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Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Chapter 10

Jacob

24 hours earlier

It was Alice's vision that really confirmed the family's decision to take Jane under their wing.

Everyone had been in an agitated state as they debated who should make up the hunting party. Carlisle was the first one to volunteer as he said more than anything to see if he could 'dissipate any tension'. They were all aware that Jane wouldn't just simply come along with them.

Bella's presence was a must, her shield was the catalyst in which they would be able to approach her at all. Of course, Edward insisted he come as well.

Emmett had tried to argue that he should go but Edward outrightly refused to let Bella go without him.

I was filled with regret that I'd let Seth run off with her in the first place, I should've known better.

Carlisle had patted my shoulder consolingly.

"You did the best thing you thought at the time."

"Yeah but there were about five of us, excluding Seth, we could have easily overpowered her and brought her here. Now we have to go to the extra trouble of finding them."

"If she hasn't eluded him already." Edward muttered.

I nodded.

"I hope we're not too late. I just hope she doesn't hurt him."

I hated that I had to leave Renesmee. Briefly I'd thought of asking Sam or one of the others to go but I of course I couldn't. This was my fault, I had been the one to insist Seth leave with her.

"And if you all do manage to capture her, what next? She can't stay here!It's too dangerous for all of us." Rosalie had put in, her cold barbie doll face plastered with her signature sneer.

"It'd be more dangerous if she makes it back to Volterra...and Aro. We have to find out why she was here in the first place." Carlise stated calmly.

Bella said grimly. "I fully intend to make sure she doesn't get past my shield."

"But how long can we keep this up? Aro and the rest of those goons will come look for her."

Emmett hit the nail on the head. His question made everyone deathly silent. There was no solution readily available for that one.

They all looked at me. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know that they were all silently asking the same question. If we should...end her. It seemed the only obvious solution. That decision would've been non-negotiable if it wasn't for this baffling occurrence with Seth. As his alpha, I understood that the decision to kill her or not was ultimately in my hands.

Could I really do that? Could I really snuff out another man's hopefulness and impending happiness, no matter how impossible it seemed he could ever be happy given these circumstances? But I was the last one to determine if circumstances were right or not.

I thought of Renesmee, sound asleep upstairs. Hell, I'd almost killed her at first just before I miraculously imprinted on her. That particular remembrance made me cringe with self loathing and shame. Now the thought of anyone so much as making her cry would most definitely incite an extreme, violent reaction from me.

As our wolf minds had made the mental connection, I'd experienced the intense imprinting of Seth with Jane. There was no doubt she was his imprint. No matter how preposterous it seemed.

To kill Jane would destroy Seth. To not kill her could potentially destroy all of us.

A sharp gasp abruptly sliced through the heavy silence. All of us instantly fixed our attention on Alice who'd been sitting next to Jasper. He held her close, his eyes intent on her dazed face.

Slowly her eyes regained their focus and she regarded each of us solemnly. She said resolutely.

"We have to keep her alive."

Jane

They burst through a thick copse of trees, just slightly off to my right, facing me where I stood just a couple of feet before Seth. Involuntarily, I took a few steps back bringing me closer to him, forcing myself to stay calm. When I first became aware of their impending approach, I'd hastily found my cloak, putting it back on and with deft fingers had re-fastened my hair into its customary chignon while Seth's large wolf eyes had aggravatingly followed every one of my lightening quick movements. It helped ease my burgeoning fear just a little to appear as formidable as possible. Besides the thought of them seeing me in a casual way made me uncomfortable. I wanted them to face me as the immensely feared Volturi guard that I was. I squelched the immediate thought that followed...that I had not been uncomfortable with Seth seeing me in my tight, casual clothes...and that I had been willing for him to see even more of me...

Gritting my teeth, I determinedly focused on my approaching enemies.

They stopped just some yards away from us. Bella had her eyes trained on me, her golden gaze glaring at me with outright hostility. Her husband stood right beside her, his hand on her arm, and the scarred one stood on her other side, also regarding me with a harsh glare while the other wolf emitted low growls. The only one who seemed almost relaxed was their coven leader, the one who'd been with the Volturi all those years ago. Carlisle.

