I know, I know.. it's been crazy long. I just now got a new computer so I was finally able to post up my new chapters. I even updated chapter 9 with some new material so go read it again! =)
I'll leave this AN short, enjoy the new chapter ^.^
"You what?" Bella took a step backwards. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I've been trying to figure out how to tell you for weeks. I hadn't been able to find the best way to bring it up. It's been eating me up inside this whole time. I just couldn't find the right time to tell you."
"Tell me." She demanded.
"I don't know where to start…"
"Start from the beginning." I nodded and motioned for her to sit with me on the couch. We both sat down and I turned to face her.
"How did you meet him?"
"Like I said, Laurent was third in command in Maria's army. Maria turned him almost two hundred years before me and was in the army most of the time by her side. James joined the army about thirty years after I was turned. He was a nomad at the time and was a 'friend' of Laurent's from many years back. I worked alongside them both for many years and slowly I ranked up as Maria's second in command. James was always coming and going though, he never liked to stay in one place too long. He was what Maria called "the recruiter." He would search the country for worthy humans to turn and join Maria's army. He was always jealous of me. He wanted my position of power and my closeness to Maria. Maria for the most part saw him as a tool to enlarge her army. Although I am sure he had his time with Maria, as nearly all men of power in her army had taken her before.
"I couldn't stand James. He was always barbaric, never showed any kind of guilt towards the ones he helped turn or the ones he killed. I don't know how James could be void of any remorse towards his kills It was all a game to him. He kept count of all the ones he killed. He strived to find a more exciting way to catch his kill. He always toyed with the humans. If they were lucky the game only lasted a few days, the kill would be swift. More times than less their deaths were tortuous. The games lasted weeks, sometimes months. He loved to stalk his prey and play deathly mind games with them. You, being one of his victims, should know how cruel and vicious James was." A shiver went up Bella's spine. She closed her eyes briefly to calm herself. When she opened her eyes, I continued. "After years of having to deal with killing so many vampires and humans alike, I found myself getting more depressed and desperate to get away from the army, even if it was just for a little while. For years I tried to convince myself to stay and do as I was told, that there was nothing else out there for me. But I couldn't take all the emotions that were building up. Feelings of betrayal, fear, and anger were always thrown at me in the last few moments of my victims life. I felt it all before I killed them. It was getting to be too much. I was able to convince Maria to release me from my duties as second in command, she stressed it would only be temporary. At this point James, under Maria's orders, had gone back up north to another vampire, where they were to find more recruits and bring them to Maria. Maria decided that James and I were to switch places and his job would be my 'vacation' away. James had been gone for some time, he hadn't checked up with Maria in nearly two years and she was quite upset and demanded to find out why he had taken so long to bring her new recruits. I made my way up through the states from Chile where we had just recently wiped out another army. Maria gave me the city where she last knew James was stationed and from there I tracked him all the way to Biloxi, Mississippi." Bella's eyebrows knitted together in concentration trying to remember. "I wasn't expecting to find what I did when I got there. James had somehow managed to get control of a hospital. As soon as I got there I knew things wouldn't go well. The constant emotions of fear, anger, giddiness, and confusion were making my head spin. Despite it all, I decided to try and stay one night before I gave up.
I walked up to the gates and called out for the caretaker. The old man slowly made his way to the gates. "Who goes there?"
"I, Jasper Whitlock. I come to see James Moreau."
"And what business do you have with him?"
"I have a message from someone important to him, Maria." The man's eye twitched and he nodded.
"He's been expecting you." Of course James would be expecting news from Maria. He hadn't checked back in for years, naturally Maria would send someone for him sooner or later. He unlocked the gate and motioned for me to pass. I tipped my hat to the man and walked along the pebbled path to the main doors of the facility.
A sudden thick dose of pandemonium nearly took me under as I entered the hospital but I reined it in just as quickly as it came. It was nearly midnight, though the residents of the hospital seemed to be fully awake. I could hear at least twenty or so different pumping heartbeats in the vicinity. I ignored my thirst and pushed myself forward to follow the old man. We walked down a narrow, dark hallway that led to a dingy stair case. The place smelled of acid, filth and formaldehyde to attempt to hide their smells. As we passed different corridors, I could hear hushed conversations behind the doors. Some were talking to themselves, others gossiped, attempting to figure out who I was. The hospital had three levels, when we reached the upmost level there was only a desk and a door leading to an office.
