Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer and Summit/Lionsgate own Twilight. I just like to play around with it.
From Black Moon to Solstice
Chapter 6
Bella
Moments later I was enveloped in the arms of my best friend and her mate. A cascade of emotions washed over me, some my own, some some surely a projection from Jasper of everyone's combined. If I had still been able to shed tears, they would have been running in rivulets down my cheeks. As it was, I felt the familiar prickling sensation behind my eyes and a tightening in my throat as I sobbed tearlessly in their embrace. Suddenly, Jasper pulled back, a look of surprise on his face.
'What's wrong?' I questioned.
Had a human seen us? I had been careful, listening for footsteps and heartbeats, but I could have missed something.
I started scanning our surroundings for anything out of the ordinary – besides the pile of burning vampire limbs – but was stopped by Jasper's hands grasping my shoulders and holding me steady as he looked me over intently.
'You're so calm,' he wondered, almost as if to himself.
'What do you mean? Of course I'm calm; I've got you guys here now.'
'No Bella, you don't understand. You're not supposed to be this level-headed; you're still a newborn, mere weeks old. You should be volatile, blood-thirsty…'
'Maybe it's different for each newborn?' I asked.
'No, it's not. Look, I've dealt with a lot of newborns in my past. I was their… trainer… if you will… when I was with my creator, back in Texas. She was using newborns to overthrow neighboring covens and expand her territory, and my gift came in handy to control them. I've never experienced a newborn with your level of restraint. Never,' he insisted.
Before I had time to think of the implications of what he had just shared, an outraged cry resounded from the wooded area across the park. Alice and Jasper whirled around to stand between me and the source of the noise as Riley came barreling at us. Victoria's features were still somewhat recognizable in the flames, and he cried out in agony, screaming her name and swearing to kill me.
Silly boy.
He may have been a newborn, and strong because of that, but he was no match for us. He acted purely on instinct, which would have made him easy to overpower. However, before he could make a move to attack me, he was hit by Jasper's gift. He used so much force to numb the enraged vampire that I could feel its effects too. It was eerily similar to the feeling I had gotten when Jacob and I had smoked some weed – back before he had joined the pack. Riley slowed down in his tracks and his eyes glazed over. He was about to topple over when Jasper reached him and restrained him, bending his arms behind his back at an awkward angle.
'Now,' he growled. 'Are you going to behave, or do I need to up the dosage?'
I was swaying on my feet, leaning heavily on Alice. She must have been used to the power of Jasper's gift, because she didn't seem fazed at all.
'Honey, you can tone it down now,' she called out to him. 'He's not stupid, just misguided. He'll choose to live.'
Riley blinked at her words and nodded numbly.
'Please, don't kill me,' he mumbled.
'Fine,' Jasper said. 'But one wrong move and you'll wish you were still numb. Is that clear?'
One look at Jasper's menacing glare and the scars littering his skin – it was the first time I had noticed them, too; I'd have to ask him about those later – was enough for Riley to realize he meant business.
o.O.o
I guided our little group back to the warehouse in Brooklyn, where Bree still lay writhing through her change, and the most peculiar thing happened.
As soon as Jasper pushed Riley through the door, instead of bolting for another exit, he rushed over to Bree's side, taking her hand in his and brushing the hair back from her face as he whispered promises of better times to her.
'She's his mate,' Jasper exclaimed.
'How is that possible?' I questioned. 'Minutes ago he was ready to kill me over Victoria. He's told me time and again that he loved her, would do anything for her.'
'Has he seen this girl before?' Alice asked.
'No. Victoria had sent him hunting before she caught Bree…'
'I've seen it happen before,' Jasper started to explain. 'Maria… she used the same tricks on both me and Peter, to ensure our loyalty to her. But then Peter met Charlotte and, instantly, his ties to Maria severed. The mating bond is hard to explain, but unbreakable. It's all-encompassing, even stronger than the concept of soul mates. He'll do anything for her.'
