I am so sorry to put all of you through such a long wait for this update. I have been so busy I spaced. I hope this makes up for it. Thank you to my reviewers: cathy29jes, vampirechick13, JynxxD, and DarkkAngell. I greatly appreciate your feedback! I love all of you, my lovely space cadets. :P Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. However, I do own a pen.
IZZY/BELLA POV
I opened my eyes to meet a pair of beautiful red ones. I smiled and stretched on the bed. He truly was magnificent. I sat up and looked around myself. I was in a bedroom, one I was unfamiliar with. A part of me screamed to get out of there but I figured it was just the fact that I was unfamiliar with my surroundings. I never was one for change. Ironic, huh?
"Isabella," his voice rang out from behind me. I turned and gave him a small smile. "Would you like to go for a hunt?" I nodded silently. He didn't like it when I spoke unless I really had to. Most of the time I had to smother the urge to fight back.
We stood and ran out of this unknown house toward a city I didn't know. When we got there, I could tell from the souvenir shops that we were in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was shocked as to why we would be here but stayed quiet. He found us a young couple canoodling on a picnic bench and lured them away and out of the public eye. I followed obediently, silently. It bothered me a little bit, causing my brow to furrow. When he bit into his human that was the sign that I was allowed to follow suit. I tore through the soft flesh of the girl's neck. Her hair got in my face, blinding me in a flash of blond. That's when an image of a blond-haired, red-eyed country vampire came into my mind, confusing me. I continued to drink with my face contorted in bewilderment as to why that face would come to mind.
Stephen finished his human and turned to me with his head cocked to the side. "Isabella?" I looked at him, not realizing I had been staring off into space whilst holding onto the shoulders of the dead girl. "Are you quite alright, my dear?"
I smiled sweetly. I nodded. Dropping the girl, I stepped out from the bushes to walk back to the house I woke up in. I heard Stephen behind me, trying to keep up with me, but I was faster. I looked over my shoulder and with my eyes, begged for solitude. He nodded reluctantly and stopped where he was. I let my feet guide me wherever they wanted to, not really in the direction of the house. I kept my eyes focused on my surroundings, taking it all in.
Then my head started to fog…or un-fog. I couldn't quite describe the feeling. Despite the fact that I was incredibly disoriented, I kept walking in whatever direction I was going. There was this feeling in my chest that kept pulling me in this random direction. The face of the blond-haired cowboy flashed across my mind once again. Then it morphed to his face leaning to kiss me. His face smiling at me with so much love in his eyes. There was something about that face that nearly tore my heart to pieces.
I kept walking without any particular drive and found myself in an unfamiliar city. I looked around at all the lights and buildings, never pausing. I had to stop for a crosswalk. It was just for a moment but all I needed was that moment. I looked up for some reason and locked eyes with a vampire who shared the face of the one in my visions. He stared at me in utter shock and started to walk toward me. I took a step back. Maybe his face in my head was a warning that he was going to hurt me. He frowned and stopped. He opened his mouth to speak but shut it quickly when his eyes glanced behind me.
A second passed before I found myself on the outskirts of the city with Stephen grasping my hand, pulling me away. I couldn't quite understand what was going on with him and didn't really want to know. I snatched my hand away and stopped, keeping my feet planted firmly on the ground. The moment I did that, all my memories came flooding back. I looked at him again and took a step back, not looking him in the eye.
He stepped forward, offering his hand. "Isabella," he implored. "Don't run from me. You don't want to make this ugly."
"You took me from my mate, Stephen," I snarled.
His face darkened. "Did you just say my name?"
With a scowl, I nodded and bared my glistening teeth at him, red eyes shining. "Yeah, I did. You don't deserve my respect."
He whistled a rhythm. My next step back put me against Rob, his bodyguard. I whirled around, growled, and evaded his grip. Then I was running. I was running for my life, for Jasper's, for Peter's, for Charlotte's. A scream escaped my lips when I hit the ground hard. If I were still human, I'd have a bruise taking up most of my left hip.
Rob snarled from above me and lifted me up by my shoulders, forcing me to turn to Stephen. I shut my eyes tight and refused to look in his direction, afraid that if I looked, he'd have control over me once more. I need to get to my mate! Jasper! Jasper!
I knew that my mental screaming would do absolutely nothing but it was still worth a shot. Out of nowhere, a throat being cleared had all three of us turning around. I found my Jasper with our friends over to my left, glaring at Rob. Rob and Stephen growled and shoved me behind the two of them when they formed a shoulder to shoulder wall. I kept myself as quiet as possible as I changed my shape to resemble that of a small human child with red hair. I smiled to myself, happy that no one saw me at all and used Ben's power to cause a dust storm to swirl around the vampires before dashing off and away from both my captors and my saviors.
I was about two states away when I finally let go of my control over the dust storm. Using that much of my energy to maintain control of my power from such a long distance completely drained me. I knew that I only had moments before they realized I was gone, so I had to get somewhere else as fast as I could. I found a nearby airport and got lost in the crowd of people as they all shuffled to gates and airplanes and such. I walked past the line to the clerk.