Through sheer will, I forced myself to remain still, to not betray my fear and anxiety with so much as the flutter of an eyelid. Damn it all, I should have killed that wolf while he had been out cold in his human form...killed him and escaped the hell away from here. Because of my ridiculous craving for his blood, I had put myself in this position...facing my most hated enemies completely on my own.

I could see Edward regarding me now, with a subtle puzzled frown on his face. Silently I was thankful for all those tenacious, mind grueling exercises that Chelsea insisted I tolerate before embarking on this infuriating mission. He should only be able to read what I chose to let him read. So hopefully all he could read from my mind was my long inventory of Volterra's extensive library, practically hundreds of ancient books and scrolls.

I hadn't thought that I would need to implement Chelsea's lessons though, thinking I would have been able to sneak in and out of Forks undetected, no one the wiser.

I did not test to see if Bella had her shield up or not. It was a forgone conclusion that she was utilizing her power. I experienced a quick burst of intense envy that I was unable to use mine. However, I knew she would be able to detect if I used my power. And going on the offensive was the wrong move to make if I had to convince them that I meant no harm.

Carlisle acknowledged me softly, his voice easily reaching me from the too short distance between us.

"Jane."

I barely nodded my head in response. If they were waiting for me to break the tension, we'd be standing here for the rest of eternity. And given our nature, that would be quite literal.

Edward still wore that slight frown. I really had to concentrate on maintaining my mental walls just as Chelsea had painstakingly taught me to do. I could do this...

"Why are you here?"

The scarred one spoke this time. He wasn't really familiar to me, the only Cullens I really had previous awareness of were their leader Carlisle, the little one Alice, the huge, hulking one and that pair. Edward and Bella.

"I was passing through." I responded evenly.

They glanced quickly at each other with disbelief.

"On my way from leaving Volterra. For good." I added for good measure.

Bella gave an undignified snort and Edward was staring at me hard now, not bothering to hide his bafflement anymore. It seemed as if he hadn't got past my mental defenses. Good.

"We'd like to extend an invitation for you to stay with us. I hardly think you have any other place to go." Carlisle said, a hint of wryness in his tone. Quite the diplomat.

"We can't allow you to leave. The risk to humans in this area is not one we're willing to take." The scarred one added bluntly, his eyes focused sharply on me, though I remained completely still.

I smiled slightly. I can beat them at their own game.

"Seth's been taking good care of me. I can assure you I won't be hunting any human's blood."

Then I did something that required me to overcome all my ingrained instincts. I reached out and placed my hand in the deep fur at Seth's neck where he had come to stand beside me. How's that for authenticity.

Every pair of eyes swivelled to Seth except Bella, who kept her gaze riveted on me. In my peripheral vision, I saw Seth's wolf eyes slant sideways in my direction and I was certain if he was in his human body, his face would have been suffused with blood.

The fleeting thought that he might be ashamed of me nearly caused me to splinter my wooden expression with an instinctive affronted snarl. I firmly kept my lips pressed together.

"Nevertheless, aside from that we need to monitor you. We can't risk anyone from the reservation or in the town getting hurt." Carlisle spoke again.

My voice was ice cold, "I'm staying with Seth."

Scarred face said equally cold, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, it's up to you."

"Please Jane, come with us. You have my word we won't hurt you." Carlisle spoke, his voice still quiet and ...kind.

"I'm not coming." No way was I going to be heralded to the Cullens' abode. They would practically keep me imprisoned. A fate even worse than failing Aro.

We'd agreed if I didn't return to Volterra in two weeks, Aro would send reinforcements to me. I still believed I could be back home before then, my mission completed.

Seth's imprinting infatuation was to my benefit. If I went to the reservation with him, it'd be easier to get at Sam. Yet this Jacob wolf seemed to spend a lot of time with the Cullens like he was some sort of guard dog to them or something. As if they needed that.

I could feel my innate resentment bubbling to the surface, as I bitterly recalled how they'd thwarted our plans five years ago. And now here they were once again, building an indomitable wall that effectively blocked what I came here to do.

They slowly began to spread out now, with their damnable shield concentrating on them, to form a semi circle around me.

