Alice stepped forward and extended her hand towards Aro. Millie watched as he frowned before taking her hand. The silence was deafening as he saw whatever Alice's visions foretold. He blinked several times before casting a somewhat surprised look at Edward before his gaze finally turned towards Bella.
"It seems your destiny is to become one of us," he said coolly. Millie was curious. What had he seen? And why did he look at Edward like that?
"Therefore, the law ain't broken," Jasper spoke as he appeared next to Millie, his arms folded across his chest.
"You attacked members of our guard," Caius snarled, clutching the arms of the throne he sat on.
"Self defense," Jasper snapped back. "Perhaps you should tell your little guard dog that there won't be pieces of her to put back together next time."
Millie saw that Charlotte had gathered Edward's head and walked over to his body, albeit, cautiously as she took in her surroundings.
"We are free to leave then?" Bella asked timidly.
"Yes, you are," Aro said, and Millie could hear the reluctance in his voice. Too bad, he had lost the fight and if anything, he should reprimand that little witch, Jane.
"But rest assured," Caius interjected as he stood up, his milky red eyes ablaze. "That we will visit to make sure that you follow through on this. And make no mistake, you won't come out unscathed if the law is not fulfilled."
Jasper gave him a terrible look. "I'll make sure that Bella is changed."
"Then this is goodbye," Aro acknowledged albeit reluctantly. "For now."
Jasper nodded tightly and grabbed Millie's hand before backing out of the room. Peter and Charlotte followed with Edward's body and Alice was dragging Bella.
As they left, they heard the sounds of voices, human voices and Millie grew concerned. It could mean only one thing. As they continued, a gorgeous woman with wavy mahogany hair led a crowd of humans by them. Her eyes were violet, but Millie wasn't fooled. The long legged, statuesque woman was a vampire bringing home take out and she was clearly wearing contacts.
"Hurry," Millie hissed to her mate, concerned for Bella's sake.
The woman gave them a curious glance but continued past them as they reached the elevator. The doors closed, just as the screams began and Bella let out a horrified gasp.
"We need to put Edward back together," Alice spoke up as the elevator began to go up.
"He can wait until we are out of the city," Jasper snapped.
"We are going to have to wait until dark anyways," Millie said faintly, sick with the realization that they had a while before they would be able to leave. She looked over her shoulder uneasily, before moving closer to her mate.
"Yeah, let's not add a charge of actual reckless exposure to the list of things for the Volturi to hold against us," Peter said quietly.
Jasper snorted. "Too late on that end," he retorted, clearly referring to Edward's attempted stunt, and Millie rubbed his hand soothingly.
"Bella?" Alice asked, drawing everyone's attention. "Are you okay?"
Bella was shaking from head to toe and she began to sob.
Alice gave her a side hug. "It's okay, we're all alright," she soothed.
Suddenly, Bella seemed to calm down and Millie knew that it was due to Jasper's influence. She was glad, because they didn't want the Volturi coming up to see what the problem was.
"The emotions can come later," he said, not unkindly.
They waited until it was dark to leave, and Jasper led them to a dark blue Ford Expedition that was parked off by itself near a lone street light. He pulled a set of keys out and unlocked the car and popped the trunk.
"Put Edward's head and body in the back," he ordered, and Charlotte and Peter placed the cowardly Cullen in the back. Jasper opened the back passenger door and Bella shakily climbed in followed by Alice into the very back row. Peter and Charlotte got into the middle row, and Millie took her place up in the passenger seat next to the driver's side. She focused and quietly erased their trails, hoping her power would work against Demetri's.
Jasper hit the engine button and tore off, quickly finding the main road. His jaw was clenched, and she could feel the tension coming off him in waves and she wasn't even a damn empath.
"Are you mad at me?" Millie asked her mate quietly.
"Yes," he growled, giving her a dark look. "We'll talk about it when we get back home."
Millie let out an annoyed sigh as he sped down the road. "Someone want to call Carlisle and the rest and let them know we're on the way?"
It was about fifteen minutes later when Jasper slammed on the brakes, causing Bella to yelp.
"Watch it, Jasper," Alice snapped from the back. Jasper said nothing, before exiting the vehicle and disappearing into the surrounding forest.
"He should calm down a bit," Peter remarked. "And get something for Edward back there."
"He'll be okay, right?" Bella asked worriedly. "They took his head off." Her voice broke off at the end.