Medical files and pages lay astray over the entire length of the desk. An old cup of tea and half eaten muffin lay on top of one of the files that seemed to have been sitting there for quite some time.
The old man pointed to the door and then turned to go back down the corridor where we had come from. I cautiously walked up to the door and listened. No breathing, no heartbeat sat at the other end. The only thing that could be heard was the tapping of a pen on hard wood. I opened the door and there sat James with a devious smirk on his face.
"Jasper, my old comrade." His emotions betrayed his fake welcoming. He pointed to the chair in front of his desk. I closed the door behind me and sat in the small leather chair. "What brings you to these parts?"
"It's been nearly two years. Maria has told me to come and take your place for the time being and means for you to return at once. She wants a full account of all your actions."
"Just like Maria to come and check on me." He smirked.
"You haven't sent her back anyone worthwhile in too long. She's getting impatient."
"She's always impatient" He rolled his eyes and stood up. "Come."
I stood up and followed him out the door. We walked down the stairs to the second floor and turned left at the first corridor. We past a few rooms, some with large windows allowing you to view humans strapped down to hospital beds. Others rooms were empty and some had pacing humans talking to themselves. As we walked on James spoke in a hushed voice. "This is an easy and lazy place for a vampire to feed, perfect for you." He was amused. I was not. "Though, it will be twice as painful for you to feed from them if you are to stay here. The crazies here will drive you up the wall when you attempt to feed. Too bad I won't be around to witness your demise." I reigned in my anger as best as I could. James always found a way to get under my skin. The moment I had walked in the building I had already began to doubt wanting to stay. I had already realized that it would be difficult to feed here. But my empathy could help in that case.
"You know I have my ways in dealing with my prey."
"You're no fun, Jasper. I'd be bored to death with the way you feed."
"Yes well your alternative disgusts me." Jasper twisted on the spot. He was only inches from my face.
"It is what we are. It is our nature. You go against nature. That is disgusting." His nose twitched as if he smelled something spoiled. An agonizing scream echoed out from the nearest corridor. James stepped to his left and slowly made his way through the corridor. "I've been institutionalizing many from the area. There are some who I believe have what Maria searches for. There are five I will be taking to her. That should satisfy her, don't you think?" We stopped at the end of the hallway where the screams were coming from. "The human doctors are quite attached to this one. She truly is insane. All she does is scream her little pathetic lungs out. I think she's having a fit because they just chopped all her hair off. They found her infested with lice the other day." I peered through the small window at the door. The room was small and dark. The walls were of bare concrete. A tiny black haired girl lay in the far corner, wearing rags with her back to the door. She was shaking with fear rocking back and forth in the fetal position. I felt her anguish and I felt the sudden urge of wanting to help the poor girl. "Her screams are feral, they vibrate through her body. I sometimes come here to release my tension. It's quite the thrill to feel her squirm beneath me." He laughed. I wanted to rip his throat, and other parts of his anatomy, from him. Along with his thrill of the hunt, James enjoyed torturing women sexually for weeks before he'd finally kill them. And he thought I was disgusting? James was an abomination. James pulled out a ring of keys from inside his coat pocket with the key ready to open the girl's cell. I nearly stopped him but someone else beat me to it.
"James, what are you doing?" A man in a long white lab coat walked towards us. As he got closer I realized he was no man, he was vampire. "I told you this girl has gone through enough already."
"You don't govern me. Remember your place. Remember who's really in charge here." James' glare was deadly. The man seemed to take heed to his warning but continued to walk towards us.
"I only meant that this poor girl has been tortured enough. She doesn't need your kind of torture when the rest of those so called doctors already do that with their 'treatments'"
"What treatments?" I asked.
"I don't believe we've met." The man raised his hand to shake my own. I complied
"I'm Jasper Whitlock."
"I'm Dr. Kieran Amnell." He gave me a small smile that faltered once he explained. "This girl was accused of being a witch by her family. The doctors here have diagnosed her with severe schizophrenia."
"But you don't agree?" I asked.
"No. This poor girl is just misunderstood."
James sneered. "He thinks this girl has some sort of gift. I think she's just nuts."
Kieran disregarded him. "She says she has nightmares about the deaths of people around her. So the doctors try to 'fix' her. They put her through so many experimental treatments. They fancy electroconvulsive therapy. I'm surprised she has lived this long. She is strong." James rolled his eyes at the comment. "If you'll excuse me now, I've come to give her some medication."
