Hello again, my lovelies! I decided to give you chapter 11 early as an apology for my long absence. Thank you to those of you who reviewed/favorited/alerted this story and welcome to all of my new readers! You're all rock stars!

JPOV

The next few days were an emotional whirlwind.

Charlie's lawyer showed up on our doorstep at exactly nine o'clock the next morning. Just as we had known everything was left to Bella. It was what the "everything" entailed that had us all reeling. The chief had taken out some pretty hefty life insurance policies on himself since he knew what he did for a living was dangerous. There were three, two that he had purchased himself plus the one he had through work. The one that he had through work paid double since he was killed while on duty. Between them, Bella had enough money to pay for his funeral and live comfortably for, quite possibly, the rest of her life.

Once that meeting was over, Esme fed her some lunch and then she and I took her to the funeral home. I sent Peter to her house while we were gone to retrieve the photo albums so she didn't have to do it.

I was less than thrilled at the idea of her going to the reservation by herself but none of us could follow. Peter offered to go since he hadn't made any promises to the mutts but Carlisle wouldn't allow it.

I wore down the grass in the front yard with my pacing waiting for her to return. After Jacob had tried to force her to go to the reservation with him that day I didn't trust him and I was concerned beyond belief when, after two hours, she still hadn't returned.

Alice's inability to see her made me more anxious but Peter kept assuring me that he knew she was fine.

When she finally made it home she was a mess and it took me hours to get her calmed down. I knew someone had said something to upset her but she refused to tell me.

"Just let it go, Jasper. It doesn't even matter," she had said.

It mattered to me but I didn't want to piss her off so I didn't ask her about it again.

The next day was spent going through all of the pictures Bella and Charlie had acquired over the years. I could feel her sadness as she flipped the pages of the photo albums, but it was trumped by the love she felt as she remembered and the happiness that the memories brought. She was healing bit by bit and I liked to think that I had a little something to do with that.

Most of the time we were together. I didn't have it in me to be too far away from her for too long. Sometimes we would just sit quietly together and read. Other times we would talk, allowing us to gain more and more insight into each other's lives and who we were as people. I still had yet to get her to tell me what Edward said to her the night he left but I knew that, given time, she would eventually be able to say the words.

The following day was spent cleaning and getting Bella's house back in order. She had insisted that we hold the wake there, mainly for the comfort of the pack. We had offered to hold it at our house but she had refused, arguing that the wolves and probably even Billy Black would not come if we had it here.

The day before the funeral was the hardest by far. The realization of what would be happening the next day weighed heavily on my Bella and she kept to herself, refusing even my company, most of the day.

Esme kept busy in the kitchen, cooking massive amounts of food to feed the mourners that would be present at Bella's the next day. Emmett and Peter attempted to help but they were more of a hindrance than anything so Esme eventually kicked them out.

Alice and Rose spent the day in Seattle shopping for what everyone would wear to the funeral.

Peter and Charlotte decided not to attend. Victoria was still on the loose and they decided they would be of better use keeping watch for her. Honestly it would be just Bella's luck to have her attack at her father's funeral.

That left me, sitting in a chair in the living room staring at the ceiling, willing Bella to call for me or give me some kind of indication she wanted me with her. It was killing me to sit here and listen to her cry, being able to do nothing to comfort her.

After a few hours I grew restless and took off into the woods by myself to hunt. I hadn't gone since the day I took Bella and I would be surrounded by humans the next day so I needed this. I didn't pay much attention to where I was going, instead honing in on the sounds and smells to find an acceptable meal.

I came to a sudden stop when I caught a scent, but it wasn't an animal. I had crossed the very fresh scent of a vampire; one I didn't recognize. I followed the scent in the direction it was the strongest and before long I found myself standing in Bella's back yard. I hid myself in a tree at the edge of the yard and watched for any sign of movement inside. I couldn't see anything but the sound of extremely light footsteps coming from the second floor told me that whoever I had smelled was still in the house. My military brain kicked in as I assessed the situation, going through every possible way to subdue the intruder before they could sense my presence and get away.

I settled on a plan but before I could execute it a male vampire exited the back door. I jumped from my perch and tackled him to the ground, pinning him beneath me. He looked at me wide eyed and I could feel his fear rolling off of him in waves.

"Who are you and what the fuck are you doing here?" I said in a deadly calm voice.

I sensed Peter's presence before I saw him break through the tree line.

"Well, well. What do we have here, Major?" he asked me.

The vampire just stared at me, the fear all but gone, replaced with anger and a little bit of embarrassment at getting caught.

