Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters. Sadly, that honor goes to Stephenie Meyer. Why, oh why didn't I have a dream about a sparkling vampire first?

To all my readers and reviewers, thank you! You guys are the absolute best! I tried to respond to every review, so if I somehow missed yours I apologize. Special thanks to Nostalgicmiss for being her awesome self and always pushing me when I need it! You're the best!

Chapter 11

JPOV

Maria.

Maria.

Maria.

The name that I avoided even thinking about was running through my mind and sending me into a tailspin of tangled emotions.

"Jay? Sweetheart? You're sort of freaking me out." My beautiful Bella was still wrapped around me, lightly tracing the scars on my neck.

"Are you sure, Peter?" I knew better than to question him, but it was so unbelievable that I had to ask.

"Yes, Major. You know what this means."

"She's come for me. I always knew that she would." I wasn't afraid of the spiteful bitch. I was only afraid of what she would do to Bella if given the chance.

"Wait… Maria? As in the bitch that caused all of this?" Bella's anger spiked as she pointed at my scars. I nodded and she turned to Jake. "You still have that blowtorch in your garage?"

My little girl was boiling over with rage and protectiveness. She knew just how strong vampires were and yet she was ready to take Maria on for me.

"That won't be necessary, Darlin'," Peter smiled indulgently at her. "We never should have let her live in the first place, but we did, and now we will take care of her."

"You don't have to go back to that, Jay." Fear rolled off of her. I knew that she was terrified of what being exposed to Maria could mean for me, but I had to face my past.

"I'm not going to go back to that, little girl, but I do have to face this. Don't you worry yourself about us. We'll be fine. I just want you to be safe. You need to stay with one of us, the Cullens, or the wolves at all times. I don't want her using you to get to me." I tried to convey with my eyes just how important it was for her to listen to what I was telling her.

"Baby, I don't want you anywhere near her!" She cried, fisting my shirt in her small hands.

"I told you that I'll be fine. Don't forget that I am the God of War." I winked at her hoping to lighten her mood.

"She doesn't stand a chance, princess." Peter assured her and Charlotte agreed.

"Pete, you better take care of him, or I'll be after you with that blowtorch."

"I hate to break this up, but I need to know what's going on here." Jake stepped forward, his arms still around his pregnant wife.

So I explained my sordid past to Jake, who shuddered at the thought of vampires who would war with each other for nothing more than territory to feed. My poor little girl cringed throughout the retelling of my story.

"Okay, so I get why that crazy bitch would come after you, but my question is why now? And how did she find you?" His questions were completely valid, and I had my suspicions, but I wasn't sure whether or not I was correct in my assumptions so I simply shrugged.

"When the Volturi became aware of the wars it became necessary for Maria to go into hiding. She killed off most of what was left of her army, only keeping her most trusted soldiers alive. Technology has made it much simpler for the Volturi to keep track of the goings on in our world, so building back her army had to have taken time. I suspect that she has either come to entice me back, or to kill me, either way, I am looking at a fight. Peter, you and Char should get the fuck outta dodge. She'll want you too. I can lead her away, but I need Bella protected at all costs."

"NO!" Bella screeched and with a cringe, I ignored her.

"Major, we won't leave you to deal with this alone. You put your ass on the line for us all those years ago, and we've lived a long and happy life together. It's time to repay the favor." Peter clapped me on the back and sent a wave of brotherly love at me. Charlotte nodded to let me know that she agree with Pete.

"No one is going anywhere without me! Jasper Whitlock, if you think for one second that I am letting you run off and get yourself killed then you have subscribed to a whole new brand of crazy. Change me! Change me and I can help!"

"Little girl," I cooed at her, "everything is gonna' be just fine. I didn't get my name by letting some bitch get the best of me. I only worry that she will get to you. Use you to get to me. As long as you are safe I can take her down. No problems."

It was only a small lie. I knew the risks by taking her on without knowing exactly what her numbers were, but my chances of surviving were even more slim if I was constantly worrying about Bella's safety.

"We should talk to the Cullens," Jake suggested and I agreed. He strode over to the phone and barked out orders for a few of the pack to make their way to the Cullens' place, while making sure the rest were posted around the rez, standing guard.

"I'm coming with you!" Bella shouted, tears streaming down her beautiful face.

"Shh, little girl. Of course you're coming. You're going to be all right. We won't let anything happen to you."