He stepped in front of James and slowly unlocked the girl's cell. As soon as the scent hit me I lunged. I pushed them both aside to get to her. The venom spilled over my lips. She was the sweetest thing I had ever smelled. The air left my lungs and I was thrown across the room and out the door. James grabbed me by neck readying himself to attack. I pushed at him attempting to break free wanting nothing more than to drink from the poor girl's neck, to devour her. Again James threw me in the air, this time I went through a window. I didn't have time to land on my feet. James had jumped out and pummeled me to the ground. I manage to throw him off of me. We had landed out behind the hospital close to the nearby woods. James hissed. I gasped at the fresh air trying to rid myself of the bloodlust.
"She is mine!" He growled. "I have claimed her for my own. No one else shall drink from her. Amnell knows this, and you will too. Try that shit again and I will not hesitate to kill you."
"I'm sorry for undermining your authority on a claim." I said with gritted teeth. I outranked James in the army but not on this. What the hell had gotten into me? The fresh air outside allowed my thoughts to clear some of the bloodlust. I had never felt so pulled to ones blood like that before. My mind spun from the memory of her scent. I could barely contain myself. I had figured as much, I knew James had claimed her. I knew how territorial James could be so I would never willingly duel with James over a human. He kills anyone who would get in his way of a kill. I had no intention of going after that girl, but as soon as her scent had hit me, I had not thought twice. I just wanted her blood. I wanted her life. But I would have to hold back the monster inside me. "I'll leave now. I'll come back in a few days once I get the scent out of my system." James gave me a stiff nod and stood up from his crouch. I backed away from him slowly. He sped off back into the hospital, back to his black haired chew toy. I had the urge to follow him but instead I ran at full speed through woods, I needed to quench my thirst. I needed something fast before I let the thought of going back to drink from the girl creep back in.
I ran three cities far and took down the first human I saw. I pulled the woman into the shadows of the alley and thrust my mouth onto the small of her throat. My hunger took over and I felt her thrash beneath me. I didn't even cover her mouth to stop the screams. I let her fall to the ground out of shock. It felt so good and so wrong. I remember how James had said how he enjoyed how the girl screamed. How it thrilled him to feel her vibrate beneath him. I twitched at the memory. I looked down upon the girl sobbing and trying to scramble away from me on her hands and knees. I rushed at her and sank my teeth in right above her breast. She began screaming again. I smirked against her skin, the monster in me had now taken over.
The entirety of what happened crashed down on me when her blood finally stopped pumping. I pushed myself backward across the ground to the other side of the alley. I had to look away from the mangled girl by my feet. It had been awhile since I'd been so animalistic with a kill. That girl had awakened the monster I had worked so hard to hide away. I disposed of her body and ran back to the woods. I stopped by a large oak tree and sat and the bottom of the trunk. I held my head in my hands, ashamed of what I'd done and how I felt when I did it. I couldn't keep living like this. I decided I would go back and tell James that I would not be staying at that hospital. I would leave a message with him for Maria. I would not being going back to her either.
I stayed there at that tree for two whole days. On the morning of the third day I made my way back to the hospital. As soon as I got there I felt something was off. The gate was wide open and the caretaker was nowhere to be found. I let myself in careful not to even breathe as I passed the second floor corridor that I knew led to where the girl's cell was. I pushed myself to keep going up. When I reached the third floor I knew for sure then that something was definitely wrong. All the files that had been on the desk were all on the ground. The door knob on James' office door was crushed and hanging from it. I slowly opened the door to his office. James sat on his desk, tapping his pen on the desk. He was glaring at the file on his desk and made no motion to acknowledge that I had just entered the room.
"I came to tell you I will not be staying here. And I will not be going back to Maria either."
"Figured." He sneered. "Maria will not be please." He looked up and smirked. "I will be her favorite again." I felt a pang of annoyance. Part of me still loved Maria so knowing she would be angry at me made me almost doubt my decision. But I had already decided. Silently, I turned to leave.
"That little prat Amnell took the girl that night while you distracted me." He said in a dangerous tone. I spun back around in anger.
"What happened?" I asked a little too anxious. James raised an eyebrow.