He was taking too long to answer me and I growled, low and menacing. I grabbed him by his hair and slammed his head into the ground.

"I asked you a question, boy."

"I'm not telling you shit!" he yelled. He turned his head and sunk his teeth into my arm yanking a chunk of my arm out. I hissed in pain but didn't let go of him. I'd had much worse and this little shit had no idea who he was fucking with.

"See, now that was a really bad idea," Peter said from beside me. "I once watched this man kill a coven of twelve vampires after his arm had been torn off. I would suggest you not try anything like that again."

His fear returned but he didn't let it show outwardly. Instead, since sometimes fear makes people do stupid shit, he laughed and spit in my face.

I wanted to tear him to pieces but I needed information. I decided instead to fill him with the cocktail of emotions I used to use to bring the newborns I trained into submission. I stood up and brushed the dirt off of my clothes as I watched him writhe in agony and despair.

"Ok, I'll talk. Just please stop."

"We need to move him, Major. Little one has neighbors and they could walk outside and see us at any minute."

I nodded and lifted the male up off the ground by his hair and dragged him into the forest. When I felt we were far enough to not draw attention I dropped him and drew back enough of my influence that he could talk but not enough that he could get far if he made a run for it. As I looked down at him a bit of pink fabric from inside his jacket caught my attention. I reached down and yanked it out of his inside pocket, growling as the scent of my mate hit me full force. This was one of her shirts.

"Start talking!" I yelled at him.

"Riley," he whimpered. "My name is Riley."

"What are you doing here? Who sent you?"

"Victoria, my mate. She sent me here to get something with the human girl's scent on it. She needs it for the others."

"Mate?" I asked, laughing at him. "Oh, Riley you poor fool. Victoria isn't your mate. Her mate was killed last year."

"Liar!" he yelled.

I pushed more of my influence on him. His back arched off the ground as he begged me to stop. I pulled it back again.

"What's her plan?" Peter asked. "How many others are there?"

"More than you can handle," he gritted out through his teeth.

"I think you're gonna have to step it up, Major. I don't think he's had enough to loosen his lips just yet."

Riley's eyes widened as I descended on him and his scream could probably be heard for a mile as I tore his arm from his body. I tossed it to Peter and crouched down next to him, leaning in close.

"I will tear you limb from limb if you don't start telling me what I want to know. Now, you are going to tell me everything and when you are done I MIGHT just let you live. Talk!"

"She's wants revenge because one of you killed her coven mate. She made a bunch of us so she wouldn't be out numbered when she comes for your coven."

"Why did she want Bella's scent?"

"She's giving it to the others as incentive. She told them that the human girl would be with you and whoever got to her first could have her."

"How many of you are there?"

"Twenty five counting the two of us."

I looked to Peter and I knew that he was thinking the same thing I was. Newborn army. That's exactly what Victoria had done. I found it odd that there wasn't anything in the news about a mass of missing persons reported but she was probably being smart about it. She would most likely be turning people that no one would miss. Then again that many newborns would be wreaking havoc wherever they were. That would not go unnoticed by the humans.

"This is bad, Major."

"It's nothing we can't handle, Captain. Now what do we do with this?" I asked kicking Riley's foot.

"Burn it," he shrugged.

"I was thinking the same thing. Care to do the honors?"

"Wait!" Riley yelled. "You said if I talked you would let me live!"

"I said I might let you live. Given what you told me I don't think you deserve to."

I stood from my crouch and reached into my pocket, pulling out the Zippo I always kept on hand. I debated on pulling off another limb but there was no need as the place where his arm had been torn off was still seeping venom. I flipped the lighter opened and used my leg to light it. I tossed it at him, feeling a satisfaction as his body burst into flames.

As I watched the flames burn out I thought about what was coming. There were twenty three newborn vampires coming for us and my mate and we were severely outnumbered. As much as I hated to admit it we needed Edward home. Of course calling him home would mean that I needed to tell Bella how I felt.

Ever since I realized she was my mate I was having a hard time keeping it from her. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops but I kept quiet, giving her time to grieve her father's death before I decided to spring this on her. I was worried she would reject me.

It was then, standing in the middle of the forest, the stench of Riley's death burning my nose, that I realized my fears were unfounded. Yes she was human but she would still feel the mating pull. Not to the extent that I felt it but it was still there. That's why she sought comfort in me and enjoyed being in my arms just as much as I enjoyed having her there.

I took off into the forest with a laughing Peter hot on my heels.

"Took you long enough," he said

I didn't respond. I just smiled and pushed myself harder and faster than I ever had before. Desperate to get to my mate.