I almost laughed when she slapped my hand away from her cheek. "I'm not worried about me, you jackass! My damn mate wanting to go off half-cocked and get himself killed is what's freaking me the hell out!"

"Now, sugar, you know better than to worry about this bastard. He's tough as nails." Charlotte, bless her heart, was making an effort at calming her, but coming from the waves of worry, anger, and determination Bella was putting off, she wasn't doing much good.

"You can all patronize me later. Right now, we need to get to the Cullens." Bella furiously wiped away her tears and marched out to Peter's truck.

When we reached the Cullens it was no surprise when Edward bounded out of the house, full of worry and asking a shit-ton of questions. He was joined by the rest, who were all equally worried. Carlisle, always the peacekeeper wanted to call up his Volturi friends and alert them to the problem, but that would put Bella in danger, as well as the rest of us for her knowledge. Emmett, wanted to simply barrel in, guns blazing (so to speak) and just take them all out. I explained to them that it was not their fight, but they were determined to help.

"Dammit! If only I could get my damn visions to work! Now that we've involved ourselves in the pack, I can't see anything at all!" Little Alice tugged at her hair in frustration. Bella immediately went to her side.

"Hey, at least you can fight. I'm just a worthless little human," Bella joked, causing Alice to giggle a little.

"Thanks, Bella. I needed that."

"Enough with this. We need a strategy, but first, we need to find out how she knows where you are, and what she knows, if anything about us and the pack." Edward spoke up and for once I was thankful for his over-thinking.

"Yeah, I mean, why not come after you when you were in Arizona, out in the middle of nowhere? If she could find you here, why didn't she find you there?" Emmett's question was definitely a prudent one. Maria never did anything without thinking it through and getting to me in a remote area would be much better for her. A low profile was a necessity in her line "work".

"Unless she wants the Cullens as well. Maybe she knew where you were the whole time, then the Cullens show up and she wants them too. I mean, Edward and Alice's powers… for someone who craves power the way she does, they would be obvious choices." We all looked at Bella, stunned by her analytical thinking.

"What? I'm more than just a pretty face, you know? And if one of you would change me, I could be more than that. Think about it, as a human Edward can't read my mind, and I can shield my emotions from you…" She kept speaking, but I tuned her out. One word ran through my mind. Shield.

"You're a shield. Shit! Fuck!" Everyone looked at me as if I had lost my damn mind. Maria could have gotten to me at any time. If she had a spy watching me, then she would definitely know about Bella. But how would we have not smelled them…

"Peter! It's Jeb! She sent fucking Jeb! There's no tellin' how long she's been watching! The fucking bitch wants Bella!"

"Hold up, Major! Slow down, even I'm havin' a hard time followin' ya'." Peter held his hands up to stop my pacing.

"Jeb has no damn scent! She's probably had him watching us all along. Then Bella comes along and she sees a weakness. Of course, the Cullens just make things more interesting, but if Jeb was close enough then he would know that Edward couldn't read Bella. There has never been a human shield to my knowledge and if she's this powerful now…"

"She would be a damn powerful vampire." Peter finished.

"See, then change me! I can fight the bitch! I could protect people! Isn't that what a shield does?" Bella piped up, excitement pouring from her at the thought of being useful.

"We cannot change you. We have a treaty with the wolves. And the change takes at least three days. We have no way of knowing when she will strike." Carlisle explained to Bella calmly.

"Yeah, Bells, I really don't want you changed anyway." Jake added.

"Jake, my mate is a vampire, do you really expect me to stay human? Come on! And the treaty doesn't apply to Whitlocks, does it?"

"There is no time!" I tugged at my hair in frustration. I did not want my little girl to be changed that way. I did not want her thrust into a world of war and violence as I was.

"First things first, you say this leech has no scent? How are we supposed to find him? Hell, he could be within hearing range right now." Paul spoke up, looking to be on pins and needles.

"You're right. Peter, I think it's time to call in a favor." I looked at him and he immediately pulled out his cell phone.

"We will make some calls as well. We need numbers and quick. The Denali's can help." Carlisle went to work on making that call.

"Little girl, I know you're not going to like this, but I need you to go with Paul to the rez. I trust him to protect you." He nodded in my direction, telling me that he would. I knew that she would protest and immediately cut her off with a kiss before thrusting her at Paul. "Take her and don't let her out of your sight. If she gets harmed I will kill you myself."