"That idiot had apparently fallen in love with the human. When you attempted to drink from her that night he realized her blood called to you, and thought you would come back for her. So he took her from her cell. I tracked him down a few states north, and found them in some makeshift shack." He laughed cynically. "He was so shocked that I had found him. He had no idea I was a tracker. He only had one second of thought before I tore him to pieces. The girl was seizing on the ground next to him. He had the nerve to try and turn that little bitch into one of our kind. I burned him and came back just this morning."
"And what of the girl?" I asked impatiently.
His eyes narrowed at me. "Nothing. I don't believe he did it right, maybe not enough venom. I left her there to her death."
I balled my fists in anger. "Are you sure she is dead and not turned?"
"I could care less." James sat with his feet propped up on the desk now. "She was of no use to me anymore. Her blood was tainted, she smelled of him. Like I said, Amnell was an idiot I don't think he did it right."
"But you must be sure! If she was turned, we can't just leave a new born out in the world with no one to guide her. She won't know what she is or the rules. You've killed off her maker, you've broken the most important rule of our kind."
"I have done no such thing!" James growled and got to his feet. The girl is probably dead already. And if she would have been turned it was Amnell who would have a responsibility to her, not I! He was the one who broke the law. He took a claimed human. He was the idiot who got himself killed. It is not a crime to kill our own kind if they interfered with a claimed human. I warned him months ago and he crossed that line."
"Where did you leave her?"
"It does not matter; therefore I will not tell you."
Anger boiled within me. I turned away from him once more, and without looking back, I left.
"That was the last time I had seen him up until that day at the baseball field. I had looked for her for years and could not find any trace of her. James was good at covering his tracks. After five years I found Charlotte and Peter. They convinced me to stop looking and stay with them. I stayed with them only a short time then I went on to live as a nomad for many years." I forced myself to look at Bella for the first time since I had started my story. Her face did not show the emotions she felt. She was confused, angry, and sympathetic.
"That's a lot to take in. I don't really know what to say." she said in a small voice. We were both silent for a while. Finally she spoke. "That poor girl, that's a horrible way to live and die."
"She didn't die."
Bella furrowed her brows, confused. "But I thought you said she died?"
"No. James only thought she had died…" I urged her to understand.
"What happened to her then?" she asked.
"You haven't figured it out?" I thought she would realize. She shook her head, no. "It wasn't until a few months ago that I myself found out the truth..." I didn't want to have to say it but I knew that Bella had the right to know everything. "The girl was Alice."
Bella's eyes bulged. "Alice! No..." Dread came over her as she took in everything I had just told her Alice had gone through under the 'care' of James at that hospital. "Oh god, poor Alice. She must have been devastated when you told her. All she ever told me was that she was institutionalized, she never told me any details."
The same uneasy feeling I'd been having for months crept back into consciousness. I winced. "That because she doesn't know all of what happened."
"What!" Bella hissed. "But I thought you guys didn't keep anything from each other. What do you mean she doesn't know!"
"Trust me, it's been haunting me. And pardon my language but I'm scared shitless to tell her. All she knows is that James wanted to kill her and that a vampire disguised as a doctor saved her life by changing her. And that James later killed him."
"Why haven't you told her the rest?" She glared at me.
"How could I? You know the story now. It's gruesome. I hate what happened to her. I know that I must tell her, but I hate that she will have to know the horrors that she's been through. I can only hope she will forgive me for not saving her myself, and for keeping it from her for so long." I turned away from her, ashamed. "What will she think of me? What will everyone think of me when they find out that all of this was my fault." I tried desperately to close my empathy off from her. I was afraid to know how she felt about me now. She stayed quite for a few minutes. She let out a deep breath and then I felt her hand lay on top of mine at my knee. I flinched at the unexpected touch. I turned to look at her. Her eyes were glossed over. I could tell she desperately wanted to be able to cry.
"Does anyone else know?" She asked. I shook my head no. "Not even Edward?"
"If he knows he never mentioned it to me. I don't think he does. I'm good at keeping my thoughts hidden. I almost slipped right before we left Forks. I think he suspects something but I don't think he knows. God he's going to kill me when he finds out. And Alice, she's going to be heartbroken.."
Bella squeezed my hand lovingly.