"Having your head removed isn't fun, but once Jasper snaps his head back on and gives him something to eat, he'll get to healing up pretty fast," Peter explained.
Jasper returned about ten minutes later with a lynx in his arms. Millie turned off the car lights, so they could have complete darkness. She pressed the button to pop the back of the truck, before getting out and moving to the back.
Jasper set the dead lynx down and Millie held Edward up before Jasper slammed his head back on with a sickening crunch. Edward let out a something between a yell and gasp and Jasper stuck the lynx up to him. Instinctively, Edward sank his teeth into the and began to drink greedily, until there was nothing left.
"That should hold until we are back in America," Jasper said, looking at Alice who nodded in assent. "You can climb into the third seat with Bella and Alice, if you are up to it." With that he picked up the dead animal and disappeared, before returning to the driver's seat. Millie hopped back into the passenger side and closed the trunk before Jasper peeled off once more.
"It'll be a while before he can talk," Charlotte told Bella kindly as they sped off into the darkness. Alice had whipped out her cellphone and was talking to Carlisle.
"We are catching a flight out tonight," she answered. "There was some trouble, but we are all okay, Carlisle, I promise."
"You can sleep, Bella," Alice said quietly to the distraught human. "You need it."
"No," Bella refused. "I don't want to sleep, what's our route?"
"Rome, then Atlanta, then back to Seattle," Jasper answered and Millie perked up at this, a thought forming instantly in her mind.
"I want to take a detour," she demanded, thinking of her old coven in Alabama.
"A detour?" Jasper repeated, not taking his eyes off the road.
"I haven't seen my coven in quite some time," Millie pointed out. "We can fly to Alabama, and then from there head up to Seattle, I just need to see them."
"Millie," Jasper said, and she could hear the irritation in his voice. "Not now, we have to get back to Forks. Bella's father will be looking for her."
"Then I'll go by myself," Millie retorted, turning away from him and staring out her window in the darkness. "We'll split up and I'll meet y'all back up in Seattle."
"The hell we're splitting up," Jasper growled. "Us splitting up is what caused this situation in the first place."
"No," Millie snapped. "That was due to your brother wanting to walk his ass out into the sunlight like a damn fool."
"And you thought it was a good idea to take off with Alice and Bella and say nothing?" Jasper demanded.
Millie hesitated at that. "Well, I didn't want you involved in this."
"Your my mate," he pointed out. "And you went off to Volterra, the most dangerous place in the world for a vampire. That makes it my business and you know it."
"You would have done the same thing."
"Like hell I would have. At the very least, you would have known what the hell I was doing."
"You managed just fine, just like all these years you didn't know me." Millie felt her temper flaring even more as she snapped her heads around towards him, glaring at him fiercely. She didn't give a damn whether or not they weren't alone.
"It's not the same damn thing. If you want to go to Alabama, fine," he snarled, his hands clenching the steering wheel. "You'll do it after we take Bella home."
"That's a waste of time!" Millie whirled around in her seat, her eyes clearly making out Bella in the darkness. "Bella, do you mind?"
"Um, no?" Bella squeaked out and Millie let out a huff.
"We should head back to Forks," Alice said quietly and Millie's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Things would be better that way."
"There," Jasper said shortly. "It's settled." Millie glared at him but said nothing and the drive continued into silence.
Time flew by quickly, and they were back in Seattle with no trouble at all.
As they walked out the airport, they were greeted by Carlisle and Esme, the latter, who rushed forward and held Edward tightly.
"Don't you ever do something like that again, Edward Cullen!" She hissed and Edward grimaced but nodded. "I'm sorry Mom," he apologized and to his credit, it sounded sincere.
"Thank you, Bella," Carlisle said as he approached, his eyes warm. "We owe you."
"Don't worry about its Carlisle," Bella said tiredly. "I would do it again."
"Where are Rosalie and Emmett?" Millie asked, noticing the missing couple.
"Oh, they are with the car in the parking garage," Carlisle answered before he embraced Edward.
Edward stiffened and Esme shot him a look. "She feels terrible about it Edward."
"She should," he hissed, and Millie gave him a pointed look. "Rose was wrong, but you chose to react the way you did. That's on you." With that she approached Carlisle who tossed her keys at her.
"Thanks Carlisle, where did you park it?"
