So this chapter does not have jasper in it (soooobb) but no fear! he and hayden will get their time in the next chapter (I promise!). This is basically a filler chapter dealing with a few of the side characters. Hopefully it is still enjoybale!
Leave me a review and let me know what you think! ;)
Chapter 8: Oh Sh*t
"How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life"
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
"Well that was interesting" Alec stated sarcastically after they were securely back in their own home. Well home for now anyway….Volterra would of course always be Hayden's 'real' home.
"hmmm" Hayden agreed not really listening to his 'sibling's conversation. It really hadn't been that interesting of a meeting…not really. In truth they really hadn't accomplished all that much (well besides thoroughly snubbing the Cullen's and pissing Bella off, which in itself was a most worthy endeavor) but despite not changing much Hayden couldn't help but fell somewhat invigorated by the whole thing.
And that was worrying him. He knew deep down in the recesses of his brain the reason why he had enjoyed it so…and it had very little to do with the stupid Bella chit or even the whole acting superior and ruffling feathers thing. No, he was pretty sure that a certain blond vampire was to blame for his current good mood. And he really wasn't quite ready to deal with that fact….
It wasn't that he had anything against finding his mate (for considering the weird reactions of both his magic and his traitorous body, he was pretty sure that's what Jasper was) it was the fact of just who his mate was. There was nothing per say wrong with Jasper; the vampire was stunning physically, and had an energy that Hayden found quite enticing. No, the problem was that Jasper was currently very much involved with the Cullen's and a certain little seerer. And Hayden was no masochist.
That and the whole 'vegetarian,' denying happiness bit. He was a sadist either, and he didn't enjoy seeing his mate in pain regardless of whether it was self inflicted or not.
Denial was not a positive quality in a mate…especially considering just who Hayden considered his family. No, he would not accept someone who was constantly going out of their way to delude themselves about who and what they were…it was not something he could stomach. To hate yourself so much that you turned your back on your very nature was not attractive. Not in the least.
Then there was the rest of the coven to consider. Carslie seemed like he could be a pleasant enough person, unfortunately that amount of virtue and moral the man carried around with him left him with a decidedly unpleasant sanctimonious air.
Then there was his wife…that she was loving and doting there was no doubt, but her amount of hovering seemed rather misplaced and smothering (not like he would know anything about that…cough cough Aro…cough cough Caius and Severus). She seemed like the type that would never recognize her 'children' as their own persons; adults who were mature and capable enough to make their own mistakes and decisions.
Perhaps it was the fact that although Hayden had grown up with numerous controlling figures in his life, it had been from a more distant, analytical standpoint. He had no doubt that the brothers, Severus, the twins and the rest of the guard cared for him but it wasn't the cloying brand of motherly love that Esme exuded. Perhaps that was his real issue with her…he just wasn't used to that kind of relationship; it left him feeling all together uncomfortable (because let's face it… he might think of Jane as a big sister/mother figure; but the blond vampire was anything but maternal…well unless being acerbic and intolerant of failure qualified her for that role).
Not that he minded…he'd rather be made to run laps or hold a plank for hours then wrapped in some warm hug and cooed at…the very thought made his skin crawl.
He really didn't know what to make of the 'older' two siblings; he had a feeling he would like Rosalie if he got to know her…she seemed bitter and sharp…rather like a female Severus truth be told. As for her husband he knew too little of the man to make a realistic judgment on his character. Though his gut told him the giant vampire was like a laid back version of Alec (well Alec when he was only with his family that is).
Alice, who was apparently with Jasper -'at the moment' his mind whispered before he could ignore it)-automatically earned a red x just for that very fact. To be fair she was probably not all that bad though Hayden felt like the constant energy and hyperness he had observed at school, would grate on his nerves rather quickly.
He was much more used to the sedate and stoic countenances of the Volturi vampires (with the exception of Alec of course-but then the second half of the infamous duo might be exuberant and childish at times, but not to a degree that made Hayden want to swat him away like an annoying bug…he was pretty sure Alice would fall into the bug category given time).
Then there was Jasper himself….no! Not going there!….if he allowed himself to ponder the blond vampire it would no doubt eat up the remainder of his day. He shut that box securely and shoved it back amongst the 'worry about later' section of his brain (same section that held the wizarding world, his mysterious tattoos and his numerous oddities like his lack of aging).
Edward…well there was not much to say other then kill joy. It was painfully obvious that the vampire was so thoroughly repressed that any thought of enjoying himself was a serious risk for causing the vampire to have an aneurysm.
Last on the list; his girlfriend…the grating and soul sucking Ms. Swan.