The shouts of disapproval roared behind me but I paid them no mind. Instead I fished out a wad of hundred dollar bills from my purse that I had thought to bring and flashed them in front of the blond girl. She smiled a megawatt smile.
"I need a plane ticket," I said softly.
Her smile took on a snarky edge just slightly. "Then you've come to the right place," she chirped.
I smirked. "I need a plane ticket for whatever plane is leaving the soonest."
She bowed her head to watch the computer screen while her fingers flew across the keyboard. As she typed a sudden idea sparked in my head. I stopped her and gave her a wide smile that she returned without hesitation.
About a half hour later, I found myself sitting in the lap of luxury, as far as planes go. I picked up my magazine and got lost in the pictures and the articles of the styles. I decided to shut my eyes after about fifteen minutes and pretend to be asleep for the remainder of the flight.
I allowed my mind to wander with a small smile across my lips. My Jasper. My mate. I watched his face flitter behind my closed lids. Then I started going over the last few years. The regular family outings where we would go out and hunt together, the sporadic "honeymoons", the weekends when we would simply watch television without ever taking our eyes off the screen. I knew that these memories would be the only things keeping me alive for a while. But I'm sure they will work. Then I remembered the night Jasper took me to our spot.
It had been a year since we moved in with Charlotte and Peter. We were starting to become overwhelmed by the constant…intimacy between the two other couples. It was nearly suffocating us and at the same time fueling our own intimacy. But we wanted to fuel each other's intimacy, not be fueled by our friends-slash-family. So we went out one day to find some time for ourselves.
We had been running for miles for that one spot where solitude would belong to us. No matter how much we wanted to stop and simply enjoy each other in any area we were in, we kept running. We needed somewhere special. And then we found it.
It was perfect for us. It was this little cove on the beaches of California. It was completely isolated from the rest of the world. The cove was cozy and yet spacious at the same time. There was this tiny little area in the front of the cove where we didn't really think there would be enough room for us. Until we spotted a small hidden door in the back. Of course we opened it and stepped through. What we found stunned us both into silence, though. It was a large room, secluded and hidden. That night, we made the cove ours.
And every week, we'd run back to our "home" to decorate it with things that we got from little stores or our house at Peter's and Char's. When it was finally finished, it was decorated with Christmas lights and a leather futon. There was a desk where Jasper could do his reading and whatever else he wanted. There was a bookshelf for me to read to my heart's content. It was the perfect living space for the two of us. That was also the night he looked at me and asked me, very sweetly and romantically, to promise never to leave him or to forget our love. At the time, I thought he was being silly; I mean, how could I forget such a love? But now, it's not so crazy to make such a promise.
"Miss, we are landing now," the flight attendant said sweetly. "I ask that you return your seat to its upright position."
I smiled and fixed my seat as she asked. I guess I practically fell asleep, despite my being a vampire. I thought it was kind of funny how things worked. I couldn't believe how fast the plane ride was. I guess that's what happens when you let your mind wander to the days you miss. After all, time flies when you're having fun. I giggled inwardly and relaxed as the plane finally landed on the runway. Honestly, I still harbor a paralyzing fear of planes despite the fact that I can't die.
As I stepped off the plane with the rest of the herd that filled cramped space, I kept my head bowed so that I wouldn't be able to see the humans around me giving me odd looks. I had no baggage and no belongings. Humans are so judgmental sometimes.
"Isabella," the familiar voice greeted me. I looked up into familiar red eyes sitting in a pale face with a small measure of disdain.
"Aro," I said quietly with a nod.
JASPER/MAJOR POV
When the dust finally settled around us, we looked around but saw no sign of my beautiful mate, my Isabella. I growled at the men standing before us, venom dripping off my chin, my eyes wildly moving between them, deciding which one to take out first. And then it occurred to me, that Stephen had venom pooling in his eyes as he roared and gripped the collar of Rob's shirt. From his emotions, I could tell he was genuinely crushed by her escape. I stood up from my predatory stance, cocking my head to the side at his display of emotion.
"Rob," he pleaded. "We must find her!"
"Stop," I whispered, knowing I didn't have to yell to hold their attention. "Why don't we all sit and talk about this like century-old vampires." I couldn't help the slight smirk that pulled at the corner of my lips.
Even Rob smiled at my little joke. After we all agreed to meet at Peter's house, I led the group there quietly. No one wanted to say a word while three male vampires were in mourning of a loss that was still shrouded in mystery. I stepped inside the house and turned as the rest of the group walked in as well. They looked to me immediately, expecting me to lead the conversation.
"How do you know, Izzy?" I asked Stephen. Rose, Emmett, Char, Peter, and Rob all gathered on the couches while Stephen and I stood facing each other.
Stephen smiled slightly, while he gave off high amounts of an unnamed emotion. He obviously cared about my mate, but he didn't love her. I did, though, and I was going to do anything I had to, to get her back.