"They love you, she loves you. They're your family, and Alice is your wife! Don't underestimate their love for you. Sure they may get angry for awhile, but do you honestly think they wont want anything to do with you when they find out? " I knew she thought and felt it to be true. My heart ached for it to be true, soon I would know. Alice will know the truth soon.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of. For the first time in a long time I'm afraid. Bella, if it wasn't for me James would have never targeted you. He only wanted to get back at me. I kept everything I knew about James to myself when it could have helped. If I wouldn't have kept quiet, James would have never gotten anywhere close to you. They'll never forgive me for letting you get hurt."
"Everything will be ok." She whispered and held her palm to my cheek. I almost believed her. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"When we were in Phoenix, I had a run in with James. At one point when you were sleeping at the hotel I told Alice I had to go out and hunt. Being confined in a room with your blood pumping was making my thirst flare. When I left the hotel I came across his scent about two miles out. I followed it to a semi populated park. He was there just waiting under the shadows of a large tree, I think he wanted me to find him.
"Well, well, well if it isn't Jasper. It's be quite a while. When Maria told me you had gone vegan I couldn't believe it. You loved human blood almost as much as I do."
"People change." I growled.
"Yes, people do, we don't. Forever young. Forever damned."
"I've changed." I glared at him. He smirked.
"You know how this will end Jasper. Step aside; you know what happens when someone gets in the way of something I want."
You have no claim over her. She belongs to my brother, Edward."
"Brother?" James gave a throaty laugh. "My friend, you have indeed gotten soft."
"I am no friend of yours."
James narrowed his eyes. "Yes well, the song is still the same. Your so called brother has fallen for a human. Did he even plan on changing her? The look that all of you had at the field told me that you were all trying to protect her humanity. How pathetic." He rolled his eyes and moved closer to me. "I can smell her on you, so sweet. You will fail. I will have her."
"Over my dead body."
"That can be arranged." He smirked.
"James, I'm warning you. Go now, or my family will destroy you."
James sighed. "Such a pity. You were an asset to the army many years ago. Now you stand before me weak, a golden-eyed disgrace to our kind. You and your new coven are poor excuses for vampires. Though I do have to say I was surprised to see her with you after all these years. I didn't think she had actually survived."
"What are you talking about?" I asked confused.
James laughed. "Oh this is sweet. You really don't know?" he grinned. "That little black haired girl. Alice was it? Yes, Alice. The sweetest blood I had ever tasted. Tell me does she still smell as sweet as she did all those years ago?"
I never thought a vampire could ever feel nauseous. But I found out I was wrong. Alice. It was Alice all those years ago in that cell. How could I not realize it was her. She didn't smell the same. It was different then. But I still should have known! The pit of my stomach turned. I had never wanted to kill someone so much in my long life. I wanted him to suffer for what he did to my Alice. I had to remind myself we were in a public place. I could not attack him here. I growled, frustrated that I could not tear him to pieces at this very moment.
"I can't wait to let Maria know what has become of her little pet." Laughing, he quickly disappeared into an oncoming crowd of teens walking down the path of the park.
"I wanted to follow him and kill him. But I didn't want to take any chances, instead of going after him I made sure I went a round about way of getting back to the hotel. I didn't want James following me back to you."
"I almost wish James were still alive just so I could tear him to pieces myself for what he did to Alice." She was gripping the leather couch by her knees. I pulled her hands away from the leather, and held them in my own.
"I'm so sorry for everything that happened. It was all my fault. He would have never gone after you if I would have just killed him that day in Biloxi."
"It's not your fault, Jasper." She squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Everything is in the past. He's dead now and that's all that matters."
"But I keep bringing trouble for the family. I turned you and now the wolves are after us. And now we have Maria to deal with."
"We'll figure things out. It'll be ok."
"Bella, how can you be so understanding? You should hate me right now."
"I could never hate you, Jasper." She gave me a soft smile. "I love you. You're family to me. You've been nothing but great to me. And you've given me immortality. I can't thank you enough."
I took her into my arms and held her to me. I couldn't believe that she could forgive me. That she could still care for me and allow me to be close to her even after everything I had just confessed. I found a new respect for her, a new love for her. I would love her for the rest of my existence like the daughter I was never able to have.
We embraced, silent and enjoying each other's company. She felt safe in my arms. I wouldn't want it any other way.
Again forgive me for not posting in so long! I had gotten a bit disinterested in twilight for a while there and had almost become what I hate on fanfiction. I promised myself I would finish this story so I will! Thanks to everyone who stuck with me on this!