"Second level, and you are very welcome. Thank you, Millie."
She smiled at him before tossing the keys to Jasper who caught them without even looking in her direction. "You can drive," she said shortly, still angry over their fight in the car.
Peter and Charlotte exchanged uneasy glances. "If you two need some time alone, we can run,..."
"No, it's fine," Millie said, glaring at her mate. "You two didn't do anything wrong."
Jasper met her glare with his own. "That's right, y'all didn't run off to Volterra without even letting anyone know."
"I had reasons for that!"
"And they are shit ones!"
"Yeah," Peter said, eyeing the two of them. "Me and Charlotte will meet y'all back at the house. We need to hunt anyways."
"Take it out of town Peter," Jasper warned before stalking off towards the stairs that led to second level. Millie followed after him, until they reached her car and once unlocked, she slid into the passenger seat.
Silence filled the car as they left the airport. It bothered Millie, but she wasn't willing to budge in the argument at all. And she had a sneaking suspicion that no matter what Jasper said, she couldn't see him taking her to Volterra if it had been the other way around.
They were back at the Cullen's house in record time and Millie dropped onto the bed exhausted and thirsty. Jasper had retreated into the study, brooding and agitated. Millie would deal with him when she felt better. She curled up on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
...
Jasper was in his study, thinking on the fight with his mate when he heard the voices of his adopted siblings.
"You should have let me take Bella into the house!"
"Yeah right," Emmett snorted. "And piss off her dad even more, the chief of police?"
"I'm sure Bella will come when she feels better and isn't exhausted," Rosalie said quietly as they entered the house.
Not in the mood, Jasper rose to his feet and leapt through the open window and darted into the forest. He needed to hunt and a mountain lion or two would help ease his frustrations as well.
When he came back into the house, he felt more at ease and had brought a deer (well he left it at the edge of the forest) for his mate. She should be awake now, so when he jumped into their room, she was on the bed, looking at him curiously.
He held out his hand. "Come, I have something for you," he said softly, and she stared at him cautiously before taking his hand and leaping into the night. He led her to the dead, yet still warm deer and Millie immediately pounced on it. When she was done, her eyes were a beautiful honey gold once more.
"What's the cat for?" She asked, arching a dark brow at him.
"A peace offering." He gave her a smirk.
"Then you understand my reasons for what I did?"
"Yes." He always had in that regard. He didn't like it, but he understood them.
"Then you acknowledge that I was right?" Millie asked, crossing her arms challengingly.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "Now where did I say that? I said a peace offering, not a I was wrong offering."
Her eyes flashed. "You would do the same Jasper."
"I think you know me better than that," he took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her. He was tired of fighting with her.
Her eyes flickered up at his. "What are you doing?" She asked. He could feel her surprise, a bit of nervousness, but her excitement and lust most of all.
"Something we both want," he growled before capturing her lips in a fierce kiss. He lifted her with ease and her slender legs wrapped around his waist.
"The house," Millie panted as he broke the kiss and Jasper let out a low laugh. "You want an audience?"
"I don't want anyone coming across us out here," Millie gasped out as he kissed her neck.
"They won't," Jasper assured her, when a sudden idea flashed in his mind and he set Millie back down who looked at him in confusion.
"I know where we can go," he said, before turning in the direction he wanted to go. East. He took off and Millie followed him through miles and miles of forest till they came across a small but clear, deep blue spring surrounded by the vibrant green of the forest.
"The Olympic National Park?" Millie asked, looking around.
"You'd be surprised to know that in several of the places, one can be alone. We won't be disturbed." He took her hand and pulled her against his chest before capturing her lips with his own. Millie melted into him and wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. Millie's mouth opened against his and he took the opportunity to explore it causing them to both groan in pleasure.
Jasper broke the kiss and attacked her neck as he pressed her up against the tree. Millie let out a soft moan and buried one of her hands in his hair. He pulled away and their lips met once again in a fury and Millie began to tug at his shirt as they kissed and Jasper bit back a grin as he parted from her once again.
"Let's try not to tear our clothes in the process darlin," he teased playfully. "Unless you want to run back naked."
Millie frowned at him, but he could feel the light heartedness of her emotions to know she wasn't upset. "I'll be careful, you should be more concerned about your own control." With that she grabbed the button of her jeans and gave him a smirk.