"I'll protect her with my life," he assured me before throwing her over his shoulder. She kicked and screamed; at him and at me. Jake assured us that the rez would be well protected and to let him know if we needed anything.

"Wait!" I called as Paul began to walk away with Bella. I crouched down and lifted her face to look at me. I was met with tear-stained cheeks and a heartbreaking expression. "I love you, Bella. When this is over, I plan on spending forever showing you just how much. I need you to trust me and I need you safe. Please just do this for me?"

"Jay, I love you! So much! I just have a bad feeling! We shouldn't be apart! Don't send me away!" She pleaded with me and for once, I wished Alice's crazy visions weren't on the fritz so I knew if Bella was right. "I need you!" She cried in a final attempt. Paul knowingly placed her on her feet and she wrapped her tiny body around me.

The room filled with her sobs and pleas. The house quickly emptied to give us the illusion of privacy.

"Little girl, I can't put you in danger. You mean too much to me. I need you alive and safe so that I can concentrate on killing the crazy bitch. Just do this for me."

"Jasper, why can't you understand that I can't be away from you? We are stronger together. Wouldn't you rather keep an eye on me yourself? If you can't see me, how will you know if I am even safe?" The little minx was not playing fair.

"Isabella, I know that because of Paul's feelings for you he will keep you safe. And I trust that Jacob will as well. I would never leave you otherwise."

"But if she really wants me, then I would be putting Ness and the pack in danger. I can't do that! And my dad! Shit! Who is going to protect him? No! We need to leave here and leave together!" She was back to pleading.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, little girl. I'm sure Jake will figure something out about your dad to keep him safe. It will all work out. I just need you to trust me."

"I do trust you, Major, it's Maria and her army of the undead that I don't trust." I hugged her close and tenderly kissed her soft lips.

"Major, I'm sorry to break this up, but Garrett is on his way. Luckily he happened to be close, within running distance. He'll be here within the hour. We need to strategize." Peter gave Bella an apologetic glance.

"Please," she whispered and I simply shook my head. "Fine! But you better come back to me! If you don't I will find a way to torch the bitch myself!"

My beautiful, furious girl. I had no doubt that she would do just that. In fact, I decided then to warn paul that she would probably try to escape him.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too. I'll see you soon." She nodded and with one final peck she walked out the door.

"She's not gonna' stand by while we all fight, Major," Peter warned.

"I know," I sighed.

"Might as well change her now."

"That one of your feelings, Pete?" I asked.

"Common sense. My feelings are a bit all over the place at the moment. Too much going on. I'm working to pin them down though." He winked at me and we immediately went to work on coming up with a plan. Once Garrett arrived we filled him in and with his gift he decided that he would take Emmett to find Jeb. Garrett was persuasive, but while most thought that was his gift, it wasn't. He could sense vampires within a ten mile radius. He informed us that apart from us, he only felt one at that time. He was like a vampire GPS and with Emmett and Rosalie in tow, he was off.

It only took them a half hour to locate Jeb and bring him back. He had relied far too heavily on his lack of scent and that made him an easy capture.

"Edward?" I asked once we had Jeb completely subdued.

"He won't think of Maria's location, but she has brought at least fifteen newborns with her. More are standing by in Oregon. He is to report to her with an update within the hour. If he does not then she will strike. That is all he knows… wait, he knows the location of the rest of her army. They're about fifty miles east of Albuquerque, New Mexico."

"I'll call the Volturi with the information. I will tell Aro that we came across a nomad and Edward read it in his mind. With them out of the way, we will have one less worry." I nodded my agreement to Carlisle before turning back to Jeb.

"And what of my mate?" I asked him.

"She initially wanted to use her for bait, but once she found out that he couldn't read her mind she decided that she wanted you both. She won't stop." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Does she know about the wolves?" I asked.

"Yes," Edward answered for him. "Jeb has filled her in on everything." Then he gasped.

"What?"

"She has Bella's father. She's going to use him as bait."

"Fuck!" I swore. If Bella found that out, she would never stay put.

"How long until she attacks?" I yelled at Jeb.

"If I do not report back, she intends to use the father to draw out your mate, and in turn you."

