It took a few moments for the news to sink in, but when it did Rhea flinched like she had been slapped. Aurora was like their baby sister. They had been raised together. They had trained together. They ran the world's biggest and most important supernatural monitoring institute together.
"Amelia, are you sure?"
Amelia nodded and pushed herself up until she was sitting.
"At first I didn't believe it either; I thought that James was just trying to get into my head. But then he showed me a video of Aurora handing him a file, my file. She told him that he had proven himself loyal and she was gifting him with a special toy. I don't think it was ever her plan for Bella to be taken but when he found out that Tyson and I were siblings and then that Bella was also our baby sister, I believe he wanted the full set."
"You know what this means Amelia. You know what we should do but it's your call, your family was hurt because of her. What do you want to do?"
Amelia sighed and ran her hands over her face. She then looked around the room, first at her brother who lay on his back on the bed to her right, his arm over his face which was contorted in pain as Carlisle tended to his leg. He had lost so much weight and his wrists were scarred from their constant imprisonment by the magic shackles. Then there was Bella. The sister she barely knew who had been beaten, tortured and stolen from her family, from her mate. Now she faced an uncertain future, not only with Edward but with the organisation Amelia worked for. They would kill her if they found out she was now a hybrid. Her gaze then fell on the man who stood anxiously by the door, his arms crossed tightly against his chest, his lips pursed beneath his moustache, his eyes staring at her in worry and hope; Her father.
"Charlie, I know you never stopped searching for me. I found out about my mother's lies and I wanted to come and see you. I guess I just didn't know how, but I've never hated you, you're my father, my family. That's why I named my daughter after you. And it's because I love my family so much that I have to make this decision. Rhea, we have to find Aurora, and execute her"
"Let us help" Rhea shook her head at Edward.
"Edward you can't"
"She knew what James was doing, she knew that he had Bella and she stood in our house and kept it to herself, we have every right to help you"
"It's not that, you physically can't. She is the daughter of the First. No vampire can harm her, or resist her. If she found out you or any of your family were after her then I have no doubt that she would kill you or turn you into her slave and make you hurt or kill each other. So thank you but no, this is something Amelia and I have to do alone"
"But first Amelia, Tyson and Bella need to eat and sleep."
"And shower, Bells you stink"
Bella smiled and stuck her tongue out at her brother, she really did love him, even after everything he had been through, all he cared about was making her smile. Something suddenly occurred to her.
"Who is the little girl downstairs with Jasper?"
"That's Charlotte, your niece."
"Why is she with Jasper?"
Amelia's face softened and a small smile crept across her lips.
"He's her father"
"What?"
And so Amelia began to tell the tale of how she had fallen in love with Jasper, a story she had not told in many decades.
"Rhea and I were sent on assignment to Texas, since we looked so alike we went under the guise of being sisters who had lost both their parents and were moving in with their 'Grandaddy' Of course George was another agent, retired but still involved. What we were actually doing was investigating the increase in vampires in Texas. We had information that a young woman called Maria was trying to build an army and we were sent to gather intel so the O.M.S could decide how to handle her. Well one day whilst Rhea was doing recon, I began exploring the town and came across the most beautiful horse I had ever seen.
For a week or so I kept seeing the mare but no owner so I asked around and a lady who worked in the bakery told me about a small farm on the edge of town owned by the Whitlock's, said their son rode horses. Honestly I don't know why I was so adamant on finding the horse again but I was and when I got to the farm and saw Jasper my heart stopped. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen in my life, his eyes just held me captive.
I fell in love with him from that moment. So for months we met, taking midnight horse rides, picnics. He wrote me love letters, and we stole kisses in the orchid. Within a year we were engaged and the wedding was planned, just a small affair his family and Rhea and George. Then he got drafted into the army and became a Major.
The war was kicking off in a big way and we were scared. The night before he got shipped out we made love in his barn, it was perfect. We were to be married a month later but neither of us wanted to wait. On the day of our wedding I arrived at the church in my wedding dress, my stomach a flutter and he never showed. I waited long after everyone but Rhea left. Several hours later, as the sun was setting Destry came hurtling towards the church. The poor mare was scared to death it took nearly ten minutes to calm her down. Her saddle was torn and she was covered in deep wounds. At first we thought it was an animal attack, then we saw the bite mark, and I knew in my heart that my Jasper was gone. A
month later I found out I was pregnant and the O.M.S got its first sighting of my Jasper, his skin glittering like diamonds, his eyes blood red. Maria had taken him. Months after that I gave birth to our baby girl and named her after the two most important men in my life; My daddy and my fiancé. Two men who would never get to see their baby girls grow up."
Jasper hadn't meant to listen in, none of them had but it was hard not to be captivated by Amelia's story. He hadn't known what she had gone through, hadn't even remembered her for years after the transformation and an intense wave of guilt crashed over him. He had loved her with every fibre of his being and then he had just forgotten her? Never before had he hated Maria so much, she had stolen his life, his future away from him, he could've married Amelia, they could've raised Charlotte together. Alice was his wife, his soul mate, he loved her, but in that moment he realized that he was also still in love with Amelia.
A/N Let me know what you guys think. Like it? Love it? Hate it? (hope not) xxxxxxxx
