolves for they would not get to the crash site in time. Her gift of evasion tickled her skin and she decided that she'd had enough of the incessant games these mutts played, she would much prefer to play with her food in private now. Opening her now black-as-pitch eyes, Victoria eyed the leaking globulin as it caressed Bella's sickly pale skin. Her pallor was diminishing quickly and her eyes weren't fluttering anymore, her heart stuttering faster than her breath. Cursing, the wild vampire reached toward Bella's arm with her sharp fingers but just as she was about to seek purchase, she was wrenched backward.
With a cry reminiscent to a war call, Victoria roared loudly as she spun around to face the being who dared touch her. She gasped as she tried to move backwards, her eyes locked onto the furious onyx gaze of the God of War. Ares himself, covered in scars and exuding rage unlike anything she'd ever felt, stared into her soul. Her skin literally crawled with the thought of what this vampire could do to her if he so wished. Wild blonde waves billowed in the breeze, his face, like hers, covered in black soot from the smoke that encased them all. His red and black flannel shirt was torn at the chest, sleeves pushed up to his elbows, showcasing the strong tendons in his forearms.
"Mine!" Ares snarled as he snapped his hand forward, grasping Victoria around her neck. He would never let this woman escape him again now that he had her.
"She's mine, Ares, sir." Victoria's husky, trembling voice countered. "I've been hunting her for months. This human is mine." Her voice gained confidence as she spoke, knowing that even to the God of War, he would understand the importance of a kill.
"You're wrong, Victoria." Ares cooed in a deep, double entendre voice. He knew his features were so distorted in his anger that the vampire could not tell that his alter ego was Jasper. She had no clue that he was apart of the Cullen Clan and that he had been the one to destroy her precious James. He felt the need to enlighten her but he would have to do so quickly, for his mate was suffering in an agony parallel to the change and he needed to transition her as soon as possible. Not even the wolves would have the power to stop him in his mission. "I've had this human in my sights for over a year. She is my mate and you will not take her away from me." His voice deepened to a silken bass as he spoke, lulling the menacing female into a sense of complacency without even the use of his gift.
Furrowing her trim eyebrows, Victoria was confused. "N-no, sir. She was a pet of the Cullens…-" She started before Ares cut off her air supply. She didn't need it to breathe but she did need air to speak.
"Your precious James thought she was a pet too." He spat. Bringing her face closer to his, Ares growled low in his chest. "He died for his mistake too...Hunting what is mine."
Letting up on his anger just a bit to soften the sharpness of his features, he let Jasper be revealed long enough for recognition to pass over Victoria's face and emotions.
She gasped as well as she could with his strong grip around her throat and tried to rear back, kicking him to try and dislodge him from her. Large booted feet pressed against her shins before he spun her around, pressing her back into his chest and keeping his tight grip on her neck. He wrapped one muscular leg around her thighs to hold her in place and brought his lips close to her neck. He was running out of time. The wolves hovered at the treeline and he made eye contact with the large black one, giving him his full attention.
"Get the human out but do not leave." He commanded in a voice so similar to the alpha tenor that Sam phased human before he knew what hit him. Confusion tenfold slammed into Ares and he chuckled darkly even as Victoria squirmed in his hold, whimpering. "Do not question me, boy. Do as I say. Now!"
Sam rushed forward through the now flaming smoke as Ares pulled Victoria further away from the vehicle. The alpha wolf carefully wrapped Bella up in his large muscular arms, cradling her like a newborn baby to his chest. His shock at what she looked like was felt throughout the wolfpack even though he wasn't phased. Her face was bruised, swollen, and crusted with blood, along with multiple tiny slices to her skin where the glass had nicked her. A usually thin nose was fat and pushed to the left. Her slim legs were limp and he worried they were both broken. He could hear that one of her lungs was not doing its job so he carefully laid her down a good fifty yards from the berm and straightened her blood bloated arms at her sides so that he could work. The agonizing noise of bone on bone shifting made his teeth itch but he leaned forward to give her breath anyway. Her heart protested against the added oxygen but Sam knew that if he let Bella die, he would have to deal with that frightening vampire.
Even the great, big, bad, alpha wolf didn't want to contend with a vampire who looked and sounded like Ares did.