As if on cue, Riley turned to Jasper, pleading.
'Please, she's suffering. Can't you do something? I don't know what you did to me earlier, but would that help her?'
While Jasper sat down next to Bree and Riley, and busied himself with numbing the pain of the change for her, Alice took me aside, looking me over critically. I fidgeted under her inquisitive gaze, some of my human habits resurfacing in her presence. After a few moments, she took my hands, concern clear in her golden eyes.
'How are you, Bella?'
'I'm alright, I guess. Now, at least.'
She shook her head.
'I can't believe how calm you are! You're not even two weeks old…' she mused. 'How do you do it?'
'I don't know,' I confessed. 'I don't remember feeling out of control even once. Maybe it's because I knew what was happening to me…?'
'That makes sense,' Jasper called from across the room. 'She would have known what to expect to some extent. And maybe this self-control is part of her gift.'
At that, Alice smiled brightly at me.
'I always knew you'd be special! To be able to confound my Jazz…'
She flew at me and would have crushed me in her fierce hug if it weren't for my superior strength. My own smile didn't reach my eyes, though, and after a while I untangled myself from her embrace. Although it pained me, I needed to know.
'Does he…?'
Alice shook her head sadly.
'He only checks in every few months. Says he wants to be alone. He hasn't even been to the new house yet…' she drifted off.
My unbeating heart clenched at the thought of him being all alone, punishing himself for something he'd had no control over happening to me all those months ago. Before my emotions could get the best of me, however, Jasper sent a dose of calm my way. I looked over at him gratefully, knowing there would be plenty of time to wallow over him, and also amazed at his ability to multitask.
Alice quickly caught my attention again when she sat up straight and took my hands in hers, preparing me for what she was about to say.
'Look, we don't have much time. My brother is an idiot, Bella. I love him, but he's too damn stubborn for his own good. What happened on your birthday, even though I know you never blamed Jasper, and even though I told him so… he got scared. And he may be well over a century old, but he's still a silly teenage boy who doesn't think before he acts. He thought he was protecting you by leaving, by making us all leave. Believe me, I fought him on it. It was the biggest fight we've ever had.'
'Then why didn't you stay? Why did you let him do this?'
'Because he's done the same for us on more than one occasion. This was the one and only time he has ever asked us to relocate for him. Besides, I knew there was no persuading him. But Bella, he never stopped loving you. He only wanted what he thought was best for you. So when he heard you had been taken by Victoria…'
'He heard?'
'I called him. But he hung up before I could tell him you were changed.'
'What do you mean?' I asked.
In the recesses of my mind, I knew what she was talking about; I simply couldn't bear to be the one to say it.
'He thinks you're dead. And now he wants to die too.'
'But… how…?'I wondered aloud. 'The Volturi,' I whispered in quick realization.
'He told you about them?'
'Only a little. He said they're your version of royalty, and you don't mess with them unless you want to die.'
She smiled at me sadly.
'You dying would be the only reason for him to want to end his existence. I've been trying to reach him, but he either turned off his phone or threw it out completely…'
'Then what do we do?'
The hopeful expression on my friend's face was all the confirmation I needed that not all was lost for him and me, even though I still couldn't bring myself to think his name. There was no point in trying to convince myself otherwise; I had never stopped loving him, try as I might to move on, and despite the warm feelings I had developed for Jacob. He was my mate, and now that I was a vampire too, there was nothing that could stand in our way.
Well, except for the Volturi and his stupid idea of seeking them out.
'Do you really mean that?' Alice asked needlessly.
'Of course. And I'm sure you already have a plan, otherwise you wouldn't be here.'
'You're right. But there's no time to explain it all now. I need to run out for a little bit and arrange some things. Take Jasper's phone and call Emmett. Ask him to come over here to help him get those newborns to the house, where we can keep an eye on them. I'll be back in about an hour, and then we'll have to leave for Volterra.'