Seth moved back, joining their movements. I turned to him in shock. Then turned my face away, angry at myself that I'd actually depended on a wolf to implement my strategy. Steadfastly ignoring the strange burning pain in my throat, I lifted my chin imperiously. I was nothing if not resourceful.

Not having the use of my power available to me, I could be extremely cunning. So I would put up no resistance now, not only because I was vastly outnumbered but by not being aggressive, it would be the first step to misleading the Cullens about my true motives.

If all else failed, they'd be the recipients of Aro's wrath, when he descended on them in as little as two weeks.

All the while I diligently worked to keep my mental walls up much to Edward's consternation.

I meekly bowed my head as they slowly advanced on me now. The scarred face vampire and Carlisle grasped either side of my arm and shepherded me out of the small clearing and into the deep forest. I forced my feet to move, my teeth gritted that I had to tolerate this at all. Edward and Bella followed closely behind with the wolves, and I could feel that traitor, Seth close behind me.

I swore if he ever revealed an inkling of what almost occurred between us, I'd really kill him for sure.

Too soon we were swiftly walking towards the entrance of the Cullen residence. Seth and Jacob lingered behind, perhaps to make their revolting transformation. The fierce looking scarred face vampire, whose name I found out to be Jasper, and Carlisle tightened their grip on my arms as they led me up wide steps which led into a spacious, sleekly appointed foyer. The house was spacious by human standards and accented with pale walls and glass windows.

How cute.

Bella immediately went to stand in front of the rest of the Cullen family, Edward closely following. There was an auburn haired female, who I barely recognized as Carlisle's mate, the foreteller, her eyes unflinchingly appraising me and the huge, grinning buffoon who somehow reminded me a little of Felix with his flashy mate.

Behind all of them was the 'immortal child', now seemingly a young woman. She gazed at me curiously over the tops of her relatives' heads being significantly taller than the rest of the Cullen females.

Seth and Jacob burst through the door then, the latter immediately going to stand beside the half mortal, half immortal freak. I felt Seth's dark eyes on me, the pull of his gaze uncannily making me want to meet his eyes.

I never looked at him.

Even as I sensed him drawing closer to me, I refused to acknowledge him.

Carlisle's mate stepped forward then, smiling tentatively.

"Jane, is it? I'm Esme, welcome to our home."

I stared at her disbelievingly. What did she think this was, a social visit?

"Maybe I'd feel a bit more welcome if your...relatives would kindly unhand me."

She frowned slightly and Carlisle subtly shook his head, eyeing her cautiously.

This was so wrong. Always when confronting rival vampires, I'd had the benefits of my Alec's support, the benefits of an entire contingent of gifted guards not too mention the presence of my ancient master. It was indescribably frustrating to face my most reviled enemies alone...and on their territory.

Everyone just continued to regard me steadily, even a bit awkwardly as if they didn't know what to say next.

"Are we going to stand here forever? I'd appreciate it if I was shown to where you intend to ...imprison me." I spat out impatiently.

Bella addressed me then, her voice dripping acid, "Why did you come here?"

I didn't really want to even look at this nemesis, much more grace her with an answer. Yet I turned my eyes on her as I taunted sweetly, "Why don't you ask your dear spouse. He should be able to read my mind, should he not?"

To my glee, they exchanged confused glances.

"I...can't. She's executed some sort of mental block, all I can see are countless volumes of the Volterra library." Edward said hesitantly.

I so despised them. That my master wanted to add these two to our coven, particularly Bella, had never really sat well with me.

They all had questions for me then, repeatedly asking the same inane questions as I just silently stood there, tuning them out. Would that I could just have them all convulsing before me in undiluted agony. I missed using my power so damned much!

It was almost a balm to hear Seth's husky voice cutting through their increasingly irritating interrogation.

"She's already said why she came here. She escaped...give her a break."

"Your freaky imprint stuff might allow her to twist you around her little finger, but we're not buying it dude." Felix's 'twin' imparted quite meaningfully.

"It's not as if she can overpower all of you, the manhandling thing is not necessary." Seth insisted.