Ares watched Sam carefully even as he meticulously and quickly tore Victoria apart, throwing her body parts onto the now flaming truck. Purple embers mixed with black soot as it billowed up into the sky and everyone -vampire and wolf- along with the surrounding towns of Forks and La Push heard the beginning of the fire sirens. Looking over the vehicle as it continued to burn, Ares nodded, appeased that everything here would confirm the death of his human mate. Walking swiftly and purposefully with supernatural speed, he kneeled next to Sam, ignoring the petulant growls of the adolescent wolves surrounding them. Looking over his mate, he growled and pushed Sam aside.
"Let me work." He leaned over and opened his mouth wide, letting the venom coat his sharp teeth.
"No! You cannot bite her. You'll be breaking the treaty, Cullen!" One of the wolves shouted before staring at Sam incredulously. "You're just going to let him bite her?" He cried.
Sam shot the boy a look that would melt metal. "Shut up, Embry. You'd rather her die!? This is his mate."
Embry's eyes widened almost comically but Ares paid him no more mind as he leaned forward and sliced into Bella's slowing carotid, pushing as much venom as he could into the artery. Sealing the wound shut with a quick flick of his tongue, he bit her upper inner thigh, pumping his venom straight into the femoral artery through her jeans and then tore the material to seal that wound as well. He was done in a matter of moments, prepared to lift his now changing mate into his arms when two more wolves barrelled into view.
The large, russet colored wolf bared its teeth and rumbled an earth shaking growl, lifting his muzzle to show his poison covered fangs. Ares could feel the suffocating mix of confusion and fury pouring off of the wolf and knew he hadn't a clue what had gone on here. The smaller sandy colored wolf panted at his side, small whines of pain and confusion emanating from him. Sam held up a staying hand to the wolf and Ares recognized him through his expressive eyes. Lifting a limp Bella in his arms, the Southern vampire stood tall and strong, speaking in the same double bass he'd used on the alpha.
"Jacob Black, future Chieftain of the Quileute tribe and future alpha of the newest Spirit Shapeshifters. My name is Ares, Warlord of the Southern Vampire Armies, also known as Jasper Whitlock. Bella was dying and now she's changing. You will not come after me. I saved my mate from certain death at the hands of Victoria, the red head vampire you've been chasing for months. Victoria is dead. Burning in that heap over there." He nodded his head behind him to the truck that still burned in the roadway.
Jake whined low in his throat and bowed forward on his legs, his eyes trained solely on Bella. Jasper pushed his way through Ares' visage, softening his vampire features, his eyes lightening to a burnt gold. In the background they could hear the firetrucks and the only police cruiser in the county getting closer to the scene.
"I'll leave you Alice's cell phone. My number is programmed already. Give me two days to get settled and her comfortable then call me. I'll explain anything you want to know and after she's transitioned and hunted, I'll let you know where we are. You can come visit her." Jasper spoke in soothing tones, pushing tranquility to the wolves who were still agitated from the scent of vengeful vampire.
The large wolf nodded but never took his eyes off of his changing best friend. Jasper could feel his heartbreak and his own clenched when he saw a thick tear roll down his red fur. Embry walked over to his friend and placed a supporting hand on his large shoulder blade.
"We need to go now." Sam intoned, motioning for the wolves to gather and head back to La Push.
"Here, Sam. Take this phone." Jasper said as he reached one hand into his pocket, barely jostling Bella, and pulled out Alice's cell phone. "Make sure Jake calls in two days."
The tall alpha nodded silently before turning on his heel and leading his pack into the forest just as the firetruck pulled up beside the inferno that used to be Bella's beloved truck. He didn't need to be a seer to know what was coming next and he clenched his eyes tightly shut as his heart lurched painfully in his chest. Pressing a kiss to his beloved darlin's temple, feeling it slowly lull to the side in her changing unconsciousness, he gathered her close to his chest and murmured sweet words of reassurance that he didn't feel. Charlie's police cruiser tires squealed against the asphalt and Jasper walked away in the opposite direction. He tried his best to stave off the tormented emotions and anguished screams of one Chief Charlie Swan, Bella's father.