"I met Isabella when she was escaping her time with the Volturi," he started. "She was skittish and quite paranoid when she ran right into me. Of course, Rob, being the loyal companion he is, tried to make her pay for coming so close to me. However, she whipped around to face him and stared into the depths of his eyes with so much hate laced with fear, he took a step back and looked at me to do something about this strange vampire that had come into our company so randomly.
"I tried to talk to her but she ran from me. She truly was frightened. So we chased after her, hoping to offer some kind of assistance to her. When we caught up to her, I took one look into her eyes and felt this crazy feeling wash over me; a feeling of passion, of raw emotion I had never felt for anyone. I knew then I was in love with her. I had to make her my mate. So I made her believe she had known us for a while and wanted to talk to us about her past. And she just spilt it all right then and there.
"I let her out of this faith I had put on her but she insisted she stay with us. She said she needed protection and she would carry her weight around. Who was I to say no? So we let her follow us and we fell in love within a short time. But then she disappeared for a whole week. Not even Rob could find her.
"I went nuts trying to find her. And when I did, I lost all control and I asserted my dominance over her right there in the woods where I found her. After that day, she continued to resist me in every way. So I had to assert my dominance over and over; she just never got it. It was painful for me to give out the punishments, so she wasn't the only one suffering.
"I left Rob in charge of her for a day so I could hunt alone. I needed some time to myself to think about what I was going to do about her. When I returned, she was gone and Rob was missing an arm and a leg. We've been looking for her ever since."
Upon the conclusion of his story, Stephen looked at all of us around the room with a look in his eye that I just couldn't identify. "I only hope you help me to get her back. I love her."
I snorted at this without thinking. I stared at him, waiting for him to say something, to defend himself. But he simply continued to plead with his eyes to my family as if I hadn't spoken. I shook my head and stepped forward.
"We will find her. I promise," I said sternly. "We just have to come up with a plan. We need to figure out a way to track her." I lost myself in thought while the Major and I conferenced in my head. The rest of the vampires in the room conversed among themselves, different ideas as to where she could be or how we could find her.
"I got it!" My sudden shout made the other vampires jump in surprise and turn to me. I smiled wide. "Where is the one place she would go if she felt threatened?"
"To her mate?" Peter chimed in.
"No. Where would she go if her mate and her family were not safe in her eyes?"
The same thought I was having hit Peter. I watched it flash in his eyes. "You really think she'd do that?"
"What else would she do? They have plenty of security and they definitely don't want her hurt; not with her powers. So it's the ultimate safety net."
"What am I missing here?" Stephen asked.
"She went to the Volturi," I said matter-of-factly.
"That's impossible."
"Stephen, as much as I hate to admit it, she feels safe only with them right now. Everyone else is a threat to her. It's her past coming back to her. Not even the Volturi have seen the horrors she has. Everyone and everything is a threat to her right now."
Charlotte grinned. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get her back!"
I frowned and shook my head. "I'm sorry but we can't just run in and get her. We need a perfectly executed plan. We would be killing ourselves trying to save her. And we would be of no help dead."
That's when all Hell broke loose. "I am not losing her!" Rosalie's assertion caught us all by surprise. She had shot out of her seat and released her statement in a scream that rivaled that of the banshee. "You may be able to wait patiently for her safe return but I am not!" Her eyes blazed as they burned into mine.
"Rosalie, calm down," I soothed softly.
That's when she stood toe to toe with me, glaring at me. "Listen to me," she hissed. "I consider that girl to be like a daughter to me. And I'll be damned before I let her believe that I have given up on trying to help her. If you were her true mate, you would be running to get her right now."
The room fell silent; not even crickets chirped from outside. A wave of anxiety and fear fell over the room, nearly freezing everyone to where they were. I puffed out my chest in order to better tower over the blond girl.
I took a deep breath. "Listen to me," I hissed back to her. "I would love to run out of this house, hunt her down, and bring her home to my warm embrace. I would love to feel her next to me once more. But I am in charge of keeping our family safe when we go to rescue her and we don't know what the Volturi have convinced her of. We need a set plan or else we lay our lives at the mercy of Aro and his retarded brothers. And every second we stand here talking about getting her, my heart breaks and is ground to dust a million times over. The world looks bleak right now. I want to run to Volterra and kill everyone who gets in my way to get back my mate. But I need a plan, a strategy. We are of no use to her in pieces.
"So unless your heart breaks over a million times every second you don't have her in your arms, you will back down. And if you ever make such a bold accusation toward me again, I will have no choice but to act accordingly. Not even Emmett will be able to pull me back from ripping your hair from your head and shoving it down your throat."
Rosalie backed away, cowering away from me. Good, she's afraid. Emmett simply bowed his head, knowing that he couldn't stop me if she repeated such an awful thing. I looked around me at the dumbstruck vampires and drew in a deep breath.
"So let's try this again," I said calmly. "What's the plan?"
So sorry to everyone for the wait. School has been kicking my butt into shape recently! I hope you can all forgive me! Love you all!