Ok, he was being dramatic again…but something about the human just caused that reaction in him. He wasn't sure if it was just her plainness and dull cow like eyes or if it was her attitude and assumption that she was worthy of the complete attention and devotion from century old dark creature that irritated him most. Well, that and she was still such a teenager-an over emotional, whiny one at that. He had no doubt that if she did not get her way, she wouldn't hesitate to spill the secrets so stupidly entrusted to her. Sometimes he wasn't sure who disgusted him more; the whiny sniveling girl or her idiotic, self-centered boyfriend.
He brought his attention back to the present sharply, he wasn't in the mood to have to calm himself if his temper got the better of him again…he abhorred stupidity.
"…should be interested"
Hayden just caught the end part of Jane's comment, "interested?" he asked ignoring the disapproving look Jane sent him when it was obvious that he hadn't been paying attention.
"Yes. I was saying-as you would well know if you bothered to pay attention- that the Cullen clan is a veritable gold mine of potential talent….and I'm sure you noticed that there are some definite cracks in their whole 'togetherness'…I was simply stating that Aro would not be opposed to us using the Bella situation to…widen those cracks" she stated with a evil smirk.
Hayden didn't bother to hide his answering smirk, "That would be a rather advantageous result….is that why you two were paying so much attention to their seerer during the meeting?" Hayden asked voicing one of the questions that had been nagging him since the meeting.
It hadn't been an obvious thing…had Hayden not spent the last 26+ years with the twins he probably would have missed it. He had caught them both staring at the pixie vampire on more than one occasion. This latest explanation would of course cover why they had been paying the pixie vampire extra attention, it was well known how much Aro wanted to add her to his guard. .Although something told Hayden that it wasn't the whole reason for the dreaded duo's attentions.
"What? What are you talking about?" Jane demanded her face not betraying anything.
"…nothing. I just noticed that both of you were paying their seerer more attention than normal" Hayden answered casually though he watched both the twins faces closely to see their reactions.
Jane sniffed, while Alec fidgeted. "Of course that's the reason" she finally supplied although she looked over his shoulder at the space behind him rather than in his eyes when she said it.
Hayden hid a gleeful smile, "Of course" he agreed agreeably.
Oh Forks was certainly becoming an interesting little town.
.Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Jacob was frustrated. No, that wasn't true he was frustrated two hours ago…now he was crossing over to mutinous. Of course he wasn't quite sure who he was directing his mutiny towards- considering he was the one who had come up with the idea (well that's what he was telling himself, no way was he going to admit to being duped into this stupid idea by Leah of all people…hell, the pack would never let him live it down).
As all-accepting and welcoming as the wolf pack was purported to be by the elders…Jacob wasn't blind…nor was he stupid. He realized that what the elders preached and what Sam practiced were two different things entirely. He knew (even if he and most of the guys chose to ignore it) that Sam was definitely not thrilled or welcoming to Leah when she joined.
Sam was never outright hostile to his former fiancé but there was a definite chill and cold shoulder going on…and coming from someone who knew what it was like to go from being someone's whole world to being nothing in a moment, he knew how much this attitude must hurt Leah.
He also knew that Leah could be something of a bitch…of course it wasn't hard to see that it was really just a defensive mechanism his prickly pack mate used. He hadn't really known the girl before Sam and her break-up but he was pretty sure she hadn't been nearly as bitter or caustic. He tried to make an effort to not act like the rest of the guys towards her…but sometimes she made it really…really difficult.
What the fuck is this? Why can't we get past this point? Leah asked her own frustration evident.
And that was the real reason he was irritated at the moment. They had followed the un-identified vamp scent all the way back to this area of woods, but no matter how they tried to approach the spot where the scent disappeared they couldn't. It was like there was an invisible wall up.
Jacob had shifted back long enough to try and cross in human form and failed miserably, he had discovered that he was able to toss a rock, a pine cone and stick across without any problem however. It seemed as though just he and Leah couldn't cross….it was confusing and infuriating.
He briefly pondered telling Sam and seeing if any of the others in the pack were able to get across but just as quickly dismissed that idea. He was not up to dealing with Sam's macho-alpha attitude at the moment…he had regretted turning down the Alpha position basically since the moment he had done it.
Oh well, there wasn't much he could do about that now….well unless he wanted to fight it out with Sam (which he really didn't want to do…as big of a guy and hot-headed that he was, he was an essentially peaceful dude) or start his own pack and well let's face it…that would become him and Leah.
Not a dynamic he wanted or needed.
I don't know…maybe it's some weird ass vamp hoodoo or some shit like that. I say we confront the leeches where they won't be able to attack us. At least till we figure out what the hell is going on" Jacob tossed back giving up the idea of being able to cross the invisible shield. He wondered if it was like Argent off of the Teen titan's cartoon he used to watch…that would be kinda cool.
He shook his head. Focus! Right…so confront leeches, and then decide what to do….good plan sam (okay so he was a bit of a freak in his own head. Next thing he knew he'd be referring to himself in third-person…not cool).