I immediately picked up my cell phone and dialed the number that Jake had given me. After telling him to stay calm, I informed him of what we had learned. Unfortunately, Bella hit the speaker phone button and heard Charlie's name. She wailed and I heard Paul trying to comfort her. It was no use, my little girl was determined.

"Jasper, either you come and get me right now, or I find that bitch on my own. My dad will not die! Do you hear me?" I instructed Jake to have Paul bring her back and when my girl arrived I'd be damned if she wasn't carrying a can of gasoline and a blowtorch.

"Where is the bitch?" She stood over Jeb, showing no fear. When he did not answer, she opened the can and poured gasoline directly over his dick. Still no answer.

"Fine, fucker. We'll do it the hard way." Out of her bag she pulled a pair of tinted goggles and slipped them on. Then came the clicking on of the torch.

"I'm gonna' ask you one. More. Time. Where is the bitch?" She gritted her teeth and in that moment I saw just why she was my mate. She was beautiful in her fury. Edward shook his head to let Bella know that his thoughts were not revealing anything. Hell, the fucker probably couldn't focus on anything but the proximity of the flame to his sparkly dick.

"All righty then," she shrugged and his screams filled the air as the flame met the gasoline. She had been sparse with the fuel and the fire stayed local to the area of his dick, as no venom was exposed to ignite him further.

"Seattle! She's in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city! Now put it out!" He screamed. My mate simply cocked her head like a confused puppy.

"Well, it's an awfully big city. I think we'll need a little more than that." She smirked and Edward spoke up telling her that he got the location. She turned off the torch and removed her goggles before slowly pulling out a fire extinguisher and putting out his flaming peen.

Jeb looked down at his dick and sobbed. He could have healed with blood, but there was no way he was going to be allowed to live. I nodded to Peter who, with Emmett, drug Jeb away to dispose of his sorry ass. We had all the information that we needed.

"Now, when are we going to get my dad?" Bella asked, hands on her hips.

"Bells, he's probably already gone. Leeches aren't known for keeping humans alive." Paul spoke up and I could have kicked his ass, but Bella needed to know that the possibility of her father being alive was slim to none.

"I don't give a fuck! It's my fault he's in this situation to begin with! I am not just going to leave him there!" She began crying and I wrapped my arms around her. The fierce woman from earlier had disappeared and in her place was a broken girl who was scared for her daddy.

"Shh, little girl. I'll go and get your daddy." I tried to soothe her, but it only served to piss her off.

"You mean we're going to get him! You are not leaving me here! She knows about the pack and I refuse to put anyone else in danger! Either you let me go willingly or I will find a way to go myself. Do. Not. Underestimate. Me."

Now, I was always a man who liked to be in control, but I knew in that moment that she meant exactly what she said.

"Fine, but you do everything I tell you to do. No questions asked. I am the boss in this situation, got it?"

She nodded at me.

"I'm going too." Paul piped up. I probably should have told him no, but there was no way he would have listened. His head was as hard as a box of rocks.

So, we sat down and formed a plan. Vehicles would not allow us an element of surprise, so it had been decided that we would run. Edward would carry Bella as he was the fastest runner, and would be surrounded by me, Peter, Char, and Garrett. Jacob pitched a fit to join us, but Bella convinced him that he had to stay and protect Ness. As Paul and Embry were the only wolves without imprints, they were allowed to accompany us, and would serve as Bella's personal guard, as I would more than likely be occupied. All of our roles had been laid out and specified. Once we hit Seattle, Peter and Char fed from our normal diet of rapists and murderers, wanting their full strength and the rest of us fed in the woods on the outskirts of the city.

As the warehouse came into view, I expected Bella's heart rate to increase, but she was surprisingly calm. Her strength under pressure astounded me and I was in awe of her. Edward sent me a strong dose of agreement.

Before there was time to blink Edward had Bella on the ground and she was being flanked by the two giant wolves.

"They know we're here," Edward stated and we all crouched, ready for battle. Our numbers alone made the first wave of her troops easy to dispose of. Unfortunately her reinforcements from Portland had already arrived.

"Maria!" I bellowed as I ripped the head off of another of her soldiers.

In a second, the warehouse door was flung open, and there she stood, her hand tangled in a bloody Charlie Swan's hair.

So, there you have it. Looks like the fun is about to begin! What did you guys think of Bella and her torch? See, I told you some lovin' didn't turn her into a wimp.