"I'll take them off if you take yours off," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"So, when do you want to go and visit your coven?" Jasper asked as they walked back. Eventually, they would both run but now they weren't in a particular hurry.
"I'll know after we decide what to do with Bella and your idiotic brother who wants her back," Millie said with a roll of her eyes. "But I'm not waiting till the summer any longer. A weekend starting with Friday will be good enough." He could feel the tinge of sadness and knew she was feeling homesick. He promised himself that they were going down south in a matter of days.
Jasper nodded and they walked in comfortable silence for a while before she spoke up.
"You know I was born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1910," she began carefully, and Jasper glanced at her, surprised at the topic. "Yes, I know." He was interested. Was she finally going to tell him how she was changed?
"I was changed in 1930 about two months after my birthday," she said, as she leapt into the air and landed on a thick tree branch. Jasper joined her on the branch and faced her.
"I was with a friend who was going to drop me off at my house and had been kind enough to take me in his car." There was a distant look in her eyes, and he didn't have to feel her emotions to know she was tense.
"Well, some white man, a drunk mind you who had been driving all wild and erratic on the road, ran into us and we went veering off the road and tumbling till the car landed in the ditch." She stopped and the silence stretched between both of them for several moments.
"The driver ran off, but that wasn't the real danger," she continued, crossing her arms. "The blood drew a vampire who drained my friend until they were dead and then he attacked me."
"Maybe he was almost full and that's why I was left alive? Anyways enough of his venom was in my system so I began to go through the change." Jasper gave her a sympathetic look and took her hand and squeezed it gently. She gave him a soft, yet sad smile.
"Did your sire know what he had done?" Jasper asked with a frown. Vampires that made such mistakes were sloppy, end of story. But sure enough, there had been a decent amount of vampires that had changed even though their sires had drained them. Was it so hard to make sure the human was dead?
"I suspect no," Millie answered her brows furrowing in thought. "All I knew was that he was white, had chestnut hair and red eyes. Maybe in his late thirties or early forties, but he drained us and then left."
"As you know, since I didn't have a lot of blood left in my body, that meant the change was slow and it hurt like hell and when it was finally over, I had entered a new world."
Jasper nodded touching her face gently. "What happened after?"
"Well, I was confused, but I knew I had to quench my thirst and I did. Happened to come across a man leaving a klan meeting and I dined on him," she gave him a terrible yet cold smile. "In those days it wasn't hard for me to find bad people no matter their race and make a meal out of them. I didn't feed on children though." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That was going too far."
Jasper nodded. He understood it, it was a moral philosophy he followed and most other vampires as well.
"I wondered around the country as a nomad, but I kept coming back to the South until one day in the late 60's, I came across a man feeding on a deer. He looked up at me in surprise and I saw his golden eyes and was stunned." Her expression grew slightly warmer.
"That was Obadiah, and at the time he and his mate Louise were alone in North Carolina. I couldn't help but ask him why he was feeding from that deer and why were his eyes gold."
She gave him a pointed look. "Obadiah was born just five years after the end of the Civil War. His parents were slaves so prepare yourself on that front. He's going to give you the third degree."
Jasper grimaced but nodded. "Anyways, he explained his diet and I was interested in it enough to try the diet. At first, I would "cheat" sometimes, because as you know the taste is not as satisfying as human blood". She gave him a somewhat sheepish look. "But eventually, I gave up human blood completely."
"Why did you decide to try the vegetarian diet?" Jasper asked, arching an eyebrow. He knew his own initial reasons due to the fact that he felt the emotions of his human prey as they died and after his time in the Southern Wars, he had enough of all the violence whether it was towards humans or vampires. And even though he didn't have to worry about feeling other's emotions as he did previously, he didn't want to give up his lifestyle. He was at peace with it and would continue with it.
"Killing humans doesn't bother me necessarily and if I had to, I would have no problems drinking human blood again. But I do find it easier to hunt animals and dispose of them versus drinking from humans and making sure I don't get caught snatching and killing them and making sure they are actually dead."
Interesting. The Cullen's had followed the vegetarian lifestyle because they believed human life was sacred and that living off animals was the "humane" thing to do, and the Denali became vegetarians so that their human lovers could live after their sexual escapades, but Millie's reasoning was entirely different and unrelated to the sanctity of human life.
"Has your coven come across any other vegetarians?"