Alright….plus it's always fun to stir up white suburbia Leah agreed, Jacob could practically hear her villain like cackle. All she needed was a fluffy white cat…and to maybe shave her head. What was it with evil villains and baldness anyway? Vader, Luthor…dr. evil.
Okay once again not important right now. Though it did make him feel a little better that he wasn't the only freaky one.
Let's go he barked back and took off at a run. This should prove to be interesting…he only hoped he didn't run into Bella. He really was not quite ready for that.
No, he was going to focus on finding vampires to harass and if he was lucky rip apart. That would be the perfect distraction. He couldn't stop the smile that came even if he had wanted to.
And he really didn't want to.
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Edward couldn't remember the last time he had felt so tense and out of sorts….okay, so he could it had been a little over two years ago when he had first caught a wiff of Bella's blood… at that point in his existence it had been the closest he had ever come to losing control (oh sure there was that whole rebellious phase but he didn't really count that considering he had wanted to hunt down those men).
Now though, he believed he was every bit as wound as back then and his normally straight backed posture was past the point of well mannered straight into the rigid territory. He cast a discreet glance over to where his girlfriend was sitting in the passenger seat; he had hoped to assuage her anger by driving her to school today instead of going with his family.
So far it looked like his attempt was falling flat- as witnessed by the petulant scowl and cold shoulder he was receiving.
He mentally sighed to himself trying to think of something to say that would break this tension. Of course it didn't help that when she asked about the meeting he had been unable to tell her a thing. Literally.
He had tried…he honestly didn't care if he pissed of the little asshole and the rest of the Volturi group -well maybe he did…he was past the whole suicide thing after all, but at the moment he was feeling pissy- hence his blatant attempt at breaking their rules. Unfortunately it would seem that he physically couldn't disregard their demand that Bella not be told anything pertaining to their meeting.
Every time he tried to tell her anything that happened (and really it wasn't like there was a ton of super secret vampire stuff even revealed at the meeting) he would lose his train of thought and be unable to voice the words. He had been so shocked the first time it happened he was sure he was losing his mind. It didn't take him long to come to the only sensible conclusion he could think of.
It had something to do with that little black haired twerp. Edward hadn't considered taking a human life in years (minus that one chemistry class of course) but Hayden was seriously testing his restraint.
But getting back to the point, Bella just thought he was purposefully keeping it from her resulting in her being even more pissed at him (regardless of the number of times he tried to tell her he couldn't tell her anything-and wasn't that a tongue twister).
As he parked the car he suddenly caught a familiar scent and gripped the steering wheel. Fuck. Honestly he really could not deal with them right now.
"If I asked you to stay in the car would you?" Edward asked Bella in a tight voice fighting to keep his anger from showing.
Bella looked over at him and gave him contemptuous look before hopping out of the car and slamming the door with more force than necessary. Edward winced at the noise.
"Of course not" he muttered to himself. Why on earth would she ever make something easier for him? He used to enjoy the complication she added to his existence, lately however….
He sighed out loud this time and reluctantly got out of the car, walking at a clipped pace over to where he knew trouble was waiting. He saw a much larger Jacob Black standing at the end of the parking lot with his arms crossed and a foul glare on his face. There was a much smaller girl standing just behind him and Edward was momentarily stunned.
He had always liked Bella's brown eyes, but this girl…no, woman's eyes put Bella's to shame. Despite the Rosalie bitch face the woman was wearing at the moment, there was no denying that she was beautiful. He pulled his attention away from the girl and tried to think of what might Jacob want. The wolves thoughts were rather jumbled at the moment and causing him to much of a headache to try and decipher. He was sure Jacob wouldn't hold back letting him know what was on his mind anyway…might as well save himself from the migraine.
Surely this was not still over Bella? In all honesty he really didn't feel like discussing her now or anytime soon…not until he figured out what was going on between them at least. No, It was most likely to do with Emmet accidently crossing the border line when they were chasing Victoria three nights ago….honestly he thought that they had already apologized and gotten over that.
He was glad that Carlisle hadn't mentioned Victoria to the Volturi visitors during their meeting, knowing them they would just let the red headed monster kill Bella and be done with it. Their relationship might be a little rocky at the moment but he knew he still loved her and she him….right?
"What do you want Jacob?" Edward asked when he had finally reached the massive teen.
"I want to know why you leeches think it's alright to break the treaty?" Jacob spat back looking like he very much wanted to for-go the words and throw some punches instead.
Edward briefly considered letting him do so…it wouldn't be his fault if the dog broke his fist. He dismissed it just as quickly although with far more reluctance…one word…Carlisle.
"Emmet already apologized for that…what more do you want?" Edward hissed back just as volatile.
"Edward…what's he talking about? Jake?" Bella of course had to chime in just then.
"Not now Bella" Edward said hoping that for once she would just stay quiet.