Some unspoken communication seemed to pass between Carlisle and Esme. He spoke slowly, "We're releasing you now, please don't do anything rash."

For one unbelievable moment, I thought they were going to let me go from here. Then I realized he only meant that he and scarred face were simply releasing their firm hold on my arms. I couldn't help my disappointed sneer. Carlisle continued cautiously, "Please, we don't want to have to...hurt you."

Seth made a low, growling sound deep in his throat, undetectable to human ears but which all of us heard loud and clear.

They removed their hands off me, moving away a few inches but still hovering close. Instantly Seth came closer to my side yet I could barely refrain myself from shoving him away. Shoving him right through their oh so pretty glass window would have been ideal. "Keep away from me!" I seethed.

He whispered to me imploringly, "Jane..."

I made the mistake of turning my lethal gaze on him, instinctively seeking to incapacitate him before being harshly reminded of his immunity. His dark chocolate eyes held mines evenly and despite the unwanted, hostile audience, I couldn't help returning his gaze. I inconceivably wanted to touch him suddenly, to reassuringly glide my icy hand along the smooth, bare heat of his chiselled arm.

"Do you...want me to stay with you?"

I responded automatically, my thoughts still fixated on touching his hot skin. "Yes..." I was barely aware of his wide eyed response to my answer. The distraction of his scent and the remembered taste of his blood had me firmly in its grip. For a few tantalizing seconds while I stared into his compelling eyes, I continued to imagine touching him. Gliding my fingers along his firmly sculpted arm then cradling his neck roughly before tugging his head down so that I could reach his pulsing artery with my lips and teeth...

I was hardly aware of my adversaries watching us wonderingly as he continued to hold my eyes with his. Directly in contrast to my ravenous thirst for his blood, his gaze was oddly comforting.

"Ahem!" The huge one, Emmett cleared his throat gruffly with an easy chuckle.

I caught myself quickly."No! I certainly don't require your presence! What part of keep away from me, don't you understand?" I snapped, vainly trying to cover up my involuntary reaction to Seth.

A quick flash of hurt made his deep brown eyes shimmer for a second then he swallowed deeply, shoving his hands in the pockets of his ...shorts and glancing down at the ground.

An exasperated sigh escaped me the exact moment he sighed forlornly. He glanced quickly at me then and my eyes clashed with his. He started to grin a little and I carefully averted my gaze, stifling the impulsive urge to return his...engaging smile. Damn it...he was so... what would a human call it? Gorgeous...I'd heard our supremely annoying human receptionist mooning dreamily over Felix of all creatures and she'd described him as...gorgeous. Well, he had nothing on Seth...

Shaking my head slightly at my uncharacteristically silly musing, I turned my attention to them again. I was so aggravated that Seth persisted in affecting me like this. It was not something I'd bargained for.

Esme tentatively came forward again, Bella following closely beside her. Carlisle moved as well to partially block her view of me as she approached.

"I should show you to your...room."

"My prison cell you mean? By all means." I snapped insolently. I'd be grateful for even a rat's hole if it would mean that I wouldn't have to be surrounded by their company for a second longer.

Carlisle looked meaningfully at the rest of his family and they slowly filed out of the room with the exception of his mate, Edward and Bella. Esme and Bella led the way up the gleaming wooden stairway, with Seth just behind me, ugh, and Carlisle and Jacob bringing up the rear.

They led me to another spacious room, sparsely appointed with accoutrements I had no use for. There was another large glass window facing out to the forest which I eyed speculatively. I was intently aware of Bella watching me as I stared out the window. Seth was awkwardly standing just inside the door, his tall, dark, sturdy frame seeming out of sorts with the pale, modern room. Carlisle's mate, Esme was flitting about the room, absurdly murmuring about the amenities that I could use. I didn't even bother to listen to her forced hospitality.

What interested me were Carlisle and Edward. They were conferring softly, every word of which I could hear, of course.

They decided that Bella and Edward were to 'guard' my room, to ensure that I wouldn't escape or heaven forbid, hurt any of them. So I was to be kept in this room, with two of my most hated enemies guarding me and a constantly hovering, misguided wolf.

Lovely.