"Well more vampires joined our coven and became vegetarians, but outside of us?" She shook her head. "No, I haven't."
"We have adopted cousins to the North in Alaska that are vegetarians," Jasper said, thinking of the Denali clan. "Tanya is their leader and there are five of them."
"A woman led coven?" Millie asked, arching an eyebrow. "I like the sound of that."
Jasper smirked at her. "Tanya and her sisters were the cause of the legend of the succubus."
"Succubus?" Millie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well, that'll last until they find a mate."
Jasper let out a low chuckle. "I wouldn't be so sure. They are just over a thousand."
"Do they ever come down and visit?"
"Not as common as you'd think," Jasper answered. "Though when Edward was overwhelmed with Bella's scent, he fled to Alaska and stayed with them for a bit."
"Wait, is this the coven that Laurent joined?"
"Yes, apparently Irina, one of Tanya's sisters was infatuated with him. I don't know if they were actually mates though. It's caused a bit of a strain."
"I see." Millie leapt from the branch, landing gracefully on the ground and Jasper quickly joined her. "We should run back; I wouldn't want to miss anything."
Jasper felt a smile tugging at her lips. "I'm sure with Edward there will be plenty of drama. "And since he was denied Bella, it'll be a matter of time before his temper snaps and he goes to her," he paused. "Or she comes to him."
"I couldn't imagine being mated to someone like Edward," Millie said, rolling her eyes, before she gave him a wicked smile and took off into a sprint.
Jasper shook his head in amusement. He would catch her and when he did it would be time for round two.
It wasn't long before they reached the Cullen's house and entered through their bedroom window. Millie took a shower and Jasper joined her, before changing into new clothing. He grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a navy colored long sleeved henley.
Millie came out with her wet hair done up into two buns with a single braid going up into each bun. She slipped on a cropped white t shirt and pulled on a pair of overalls that cut off at her thighs before she hopped onto their bed and stretched out on the bed.
Jasper heard the sound of the car and he knew Millie heard it as well. "Well, might as well go and see who it is," he grumbled as he stood up and left the room, Millie following after him. Peter and Charlotte still hadn't come back but he wasn't concerned. His captain and lieutenant knew how to handle themselves.
They came into the living room where Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie and Alice were waiting with various apprehensive and tense looks. And judging by the human scent coming closer and closer, it was without a doubt Bella and Edward.
"He couldn't stay away, could he?" Jasper asked as he sat on one of the chairs. Millie took a seat on the arm of it, her expression guarded.
"No," Alice answered, looking at him. "He ran right back over there while you were gone, it's quite romantic come to think of it."
Jasper raised an eyebrow. "If you say so," he said as he listened to the approaching footsteps.
"Every remain calm," Carlisle cautioned, casting sharp looks at everyone. "Let's not make this situation any more difficult."
The door opened and in walked Bella a determined Bella, her face impassive though her eyes were aflame with emotion. Edward followed right after her, his jaw clenched and his emotions a swirl of frustration, rage, and despair.
'I told him," Bella began, looking around the room. "Of the family's vote on my immortality."
"Why don't we take a seat at the dining table?" Esme said casually, and everyone rose to their feet and headed to the great polished table that held 10 seats. Carlisle took his seat at the head and Esme sat on the left. Jasper took his place on the other side of Carlisle and Millie sat on the opposite of him. Alice sat next to Esme and Emmett sat on the other side of her. Rosalie sat across from him and Bella took the seat next to Emmett and Edward sat across from her.
"So, everyone knows what happened in Volterra?" Bella asked.
"Everything," Alice said softly.
"Then we are all on the same page," Bella paused. "Well with the exception of Edward that is."
"I won't allow you to lose your soul Bella," Edward argued through gritted teeth.
"And I won't bring down the Volturi on this family," Bella argued back her face determined. "I want to become a vampire and Carlisle is going to change me after graduation."
"No," Edward growled, shooting up to his feet and slamming his hands on the table. "I won't allow it!"
"Edward, son," Carlisle addressed him with a warning note in his voice. "She's made her decision. Respect it."
"I'm going to become a vampire this summer," Bella continued. "But that isn't the only thing."
"What is it?" Esme asked, her face filled with concern.
"Considering past events and what has happened." Bella took a deep breath. "I can no longer be with Edward."
AN: Finally! Sorry for the long wait, but here is the chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who left left a review, favorited, and followed this story!