Jacob apparently completely missed Bella's comment still stuck on Edward's reply, "Wait what? What are you talking about?" he asked sounding confused and unsure for the first time.
"Three nights ago…with…with that issue we told Sam about…what are you talking about?" Edward retorted feeling just as confused over the whole situation.
By now there was a fairly large group of students gathered around…no doubt hoping for a fight. Although they were still far enough away that they were not to be able to hear the words being exchanged. Not that he was surprised, had he been a delicate human, he too would not have come within striking distance of the fierce looking natives.
He belatedly realized he didn't recall seeing Jacob or his companion there for the Victoria hunt….then what was the teen talking about?
Just like he had suspected Jacob confirmed his observations, "I wasn't there that night…neither was Leah..." Jacob stated before adding an explanation at the sight of Edwards scowl at this information, "her mom fell and I helped her and her brother take her down to the hospital"
Jake wasn't really sure why he was explaining this to his enemy (former?) because for some reason Edward really didn't feel like something he was suppose to attack and kill. He noticed Leah had a confused look on her face as well and she was staring hard at the bronze haired vampire. What was going on?
"I'm talking about the vampire scents that crossed into the north corner of the rez…" Jacob stated finally arriving at the whole point they were there for.
Edward blinked, "We haven't been in the north corner lately…was it…her maybe?"
By this point Bella was beyond furious at the hard to follow and confusing conversation, she was the one supposed to be giving Edward the cold shoulder, not the other way around. And what the hell was with Jacob? The last time they saw each other he couldn't take his eyes off of her…now he barely acknowledged her presence.
She also didn't like the way that her boyfriend was looking at Leah. Not one bit. She was about to interject her objections to the whole situation when she was once again cut off…and by none other than the teen she was fast coming to hate.
"Oh, don't stress yourself Eddie…you'll give yourself wrinkles" a smooth voice stated and Edward didn't need to turn around to know that it was the green eyed bastard.
Jacob snickered at the teen's comment watching with mild curiosity as the new comer approached them without a smidgen of fear or apprehension. His scent smelt familiar but he couldn't really identify it…he wanted to say vampire but it wasn't.
"Who are you?" he demanded trying exude 'intimating badass werewolf'. Apparently he failed as the dark haired teen looked at him with unveiled amusement and raised an eyebrow.
"Hayden…and I am assuming you are one of the Quileute pack puppies" he stated looking Jacob over from head to toe. The gesture and the look in the teen's eyes somehow made Jacob feel as though he was lacking. So instead he threw his anger back at a familiar target.
"You told him?" he asked Edward his voice full of accusation.
"Oh calm down…really is there such need for this childish feud? Hmmm…" he cast a dismissive look in Bella's direction, "I really don't see one"
Bella snarled at the implied insult.
"Now…to answer your question dear pup, it was me and my family that ventured across the border...however, since we did not make a treaty with your little pack I really don't feel any obligation to follow some ridiculous rule" Hayden turned his attention back to the now slightly vibrating wolves.
Edward and Bella had both taken a precautionary step back, but Hayden ignored this and held his ground.
"Just who do you think you a-" Leah snarled at the bored looking teen. Jacob's face was twisted in something equally as angry as hers. Both appeared to be about a minute away from shifting.
"Someone much stronger and smarter then you" Hayden retorted losing all vestige of boredom, his voice like ice. He flicked his wrist and both shifters were shrinking back with a new look on their faces. Fear.
"Now…listen here. I will tell you this once and once only. My family and I do not want trouble from you or your tribe. You will pretend we don't exist and we will let you continue bounding around your little forest will all your limbs….understood?" he asked the last question in such a sweet tone that it made Edward's fangs ache.
Edward was more than a little shocked when both teens nodded meekly. What the hell did Hayden do to them?
"Lovely…" Hayden replied sounding cheerful once more, "Oh…I'm sure your alpha will not want to abide by these simple terms so tell him if he needs…help understanding them that I am always more than willing to meet with him" he added with a sinister smile.
The conversation was finished with the arrival of one very unhappy principle and the banishment of Jacob and Leah from the school grounds. Of course Hayden simply smiled sweetly and gave the man big innocent eyes. He was on the receiving end of the principles apologies and reassurances (really Mr. Prince-he had decided to use Severus's last name while they were in Forks- the school is not usually dangerous…if he gives you any more trouble…).
Edward stood there in a daze. He wasn't sure what was confusing him more; the continued enigma that was Hayden Prince; what with his weird abilities (ones unlike Edward had ever seen or even heard about before) or his reaction to the she wolf.
It wasn't until later in the day that realized that the woman, Leah- was what Jacob called her, didn't smell like wet dog at all.
No, she smelled like something different entirely. Something he had basically given up hope of ever finding.
She smelt like his mate.